My name is Keimon Shook and I am a Queer Blasian Actor, Director, and Writer.

I spent most of my life being raised in Jacksonville, Florida by my mother. I come from a big family and that is primarily how I got into the arts & telling stories.

Being the middle child on both my mother and fathers side forced me to find ways to make myself known. A part of me always knew I was different from everyone else in my family but could never really identify or name it for myself until I started exploring films and theatre that featured queer characters.

Stepping into roles and being these different characters gave me a matured understanding of not only my identity but my sexuality.

My mom enrolled me into a performing arts elementary school in fourth grade. I fell in love with this art form and continued studying it through high school, graduating from Douglas Anderson School of The Arts. I then attended and Graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University with my BFA in Acting in 2021.

IN the last two and a half years of college, I started to see myself as

more than an actor.

I got small chances to direct but it wasn’t until the pandemic started that I actually got to write, direct, and act on film. The experience taught me so much about myself as an artist and made me realize how much more capable I was of creating my own work. It’s only now that I’ve felt comfortable sharing that with everyone, as I’m letting go of the expectations of who will or won't like my work and focusing on making what brings me joy.

I can look back on that first film project and be proud that I got it done. there will always be things you want to fix but I completed a project I didn't believe was possible. Now I’m more confident than ever in my abilities as a writer and director. Since then, I’ve directed a staged reading, a 10 minute play, and have begun to lay the groundwork for several new and exciting projects that I hope will push the boundaries of queer BIPOC stories. Most recently I have started working and finalizing production for a Pilot I've written and truly believe in its ability to be something great.

personally feel like we need more POC queer representation. Rarely do I see myself represented in mainstream media, when I do it’s through a supporting character who barely has a character arc. When I ask my friends the last time they saw two queer POC leads in a show or film they always say “Moonlight “. It’s a beautiful film, yes without question but it’s also been eight years since its release and what should’ve been an outpouring of queer POC media after the big win turned into more films and shows that highlighted white queer stories over anything else.

My approach in everything I make is to add more representation for us. I have Rom-Coms, Short Films, Pilots, Animation Series that all support the kinds of stories we need. I want to include my community of artists. By collaborating with people I know it gives them a chance to be seen and introduced to a whole new audience and Vice Versa. While I have all these scripts and big ideas it takes hard work and people who believe in me to bring these visions to fruition.

I truly believe my work and the experience I have lived gives me the chance to showcase all the different approaches to LGBTQ+ storytelling and I continue to be motivated to break down the barriers set before queer bipoc stories.