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Culture Theatre

Beyond the Fringe (and SummerWorks)

Composer/lyricist/book writer, LIFE AFTER (previews from September 23, opens September 28 and runs to October 22 at the Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley, 416-368-3110).

For people who dont know what Life After is, how would you describe it in one sentence?

Life After is a musical about love and loss and growing up.

The show was a big hit at Fringe 2016. What did you learn from that experience?

I learned so much about developing a new work. I had an incredible, generous, flexible cast and a patient and insightful director. We all just worked so hard to make sure the piece was always growing and getting better. I was writing and rewriting right up until the moment we opened (and throughout the run, actually) and I walked away with so much information from our audiences: what worked, what didnt, what people were taking away from it.

Was there ever uncontrollable sobbing during the show, especially in the final few minutes?

Oh, yes. Only once did I hear actual, audible sobbing from my spot at the piano on the stage but I certainly heard a lot of blowing noses every performance. Especially if my mom was in the house.

Tell me about how the show got picked up by Canadian Stage and the Musical Stage Company.

I am trying to remember how it all happened…. Mitchell Marcus (AD of the Musical Stage Company) and Matthew Jocelyn (AD of Canadian Stage) both came to the show and then came back again with more people from their companies, and there were meetings. Yonge Street Theatricals also came (Natalie Bartello and Linda Barnett), and there were more meetings, and it seemed like this whole group of amazing people were really interested in being involved in the development of this show. Now here we are and it hasnt turned out to have all been a prank!

… and your reaction?

I mean, its just a dream come true. I wrote the first songs for this show when I was 18 and now these companies, this cast, this team I am so grateful and excited, I might explode.

For the remount, whats stayed the same and whats changed?

The heart of the piece and its basic structure is still very much the same but essentially every second of the show has been reworked. We have three more cast members than we did in the Fringe, so that adds a whole new story element. The world of the show has gotten a bit more fantastical, the music has gotten a bit richer, the narrative a bit more detailed. I tried to take what I learned at the Fringe and run with it.

Your sister Anika is still in the cast, although shes not playing Alice. Was her being part of the remount important to you?

Absolutely. Anika and I are very much collaborators on this project. She has helped me to grow it from the very beginning and for this production, she has served as the dramaturge as well as being in the cast. We are a writing team on many other projects so she really gets my work and what I am trying to do. Having her as a sounding board has been so crucial to the growth of Life After. In its early development, it was really important to have Anika right on the inside tracking Alices journey. And for this iteration it has been really important to see what happens when the role is in new hands (the amazing Ellen Denny in this case).

Life After is part of The Crescendo Series, a three-year association and residency with the Musical Stage Company to produce your work. How affirming is it to get that kind of commitment?

I can hardly believe it. Its an honour and its exciting and scary and its encouraging and intimidating, and I am keenly aware of how lucky I am. Im just trying to stay calm and write my songs. They are an amazing company and I am so excited to see what we can make together.

Composer/producer/musical director, MR. SHI AND HIS LOVER (previews from November 7, opens November 15 and runs to December 17 at the Tarragon Mainspace, 30 Bridgman, 416-531-1827)

Whats Mr. Shi about in one sentence?

The show is inspired by the real-life affair between a French diplomat and his mysterious lover, the Chinese opera performer Mr. Shi, whom the diplomat thought was a woman for 20 years.

It was a big hit at SummerWorks 2016. What did you learn from the festival and that production?

I definitely improved my producing skills. I had produced shows before, but nothing on the scale of Mr. Shi, an international musical production. I sought out advice from many colleagues and attended workshops from Volcanos Producers Learning Network. I found people in the theatre community immensely generous they want you to succeed.

It was marketed at the time as being the first Chinese-language production at the festival. Did many Chinese speakers come see it?

Yes and no: many in the theatre community came, and some from outside also came. But we can definitely do more extensive outreach and do it more effectively. When Nightwood produced Marjorie Chans China Doll, they had large numbers of Chinese speaking audiences, so it can be done. But our tag line was not meant to only attract the Chinese community. It was just as much an invitation to non-Chinese speakers to experience something unique.

How did the show get from the festival to the Tarragon?

Presenters do come to SummerWorks, so your shows can catch their attention. It helps that my work was already known to the Tarragon because I composed the music for Hannah Moscovitchs Infinity.

For the remount, whats stayed the same and whats changed?

Our actors Jordan Cheng and Derek Kwan are reprising their roles. This time, we are bringing our complete international team our Macau percussionist and Hong Kong lighting designer are able to join us. We continue to refine the English surtitles to more effectively guide the audience through the densely layered, subtle yet rich script.

The shows artistic team is international. How has that affected the logistics of producing and rehearsing?

We work long hours because of the 12-hour difference between here and Macau, so that can be exhausting. But the team is used to working across borders, so weve often been inventive in where we meet we started the creation in Macau, workshopped it in Beijing and Taipei, presented it in Toronto (SummerWorks), showcased it in Yokohama, and will soon be rehearsing it in Banff before opening in Toronto and Ottawa. It takes a lot of planning.

What do you think the show says about gender in todays world?

Why do you believe the labels others place on our heads? is a line from the script. I think it sums up the many topics in the show, including gender, quite well.

You call it a contemporary opera rather than a musical. Whats the difference?

To accurately label Mr. Shi And His Lover is difficult the music often straddles multiple worlds as it references various times, cultures and spaces. Observing its form and structure, my musical theatre colleagues think this is an opera pointing to its musical styles, my opera friends think this is a musical. One reviewer called it Puccini crossed with Jason Robert Brown.

Youve also performed the show in Asia. Were reactions different?

Because we share a similar cultural background, the Asian audiences understanding of the work may be more layered, but overall reactions were very similar. They appreciated the ideas in the script, the variety of musical references and the committed performances by Jordan and Derek.

Whats next?

Mr. Shi is off to the National Arts Centre (Ottawa) in January and in April/May 2018, I will be mounting Picnic In The Cemetery to Canadian Stage. Its a creation with an equally ambiguous form. Im calling it concert theatre.

Writer/performer, DAUGHTER (November 7 to 19 at the Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen West, pandemictheatre.ca/daughter)

Whats Daughter about in one sentence?

Daughter is about an everyman trying to figure out if his past behaviour is acceptable or not, and also its about what we let people get away with saying and doing in the name of thats just how dudes are.

It was one of the most talked-about shows at SummerWorks 2016. What did you learn from that production?

That audiences want to talk and argue and vent about the show. People openly voiced their anger, confusion and sadness to me. I was also surprised that people thought the play was only a confessional piece and not a carefully crafted satire.

You must have felt the audiences emotions during the show. I think some people even groaned or said No at some sections during the performance I attended. How was that experience?

Performing the show is a hell of a ride. Every night is different. At some shows, audiences laugh right up to the final moments. Other nights, audiences turn off within the first 20 minutes.

My job in Daughter is to try to make the material feel familiar. I improvise and work to implicate the room. Its not easy, but the more an audience hates me, the more I have to smile.

It was disturbing to watch. Was it disturbing to perform?

Very. Im playing a monster in the mask of a charming, good-guy.

How did the show go from the festival to the Theatre Centre?

We were in immediate conversation after SummerWorks. Because of their programming and focus on community discussion and engagement, the Theatre Centre felt perfect for the full production of Daughter.

For the remount, whats stayed the same and whats changed?

Since SummerWorks, weve toured the show to a festival in Europe and one in Canada, so weve been working and adding nuance to the show a lot. The basic structure remains the same. Some of the shifts focus on audience interaction, implication and complicity. We want everyone to feel on the hook for as long as possible.

With Trump in the White House, there seems to be more awareness now about society-condoned misogyny. Or maybe not. How does it feel to be performing it in this new social landscape?

Before Trump, I think audiences wouldnt accept that men could think and behave as badly as they do. That they may be ignoring misogyny or even worse, condoning it. But the guy in Daughter won the presidency! A year ago, the show was a cautionary tale. Now, its our disturbing reality.

You also seemed to be playing with the conventions of the solo show. Was that intentional?

Absolutely. Everyone wants to know if the stories in the show are really mine because I think they need to understand whether they are identifying with reality or fiction. I think its reality. Maybe not entirely mine, but the guy in the show is everywhere. Hes your father, your husband, your friend. Hes you.

Whats next?

For Daughter, were at High Performance Rodeo (Calgary), PuSh (Vancouver) and the NAC in 2018 and then were hoping to go to Europe and the U.S. (if Im brave enough to enter that country!). In other news, Im also working on a bouffon dinner theatre experience called Feast: A Fine Bogey Tale, or The Dinner-Theatre Party From Hell.

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