EILEEN HAN
actor, writer, creative
Then She said, “Let me make myself in my own image, one in likeness of no one and nothing, so I may create a future that has never been experienced or imagined before.”
So She named Herself after Chinese-born novelist Eileen Chang, one of the first feminist writers who helped shape Her in Her early life.
She bid farewell to Her old self, “Be free, from expectations and limitations of any kind, free from a life defined by others.”
Then She said, “I give you freedom from a patronymic surname, a patronymic tradition. I give you prayers and blessings from a matrilineage of strength and resilience; of wisdom, love and kindness.” And it was so. And She is Han.
She saw all the changes She had made, and they were very good. And there is Eileen Han. In Her mother tongue—韩爱翎—one who cherishes their own feathers.
About Eileen
Eileen Han (she/they) is a first-generation Chinese immigrant from Langfang, Hebei. At 14 and on her own, she left the home that bore and raised her as a way to bear and raise herself all over again. This experience drove her to seek shelter in acting, from which she gained comfort and confidence to channel different characters through her own body.
In December of 2023, Eileen received her BFA Acting degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where she was trained intensely in Meisner and Williamson techniques. She spent her third year in the program studying and performing at Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Her recent Rutgers Theater Company credits include: Ginny in Smart People, Ninetta in The Little Green Birdie, Witch/Seyton in Macbeth. With a heart full of gratitude, Eileen is eager and unafraid to tell stories from her side of the world.
Eileen is a bilingual artist and works in both English and Mandarin. She currently resides in New York City.
“Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire.”
—Jorge Luis Borges
Artistic Statement
I have always held close to heart the Countess’s advice for Bertram from All’s Well That Ends Well—“Love all, trust a few, Do wrong to none.” I find this earnest imploration to be incredly resonating with my acting work. I received a Meisner-focused acting training, which encouraged me to access genuine care for my scene partners. This care comes from a place of love, a place of seeing a similar humanity to mine hosted in another person’s body. I believe that as an actor, I truly have the power to “love all,” to love everyone and anyone.
In addition to the expansive love which gives life to my work, I have learned to value my training greatly for the safety it provides. My familiarity with the form creates a healthy distance between the imaginary circumstances and reality. Knowing that I do not have to become the actual character in order to embody them, I am granted the freedom to fully give in to the moment at hand. The nature of the technique allows my organic reactions to show up in my work without the burden of trying to be interesting in my performance, and I am convinced that no cleverness could be as interesting to watch as my personal, unique truthfulness.
In the meantime, I have discovered that for myself, exclusive dependence on the technique could be costly to my energy due to its intensity. In order to ensure the longevity of my artistic career, I make efforts to seek moments of joy and gratitude to sustain me through times of inevitable frustration. In situations where fear and self-consciousness take me away, these moments of gratification ground me back down by reminding me why I chose this work in the first place.
When Eileen’s not acting, you can find her reading, writing, dancing, and/or cooking in her kitchen. She is also mother to her two cat children, Auggie and Tilly.