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PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Peter A. Herrndorf PRÉSIDENT ET CHEF DE LA DIRECTION an nac english theatre production Kim’s Convenience January 22 – February 8 » NAC Theatre by Ins Choi A Soulpepper Production (Toronto) Running time is one hour and 25 minutes with no intermission. Kim’s Convenience was originally produced as part of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival at the Bathurst Street Theatre. It won the New Play contest, the Patron’s Pick and went on to be part of the Best of Fringe Uptown Festival at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts. The original cast included Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jean Yoon, Esther Jun, Andre Sills and Ins Choi. It was designed by Ken MacKenzie, directed by Ins Choi, stage managed by Kat Chin and produced by Leon Aureus and Ins Choi. Please completely turn off all cell phones, smart phones and texting devices. Cameras and recording devices are not allowed at any time in the Theatre. Video and/or audio recording of this performance by any means whatsoever is strictly prohibited. Soulpepper thanks: So Jeong Choi , Joe Pagnan, Kraft Canada Confectionary. OFFICIAL HOTEL PARTNER MEDIA PARTNER SPECIAL THANK YOU TO GoodLife Fitness (Rideau Centre Co-Ed Club) 2 Join us on Facebook: Facebook.com/NAC.English.Theatre CAST INS CHOI Jung GRACE LYNN KUNG Janet PAUL SUN-HYUNG LEE Appa ANDRE SILLS Rich, Mr. Lee, Mike, Alex JEAN YOON Umma The National Arts Centre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres. CREATIVE TEAM WEYNI MENGESHA Director ALBERT SCHULTZ Remount Director KEN MacKENZIE Set and Costume Designer LORENZO SAVOINI Lighting Designer THOMAS RYDER PAYNE Sound Designer SEAN BAEK Fight Director KAT CHIN Stage Manager NEHA ROSS Assistant Stage Manager KELLY McEVENUE Alexander Coach LIZA PAUL Dialect Coach photo – cylla von tiedemann Ins Choi, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Jean Yoon, Grace Lynn Kung and Andre Sills. Join us on YouTube: youtube.com/NACvideosCNA 3 Artistic Director’s Notes photo - v. tony hauser What an absolute pleasure it is to introduce you to Kim’s Convenience, a piece of theatrical magic disguised as a thousand Canadian street corners. As fortunate as I am to live in Canada where diverse cultures seem to thrive side by side, I rarely get to peek right inside the many different immigrant experiences. In this story, Ins Choi throws the door open and says “come on in”. Often stories about new Canadians revolve around negotiating new cultures. But the two cultures most in conflict here are generational – fathers and daughters, mothers and sons. In this beautifully observed story of a Canadian family lies one of the most compelling and deeply human pieces from the year’s theatre landscape. We are thrilled to bring it to you. Jillian Keiley artistic director nac english theatre 4 Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/CanadasNAC Background Notes Kim’s Convenience began as a vignette for a fu-GEN Theatre Company event. Director Nina Lee Aquino, among others, felt there was more to be mined: a story rooted in Toronto but not often portrayed on our stages. A story needing to be told. With Aquino’s encouragement and guidance, writer Ins Choi set out to create a full-length play. First however he acted at the Stratford Festival, won a place in the Soulpepper Academy, and became a father twice over. The play grew slowly, gaining supporters as it went. Choi’s faith community at Grace Toronto Church, for example, funded a week-long workshop. When Kim’s Convenience was finally submitted to the Fringe Festival New Play Contest, it won. The subsequent production and extension sold out. Soulpepper saw a chance to champion a new work that celebrates a completely Torontonian story. And here we are. While not autobiographical this play is grounded in a thorough knowledge of the milieu. In fact, Choi originally wanted to stage it in an actual convenience store. “You got that smell,” he says. “You got that convenience store smell, the dust, the grime, the bell…” That idea didn’t come to pass but this tender, funny and surprising script evokes the setting brilliantly, giving the play a powerful integrity and authenticity. One of its many pleasures is the “behind the scenes” look we get at this staple of our economy. From the 1980s, when the Kim family of the play moves into Regent Park, Koreans have been a fixture in Toronto convenience stores. In the enormously appealing character of Mr. Kim, or Appa (father), we see the smarts, courage, resourcefulness and humour these immigrants brought with them. Through his customers and perhaps most vividly through his children, we also see Mr. Kim’s prejudices, hopes, fears and longings. He is a fully rounded, richly realized creation, and a gift for any actor. Listen to Mr. Kim on the subject of who’s stealing and who isn’t. Watch him deal with other businessmen. His daughter may speak better English but she has her hands full in an argument with her tough-minded Appa. Mr. Kim’s all too familiar difficulty is that he has knowledge but no one to pass it on to: neither of his children will take over the business when he retires. They have other dreams – desires Mr. Kim and his wife’s hard work and sacrifice have helped make possible. Behind the scenes at the National Arts Centre: nac-cna.ca/blog 5 One of the script’s most revealing aspects is its portrait of Regent Park. The closeness and pride among those who live there is perhaps most simply and beautifully summed up in Mr. Kim’s response to the idea of closing his store – “This community need me.” The gentrification now underway may improve some buildings – there’ll certainly be more pricey condominiums – but what will happen to the people who have called this community home for years? What will happen to the small businesses that have so faithfully served them? Through this one family, their business and their loyal clientele, Ins Choi has given us a hilarious, touching glimpse of a corner of our own world. Here. And now. Background Notes by Soulpepper Associate Artist Paula Wing Comfort, Choice and Convenience Book Now! 25 Cartier St, Ottawa, ON, K2P 1J2 www.embassyhotelottawa.com Phone: 613-237-2111 Fax: 613-563-1353 Toll Free: 1-800-661-5495 [email protected] Spacious Suites for Short and Long-Term Stay Fully Equipped Kitchens Laundry Facilities Outstanding Downtown Location Kids Under 16 Stay Free With Parent Free Wireless Internet 6 Join us on Facebook: Facebook.com/NAC.English.Theatre Comfort, Choice and Convenience Book Now! 25 Cartier St, Ottawa, ON, K2P 1J2 www.embassyhotelottawa.com Phone: 613-237-2111 Fax: 613-563-1353 Toll Free: 1-800-661-5495 [email protected] Spacious Suites for Short and Long-Term Stay Fully Equipped Kitchens Laundry Facilities Outstanding Downtown Location Kids Under 16 Stay Free With Parent Free Wireless Internet Playwright’s Notes My father grew up in North Korea. Since his birth, until the end of the Second World War, it was “occupied” by the Japanese. Soon after WWII, the Korean civil war broke out. During that time, he and his family walked south, across the mountainous Korean peninsula with thousands of others in search of freedom. My mother grew up in an orphanage in war-torn South Korea raising her younger brother from the age of five. After graduating high school, she was working as a secretary for the government when she met my father. They set foot in Canada in 1975 with $200, three kids and hope. My father worked at my uncle’s convenience store by day and went to ESL classes by night while my mother took care of me and my two older sisters. We lived with my uncle’s family in the apartment above their convenience store on Weston Road and Black Creek Drive. After a performance of Kim’s Convenience at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival, my parents came up to me, hugged me and said, “We are very proud of you. Thank you.” Kim’s Convenience is my love letter to them and to all first generation immigrants who call Canada their home. I am deeply honoured and thrilled that you are here as part of the 2013-14 tour of Kim’s Convenience. Mari, you had more faith in me than I had in myself. Love you… you too Poem… you too River. Ins Choi Playwright and Jung in Kim’s Convenience Join us on YouTube: youtube.com/NACvideosCNA 7 Bios Ins Choi Jung, Playwright SOULPEPPER: Resident Artist; Kim’s Convenience, Alligator Pie, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Death of a Salesman, (re)Birth: E.E. Cummings in Song & Window on Toronto. OTHER THEATRE: lady in the red dress (fu-GEN Theatre Company/ Factory Theatre); Hamlet, The Odyssey (Stratford Festival); Banana Boys (fu-GEN Theatre Company); Hongbu and Nolbu (Young People’s Theatre). OTHER: His play Kim’s Convenience is touring across Canada in 2014. He’ll be performing his solo show, Subway Stations of the Cross on Feb 2nd at St. Albans church in Ottawa. Grace Lynn Kung Janet SOULPEPPER: La Ronde, Kim’s Convenience. OTHER THEATRE: Yukonstyle (Canadian Stage); a nanking winter (Nightwood Theatre); Paper Series (fu-GEN Theatre Company); Problem Child (Canadian Rep Theatre); Alice Through The Looking-Glass (Ottawa School of Speech + Drama in association with the NAC). FILM & TELEVISION: Slings and Arrows, Away from Her, Being Erica, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, InSecurity, Hypercube, House Party, Cubicle Warriors, P2, Open House, Billable Hours, The Listener, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Blue State, Lost and Delirious, The Doozers, Portrait of a Serial Monogamist, Remedy.

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