What Does #FilipinxFringe Mean For The Future Of Asian Canadian Theatre In Toronto?

Is it terrible to say that I’m kind of sick and tired of being assigned the same Daniel McIvor play directed by Richard Rose at Tarragon to review? I’m not trying to throw shade at any Canadian theatre legend, but it just pales (quite literally pale…) in comparison to the array of colour that Fringe 2019 offers.

The last show I went to see with an all Asian Canadian cast is probably Kim’s Convenience at Soulpepper in 2012, which- as everyone loves to point out and rightfully so- started at Toronto Fringe. 7 years later, Fringe has gifted me with two original Asian Canadian plays, Through the Bamboo and Tita Jokes, with an all Asian Canadian cast.

Why is Fringe the first point of contact for these Asian Canadian works? The Fringe is known for being the place for anyone to be picked up by larger theatre companies. (Take Fringe 2016’s hit musical Life After that was presented in Canadian Stage’s 2017 season for example.) While the visibility Fringe provides is beneficial to any hopeful production, it’s especially important for Asian Canadian work.

Let take a closer look at Soulpepper’s season in 2012. Here’s a few of the shows that went up alongside Ins Choi’s Kim’s Convenience: Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, and Eugene O’Neil’s Long Day's Journey Into Night. Which one of these does not belong? If it wasn’t for the incredible success of Choi’s Fringe run, I wonder if Kim’s Convenience would have ever made it into Soulpepper’s 2012 season.

The Fringe has the power to reveal that Asian Canadian work has an audience. Through the Bamboo, an entirely Filipinox cast and creators, had an almost completely sold-out run. Both Tita Jokes, an all female Filipinox comedy act, and Through the Bamboo earned Patron’s Picks. An online camaraderie between the two shows and Monica vs. The Internet, solo Filipinox performer, was formed through the hashtag #FilipinoxFringe. Fringe 2019 fostered a community for Asian Canadian artists to promote each other and their success.

Fringe’s power I’m talking about comes from its lottery structure. The Fringe has taken measures within the lottery to increase diversity, with its Culturally Diverse Artist Project (CDAP) where productions are selected from a pool solely of artists of colour. The removal of a body of power deciding what’s marketable and what’s not makes way for work that would usually never be picked up by theatres like Tarragon or Soulpepper. I find that often “marketable” means whether a show’s culture is digestible enough so that their white, elderly audience won’t cancel their annual subscription. Fringe makes space for culturally specific shows to be produced because it makes space for any show to be produced (as long as you can pay the application and entrance fee).

So we’ve established that Fringe 2019 was a success for Asian Canadian theatre, but how do we move forward from Fringe? Earlier I brought up the question about whether or not Kim’s Convenience would be in Soulpepper’s season without proving itself at Fringe first. The idea of an Asian Canadian show having to “prove” itself speaks to the 2012 Toronto theatre climate, when there were few POCs in positions of power. Let’s recall 2012’s artistic directors: Ken Gass at Factory, Matthew Jocelyn at CanStage, Albert Schultz at Soulpepper, Richard Rose at Tarragon, the list of white men goes on. Fast forward to 2019, we’re seeing Nina Lee Aquino at Factory Theatre, Weyni Mengesha at Soulpepper, Marjorie Chan at Theatre Passe Muraille…and Richard Rose is still at Tarragon.

It’s 2019, and I think the changes in leadership will be reflected in more POC productions from Fringe being picked up by larger theatre companies. Tita Jokes is confirmed to be at Second City in the fall. There is no official announcement for Through the Bamboo but, considering the success of their run, I don’t think it will be long before they’re remounted in a larger capacity.

There’s a voice in the back of my mind saying, “Abby, these are only two out of the one hundred and fifty plus shows in the festival, hold your horses. Richard Rose is still directing three shows at Tarragon, things aren’t changing that fast.” My response to that voice is that at least Richard Rose is directing a show written by Anosh Irani, an Indo-Canadian playwright, featuring Anand Rajaram. We’re taking all the wins we can get.

The space that Fringe gave to Tita Jokes and Through the Bamboo, though it only be two shows, in turn spoke volumes in the artistic Asian community in Toronto. You can see its impact in some of the interactions with the shows online. Justine Abigail Yu tweets after watching Tita Jokes: “It feels like such a moment for our community right now – our faces are being seen + voice heard in ways that my younger self didn’t realize she longed for. And all because we’re FIGHTING to be seen + to be heard #filipinxcanadian #filipinx #filipinxfringe @Toronto_Fringe”

As an aspiring Asian Canadian theatre maker, I was able to see myself in the work at Fringe more than I did in a McIvor play at Tarragon. Not only do I want more of #FringeofColour, but I want to see the Asian Canadian representation to move beyond the Fringe and into regular theatre seasons in Toronto. We’re headed in the right direction.

Here’s my Asian Canadian watchlist for the 19/20 Seasons

- Cahoot’s Hilot Mean Healer written by Jo SiMalaya Alcampo and directed by Jasmine Chen in October 2019

- Theatre Passe Muraille’s Take d Milk, Nah? Written and Performed by Jivesh Parasram in March 2020

- Factory’s Lady Sunrise written by Marjorie Chan and directed by Nina Lee Aquino in Febuary 2020