Company/Artist Description: 

Vancouver Cantonese Opera

Vancouver Cantonese Opera is a non-profit society incorporated on June 30th, 2000 and was designated as a charitable organization in 2005. 

With its elaborate costumes, lively music, engaging stories and powerful vocal delivery, Cantonese opera is one of the many forms of traditional Chinese theatre which have captivated audiences around the world.  In Canada, this genre is particularly significant within Chinese-Canadian communities.  Canada is home to more than one million people of Chinese ancestry, most of whom speak Cantonese.

However, for the past 22 years, we tried our best to promote Cantonese opera to mainstream audiences, without much success.  Although we provide English and Chinese subtitles and narration for all our performances,  we are facing many barriers as we perform in Cantonese, a regional dialect in the southern part of China. 

"The Prop Master's Dream" is the first fusion opera Vancouver Cantonese Opera tries to develop and produce with a fusion of other genres of artists like Indigenous artists, Indigenous drumming, Jazz music composer, intertwined with Cantonese Opera music and arias. 

Vancouver Cantonese opera's mission is to present the unique traditional art of Cantonese opera at the highest level to both Chinese and non-Chinese audiences. We strive to collaborate with our stakeholders to meet the fundamental need for spiritual and aesthetic satisfaction and richness in our lives.

ARTIST BIO:

Rosa Cheng, Founder & Artistic Director of Vancouver Cantonese Opera

Rosa Cheng is a talented Cantonese opera performer who offers versatility and diverse styles in her singing and acting. Her career as a Cantonese opera artist started in 1993 and she founded the Vancouver Cantonese Opera Company in 2000.

She has since performed in a principal female role in many Cantonese opera repertoires. Some of her works include famous repertoires such as “The Yang’s Family”, “The Peony Pavilion”, “The Flower Princess”, “The Concubine’s Vengeance”, “The Legend of the Purple Hairpin”, ”An Imperishable Love” for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic “Cultural Olympiad”.

She takes every opportunity to refine and deepen her interpretation with every repertoire. She is an excellent teacher of Cantonese opera technique and singing. She dedicates herself to the preservation and promotion of Cantonese opera in Canada.

Piece / Project Description:

SHOW SPECS

Duration: 120 min (including intermission)

Genre: Live music Cantonese Opera, fusion with Indigenous drumming/music, jazz music. Dialogue in Cantonese and some English. Projection design and Sound design.

Number of performers: 15

Number of musicians: 10

Company size: performer, production/Cantonese opera costume assistant, tech director, stage director, stage technicians

ABOUT THE SHOW

"The Prop Master's Dream" is an innovative and experimental fusion opera that tells the true-life story of Wah Kwan and his family. Wah-Kwan was born to a Chinese father and an Indigenous mother. Gwan (Wah-Kwan’s father) was 20 years old when he came to Canada as labour building the Canadian Pacific Railway. After many years of hard labour, Gwan met his wife, Lucy. Lucy was only 25 years and they formed a family. They had a daughter and a son Wah-Kwan. After years of hard life, Gwan’s health was failing and he wanted to go home to die. With only enough money for himself and his son, Gwan left for China, leaving behind his Indigenous wife and daughter. 

In China, after Gwan passed away, Wah-Kwan was adopted by a Cantonese opera performer, Phoenix. He was trained as a Cantonese opera performer and prop maker. When Wah-Kwan became an adult, he learned that he was an adopted child and he wanted to find his birth mother in Canada. Wah-Kwan did not speak any English, he only spoke the Taishan dialect and was discriminated against when he returned to Canada.

Two generations of Wah-Kwan’s family were victims of racism and discrimination. Between 1885 and 1923, Chinese immigrants had to pay a head tax to enter Canada. The Canadian Chinese Exclusion Act banned all Chinese immigrants until its repeal in 1947.

After Gwan left for China, Lucy and her daughter were in a dire situation. With the Indian Act passed by the Parliament in 1876, women with Indian status who married someone without status lost their status rights.

The Prop Master’s Dream raises public awareness of public policy issues related to race relations, anti-racism, or anti-hate nationally, regionally, or in local communities. At the same time, it raises awareness of historical racism and discrimination towards two distinctive races: Chinese Canadian and Indigenous People in Canada.

Premiere Date and Venue/Location:

Venue/Location:

The Premiere date is Nov.5.2022 at the Annex Theatre, 823 Seymour Street, Vancouver, B.C.

Length in Minutes (including intermission):

120 minutes (including intermission)

Creator(s) Name(s):

Leo Lee

An emerging Cantonese Opera Playwright and Composer.  He has composed and written several Cantonese operas for Hong Kong Cantonese opera companies.  This is the first fusion opera he composed for Vancouver Cantonese Opera.

April Liu

Assistant English Scriptwriter.  Dr. April Liu is an independent curator, cultural programmer and media producer.

Rosa Cheng

Assistant Cantonese Opera Scriptwriter and a principal performer playing "Phoenix" the foster mother of Wah-Kwan in "The Prop Master's Dream",

Peter Tam

A Jazz music composer.  Peter Tam, a Singer/Songwriter/Composer/Influencer, began his musical journey in classical music. The piano was his instrument of choice.

Anthony Kit Lee - Projection Designer

Anthony is a Vancouver-based filmmaker and theatre-maker from Hong Kong. His interdisciplinary practices involve film and immersive theatre and are keen to speak for cultural diaspora and post-colonial Hong Kong anarchism.  Graduated from the film production program at Simon Fraser University, Anthony has worked with numerous film and theatre companies including Progress Lab 1422, Radix, Rumble, rice & beans theatre and the Cinematheque.  

Additional Key Artistic Collaborators:

Jacky Lam, an actor playing Wah-Kwan Gwan,  the protagonist

Jacky is a professional Cantonese opera performer trained in Guangzhou, China.

David W.S. Tam, an actor playing Gwan (Wah-Kwan's Father)

David C.M. Tam, an actor playing Hok Leung Gwan, Wah-Kwan's foster father

Connie Mah, an actress playing Gwan's first wife in China.

Derek Chan,  Dramaturge for the Prop Master's Dream

Christine Leong, Music Director of the Vancouver Cantonese Opera orchestra

Guo Xuan Ruan, Percussion Director of the Vancouver Cantonese Opera orchestra

Scale of Work:

"The Prop Master's Dream" can be considered a medium-scale work with an orchestra of 10 musicians, and 15 performers.

Upcoming Confirmed Performances

November 5th, 2022

If you identify as an Equity Seeking Artist or Company, provide your preferred self-description here:

Creation Phase:

The Prop Master's Dream is in the later stage of creation and the beginning stage of production.  We are in the final stage of script and Cantonese opera creation.  We are in the early stage of projection, sound, set and costume creation.  We have booked three dates at the Annex Theatre in Vancouver for tech setup, final rehearsal and the premiere of "The Prop Master's Dream" in October/November 2022.

Partnership Opportunities:

We would like to partner with presenters in Canada or in the States.

Audience: Who do you envision as the most-excited audience for this work?

We envision new audiences from the younger generation who are interested in Chinese Canadian history and the relationship between Chinese Canadian and Indigenous people in Canada.

Photo Credits: 

Rosa Cheng