'The Bottoming Process' talents share joys of telling Fil-Am story

The award-winning Broadway performer George Salazar is the lead star of the stage play "The Bottoming Process."

Salazar shared the stage with Rick Cosnett in the story that deals with modern-day relationship issues and honestly depicts gender politics and racial stereotypes.

Salazar explained how he was able to relate to Milo, his Filipino-American character.

"What I love about Milo is that he's imperfect," said Salazar. "He's messy, he makes mistakes. He learns from [it]. What we're doing is telling a really universal story that's really relatable, but we're telling it through the lens of Filipino-American existence."

The actor also played George Conway in TV on "American Crime Story: Impeachment" and also appeared for two seasons in NBC's "Superstore."

"The Bottoming Process" was written by Nicholas Pilapil and was his first full production project.

He shared that he started the story as a romantic comedy.

But as the U.S. grappled with social issues in the previous years, Pilapil said he felt compelled to include some aspects that he learned as the country was changing.

"What I'm really trying to explore is what makes me, me," he said. "What's been so wonderful is people come up to me afterwards and they’re like, ‘Thank you for writing my story.’ And I'm like, ‘Oh, did I do that?’ You know, I always say things like, ‘I’m so sorry that this is your story because it's kind of rough.’ It kind of goes there, there’s a lot of heartbreak."

Pilapil added: "Just hearing that and knowing that by me being myself, other people are able to see themselves, it's kind of touching and meaningful and something I didn't plan out to do. It's a nice surprise."

The play has gotten rave reviews from critics and was hailed for its insightful take on interracial relationships and identity politics.

"The Bottoming Process" is directed by the Filipino-American actor-director Rodney To.

A veteran actor in Hollywood, To was also one of the Filipino cast members of the movie "Easter Sunday."

"This is exciting in a way it's accelerated," To said. "Not only are the projects available, but we're finally playing ourselves, complex characters. We're playing different versions of ourselves."

"The Bottoming Process" ran at the Los Angeles LGBT Center's Renberg Theater until June 12.