Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Advancing Leaders Through Opportunity

In celebration of this year’s AANHPI Heritage Month, the Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) designated this year’s theme as “Advancing Leaders through Opportunity.” This theme builds upon the organization's efforts to advance leaders in the Federal and District of Columbia governments. FAPAC believes that providing advancement opportunities can reduce barriers to professional progression, increase employee satisfaction, and reduce turnover. It is FAPAC’s belief that successful organizations are those that invest in the professional development of their employees, which can be done by providing opportunities that enhance leadership abilities and skills.

FAPAC 2023 Theme

Coffee Talk with Lawrence-Michael Arias and Alex Hsu

We are excited to celebrate this year’s Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific-Islander Heritage Month with an engaging Coffee Talk featuring Lawrence-Michael Arias and Alex Hsu. Both guests are accomplished actors with unique perspectives on the arts community, and they will share their experiences, including any celebrations or challenges they've faced, particularly as Asian American actors. Lawrence-Michael and Alex will be joined by our host for the event, Studio 5’s own Chief Learning Officer, Elizabeth Fiting. To gain a deeper understanding, we encourage the Studio 5 team to prepare questions for the Q&A session that will follow.

Meet Our Host

Elizabeth Fiting
Director of Learning Strategy

Meet Our Guests

Lawrence-Michael Arias

Lawrence-Michael is a professional actor who was most recently seen onstage at Theatreworks’ 12/22 production of Little Shop of Horrors, where he played the shop owner, Mushnik, a role for which he was nominated for SFBCC’s Featured Actor in a Musical. At Theatreworks, he also performed in M. Butterfly (Kurogo), Red (Red Guard), Batboy: The Musical (Roy/Mrs. M. Taylor, etc. at select performances), Jane Eyre: The Musical (Robert u/s), and Pacific Overtures [2001] (British Admiral/Merchant). He originated the role of ‘Wong’ in Utah Shakespeare Festival’s world premiere of Gold Mountain. Other regional credits: National Asian Artists Project/Prospect Theatre’s staged concert of Gold Mountain (Wong). Other Bay Area credits: Hillbarn Theatre - Noises Off! (Selsdon), 25th Bee (Mitch Mahoney), and Spamalot! (Sir Bedevere/Dennis’ Mother); Los Altos Stage Company - Yellow Face (HYH); Pintello Comedy Theatre - A Funny Forum (Miles Gloriosus); Western Stage - Man of La Mancha (Sancho). Film credits: Protection Detail (Sonny).

Alex Hsu

Alex has straddled the worlds of corporate Silicon Valley and professional theater for nearly three decades. Being a freelance graphic and web designer in the days after the internet bust of the 90s afforded him the opportunity to tour the country as a dancer and actor. Design clients included Apple, Oracle, and SalesForce while performing at houses such as the Orpheum and Toni Rembe Theaters in San Francisco, the historic Fox in Detroit, and the Meridian Theater in Toronto.
Alex's path has since led him to instructional and user experience design, as well as real estate, interior design, and choreography, all while continuing to act in commercials, indie features, and on stage. He is currently performing in Chinglish by David Henry Hwang at San Francisco Playhouse and can be seen as the world-weary Triad monster Bennie in the film Production Detail (streaming free on tubitv.com), with his husband Lawrence-Michael Arias, who plays his arch-rival!
Where you can find Alex:
LinkedIn
IMDB