Gold Mountain Guest: A Director’s Diary

Abstract

It’s funny, I’ve only become more in touch with my Chinese heritage since I became a theatre professional. I grew up in a tiny farming community in southern Alberta, the son of a Chinese shopkeeper, whose own father came to this country to build the railway. My grandfather abandoned the harsh railway life and walked through the Rockies, finally settling in the hamlet of Cluny (population 87), which sits on the bald Alberta prairie about halfway between Calgary and Medicine Hat. As the only Chinese family in such a small town, I spent my youth trying very hard not to be Chinese. My mother was Caucasian, so I gravitated toward her Irish heritage much more than my father’s traditions. Fast-forward several years: upon finishing my theatre training at the University of Calgary, I got my initial professional work because I was Chinese. I was confused . . . suddenly being Chinese was a good thing. I was fortunate to be cast in two separate productions of Madama. Butterfly, one at Alberta Theatre Projects, and then at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver, where I now live and work. I got several more parts because of my Chinese background and through that I delved deeper into the history and adventures of the Chinese side of my family; what had been a badge of shame as a child has grown into one of great honour.