Live Arts: Roy Chen On the Five Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful Career in Broadway, Theater or Live Performance Art
An Interview with Savio Clemente
To achieve consistent success in live performances, I believe (1) passion, (2) effort, (3) perseverance, (4) responsibility, and (5) sincerity is indispensable. Passion is the most crucial, as it fuels your effort in daily training and helps you persevere through challenges. Passion also underpins your responsibility to the performance and your sincerity towards the audience. Without this foundation of passion — for your audience, art, stage, and character — your performance quality will inevitably decline, regardless of skill. So, for me, maintaining deep passion and responsibility for your craft is paramount to ensuring sustained success on stage.
As a part of our series about creating a successful career in theatre, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Roy Chen. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Roy Chen began his training in classical Chinese dance at Niao Song School of the Arts in Taiwan before moving to New York to study at Fei Tian Academy of the Arts. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts, graduating summa cum laude, from Fei Tian College, where he is now pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Classical Chinese Dance. Along with dance, Chen has also studied the dizi (Chinese flute) and the suona (a reed instrument) since his youth.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
Growing up, I was raised in a very traditional household. There were two children in our family. My older sister is a pipa player, specializing in that traditional Chinese instrument. Both my parents were teachers. I recall that during my childhood, despite their demanding work schedules, my parents were always present and engaged. They would consistently dedicate time after work to help us with our studies and have conversations with us, and we also enjoyed frequent outings together. So, from an early age, I learned a great deal about interpersonal conduct and values simply by observing their example. They maintained a firm approach to our upbringing, instilling in us the importance of respecting teachers and elders, being rigorous with oneself and lenient with others, and developing a strong sense of right and wrong.
I specifically remember my father telling me as I was preparing to enter elementary school, “The purpose of sending you to school extends beyond merely acquiring knowledge; it is equally crucial to develop the ability to discern individuals and clearly understand the distinction between right and wrong.” My parents established a very strong foundation of traditional values for me from my formative years.
My parents are both practitioners of Falun Dafa, and as a result I also became a practitioner. This a spiritual meditation practice with three core principles of “Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance.” In my early years, I didn’t fully comprehend the concept of spiritual practice — I simply followed my parents’ lead. But as I matured, I gradually came to understand that Falun Dafa is a discipline that guides individuals on how to become better people. I also personally witnessed a significant transformation in my father, who went from being a heavy smoker, consuming several packs of cigarettes daily, to someone who completely abstained from smoking. Furthermore, my involvement in Falun Dafa has fostered a belief in the existence of divine beings, the principle of karmic retribution, the accumulation of virtue through good deeds, and the understanding of how to strive toward higher levels of moral character, among other profound insights. From the moment I gained these understandings, I have been a dedicated practitioner of Falun Dafa, a commitment I maintain to this day.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I grew up in an environment filled with performances. When I was in elementary school, I learned the Chinese flute and the traditional woodwind instrument called suona, and I participated in many competitions. Because of this, I am no stranger to the stage. Having the opportunity to perform in various places allowed me to be exposed to many other forms of artistic expression, such as drama, circus, puppet shows, martial arts, and dance. This is why I developed a strong interest in stage arts. Also, from a young age I loved reading Chinese historical stories, and so I was particularly fascinated by ancient figures and tales. This is also one of the reasons I became interested in classical Chinese dance. I initially learned martial arts, and then my martial arts teacher’s wife studied classical Chinese dance, which was my starting point for learning classical dance.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Actually, it’s hard to single out just one person. I believe everyone I’ve encountered on my path has been helpful to me, whether they were teachers, mentors, or peers who genuinely assisted me, or even those who caused me trouble.
You probably have a lot of fascinating experiences. Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I think the most memorable thing for me was going on tour around the world with Shen Yun as part of a practicum program through my school. At first, participating in the practicum program just felt like a school project that took me to various places worldwide. But over time, as I gained experience and interacted with many people in the arts, I realized I was actually incredibly fortunate without even knowing it. The performance opportunities I took for granted were the very opportunities that many artists strive for years to achieve. Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, San Francisco Opera House, and other world-class theaters that I frequented were stages that many artists could only dream of stepping onto once in their life. Yet, while still a student, I was able to perform and showcase my artistic talent on these stages almost every year with Shen Yun Performing Arts. Getting to perform with Shen Yun as part of my practicum program benefited me greatly and left a deep impression on me.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
My biggest mistake was believing that art has a limit. When I was 20, I thought that was it for dance, and that there wouldn’t be much more progress to be made. This was because my physical abilities and qualities had reached a relatively high level at the time, so I became arrogant and complacent, thinking that art was something superficial. But as I grew older and saw performances by other dancers around the world, I realized how shallow and ignorant I had been. Even if I was familiar with and proficient in the movement principles of classical Chinese dance, as an artist, you still need to master the techniques of different dance genres, like Chinese ethnic and folk styles, the expressiveness of stage performance, the refinement of technical skills, the coordination between music and dance, and the ability to create. These are all closely related to art and are limitless. You have to proceed with humility. There’s an old Chinese saying: “The more mature and fuller the rice stalk, the lower it bends.”
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Right now, I’ve just finished Shen Yun’s annual tour and am about to start diving into rehearsals for next year’s program. Because Shen Yun presents an entirely new set of programs each year, I’m very much looking forward to seeing which traditional Chinese roles I’ll be dancing this year.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of rejection, lack of support, or failure?
Don’t be afraid of failure, don’t be afraid of making mistakes. The more you fear doing wrong, the less likely you are to succeed. If you are always successful, in the end, you will know nothing because you won’t know how to improve.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in the live performance industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Discover what you truly excel at and focus on strengthening it. This will make you more confident when you perform. When you are confident, everything you do will feel natural and effortless, and you’ll naturally avoid burnout.
What are your “5 Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful Career in Broadway, Theater or Live Performances” and why?
To achieve consistent success in live performances, I believe (1) passion, (2) effort, (3) perseverance, (4) responsibility, and (5) sincerity is indispensable. Passion is the most crucial, as it fuels your effort in daily training and helps you persevere through challenges. Passion also underpins your responsibility to the performance and your sincerity towards the audience. Without this foundation of passion — for your audience, art, stage, and character — your performance quality will inevitably decline, regardless of skill. So, for me, maintaining deep passion and responsibility for your craft is paramount to ensuring sustained success on stage.
For the benefit of our readers, could you describe how the skill-sets you need in a theater performance are different than the skill-sets you need for TV or Film?
Live stage performance necessitates a degree of exaggerated theatricality, particularly in expressions and body language. For instance, if I were to portray profound sadness on stage, merely wiping away a tear would be insufficient. I would amplify the emotion dramatically, tilting my head to the sky, swinging my forearms wildly up and down, even beating my chest and stomping my feet to convey utter despair.
The fundamental difference between stage and film acting lies in the absence of close-up shots in live theater. An audience member seated twenty rows back or further would simply not be able to discern subtle facial expressions or nuanced emotions. So, it becomes crucial to allow emotion to drive my physicality and to magnify my emotional performance as much as possible. This ensures that even those all the way back in the auditorium can perceive and understand the character’s internal turmoil and emotional shifts. It’s about translating internal states into visible, impactful actions that resonate across the entire performance space.
How is acting for stage as a dancer different from acting for television or movies?
The difference between stage performance and acting for film or television lies in the fact that the stage emphasizes the use of the entire body, while film focuses more on subtle changes in facial expressions. Our audiences take in these art forms in different ways, so our performance methods must also adapt accordingly. On stage, there are no close-ups like in film, so if we don’t amplify our physical movements, audience members on the second, third, or fourth floors won’t be able to see clearly due to the distance. But this doesn’t mean we don’t have facial expressions on stage. And, of course, we are live — we are communicating with audience members who are right there, in real time.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
My hope is that more people around the world can see just how profound and extensive traditional Chinese culture is. Whether it’s the historical stories or the traditional spiritual essence, there is so much we can learn from it. Currently, there’s a widespread perception that Chinese people are noisy, rude, arrogant, and self-centered. However, this is entirely the result of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule over China and its deliberate destruction of traditional Chinese culture, leading to the current chaos. Chinese people who truly possess the essence of traditional culture have very high moral standards. The most basic virtues of “benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness,” “reverence for heaven” and belief in the divine, “respect the elders and love the young,” and so on, are actually deeply ingrained in the bones of the Chinese people. This is because people in the past believed in the divine and that these principles were passed down to humanity by the divine, so people had a moral bottom line in their actions. Our Shen Yun performances are precisely about depicting traditional Chinese stories and telling the audience what those moral standards are, starting with reverence for heaven and belief in the divine.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Let nature take its course, but do your best.” Sometimes when I see a dance role I like, I’ll strive hard to get the opportunity to perform it. In the end, though, there might be other reasons why I can’t play that role. So, it’s important not to be too concerned about the outcome. What truly matters is whether you learned something during the process.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why?
Just my wife would be great.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
Check out www.ShenYunCreations.com. Thanks for your questions and interest!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
About The Interviewer: Savio P. Clemente, TEDx speaker and Stage 3 cancer survivor, infuses transformative insights into every article. His journey battling cancer fuels a mission to empower survivors and industry leaders towards living a truly healthy, wealthy, and wise lifestyle. As a Board-Certified Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC, ACC), Savio guides readers to embrace self-discovery and rewrite narratives by loving their inner stranger, as outlined in his acclaimed TEDx talk: “7 Minutes to Wellness: How to Love Your Inner Stranger.” From his best-selling book to his impactful work as a media journalist covering resilience and wellness trends with notable celebrities and TV personalities, Savio’s words touch countless lives. His philosophy, “to know thyself is to heal thyself,” resonates in every piece.
Live Arts: Roy Chen On the Five Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful Career in Broadway… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.