MARJORIE CHAN | WRITER, DIRECTOR, DRAMATURGE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
City: Toronto, ON
Instagram: @magicalmudge
Previous work: China Doll, Lady Sunrise, Sanctuary Song, The Lesson of Da Ji, M’dea Undone, The Monkiest King
Marjorie Chan is a Toronto-based award-winning writer, director and opera dramaturge. Currently the Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille, her plays include China Doll and Lady Sunrise, which have both been nominated for the Governor General’s Award, as well as The Year of the Cello, The Madness of the Square, a nanking winter, and Tails From the City.
She was also the libretti for the operas Sanctuary Song, The Lesson of Da Ji, M’dea Undone, The Monkiest King, and upcoming The Nightingale of a Thousand Songs.
With her works having been performed all over the world, including the United States, Scotland, Hong Kong, Russia and here in Canada, the accolades are beginning to pile up. Aside from her Governor General’s Award nominations she has also been nominated for nine Dora Awards, winning four of them, top of winning the KM Hunter Artist award, a Harold Award, Bra D’Or Award, and the George Luscombe Award.
She has also been artist-in-residence with Factory, Banff, Tapestry Opera, Cahoots Theatre, Theatre Centre, Theatre Direct, SUNY (Geneseo, New York) and Theatre du Pif (Hong Kong).
Despite her success so far, she shows no sign of stopping. Her upcoming project include directing The Chinese Lady by Lloyd Suh
(fu-GEN/Studio 180/Crow’s) and the operatic adaptation of Madeleine Thien’s Do Not.
More about Marjorie Chan
How were you first introduced to your creative discipline?
“I am a theatre artist, and I believe the first official show I ever saw was Jacob Two-Two and the Hooded Fang at Young Peoples’ Theatre in Toronto. I sat in the first row, centre seat. I think my mouth was open in astonishment for the entire show.”
How has your city, region or places you were raised impacted you artistically/creatively?
“My parents came from Hong Kong and came to Canada in the late 60s. They raised my sister and myself in Scarborough, an incredibly diverse and vibrant suburb of Toronto. In hindsight, growing up in such a naturally inclusive environment gave me a lot of confidence in the value of both the stories of my own culture as well as an immense amount of respect and awe for the stories from other cultures that surrounded me.”
What has been your biggest professional achievement(s) so far?
“I find it hard to categorize what may be biggest as there are so many different ways to think sought achievement. I am proud of the writing I have done, and the stages that those works have reached. I am also proud of the work that I have done that creates opportunities and capacity in others. I would say notably, these include at Cahoots Theatre, a refugee and newcomer youth theatre initiative called Crossing Gibraltar as well as collaborating on the DATT (Deaf Artist & Theatres Toolkit). At Theatre Passe Muraille, we recently completed the Digital Creators’ Lab for artists new to digital forms, as well just recently launched VUKA, a new Black centred creation unit.”
Innovators & Icons is a presented by the National Arts Centre in partnership with SHIFTER
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