Meet Ceci Haha

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ceci Haha.

Hi Ceci, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Canada, raised in Hong Kong, and moved to Los Angeles in Summer 2015 to pursue my dream. I started acting when I was ten, I was in a musical group in my primary school. We would go around the city to perform, our “school life” was different from the others. We had to go to school early and stay behind late to rehearse, it was a bit stressful as a kid. But now looking back, it was all worth it. We were guaranteed to give our 100% to the audience, we had always done our best. That helped my adulthood a lot, I always do my best. I’ve been acting since then. Actually, I lied. I stopped for a year because my ex-girlfriend did not want to interact with anyone else but her, I lost my passion, I lost something that I really cared about and I lost myself. After breaking up with her, I realized the only way I can find myself again is to pick up my passion. So I joined a local drama club in Hong Kong, and I felt alive again. We were doing a lot of Environmental Theatre work, we performed in restaurants, streets and coffee shops, it opened my horizon, the theatre could be anywhere and everywhere! And I wanted to know more and learn more. So I signed up for a summer acting program and booked an air ticket and flew to Los Angeles. After the summer program is finished, I was supposed to fly back. But something about this city is just so charming and irresistible, maybe it’s the beach, maybe it’s the weather or maybe it’s the fact that everyone is a dreamer like me, I feel like I belong. In Hong Kong, being an actor was not something admirable, people often pop the question “BUT how are you going to make money?” It always starts with a but.

Here in Los Angeles, no one EVER asked me this, it’s like people understand me. This city has so much to offer and one day she said to me “stay, we are not done yet.” So I stayed. I found an apartment (actually not just one, I moved 13 times since I came to LA, and it’s still counting) and I enrolled to the Theatre Program in Santa Monica College. I’ve learned so much and met so many amazing people at Santa Monica College, I was nominated as Best Actress and got to compete in Arizona with other incredible actors across the country. After graduating, I continue to do what I love, I wrote, directed, acted, and produced my first short film in 2019 – @IG_L1FE, it’s a story about a girl being stuck in her social media life, losing her true identity, and finally get out of it. I’m glad that this short film brought out awareness to people (including myself) and redirect us to focus on what’s really important in our lives. I’m currently writing other stories and very excited to film them once the pandemic is over! Coming to Los Angeles, my first impression was why is everything and everyone so slow? I was very impatient then. Growing in a fast-paced city like Hong Kong, you expect to get your Vanilla Latte in a minute, but LA has trained my patience. “Patience is key”, it doesn’t matter how long it takes to get you there, but HOW you get there. It has not been easy traveling 7,234 miles away from home, I miss my family and friends so so much every day. But I know I have a mission and purpose here and I am not giving up. I always believe, if you want something really bad, and you work very hard towards it, YOU ARE going to get it. 🙂

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. Being in Los Angeles by myself was very tough at first, I’m the youngest in my family, everything was being taken care of. But having no one in here, I had to learn to be independent. I’ve met a roommate before that got me in trouble and put me in a dangerous situation. And I finally made a decision and got away from them, it was scary at first because they were the only person I knew in LA, but I’m so glad that I did. I found another roommate after that and she is my best friend. Another struggle was, I was an international student and I was not able to find jobs but the living cost is so high in Los Angeles, it was really tough. So many times, I submitted myself to some acting gigs, the casting directors really liked me but they could not cast me because of my visa situation. And finally, the day my work permit arrived, it was like an ocean breeze on a hot summer day, it felt incredible, I don’t have to worry about my visa status anymore, it opened up many more doors!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an actress, singer, model and I also teach Cantonese and Mandarin. I started as a theatre performer and I’m focusing on films now. I can speak Cantonese and Mandarin fluently, I teach from ages three and above. I customize courses according to student’s goals and levels. I’m very proud of the first short film that I produced (details in the MY Story long paragraph), and I’m looking forward to creating more stories and inspire others.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Do your best and don’t look back. I used to beat myself up a lot when I don’t get a callback from auditions, I always thought maybe I messed up a line or two, maybe I wasn’t wearing the right clothes, maybe I wasn’t good enough. I would think of a million things that made me not deserve the callback. But when I was casting people in my short film, so many of them were talented and amazing actors but just didn’t fit the role or other characters physically. And it’s not because they messed up a line or two, it’s not because they were wearing the wrong clothes and it’s definitely not because they were not good enough. It’s simply a visual thing. So all those times, I was just hating on my performance and myself for something that I cannot control! Then I started to change the way I think, as long as I have done my best, that’s all it matters. Don’t look back and pick little things that you “think” you screwed up, it’s just all in your head. Be proud of yourself that you had the courage to finish the work and gave your best, you deserve it.

Contact Info:

• Email: ceci.haha.actress@gmail.com
• Website: www.cecihaha.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ceci.haha
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4MnwU-YDih5TRG4TxVCJWg

Image Credits:
Cristian Donlucas, Elizaveta Dirat and Mike Allen