I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron - Program

SEASON SPONSOR

BERKELEY STREET COMPANY-IN-RESIDENCE

ı swallowed a moon made of iron

NJO KONG KIE SET TO THE POETRY OF XU LIZHI

CREATED BY

A Music Picnic and Point View Art Association Production in association with Canadian Stage

MAY 16-26 POET

CO M M U N IT Y OUTR E ACH

許立志 XU LIZHI

梁超明 TITUS LEUNG

CO M P OSE R / DIR EC TO R / PE R FO R M E R / CO - PRO DUCE R

STAG E MANAG E R

楊光奇 NJO KONG KIE SE T AN D LIG HTING DE SIG N E R

馮國基 FUNG KWOK KEE GABRIEL PHOTOG R APH E R / FILM MAK E R

歐陽永鋒 AO IEONG WENG FONG SOU N D DE SIG N E R / E NG IN E E R

周芷会 ECHO ZHOU ASSOCIATE PRO DUCE R

黃嘉穎 KEVIN MATTHEW WONG PRO DUC TIO N MANAG E R / PROJ EC TIO N COO R DINATO R / CO - PRO DUCE R

鄺華歡 ERIK KUONG WA FUN

RYAN MCNABB VIDEO DE SIG N E R ( TE X T )

BERKELEY STREET COMPANIES-IN-RESIDENCE SPONSOR

VOCAL COACH

FUNDING SUPPORT FOR MUSIC PICNIC AND POINT VIEW ART

余志力 NICHOLAS YEE

STACIE DUNLOP DR AMA COACH / TR ANSL ATO R

關顯揚 DEREK KWAN M OVE M E NT COACH

楊漢源 WILLIAM YONG

THIS PRODUCTION RUNS APPROXIMATELY 60 MINUTES WITH NO INTERMISSION

NJO KONG KIE

FUNG KWOK KEE GABRIEL

AO IEONG WENG FONG

RYAN MCNABB

STACIE DUNLOP

DEREK KWAN

WILLIAM YONG

NICHOLAS YEE

TITUS LEUNG

ECHO ZHOU

KEVIN MATTHEW WONG

ERIK KUONG WA FUN

CREATOR’S NOTE In 2010, fourteen workers committed suicide at the Shenzhen complex of Foxconn, a major contract manufacturer of electronics for many of our digital devices. In 2014, 24 year old Xu Lizhi, working at the same plant, did the same. Xu was also a poet, known as one of the most promising young poets in China’s worker-poet literary movement, comprised of young labourers writing about the working class. His death sparked headlines in China and across the globe.

With straightforward language, nuanced poetic sensibility and astounding imagination, Xu gave us a vivid glimpse of life on the assembly line. Reading Xu’s insightful, haunting and gut-wrenching words reminds me of how global and inter-connected our lives are.

Whether near or far, there are innumerous people, unseen, unheard and forgotten, that contribute to our day-to-day comforts.

Despite the immeasurable differences of our circumstance, I resonate deeply with Xu’s longing for home and family, his desire for love, his lament of the drudgery of jobs, and his questions around the meaning of life, and the relevance of artistic pursuits.

In staging this work as a solo performance, I seek a parallel between being alone on stage and Xu’s solitary journey as a poet. I challenge myself to interpret the poetry with all the artistic rigour I can muster, may it be setting the text to music, or discovering how my voice and body respond to it.

I hope this work can play a small part in helping us remember Xu Lizhi and countless others whose struggles provide the amenities of our digital lives.

NJO KONG KIE Kong Kie would like to thank the family of Xu Lizhi; the Njo family; Matthew Jocelyn; Sherrie Johnson; Brendan Healy; colleagues at Canadian Stage; our dedicated team (please consult their bios for their fabulousness); the many friends who lend their support including Gnocchi Artyst, Liza Balkan, Marjorie Chan, Todd Hofley, Camellia Koo, Clayton Lee, Lin Pei Chun, Michael Man, Aislinn Rose, Cate Thomason-Redus, Wing Yee Tong, Alex Yang Wang and Yizhou Zhang; and to you, dear audience, for the privilege of sharing this work with you.

CREATIVE TEAM AO IEONG WENG FONG Photographer / Filmmaker Ao Ieong Weng Fong is a movie director & photographer. A graduate of the Department and Graduate School of Visual Communication Design of National Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, Ao Ieong won the Asian New Talent Award in the Best Cinematography category at the 2018 Shanghai International Film Festival for his work on the film Blue Amber. He works across film production, advertising, culture and art, dance theater and fashion.

DEREK KWAN Translator / Drama Coach Derek Kwan is an actor, singer, and creator working at the intersection of theatre, music and movement in a number of forms including opera, clown, and puppetry. Recent highlights include: a Deaf/hearing production of The Tempest (Citadel Theatre), an immersive Sweeney Todd in London, England (Talk is Free Theatre); Mr. Shi and His Lover (Toronto Theatre Critics Award: Best Supporting Actor in a Musical; Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination: Outstanding Male Performer, Musical Division; Tarragon/Toronto; NAC/Ottawa); The Blue Bird (Theatre de la Sardine, Taipei); Blood Weddings (Modern Times/Aluna, Toronto); I, Claudia (Theatre Ignite, Taipei); Tails From the City (Common Boots Theatre, Toronto).

ECHO ZHOU

KEVIN MATTHEW WONG

Stage Manager Echo Zhou obtained her BFA at Ryerson University in their Theatre Production Program. Echo is a Toronto-based set and lighting designer, and she also does stage management across the world.

Selected Credits: Musical: Ta is Gone (Focus Stage China, Stage Manager), Cake (Theatre Passes Muraille, Lighting Designer), Permanence (Libby Brodie Production UK, Set, Costume and Props Designer), Spring Moon (Mixed Company Theatre), Life Between Heaven and Earth (National Theatre of China, World Tour Lighting Coordinator), Hamlet (Li Liuyi Studio China, Assistant Lighting Designer), 1979 (Shaw Festival and GCTC, Assistant Set and Lighting Designer), How Black Mothers Say I Love You (Trey Anthony Production, Lighting Coordinator), The Possibilities (Ryerson School of Performance, Set Designer). She is also an associate member of Associate Designers of Canada.

Associate Producer Kevin Matthew Wong is a theatre creator, performer, producer and environmentalist.

He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Broadleaf Theatre, which merges environmentalism and live performance, and his ongoing work The Chemical Valley Project is a multimedia solo-performance about environmentalism and reconciliation.

Kevin has been lucky to work and create with Cahoots Theatre, the Koffler Centre, Theatre Passe Muraille the social justice residency The Gardarev Center, and others. Currently he’s an Associate Producer at Why Not Theatre and Music Picnic, and he’s excited to be working with Kong Kie and Canadian Stage again! (kevinmatthewwong.com)

ERIK KUONG Production Manager / Projection Coordinator / Co-Producer Erik is an independent producer of interdisciplinary and intercultural projects. He is a member of the “Asian Producers’ Platform” and has worked as programmer and festival producer in the cultural department of Macau government for more than a decade. Erik has produced fringes, arts festivals, film fests and many other public events. His most recent focus is on curating and producing international arts collaborations in Asia and beyond.

FUNG KWOK KEE GABRIEL Set and Lighting Designer Gabriel is a Hong Kong-based theatre lighting designer. He has collaborated with Chung Ying Theatre Company, Theatre du Pif, CCDC, Actors Family, Theatre Ensemble, No Man’s Land, Prospects Theatre Company, Hong Kong Arts Festival and U-Theatre (Taiwan). His designs have appeared in festivals such as the International Dance Festivals of Beijing and India, Edinburgh Fringe, Festival d’Avignon and Festival International de Artes Cênicas in Brazil. In 2003, Gabriel was awarded the Hong Kong Drama Awards for best lighting design in both drama and dance. He holds an MFA in film directing from Hong Kong Baptist University and is actively involved in independent filmmaking and research around the crossover between theatre and the moving image.

NICHOLAS YEE Video Designer (text) Nicholas Yee is a musician and multidisciplinary artist from Edmonton, Canada. He first worked with Njo Kong Kie in 2018 as a cellist in the hybrid concert theatre performance Picnic in the Cemetery.

NJO KONG KIE Composer / Director / Performer / Co-Producer A picnic and ping pong enthusiast, Kong Kie is also a composer for dance, opera and theatre. Works include music for the play Infinity (Tarragon); operas knotty together (SummerWorks) and La Señorita Mundo (SummerWorks); the concert-theatre Picnic in the Cemetery (Canadian Stage) and music theatre Mr. Shi and His Lover (SummerWorks, Tarragon and the National Arts Centre).

Kong Kie has created soundtrack for several contemporary dance production worldwide and was the long-serving music director of La La La Human Steps. His screen soundtrack includes Fisk: Untitled Portrait, Off Kilter and China Rises. Works in development include: The Year of the Cello, a play with solo cello music set in Hong Kong in the 1920s (with Marjorie Chan) and The Futures Market, an opera exploring the complex moral dimensions of the trade in human organs (with Douglas Rodger). www.musicpicnic.com.

RYAN MCNABB

TITUS LEUNG

Sound Designer / Sound Engineer Ryan McNabb graduated with a Masters in Sound Recording from McGill University.

During his time at McGill, Ryan was involved in a number of large productions including McGill Opera and McGill Symphonic Orchestra in the role of engineer and live mixer for video webcast. He also held the position of Live Sound Coordinator for McGill University.

During the 2015 Luminato Festival, Ryan worked as Sound Assistant for the production of Apocalypsis and also filled the role of Technical Music Coordinator for the Pan Am Games Ceremonies. In 2017 and 2018 Ryan acted as the sound engineer for the Dora Award winning musical Mr. Shi And His Lover which was performed at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre as well as the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Recently, Ryan has worked as the mixing engineer and music recordist for the documentary television series Battle Dogs on Discovery USA. Ryan continues to produce, mix, and master projects for various artists in Toronto as well as across Canada.

Community Outreach A veteran in Chinese media and news, Titus CM Leung is a reporter and news writer for Fairchild TV and co-host of the Cantonese podcast 離地新聞 “Lei Dei News” for the Hong Kong’s Singjai platform. A graduate of the Theatre Program of University of Ottawa and an alumni of Fu-Gen’s Kitchen program, he is the playwright of In Remembrance of 22,000 Days, as well as a collaborator in several theatre productions, including Diano Tso’s Red Snow (Chinese surtitle translator) and Donald Woo’s The Beautiful Country (playwright collaborator).

STACIE DUNLOP Vocal Coach With a voice that has been described as a “powerful demonstration of musical artistry wed to superb technique”, soprano Stacie Dunlop is an avid performer of contemporary opera, orchestral and chamber music. Recent performances include a tour of Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments, Peter Maxwell-Davies’ Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot, Scott Good’s The Hands of Orlac. Future engagements include a new work by Abigail Richardson-Schulte with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in 2019.

Ms. Dunlop can be heard on the Centrediscs label in My Life in Widening Circles and Hymns of Heaven and Earth. Stacie is currently participating in the Advanced Pedagogic Group at the Centre International Artistique Roy Hart in Malérargues, France, where she is training in theatre-based vocal pedagogy that connects the mind, body and soul while exploring the whole voice.

WILLIAM YONG Movement Coach Choreographer and movement director William Yong has created more than seventy-eight dance and theatre works worldwide which has been presented by major presenters.

A major dance critic hails his work “...

It shows Yong going where no Canadian choreographer before him has gone before... so much originality…”. He was trained and received his master degree with distinction at the London Contemporary Dance School in U.K. Past companies he worked for include: Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance and Matthew Bourne’s AMP in the U.K.; Toronto Dance Theatre, CORPUS, Peggy Baker, Lina Cruz in Canada and many others. His works received five-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations. William was awarded the winner of 2013 “I love dance/J’aime la danse” Award for Innovation. He was also nominated for MyTheatre Awards’ ‘Outstanding Direction’ for Comfort. (zataomm.org)

XU LIZHI Poet Chinese poet Xu Lizhi (1990-2014) was born in the rural area of Guangdong province.

After high school, like millions of other young people, Xu went to the cities to look for work.

At age twenty, Xu landed a job in the assembly line of Foxconn in Shenzhen, making electronic parts for digital devices. In a span of four years, Xu wrote close to 200 poems, many of them about the life of migrant factory workers.

Xu gained recognition as one of the best in China’s worker-poet literary movement.

COMPANY BIOGRAPHIES MUSIC PICNIC loves picnics and all activities that resemble one. Founded by composer Njo Kong Kie to create picnics, musical or otherwise, the company aims to produce works that are eclectic, joyful, whimsical, intimate, meditative, communal and above all, delicious – key qualities of a fun picnic. Productions include the same-sex rom-com opera knotty together (Rhubarb and SummerWorks), the operatic fable La Senorita Mundo (SummerWorks), the Mandarin language music theatre Mr. Shi and His Lover (SummerWorks, Tarragon, National Arts Centre) and concert theatre Picnic in the Cemetery (Canadian Stage, Edinburgh Fringe, Macau Arts Festival). Upcoming : international tours of Mr. Shi and His Lover, I swallowed a moon made of iron and Picnic in the Cemetery. Come picnic with us. Sign up on our website to be notified of future Music Picnic events: musicpicnic.com.

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

北美首演

POINT VIEW ART ASSOCIATION (PVAA) is a non-profit art and cultural association formed in Macau, with a mandate to produce art and cultural creations, and to conduct education and research.

With members from a diverse range of disciplines, including theatre directors, visual artists, filmmakers, composers, designers and performers, multimedia theatre is one of the company’s most specific aims.

The Association strives to discover new possibilities for theatre arts and to provide new experiences for audience through experimental performances.

PVAA also works to increase the level of art appreciation in the region by developing exchange and collaboration on art education projects with groups in Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas countries. PVAA’s repertoire includes Dewdrop in the City, an educational project set within a giant inflatable theatre and Playing Landscape, a dance theatre piece combining dance and Chinese ink art; the latter has been presented in Taipei, Macau, Hong Kong, mainland China, Poland, Korea, Portugal, Slovenia, Cape Verde, and Edinburgh Fringe.

Pointviewart.org / facebook.com / PointViewArt

minorities

《少数民族》 Yang Zhen, a rising international star of contemporary dance, gives voice to the social conditions of a new generation of ethnic minorities in China.

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Use promo code MINORITIESADVANCE.

杨朕，国际舞台上崭露头角 的当代舞新秀，直击中国新 一代少数民族的生存现状。 现在订票享早鸟优惠！ 优惠码: MINORITIESADVANCE。

OCT 17-27

10月17日至27日

C ANAD IAN STAG E S U P P O RTE RS AN N UAL F U N D We would like to thank the following individuals whose contributions to our annual fund help to sustain our ability to collaborate, innovate and create with cutting- edge artists from Canada and around the world.

AR TI S TI C D I R EC TO R ’ S CI RCLE UNDERWRITER $25,000+

DIRECTOR $10,000 -$24,999

Charles & Marilyn Baillie David W. Binet Susan Crocker, C.M. & John Hunkin John & Nancy Embry Ron Lalonde & Jane Humphreys Maureen & Roger Parkinson Rob & Penny Richards Sandra Simpson Sylvia Soyka The Henry White Kinnear Foundation The William and Nona Heaslip Foundation Anonymous (1)

Alexandra Baillie Adam Burke The William R. and Shirley Beatty Charitable Foundation Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney Jim Fleck Sheila Goldman Trina McQueen Shawn McReynolds & Elaine Kierans Sandra Pitblado & Jim Pitblado, C.M. Timothy & Frances Price Jim Riley & Nicole Sigouin Gretchen & Donald Ross Eli & Philip Taylor Julie, Peter & James in Memory of John David Wood

AR TI S TI C PATRO N S’ CI RCLE INNOVATOR $5,000 -$9,999 Kingfisher Foundation Huw Evans Brendan Healy Kathy Inch & Steve Simpson John Montesano

VISIONARY $2,000 -$4,999

Sara Angel & Dr. Michael Angel Rick Archbold & Rick Feldman Cathy Bateman Tony Baylis & Jacqueline Kirk Murray & Ellen Blankstein Gary Bryck & Renée Barrette Jennifer Bratty Margaret Craw & Trevor Lloyd

Dr. Roy Eappen Robert & Julia Foster Margaret Genovese Marvin Green Linda Glover Robert Henderson & Diana Burke Ken Hugessen & Jennifer Connolly Peter Lyman & Judith Moses David Lynch & Melanie Carino Gail MacNaughton In Memory of John MacNaughton Ronan McGrath & Sarah Perry Ian & Patti Milne Mr. Roger Moore David Nichols Elisa Nuyten & David Dime

Perry Orestes & Tim Giguere Penny Partridge Otto & Marie Pick Charitable Foundation Bryan Price Len & Vivian Racioppo Gabrielle M. R. Richards In Memory of John & Norma Rogers Lom & Michael Schelew Greg Sharp Jason Silzer Dennis & Denny Starritt Avery Swartz Doug & Gail Todgham Antoinette Tummillo & John Carter Carole Winberg

These listings are current as of April 3, 2019 and we have made every effort to ensure appropriate recognition. If, however, your name has been accidentally omitted, listed incorrectly or misspelled, we apologize in advance for the error. Please notify us at donate@canadianstage.com with any corrections.

AMBASSADOR $750 -$1,999 Jill E. Black & Barry Allan Marcia & Henry Blumberg Walter M. & Lisa Balfour Bowen Ernest & Barbara Balmer David & Patti Bragg Louise Cannon Paul & Jean Emond Edward Grady Mary & Arthur Heinmaa Peter Herrndorf & Eva Czigler Jane Hill Nancy Jain Edward & Ann Kerwin Ian & Dorothy MacDonald Robert Morassutti Alice Morgan Joanne Niblock & John Ozikizler Vanessa Pfaff Pat Siu Tai John van Nostrand & Kate Wilson David Young

ADVOCATE $250 -$749 Blaine Allan Jennifer Birmingham Clare Booker Vali Bennett David Clarry Lorena Chioran

Robert Cook Fern Daiter Professor Wayne Dowler Sandra Dudley John Duffy Ellen & Robert Eisenberg George Fallis Nikki Fraser Lorne Fox & Ken Marple In Memory of B. F. Gasmann Richard & Justine Giuliani Foundation Joel Greenberg & Phyllis Angel Sandra Greenfield Lyons Colin Gruchy Eric B. Hanbury Karen Heater Isabel Henniger Leslie Hope Susan & Richard Horner Orit & Raphael Hofstein In Memory of Gordon Jocelyn Matthew Jocelyn Rustam Juma Gerda Kaegi Diane & Jim King Pia Kleber In Memory of Jacqueline Kolber Adrian Lang & Ash Taylor Sheena Macdonald & Phil Schmitt Jo-Anne Mackie Delphine Milbrandt

Lee Milliken & Doug MacNaughton Ingrid Minott April Moon & Dickon Wallis James Moore Larry Moore Ms Susanne Palmer Jerry Patava Marilee Pinto Sanjiv Purba Georgia Quartaro Josephine Ridge Joy Rosen Glenna Ross Anthony Sargent & Caroline Gant Wong Savio Ivor Simmons Drew Sinclair Jane Southren Sandra & Daniel Sullivan Carol Strom Graham & Catherine Tobe Elizabeth Tory Tamara Trojanowska Dr. Paul Truelove Nick & Marg Walker Les & Ellen Wallace Martin Wasserman Ruth Watts Gransden Brent Whitby Dr. Blossom T. Wigdor, C.M. Greg Wilkie Susan Witteveen Irene Zaguskin Anonymous (3)

CIT Y B U I LD I N G @ C ANAD IAN STAG E CB@CS brings together members of Toronto’s building and corporate industries to enhance our city’s cultural legacy through the support of Toronto’s arts community.

PRINCIPALS Castlepoint Numa Selkirk Investments SvN Architects and Planners Inc.

ASSOCIATES

Moriyama & Teshima

Boszko & Verity Inc. Hugh Clark CORE Architects LRI Engineering Inc.

Architects ONE Properties RAW Design Robin Simpson-McKay TAS Design

These listings are current as of April 3, 2019 and we have made every effort to ensure appropriate recognition. If, however, your name has been accidentally omitted, listed incorrectly or misspelled, we apologize in advance for the error. Please notify us at donate@canadianstage.com with any corrections.