Rising Stars: Meet Kairo Chin of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kairo Chin.

Hi Kairo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I graduated in 2024 from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Theater Arts and minor in Film & Digital Media. Since moving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, I am pursing my love of scenic carpentry, painting, design while on occasion working in production design and art department on independent film projects. My artistic journey began with the need to fill my life with things that brought me joy. Crafting something both beautiful and functional from my own imagination with my own hands brought satisfaction and pride. Ultimately my art is for myself. My art expresses spectacle, whimsy, rebellion, power, individuality, childlike imagination, and fun. As a theater maker, the same drive is behind all my work: What would make me happy? What would make me proud? What would express myself in ways I cannot explain with words? I hope sharing my joys working as a set designer, art maker, filmmaker, and creative with an audience incites understanding and inspiration for others. My lived experience as a queer person of color impacts me and influences the way my art interacts with the world. Breaking systemic barriers in the arts and making art and theater accessible to all is a long term goal of mine.

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?
There is no doubt that being a queer, trans, person of color in the theater industry is difficult. Most productions I have encountered lack poignancy and diversity, but the few that do get grossly underrepresented, underfunded, and unseen. I have struggled to advocate and make space for myself as a queer POC artist. In college, diversity was scarce in the main theater department, funding was embarrassingly low for the cultural arts groups, and most painfully there was no space for specifically queer AND POC creatives to freely express themselves. I fought to bridge this gap by weaponizing my understanding of academic bureaucracy to create my own production that filled this hole. From this Supernova Sync –an intersectional, all skill level, safe, and fun lip sync show– was born. Produced from the ground up by myself and my co-producer Adelina Rocha, this passion project challenged traditional hierarchies seen in performance art. This project is proof I have the ability to create positive change in my community. Since moving to LA, I continue to seek creatives who share similar beliefs and artistic goals in order to create works that turn our shared traumas to turn into flourishing art.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work for several theater venues around the LA area as a theater technician, however, I specialize in scenic design and carpentry. I was a recipient of the 2024 Dean’s and Chancellor’s awards at UC Santa Cruz for my set design on Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage directed by Don Williams in association with UCSC’s African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT). Like much of my work which combines realism and whimsy to evoke feeling through a physical playing space, Clyde’s transports you to what feels like a real truck stop diner occupied by unique characters. Clyde’s is my favorite production I’ve worked on not just because it looks great, but because the show touches on a subject I think needs uplifting. This show is a great example of how theater and the arts are used to contribute to social commentary.
Additionally, I am a part of a Rocky Horror Shadow Cast in Long Beach, Bit of Mustard. I use my experience with fabrication and construction to help make props and costumes for the shows. I also perform as a few roles occasionally- my favorite being Trixie. In this role I get full creative liberty on the concept for that month’s show. I have been sexy Luigi Mangione, a horse, and most recently a cigarette. What I love about being in Bit of Mustard is that it too uses itself as a valuable part of social advocacy for queer/LGBT liberation. This particular shadowcast is truly an intersectional group of queers that uplift each other and allow ourselves to express our queerness and liberty to the fullest.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Staying true to my personal values and artistic goals is far more important to my growth as an artist than blindly signing up on as many projects as possible to get my name out. I think up and coming creatives will find themselves in moments where they “sell out” in hopes to build their careers. This can include working with people or groups that don’t share the same values, doing projects that directly or indirectly harm marginalized groups, ignoring or not using your abilities to highlight political issues. It’s difficult to feel like you’ve succeeded when your reality doesn’t match what society thinks it should look like; but staying true to my beliefs has brought me far more rewarding experiences. You will not catch me fantasizing about Broadway or working with big names in Hollywood again. Opportunities are exciting and fun of course, but playing into the many ways systemic racism has manifested into the entertainment industry by being an underpaid cog in a lame rich white-centric production does not align with who I want to be nor does it align with the change I want to see in this world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kairochin.wixsite.com/kairochin/bio
• Other: kairo.chin@protonmail.com