Double Bill: Fine China & A Perfect Bowl of Pho
fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company is proud to present two productions by Saigon Lotus and Hotake Theatre Company. These are works by Vietnamese Canadian youth, both creators are under 22 years old. As part of fu-GEN’s sweet sixteenth season, we honour the authentic voices of our next generation of theatre artists at the very start of their bright careers.
A PERFECT BOWL OF PHO Written by Nam Nguyen Music by Wilfred Moeschter & Nam Nguyen Additional music by Sam Clark
Cast: Nam 1: Kenzie Tsang Kevin/others: Justin Park Farmer/Nam’s Dad/others: Sai Lian Macikunas Nam 0/others: Nam Nguyen Jen/others: Meghan Aguirre Amy/Jen’s Mom/others: Victoria Ngai Bach/Teacher/others: Kenley Ferris-Ku Sang: Julie Phan Tuyet/others: Max Gu Leo/Noah: Brendan Rush VIP/others: Jacob Peng Lang Lieu/An/others: Lucinda Qu
Production Team: Director: Gianni Sallese Music Director: Kevin Vuong Assistant Music Director: Kevin Yue Producer: Kevin Yue Stage Manager: Emma Monet Production Manager: Deborah Lim Costume Designer: Bailey Hoy Lighting & Projection Designer: Abby Palmer Property Master: Jasmine Cabanilla Publicist: Wilfred Moeschter Treasurer: Thomas Zheng
Band: Keyboard: Rena Seeger Flute: Joey Zhuang Violin 1: Randy Chang Violin 2: Charlotte Wong-Labow Cello: Brendan Rogers Percussion: Keshav Sharma-Jaitly
The year is 2019. An open-minded Toronto theatre audience (read: unsuspecting victims) sits down in Factory Theatre Studio to watch a play about the history of pho, the Vietnamese rice noodle soup (read: a thinly-veiled metaphor for Viet culture and identity). They came to see theatre that’s diverse (read: a lot of Asians plus one white guy), thought-provoking (read: pandering to educated liberals), and fun (read: it’s a musical), all from the mind of one talented young Vietnamese-Canadian playwright (read: a narcissist). A hush falls over the crowd as a flute plays, and lights rise on a poor Vietnamese farmer…
FINE CHINA Playwright and Director: Julie Phan Cast: Nam Nguyen, Nightingale Nguyen, Julie Phan Sound Designer and Stage Manager: Colwyn Alletson Lighting Designer: Abby Palmer
What do the phrases: ‘you should eat,’ ‘don’t stay out too late’ and ‘put on a jacket’ have in common? They’re the first-generation immigrant way of saying ‘I love you.’ Love is embedded so deeply in our words and actions that we forget it’s there. It becomes as much the source of conflict as it is for healing. As estranged sisters Kim and Audrey reconnect after the death of their father old tensions arise, repressed feelings come to a head, and appliances are broken as the fate of the family is left in question.
“Phan is a promising writer whose work shines … funny, tough and insightful about guilt and regret.” – Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine
