Seminar's Hettienne Park on Hitting the Theatrical Jackpot in Plays by Tony Kushner & Theresa Rebeck

Age & Hometown: “You’re as young as you feel, and I still feel pretty immature”; Wayland, MA

Current Role: A Broadway debut performance as Izzy, a smart and sexy aspiring novelist who catches the eye of writing teacher Alan Rickman in Theresa Rebeck’s Seminar.

Well-Rounded Girl: Growing up outside Boston, Park juggled music, dance and academics. Her parents had “the typical kind of Asian [outlook],” the Korean-American actress says. “They had me play every musical instrument; I started ballet when I was three but couldn’t pursue it because I was so busy with music, clubs and academics.” After studying flute and piano at the New England Conservatory, Park bowed to her parents’ wishes and entered college at the University of Rochester, double-majoring in economics and religion. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking,” she says of her demanding load, which included Latin as her foreign language. By graduation, the over-achieving Park realized she was more interested in performing than business.

Acting Bug: A local production of Lanford Wilson’s Redwood Curtain led Park to tell her family she intended to become an actress. “They said that I wasn’t going to get anywhere because there are no Asians on TV or in the movies, that I would be broke for the rest of my life,” she recalls. Despite this doomsday scenario, Park “just had this intuitive sense that I could carve out a space for myself.” Along with waitressing jobs, she landed roles in films such as Year of the Fish and the holiday release Young Adult (as Charlize Theron’s childhood pal). In 2011, her faith was rewarded with high-profile parts off-Broadway in The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures (as Steven Pasquale’s no-nonsense wife), followed by Seminar.

Broadway Baby: Park is still pinching herself over spending a year in plays by Tony Kushner and Theresa Rebeck. “I love, love, love that these characters are not stereotypical meek, submissive little Asian girls,” she says of IHO and Seminar. Even a scene in which Izzy lifts her shirt to make a point doesn’t faze Park at this point. “I did it on the first day of rehearsal, to get it out of the way,” she says with a laugh. “I’ve been going braless for months, so it’s not a big deal anymore.” At home, she’s got the support of her musician husband, Ryan Pilla, as well as her once-disapproving mother. “My mom saw the Kushner play and was blown away,” Park says. “English is not her first language and it was a heavy show, but she was completely moved, and it opened up a new world to her. I was so proud!”

Photographed at The Lambs Club at The Chatwal Hotel.