HUMANS OF THE ISLANDS - Spencer Papali'i
SPENCER PAPALI'I
PIPA Student
Samoan/Fijian
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I'm currently a 3rd year degree student at PIPA (The Pacific Institute of Performing Arts) I grew up in west Auckland and went to local primary and intermediate then attended Avondale College. I'm the eldest of 5 boys. My father is of Samoan descent and my mother is of Fijian descent. Both were born in their mother land and moved to New Zealand at a young age.
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You're currently preparing for your solo show O A'u - can you tell us a bit about it?
O A'u is all about me. It explores the ideas of culture, religion, and even sexuality.
You said in another interview that you created your drag persona to help deal with past struggles - can you tell us some of the struggles you've experienced?
One of the few things that I experienced and struggled with growing up was bullying. It wasn't that I got beaten up or physically harmed, it was the words that hit me the most. Most of this came when I was in my first year of Intermediate. Primary wasn't bad I hardly ever got bullied but Intermediate was where the label "Gay" made itself known to me.
Another struggle is that I was never fully grounded in my culture. So telling people that I'm Samoan Fijian and getting asked "Can you speak the language?" would be the case. When I would reply "no not fluently", I would mostly get told I'm plastic. Although it's just a word "plastic" it still hurt and so I would blame others for not teaching me. That was more of an internal struggle. I never really voiced how I was feeling because I wouldn't want anyone to worry or know.
How has your upbringing & culture shaped you into the person you are today?
My upbringing was probably one that I would never want to replace. Even though I had struggles, they were my own personal struggles. My parents always and still do what they can to make sure we have what we need. We always went on family trips. Wherever we could find, we'd go. My family to me is very important. Although I might annoy or disappoint at times, family is family. I guess culture, like I mentioned in previous answer, was not fully apart of my up bringing - Not as much as I wanted anyway.
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
There are a lot of people that I admire and love but to be very honest I don't have one thing or person that constantly inspires me. I would say that my inspiration comes from everything and anything that I do. Whether it's hanging out with friends or listening to music. I even just find inspiration in watching how people act walking down the street. There is so much happening around me that I just can't help but observe and draw inspiration from that. Hopefully that kinda answers your question on that.
What are your goals for the future?
Well I plan on developing my piece and hopefully submit it into other festivals where I can. I really just go with where the wind takes me. I'm not the best at writing goals and keeping them because there's a greater plan for me.