Shining on Stage – A Young Mixed-blood Drama Star

Rosa, a rare mixed blood actress in the local drama industry

During a job interview, a boss asks Mohammad, a young East Asian boy, a question:

“What would you do if the copy machine has broken down, your co-worker is crying because she just broke up with her boyfriend, your boss is away on a business trip, and a client has just turned up to make a complaint?”

Mohammad deliberates for a second, then gives his answer sincerely, “I would take a sick leave.”

The boy’s answer – one of the funniest moments to a scene from a popular stage drama, Microsex Office – draws thunderous applause from the audience.

The scene has already been watched more than 169,000 times on YouTube. Many people are deeply impressed, not only by the intense humor, but also by the young actress who plays the young boy Mohammad.

Rosa Maria Velasco, a half-Spanish, half-Taiwanese actress, surprised the audience with her ability to play a male character, imitate an Indian accent and also perform the entire drama in fluent Cantonese.

Rosa has dreamed of becoming a successful actress since she was a child. After finishing homework, she would dress up and put on all her plastic accessories. Then, she would turn off the television her parents were watching and force them to watch her show. She even prepared herself for receiving an award.

“I practiced receiving Best Actress Award in the shower holding up a shampoo,” Rosa recalled cheerfully. “I even cried giving my speech.”

Rosa moved from Taiwan to Hong Kong at age two. Like any other local kids, she attended Chinese schools and so learnt Cantonese from fellow schoolmates.

In high school, she made sure to be in every activity related to performing arts. Drama, singing, dancing, she did them all.

After Form 5, she went to HKU SPACE, an associate degree program, and stayed a year. On the annual Open Day, Rosa was on the stage the whole time.

That was when the idea of going to the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts came to her mind.

“I was a DJ, and then I sang, and then I danced, and then I sang and danced and acted in a musical,” said Rosa, listing what she did that day. “So, that hit me. Should I go to APA?” The answer was crystal clear.

Rosa was one of the few applicants who made it through all three rounds of interviews and was accepted. Instead of languages, economics and science, the HKAPA offers courses related to performing, from singing, dancing, directing to even stage fighting. Rosa decided to enter the School of Drama and major in acting.

After graduating with first-class honor in 2006, Rosa devoted herself to developing an  acting career, joining local drama groups like the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and Pleasure In Play.

To her, there is more to drama than just having an interest.

“It is a part of me… I feel that there’s a power in drama that affects people.”

Now a freelance actress, Rosa believes she can help ordinary people through acting. Her belief intensified when fans told her they could relate to the roles that she played, and that they saw a part of themselves reflected in those characters.

“The more I hear those kind of comments, the more I believe that this is not just a hobby that I have,” said Rosa. “It’s something that’s meaningful.”

Mixed-blood stage performers are rare in the local drama industry. It would be difficult to cast them in a Chinese play, as their appearances are, as Rosa puts it, “too foreign” and they might stand out too much from other cast members.

However, Rosa still sees advantages to her special identity.

“People will cast me for special characters because of my look,” Rosa said, giving the example of her role as a prostitute whose character was different from others in the play, Peacock Man and Durian Woman.

Of all the characters she has portrayed, Rosa has two favorites: Andromache from The Trojan Women and Mohammad from Microsex Office.

She was nominated for Best Actress for the role of Andromache when she was still in her second year at the HKAPA. For Mohammad, she found him “by surprise” when she was randomly experimenting with an Indian accent while having lunch with co-actors.

Created by improvisation, the character Mohammad gave Rosa something she had never experienced before. On the first night of the play, she was “overwhelmed” by the audience’s reaction.

“I’ve never stood on a stage and waited for the audience to finish clapping and laughing,” Rosa said, describing her feelings about the unexpectedly huge success of the role. “It was so amazing.”

Being in a creative industry is never easy. Some say Hong Kong is a cultural desert where people are too busy to appreciate arts.

Rosa thinks some Hong Kong people do lack the patience to take time to enjoy arts, but she also believes the situation is not desperate because more and more people have begun going to theatres in recent years.

“I think it’s gradually getting better and better and I wouldn’t say it’s a desert… but if you compare it to places, the culture that we have in Hong Kong is not the best of the best.”

Though the development of the local art industry might not seem prosperous right now, Rosa is determined to stay in this field and continue to do what she loves.

Asked what makes her carry on with acting, her answer is concise: “I want to be better.”

She considers herself now at the beginning of her career and says she has “a long way to go”. She tries her best to make sure her performance in each play is better than the last.

However, her most immediate goal has nothing to do with acting.

The young actress's immediate goal is to visit Spain

“I need to go to Spain!”

She emphasized each word with great intensity.

While many who live in Hong Kong prefer to be called a “Hong Konger” instead of “Chinese”, Rosa fully embraces her national identity.

All these years, she has lived in Hong Kong without ever visiting  Spain. She sees it as her responsibility to learn about and appreciate the cultures of both China and Spain.

“Why I want to go to Spain is because I need to get in touch with that part of me,” she said, “…to get in touch with my Latin side.”

She strongly believes that something new will come out of her when she gets in touch with that side.

“I still see myself as having a door that’s closed. My Chinese side is really open all the way… I speak the language, I can write the language, I live in Hong Kong… but I know nothing about my other [side].”

Talking about the future, the young actress, recently engaged, is looking for a balance in her “adult life”. She is happily anticipating her new role as a wife, and also, determined to “find a way to act at the same time” while enjoying her new family life.

“I don’t see myself giving up [acting] just yet,” she said firmly.

With her love of acting, and her talent for it, it is hard to see her giving it up. And maybe there is another great role in her future. One that will have audiences cheering for the young girl whose dream of becoming an actress came true.

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