Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by.

Chances are you already know who I am if you've come across this - as I will have promoted this blog on my Instagram and Facebook. In which case, thank you for taking the time to check it out!

For those of you who don't know me as well:

Introductions!

I'm Mikko Juan. I'm an actor.
I'm Filipino. Born in Japan, raised in Washington, USA. Currently living in the UK.
I am also the co-founder and the co-artistic director of Halfpace Theatre Company, co-founded with my wife, director Megan Brewer. 
When I'm not acting, I can usually be found playing video games, Dungeons and Dragons, learning eskrima (with Paul from Fluid Tactics - check him out!) or snuggling with my cat Tetra.

Photo by Danny Kaan

As of writing this, I am currently embarking on the UK/Ireland Tour of Miss Saigon, playing Thuy. We've been on the road for the better part of six months, starting in Newcastle and are currently in Belfast for a two-week stint before moving on to Nottingham. 

I am also currently nursing some food poisoning, so I've been stuck in my digs for the past 24 hours while I fuel up to try and get better for tomorrow's show. 

And that's what's brought me here today.

For the past few months, I've been toying around with the idea of some kind of a creative outlet that speaks about my personal experiences of being an actor - within reason of course, so as to not get in trouble and keeping my personal privacy. I feel that there's so much I want to share in terms of what I've learned about being in this industry. I initially thought of making an Instagram account that does vlogs, but then I remembered that I hate talking to the camera, and that editing, as much as I love doing it, takes time. So then I opted for the next best thing: writing about it.

Writing has become something of a creative outlet for me, but I rarely get to share much of that with others. It's mainly due to my impostor syndrome, and the fact that much of my written works are either located in my private journals or within the long queue of unfinished script ideas - but I digress. This is perhaps an exercise for me to finally start putting something out that's inherently mine - something that I've created from the ground up. It's nerve wracking to say the least, and I'm already regretting it. But I've already spent a lot of time coming up with the idea and typing out this introductory post, so here we go!

My aim with this blog:

I chose the title An Actor's Mindset because of a video that I came across on Instagram from Dean Graham (linked here.) In short, he talks about how he loves it when actors quit acting because they're choosing something else (financial stability, starting a family, etc.) The video got me thinking about a time in which I was ready to quit. That's a story for another time (a blog post perhaps!?) but that video was what spurred me on to finally get the ball rolling in creating this blog. It made me think of the mindset that that time in my life gave me in order for me to clear my head and send me on a path that lead me here to Belfast, on a major UK/Ireland tour of a big musical.

As I've said already, there's so much that I want to say in regards to what I've learned about being an actor; the industry as a whole, the experience of rehearsing and putting on a show, keeping up with my craft, navigating the UK industry as a migrant from America, personal thoughts, how I stay sane through it all - the list is endless. 

Now, this is not to say that everything I write on here should be taken seriously. I am just one out of a million actors out there. My opinions/thoughts are my own, and those are shaped out of the experiences that I have had growing up.

I already have a lot of ideas of what I want to write about. Maybe in the future, if enough people are interested in it, I might write posts based upon requests or questions that people send to me. 

Right now, I'm just getting started. I'll just write, share, and hope that I, at the very least, have provided you with some form of entertainment.

How you can support me:

Give me your honest opinions! This is the first time I'm sharing something that's completely mine, and I'm open to constructive feedback. As you read these posts, let me know if you liked it or not. Let me know what you'd want me to post about. As an actor, I love notes - as long as they are constructive. Give 'em to me!

I'm both excited and terrified to be jumping into this and sharing it with you all. I'll do my best to keep posting regularly. I hope you all enjoy what you see, and thank you for jumping on this journey with me. 

-Mikko

P.S. - I wrote this post with this playlist playing in the background. Enjoy!