American actress Christy Shapiro is trying to break into Chinese movies. She is often cast as a shrewd business woman or damsel in distress. She does commercials and plays small roles that get dubbed over, still waiting for her big break.

 

"The only thing that worries me about being here is whether the big parts in films will be available. The movies seem to do the casting for all the big parts for Westerners abroad," says the 32-year-old New Yorker, who got to the Big Apple by way of Oklahoma and the Midwest.

 

Shapiro has been living in Shanghai for three years, working in the Chinese movie industry, and acting in the East-West Theater. In that time she has rubbed shoulders with celebrities such as Ang Lee, Ed Norton and Naomi Watts, the latter two during the filming of The Painted Veil.

 

Now, she tells of a Western actress' life in the Chinese film.

 

"In preparation for life as an actor you need even more life experiences under your belt. I knew I would find them here," says Shapiro.

 

She says that in any given week she could be shooting a milk tea commercial, doing a voice-over for a kid's show by day and in theater rehearsals by night, or even doing background work on a Jet Li film.

 

Shanghai in the 1930s was the film capital of China and Asia, known worldwide.

 

Today big things are happening as Shanghai's film industry expands.

 

"I'm glad to be a part of it. There are so many stories that this city and its actors have to tell and I'm excited to see it unfolding; history in the making," says Shapiro.

 

A wild ride of growing up landed Shapiro in Shanghai, she continues.

 

She was born in Oklahoma in the south-central United States. "After a stint in small-town America and college in the Midwest, I packed up a U-haul trailer and headed for New York City in pursuit of something phenomenal. I spent several years there meeting a whole cast of characters, doing bit parts in movies and plays until the turning point when I met an architect wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt and eating a bagel. He became my husband."

 

They moved to Shanghai in 2004 to expand her husband's company. "For me it was another adventure to live in another part of the world and grow as an actress."

 

One of the highlights for Shapiro of being an international actress in China was filming The Painted Veil at the Moeller House on Shaanxi Road.

 

"I got to hang out with Ed Norton and Naomi Watts all day. Okay, I wasn't really having a heart-to-heart with them but I did have a short conversation with her about the meat on my plate being green."

 

However the job can become demanding.

 

"I once showed up to do some background work on a smaller film and my call time was 10 PM. As soon as I arrived they quickly rushed me through hair, make-up and costume only to keep me waiting all night and the next morning (without food, water or a place to sleep). At 10 the next morning they finally shot my scene and it took two takes, a total of 10 minutes."

 

There is no typical day, Shapiro continues.

 

"If I'm working on a film or commercial, I'm up early (0 dark 30, as they say) and finish around six or seven, unless it's being shot in Hengdian World Studios, in which case you would stay overnight.

 

"For theater I get to be a night owl, which suits me well."

 

Speaking of the problems a foreign actor faces in China, she says: "There is also the language barrier. "I speak enough to get by on a film set but I can't yet have a deep conversation about the nuances of Meisner versus Method acting. I think it is a problem for me professionally, there are a whole host of films that I could work on if I was more proficient at the language."

 

Although speaking occasionally in Chinese for local productions, she says that "mostly I'm dubbed over. It's comical because if I'm being dubbed then it doesn't matter what I say as long as the feeling is there. I could be saying 'peas and carrots' over and over and you would never know."

 

With no plans to move in the foreseeable future, the actress' ambitions include becoming fluent in Mandarin, writing and shooting her own film and saving enough money to buy a place in New York.

 

"But it would be hard to leave here as I've gotten so many opportunities that I doubt I would have had a home -- like doing a Coca-Cola commercial with Liu Xiang, a chocolate commercial with Stephanie Sun and an Ang Lee film (he was incredibly nice). And things like this keep popping up. How could I leave?"

 

With tips for thespian expats, she concludes: "If you're in Shanghai, learn the language. In general, live your life. The most well-rounded actors have life experience to draw from."

 

By Jenny Hammond

 

(Shanghai Daily August 1, 2007)