Today we’d like to introduce you to Savira Windyani.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m Indonesian by ethnicity but was raised in Malaysia. My parents instilled in me how important the arts were to the development of a child, so we grew up in a very musical household. There was always a piano my father played, and we always sang and harmonized. My mother loved arts and crafts and inspired us to make our own costumes and be creative with our school projects. She put me in dance classes and piano lessons to understand bodily coordination. In 3rd grade, I was enrolled in Cempaka International School which wasn’t a performing arts school by default but, gradually acted as one through my years of being there. In the beginning, I joined their choir and through that, I was able to gain experience not just performing at our school, but they put up amazing productions for conventions at hotels, for the Prime Minister, one of the royal families of Malaysia, charities and several others I was fortunate to participate in. That choir gave me the confidence to book my first Broadway Asia production during an open call, called “The King and I” as one of the King’s princesses.
When I got to secondary school, we had to perform arts as a compulsory subject where we had to choose between singing, dancing, and acting. Because I’d already had experience in singing and dancing, I decided to try acting for a change. There, I met the man who led me to discover my love for acting, Scott McQuaid. Through him, I was able to challenge myself in performing various sketch comedy plays he wrote and in musical theatre productions put up by the school, where I began as part of the dance ensemble, to supporting roles, and eventually became lead. At this point, I still viewed performing as a hobby but, Scott McQuaid inspired the idea that I could pursue this as a career. He urged me to look for performing arts conservatories or universities outside the country, and that’s when I found the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Home to alumni such as Grace Kelly, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Adam Scott, Paul Rudd and so many more. With credits such as that, it didn’t take long before I was sold. I auditioned, was accepted with a partial scholarship, and moved to Los Angeles in 2014.
I studied at The Academy for 2 years, got represented right after graduation, and then booked my first feature film, ‘Unfriended: Dark Web’ only 2 months after graduating. Since then, I got to act in several award-winning short films, a few commercials, and a couple of lifetime movies, I got to play a recurring role opposite Lana Condor in her limited Netflix comedy series, “Boo, Bitch” and in my most recent work, I got to play a principal role in an all Indonesian cast rom-com called, “Full Service”, which was one of the winners of the Julia S. Guow’s short film competition by Janet Yang Productions and CAPE USA. I realize I’m rambling, and you said brief. So to summarize it all, there’s a lot that’s happened between then and now, from visa challenges, to not being represented, being supported by my partner, Michael S. Garcia, homesickness, the pandemic, then getting represented again. But, I was able to survive all that through the lessons and discipline I’ve learned from my strong foundation to the support I was blessed to have, from relationships I’ve created along the way. So that’s “briefly” how I got to where I am today. God bless.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Absolutely not and I don’t think anything worth achieving has a smooth road. To start off, being an immigrant is far from easy. I remember in the process of getting my O1 visa, I was getting eaten by fleas my dog brought in, my partner (God bless him) was working double time to support the both of us because I was able to stay in the country but, I couldn’t work, I used all my time at home to gather sufficient evidence that eventually got denied, so I had to gather and resend more evidence through the help of my lawyer, Rozalin Benlevi from Elite Immigration Law (who is a Godsend. For anyone who is in need of an attorney for immigration visas, hit her up). In the midst of dealing with all of that, my other struggle began to creep in. I began to question my purpose of being in America and if it was even worth it. I was sacrificing so much family time I could never get back, I exerted all my time and effort into an industry you rarely hear back from and, I struggled to find out why. Why was I really pursuing this career and why did I want it on a grander scale? Was it for selfish reasons? Validation? Happiness? At the time, I don’t think I had the understanding to be grateful for my struggles but, looking back, my struggles brought light to the missing piece of my mission and that was the specificity of my purpose.
In my opinion, without a purpose, I lose motivation. It feels like all the effort you put into whatever you’re pursuing doesn’t move anything forward and just goes into the void. It forced me to go back to the source. When I began performing, it was for my own enjoyment. I kept going because performing brought me a heightened sense of happiness. But, for some reason, pursuing this for my own happiness clearly wasn’t enough. My purpose had to be greater than that. Looking closer at the source I also had to realize, my performances didn’t just make me happy, but, they provided an escape for everyone watching. Everyone I performed for shared the same joy and passion I brought to every single performance and, they felt like they could let go. They felt understood. They all laughed. They all cried. They all danced. There’s something so powerful about art bonding people and creating a community where we are all allowed to feel without judgment. For a brief moment in that theatre, no matter what your background is, what you believe in, who you choose to love, and whatever differences we think to separate us… it doesn’t matter. For me, to be a part of something that inspires unity is greater than just pursuing this for your own happiness. I believe that we’re put on this Earth to be of service. Art was my act of service and I felt inspired by the films, music, and shows that successfully moved people, including myself, spanning thousands of miles from where they made it. That thought inspired the motivation in me to keep on going.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a film, television, and theatre actress who sings wherever I can. I am most known for my loud and deep voice being deceiving to my size (which honestly shouldn’t be a surprise anymore with examples such as Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, etc). The thing I’m most proud of, work-wise, was a staged reading I did, with Artists At Play, a few months back where I had the honor of playing the lead role “Melati” in a play called “No One Plays Badminton in America” written by Ankita Raturi and directed by Rebecca Wear. It was such a unique play about the challenges of being an immigrant with big dreams, and I was able to perform speaking two languages (Indonesian and English), which I’ve never really done to that extent at that point in my life. The play reflected my personal challenges being an immigrant out here, so, reading and being able to perform it gave me a sense of clarity and closure to my own experiences. It was very healing.
What might set me apart from others are the people who have my back. I believe that we can’t accomplish what we’ve accomplished on our own, and I’m blessed to say I’ve got a small but strong circle of people who inspire me and keep me going.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
You could support me by checking out ‘Unfriended: Dark Web’ streaming on Peacock right now, and ‘Boo, Bitch’ streaming on Netflix. Give my Instagram a follow if you’d like to keep updated with my work and, if you have any ideas you might want to collaborate on, you’re more than welcome to contact my reps and get in touch!
Contact Info:
- Website: imdb.me/savirawindyani
- Instagram: instagram.com/savirawindyani
- Other: demoreel.com/savira-windyani
Image Credits
Matt Kallish and Emi Yoshino
