THE CHINESE LADY

Lloyd Suh

Playwright

For Studio 180: debut. Lloyd Suh is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, and is the winner of the 2019 Herb Alpert Award for Theater and the 2020 winner of the Horton Foote Prize. His play The Chinese Lady premiered as a co-production by Barrington Stage Company and Ma-Yi Theater Company, and was hailed a New York Times Critics’ Pick during its NY run. The play now continues to have productions around the country. It returned to New York City in a co-production between the Public Theatre and Ma-Yi Theatre Company in 2022. This season, Lloyd’s play The Far Country premiered at the Atlantic Theatre and was also a New York Times Critics’ Pick, and his play The Heart Sellers will premiere at Milwaukee Rep. Lloyd’s play Charles Francis Chan Jr’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery was produced by NAATCO. His play The Wong Kids in the Secret of the Space Chupacabra Go! debuted at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis and Ma-Yi Theatre in New York. It received the AATE Distinguished Play Award and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Family Show. His play Bina’s Six Apples premiered in a co-production between Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis and Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Lloyd was presented with the National Asian American Theatre Company’s Lilah Kan Red Socks Award in recognition of an artist’s commitment to community service. He served on the National Steering Committee in creating the first National Asian American Theatre Conference and the first National Asian American Theatre Festival. He served as an official artist delegate to the 2007 World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya and the inaugural US Social Forum in Atlanta.

Marjorie Chan 陳以珏

Director

For Studio 180: debut. Marjorie is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, and currently the artistic director of Theatre Passe Muraille. Most recently, she directed The Year of the Cello (co-created with Njo Kong Kie), and the digital version of John & Waleed for Theatre Passe Muraille. Other directing credits include China Doll (Gateway Theatre) John & Waleed and Ultrasound (Cahoots Theatre/TPM), The Enchanted Loom (Cahoots/Factory), Late (Obsidian Theatre), I Call Myself Princess (Paper Canoe/Cahoots/Native Earth), Frankenstein’s Boy (Eldritch Theatre), Knives in Hens and A Doll’s House (Theatre du Pif – Hong Kong). She also assistant directed Maria Stuarda (Pacific Opera Victoria), A Synonym For Love (Volcano Theatre) and The Pirate Widow Cheng (Puppetmongers). Also a librettist, Marjorie’s new opera The Nightingale of a Thousand Songs with composer Serouj Kradjian will premiere in June with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. www.marjoriechan.com

Rosie Simon

Afong Moy

For Studio 180: debut. Select credits include: The Three Musketeers (RMTC), Lady Sunrise (Factory Theatre), John (RMTC), Dinner with the Dutchess (Next Stage Festival), acquiesce (Factory Theatre), Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper), Cowboy Versus Samurai (Soulpepper), Urinetown (Firehall), The King and I (Gateway), A…My Name is Alice (VACT), The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee (Arts Club/Belfry), Flower Drum Song (VACT). TV credits include: Star Trek: Discovery, Hudson & Rex, Good Witch, Slasher: Solistice, Shadowhunters, Carter, Killjoys, Motive In these uncertain times, Rosie is so grateful to be able to tell stories on stage and share her passion with the world. A big thank you to all who continue to support live theatre!

John Ng 伍健琪

Atung

For Studio 180: debut. John is a first-generation, Hong Kong-born actor of Toishanese descent. Selected theatre credits include Kuroko (Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre); Antigone (Young People’s Theatre); The Full Light Of Day (Electric Theatre Company); Nine Dragons (Vertigo/Gateway/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). He received a Dora-nomination for lead actor in Norman Yeung’s PU-ERH in 2010. Selected film and television credits include Rising Suns, The Swan and the reoccurring role of Mr. Chin on Kim’s Convenience. He studied theatre at the University of Ottawa and currently lives in Ottawa with his cat, Lady Toishan.

Kai-Yueh Chen 陳楷岳

Stage Manager

For Studio 180: debut. Kai is a Toronto based stage manager. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, his parents sent him to a boarding school in Sussex, England at a very young age. He wanted to be a composer, and went on to Trinity College of Music in London to focus on his music. Kai transferred his study to McGill University in Montreal when his family immigrated to Canada. After completing his Bachelor of Music in Composition, he decided to apply for the Production Program at The National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal. Since graduating from the NTS, Kai has worked throughout Canada from St John’s Newfoundland in the East to Vancouver British Colombia in the West, and in London UK.

郝邦宇 Steven Hao

Assistant Director

For Studio 180: debut. Selected Credits for Directing: Director, A Perfect Bowl of Pho, Toronto Fringe 2022; Director, I and You, Precipice Productions; Director, Constellations, Precipice Productions. Selected Credits for Acting: Cockroach, Cockroach, Tarragon Theatre; Duke of Burgundy/Gentlemen, The Tragedy of King Lear, Shakespeare Bash’d. Upcoming: Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare in High Park 2023. @steven_haoby

Kimberly Purtell

Lighting Designer

For Studio 180: (selected credits) Indecent, Sweat, Oslo, My Name is Asher Lev, Clybourne Park, The Normal Heart, Stuff Happens. Kimberly is a Toronto based lighting designer for theatre, opera and dance and is thrilled to be working with Studio 180 once again. Her designs have been critically acclaimed across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Prague, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Moscow and Mongolia. She has designed for the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage Company, Soulpepper Theatre, Mirvish Productions, National Arts Centre and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Philadelphia, Arena Stage in Washington DC, Tapestry Opera, Hamilton Opera, Edmonton Opera, Theatre Calgary, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre, Place des Arts, among many others. She has also designed productions for the Pan Am Games and the Vancouver and Beijing Cultural Olympiads. Kimberly has received three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the Pauline McGibbon Award, a Sterling Award, and a Montreal English Theatre Award. She is the Vice President of the Associated Designers of Canada and IATSE ADC659.

Echo Zhou 周芷會

Set Designer

For Studio 180: My Sister’s Rage. Selected Credits: Benevolence (Benevolence Collective); Between a Wok and a Hotpot (Cahoots Theatre); The Year of the Cello (Theatre Passe Muraille); Every Brilliant Thing (Thousand Island Playhouse); White Girls in Moccasins (Manidoons Collective); Mr.Shi and His Lover, I Swallowed Moon Made of Iron (Music Picnic). Other: Echo is a Chinese immigrant, Tkaronto-based scenographer working in live performance. She has designed for Buddies in the Bad Times, Theatre Passe Muraille, Thousand Island Playhouse, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, Frog in Hand, The Theatre Centre, The Next Stage Festival, SummerWorks Festival, etc. www.echozhoudesign.com. For Grandpa.

Jung-Hye Kim

Costume Designer

For Studio 180: Clybourne Park (set design). Selected Theatre Credits: Hamlet-911 (Stratford Festival), An Imm-Permanent Resident (Why Not Theatre), Hilot Means Healer (Cahoots Theatre), Dry Powder (Evermore Theatre), Now You See Her (Quote Unquote Collective, Dora nomination for outstanding costume design), Shirley Valentine (Thousand Islands Playhouse), Prairie Nurse (Factory Theatre). Upcoming: The Nightingale (CCOC), Jesus Christ Superstar (Sheridan College Theatre).

Gloria Mok 莫嘉詠

Sound Designer

For Studio 180: debut. Gloria (she/her) is a playwright, producer, production manager, designer, and theatre creator, who grew up in Mississauga, ON (Treaty 13 territory). She is settler and daughter of first-generation Chinese-Canadian immigrants from Hong Kong. Alongside Chinese-Canadian theatre creators Aaron Jan and Bessie Cheng, Gloria co-founded Silk Bath Collective in 2016; focused on creating multidisciplinary plays about the Chinese diaspora including Silk Bath, Yellow Rabbit, and Woking Phoenix. Gloria is the Producer at Nightswimming and has worked with performing arts organizations across Turtle Island, including: Nakai, The Guild, Gwaandak (Whitehorse); 2b, Keep Good (Halifax); Cahoots, Director’s Lab North, Driftwood, fu-GEN, Kaeja d’Dance, Native Earth, Paprika Festival, Shakespeare in the Ruff, SummerWorks, Soulpepper, Theatre Passe Muraille, Why Not (Toronto). Gloria is a graduate of the University of Guelph’s Theatre Studies and History program, the University of Toronto OISE, and the National Theatre School of Canada’s Production Design and Technical Arts program.

Charissa Wilcox

Production Manager

For Studio 180: The Nether. Charissa spent the last couple decades working at the Iconic Queer Canadian Art Organization, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (BIBT) as the Head of Production. Throughout her freelance career she has worked with such companies as Aluna Theatre, Tapestry, Modern Times, New Harlem Productions and Nightwood Theatre. Charissa is also the Artistic Producer and co-founder of FLYING SOLO and the lead designer and fabricator of FLYING SOLO’s cutting edge circus apparatuses.

David Hoekstra

Head of Props

For Studio 180: debut. David is an acquisitive props master and builder for hire, whose work has been
seen in most every theatre throughout Toronto over the last 30 years. David has
also been the props master for George Brown College Theatre School since 1997.
Known for his extensive collection of antique electric toasters, David’s also restores
vintage stage lights and has a fondness for ray guns, which surprisingly took a long
time for him to realize. David looks forward to retiring, possibly to an organic farm,
hopefully before the zombie apocalypse arrives. If you are interested in David’s extensive list of credits, somewhat out of date, and too boring to write about here, visit: https://ttdb.ca/people/david-hoekstra/