Meet Zoe Liu | Actor & Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zoe Liu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zoe, what’s the most important lesson your business/career has taught you?
Put in the least amount of cliche, acting has seen me through transformations and adulting into a self-loving, healthier, freer individual as well as a more aware and responsible global citizen. I started acting as an extracurricular in high school, and it’s taken more and more importance that it’s hard to separate it from my coming-of-age experiences, the wonderfully supportive families I’ve met along the way, and all the epiphanies that made me who I am today. Through theatre for social change, I broke my bubbles of privilege and ignorance, learned an eagerness to contribute to social justice. Through conservatory training, I learned constructive thinking, to ground and connect to myself, my entire psycho-physical being, to know I am enough, to use my adult voice and face my fears, to see outside of myself; to BREATHE, and appreciate life. To not judge characters, others, nor myself. I learned the permission to be human. I learned grace. And most importantly, from my mentors and friends, to accept and embrace myself for who I am, to own the child I am inside and know to navigate the world with it. And I am forever grateful to what a happy person acting has taught me to be. And I wish that one day, I am able to create a similar experience as well as spread these educational and nurturing lessons to more people.

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.
I spent a long time thinking about what right I have to take up space, what good I contribute to society by being on that stage. And I eventually came to see that nothing makes me more special than others, but everybody’s life and story is worth stage time. So theatre making, art making, is every individual’s birthright and it’s way too under-exercised. So I try to bring a piece of fresh me into what I create, and share with the audience my love, fear, or curiosity for the world. So I put myself out there, because I can, and because there may be someone who finds whatever I have to share interesting or annoying, and decides to exercise their own artistic expression. I’m excited to inspire and share that agency, as well as impact, because good art does initiate conversations. Through the conversation comes closer communities.

Acting to me is the epitome of the human experience. The effort, the strive, definitely makes up a big part of it. That’s what makes me feel alive. So I wish to share my spirit for adventures, for fun, for the big and small moments of life that makes you feel connected with a wondrous world, even though it most often means taking big risks and brings out so much fear from the bottom of your gut. But that’s the gorgeous part. Strength lies in the vulnerability and the resilience. Here’s where my personal relevancy lies.

I’m the person who makes the bold comments and asks the random but relevant, sometimes necessary, questions.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I identify with the West Village and feel at ease whenever I’m there. The exquisite little shops, confusing streets where you could wander and get lost, the queer bar scene, the residential but also fun-loving spirit. You get everything here, the calmness and the hustle. I will definitely stroll around the Village with a good friend, take them to Hudson River Park and sit by the river, the fountain, watch people run, enjoy a picnic with the view of Jersey; then walk up through The Little Island to Chelsea Piers. Maybe the High Line. Definitely see some shows at The Lincoln Center, The Public, Shakespeare in the Park, etc. More strolling in Central Park and Upper West Side. I will buy them a chopped cheese and tell them to go explore the restaurants in the East Village, and maybe KTown, because I can’t afford the food. 9/11 Memorial. The MET, MoMa, Whitney, etc. Have some Brooklyn fun, flea markets and bars, and just the neighborhoods filled with music on a good day. Breathe some residential air in Harlem and the Heights. Then I’ll have to bring them back to the Village. We’ll catch an earlier show at Comedy Cellar, then hit some bars, I’ll tell them the legend of The Rusty Knot which no longer exists; then we go back to the river, talk to its presence at night time. See if anyone’s playing soccer at the pier. I want my friend to remember New York to be just another town, with life and spirit; it just happens conveniently that everything else also wants to be here.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Oh my god I owe so many thank yous to so many people… It’s kind of amazing. I would not have grown into myself without the love and support of my wonderful cohort and instructors at The New School for Drama. I want to throw out a huge thank you and I love you to my family at Bank St, New York. I also want to thank my theatre communities in St. Louis, in Williamstown, and in Dayton, for making me feel accepted and giving me a strong entry into this career. I wish to thank my friends Shiqi and Janice, for initially encouraging me to take on a theatre major, and my cousins for being my first supporters. I want to thank Shaotian Cai for his constant guidance and support, as a friend and mentor.
I thank my parents. I would have been nothing like who I am today if not for them. Though hesitant, they soon became strong supporters and advocates for my study in acting and are always there for me. I love you both so much <3

Website: thezoeliu.com

Instagram: cherrberr_z

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/thezoeliu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherrberr

Image Credits
Dress In Code, 2022, Photography by Nathaniel Johnston Photography – Isabel, 2021, Photography by Nathaniel Johnston Photography – SI, 2018, Photography by Shuxiang Ruan