Tristan Valencia

INFO

Name	Tristan Valencia (he/him)
Country of Birth	Philippines
Place of Residence	Boorloo Perth
Artform	Theatre
Decades Active	2020s

ABOUT

Tristan Valencia is an actor, producer and founder of Asian Waves Productions, a theatre company based in Ōtautahi. His practice is centred on collaborative creation and empowerment by creating opportunities for Asian voices in the local theatre community.

When he was 10, Valencia’s family moved from Bataan in the Philippines to Kawatiri Westport. “I was young when I discovered my passion for performing, and it started with watching musicals. My favourite was In the Heights. The community vibe and the music reminded me so much of growing up back home”, shared Valencia in an interview with Satellites. Inspired by his year 12 drama teacher, he moved to Ōtautahi after high school to study at the National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts (NASDA), earning his Bachelor of Performing Arts in 2021.

In 2021, Valencia — along with friends Joelle Baclig and Krystal O’Gorman — founded Asian Waves Productions with the aim of creating a theatre company that would provide a platform for Asian creatives in Ōtautahi. The idea stemmed from conversations they had during the Covid-19 lockdowns about growing Anti-Asian racism, and Asian actors being typecast and overlooked. One of their first productions, Asian Kiwiana, was a cabaret exploring the lived experience of being Asian in Aotearoa. “A lot of conversations were started because of that show,” Valencia said. “Having a community of Asian people our age talking about similar experiences was really comforting, especially in those times”. Theatre practitioner Tom Eason praised the show, writing:

Asian Kiwiana was a triumph of expression and skill. Flipping between heartwarming and heart breaking, they brought forward stories that were new to some audience members, while deeply familiar to others. Either way, we all cried together. I have never been to a show like it.

In 2021, Valencia debuted Sabel, a one-man show he wrote, directed, and performed at the Ignite Festival in Ōtautahi. The play chronicles his journey of migrating to Aotearoa and features his favourite theatrical style — devised theatre. In an interview with Satellites, Valencia shares:

Sabel is a love letter to my younger self. I decided to perform it entirely in Tagalog, my native language, to show that you don’t need to understand the words to feel the emotion in the storytelling. I love devised theatre because of its unstructured nature — what comes out is always experimental and free flowing.

From appearing in a documentary about his coming-out story (2000s Baby) to producing Ships in the Night, Aotearoa’s first boys’ love (BL) TikTok series, Valencia seeks creative opportunities that challenge and expand his growth as a budding arts practitioner. Looking ahead, he’s excited about future projects with Asian Waves Productions and doing more devised theatre. “I love the collaborative creative buzz in the room when everyone’s working toward something,” he said. “We do a showing of our works-in-progress, give feedback, and build each other up. The entire process is what I love most.”