PL AYBILL k im’s convenience
kim’s convenience ins choi }{
a pproxim at e ru n n i ng t im e: 1 hou r a nd 25 m i nu t es t her e w ill be no i n t er m ission
ARTIST NOTE: INS CHOI When I was a kid, every summer my parents packed the car with camping gear and we drove to different parts of Canada. Everywhere we went, aside from the cities, I remember people staring at us a lot. It had a little to do with our overstuffed black Pontiac T-1000 hatchback, but I think it was mostly because we were Asians... in the flesh. My dad always tried making small talk with the locals whenever he could. But with English as his second language, even small talk seemed to be too much work for such a trivial connection. But that never stopped him as he um’d and stumbled towards a mutual understanding of the weather, historic landmarks nearby, favourite restaurants in the area, etc. Kim’s Convenience began at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2011. And then it was “Soulpeppered” and it toured to London, Port Hope, Calgary, Hamilton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton and now is back in Toronto at Soulpepper for the fifth time. Thousands of people – different people from all sorts of backgrounds – from 9 different cities across Canada, all laughed at the same moments, were touched by the same words, and made a connection with us through the play. And through the play, in a weird way, made a connection with each other; a common framework, a mutual point of reference. Not trivial at all. I am extremely grateful to be the bearer of this great blessing. Thank you Soulpepper, cast, crew, team, families, for helping us share this play.
C h a n t e l l e H a n , PAUL SUN-H Y UNG LEE . p hoto: b ruc e mon k
p.s. Here are some favourite tour memories from the cast and crew: the shoreline around Stanley Park; the fish and chip truck in Port Hope; Nancy Dryden discovering Korean Melona bars; lunch at the Korean Ambassador’s house in Ottawa; “Flawless Execution”; no judgement Saturdays; the waterfall in Hamilton; Denise Clarke; being introduced in the Senate Chamber by Senator Yonah Martin; the birth of Lola; Andre shucking oysters; a moment before the show in a waterfall rainforest lobby; being cramped in a van on the QEW for longer than we were on stage; the booth at the NAC; the birth of Desta; Paul grumbling about the weather; Neha grumbling about Paul; everyone grumbling at some point; the Aqua bus; skating to work on the canal; Grace Kung’s mom; crazy cookie; steak night; Korean restaurants; building Halloween props in the prop shop; the birth of Rian; the crew at each theatre; meeting other Asian artists; death march 1 led by Albert Schultz; death march 2 led by Paul (I think); Rae & Jerry’s; and when family came to see the show.
ins choi, Playwright, 2015 Soulpepper Resident Artist, and graduate of the Soulpepper Academy