Meet Asha Chai-Chang | Writer/ Director & Production Company Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Asha Chai-Chang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Asha, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have been passionate about the entertainment; Film/TV and music industry since I was little. My first love was playing piano then I performed ballet for years and sang opera professionally in my teens. When I wasn’t performing, I began taking classes in television while in high school and despite hearing discouragingly that “directors don’t wear pink”, I discovered a love for directing and producing. I had to earn the opportunity to direct community TV, plays, and musicals while in high school and these experiences prepared me for my college studies which included film. I loved creative expression in every way I could find. Starting my own company felt like a natural progression after college and trying the corporate life in the Finance industry, my heart was still in the arts and I registered my DBA for Love My Productions as a way to get a foot in the door. I sought to use my business, finance, and negotiating/bartering skills from my education and life experiences in order to grow my company. I created opportunities to craft productions, being resourceful in all environments to provide platforms for other’s stories while simultaneously building my own brand that I could stand behind and eventually writing and directing productions made through my production company. For a while, I thought I would stay in the lane as a producer and now, I comfortably wear all hats. Through my company, I am able to provide uplifting content and projects reflective of the lens such as my own of those often underrepresented and even
unique but in a universally understood context. I ensure that experience is true on set with inclusive and accessible practices and radiates through the performances on screen to the audience itself. I invite and encourage my audience to do the most human thing of all- the very foundation of my business and life: love.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The entertainment industry can be daunting, especially when you come from a family that focuses on “horror stories”, “starving artists”, and there isn’t a straight path like other professions to become a professional Director or TV Writer. At first, I thought that my pursuits in Business Finance and Insurance would take away from or deduct years of experience in the film and tv world because I wouldn’t be “paying my dues”. However, once I opened my production company, set goals for creating or contributing to at least one project per year, I realized that the discipline I learned from those other pursuits expedited my success in the latter years. I enjoy venturing on paths less traveled and creating four quadrant work to reach wider audiences with stories about characters with niche perspectives or come from subcultures. For example, “Spoiler Alert” was about how on a universal level we don’t like our experiences of an event or show to be spoiled yet I told it from a professional woman of color’s perspective. “Cruise Control” was about the universal concept that not everyone learned how to drive at age 16 – some of us are pedestrians, if you will – and it was told from the perspective of a Black man in America who happens to game and has a gamer girl best friend. And my most recent and proudest accomplishment to date was the story I wrote “Marque Dos” which is about the universal struggle of being “boxed in” by others and I told the story from my perspective as an Afro-Latina when I worked in the marketing industry and gig economy world. “Marque Dos” is currently my most commercial art that I’ve created because I wrote it and directed it from my creative vision, and it gained support of the Latin community with myself being selected as a LALIFF as an inclusion fellow and funding from Netflix! Like how amazing is that?! Plus, it was my way of introducing myself as a Writer/Director in LA. My production company produced it and that was a major learning curve as well! It was my first film in LA and first major studio experience.

I learned that it’s easy to show love and grace to people you like – but there is power in showing love and grace to everyone, as long as you’re respecting yourself. Please be kind and graceful to yourself. I constantly remind myself to love myself more, and over the years I’ve noticed that love comes through my projects and the world that I create.

More key words of advice, please, listen to your mentors! Those “no’s” could be the protection you didn’t know you needed. Approach those big or bigger names (ahem *my Casting Directors*) and keep dreaming on a large scale. Hire a professional payroll company, don’t sacrifice your name for someone unless you’ve worked with them before and/or know their track record – a leopard doesn’t change their spots, and yes, you can find your dream team even if they come to you in unexpected ways. Be true to yourself! That’s in storytelling, working with big companies, and collaborating with others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, my best friend may be reading this and I hope they aren’t upset since we didn’t have a week long trip to visit all of these. Shhh. So, let’s say it’s a re-do, otay? I try to highlight accessible places, so that is definitely in consideration for most of the location. Here are some of my favorite places and/or experiences:

To eat:
Osteria del Fornaio
Arth Bar & Kitchen in Culver City
The Edendale in Silver Lake/ Los Feliz (great bar too!)
The Federal Bar in North Hollywood (great vegan options)
Din Tai Fung
Wi Jammin (great food, more of a carry out vibe)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to the cast and crew of MARQUE DOS. You’re the dream team and start to my journey here in LA. I truly appreciate each of you!

Website: www.LoveMyProductions.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ashachaichang

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asha-chaichang/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ashachai

Youtube: www.youtube.com/lovemyproductions

Other: imdb.me/ashachaichang ; www.shopmodernmaven.com (launch coming in September)

Image Credits
Headshot by Lauren Desberg