Hey, everybody! It is time, once again, to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Ally Maki.
Who are you?
My name is Ally Maki.
Maki is my middle name and the first name of my great grandmother, after whom I was named.
What are you?
I am a fourth generation Japanese American, or Yonsei. I am the youngest of 3 and the only girl in my family.
I am the granddaughter to an internee of Heart Mountain -- one of 10 internment camps during WWII.
I am the great granddaughter to a share cropper in Mountain View, CA who, after finally being able to buy a small farm under their son's name, lost everything during the war.
I am the daughter of two parents who supported me from day one in my career.
Where are you?
Los Angeles, CA
Where are you from?
I was born in the small town of Kirkland, WA. Yes, home of the KIRKLAND PRODUCTS OF COSTCO!! Very exciting.
What do you do?
It's hard to pinpoint exactly one all consuming title for it all but --
I've had a love for performing since before I can remember. I was the kid who put on very detailed musical puppet shows from my bedroom, but would be completely silent at school. I was insufferably shy. My mom is extremely supportive and really allowed me to try everything as a kid, even when we all knew it wasn't going to be "my thing." Sports was a total disaster. But I always got to try, which was important. When I started doing theater, everything started to make sense for me. It was the one place where I felt like I could be as crazy and weird as I wanted without any judgement. Today, I'm an actress, writer and founder of Asian American Girl Club -- a clothing company and (totally) awesome virtual space I would've wanted as a kid.
What are you all about?
I'm a firm believer in the "always be yourself" school of thought. I want the next generation of girls to look in magazines, on TV and in movies and see strong, independent and flawed versions of themselves. To recognize their power. A fan girl at heart and comedy lover, I'll always be the girl doing voices and writing little short stories in her Sanrio diaries.
What makes you angry?
When people's stories "don’t matter."
I get really emotional talking about this subject for a number of reasons. And I try and talk about it a lot. Purely to move the conversation forward, keep it relative and honestly, to work out my own feelings. For most of my formative years in the industry, I felt a figurative glass ceiling all around me of what I could accomplish. What kind of career I could have. One that had me believing I could never be the hero, merely the sidekick. I feel like we are slowly picking away at it and finding our footing to create that wave of change. There’s such a difference between saying something matters and actively creating change. When we’re looking towards the future, we need to keep filling the writer’s rooms with POC and talented women. That’s really where it all begins.
