An uncanny encounter between two people in despair becomes a chance for mutual understanding, or for xenophobic hate. The Zoonotic Story is a response to abuse against Asians during the pandemic, shared through magical realism and the magic of language, with glimmers of compassion.
The Zoonotic Story was originally commissioned by Stratford Festival and National Arts Centre for The Transformations Project during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was recorded as an audio drama and released on December 4, 2020.
PROJECT STATUS: Available for stage production
PERFORMERS REQUIRED: 2
THE ZOONOTIC STORY
Stratford Festival / National Arts Centre
2020
Directed by Sadie Berlin
Cast: Janet Lo, Tom Rooney
Technical Directors: David Campbell and Evan Bonnah-Hawkes / Translations: Sabrina Moella / Sound and Video Editing: Rachel Wormsbecher
A writer confronts the next chapter in his life story by explaining to his future child why they were born. It’s a reason the child might not appreciate.
I Know I'm Supposed to Love You is a metaphysical meditation on existence. But really, it’s simply a love letter to family.
I Know I'm Supposed to Love You was originally commissioned by Touchstone Theatre for their Seismic Shift program during the COVID-19 pandemic as a hybrid of video and live performance.
PROJECT STATUS: Available for stage production
PERFORMERS REQUIRED: 1
"Yeung addresses his prospective, as-yet-unborn child about his thoughts and feelings on fatherhood as they relate to his parents and his roots as a Chinese-Canadian." — Shawn Conner, Vancouver Sun
"Really beautifully realized. Thank you for this exploration of who we belong to." — Mentoring BC
I KNOW I’M SUPPOSED TO LOVE YOU
Touchstone Theatre
2020
Concept and Directed by Daniela Atiencia
Cast: Norman Yeung
Cinematography and Production: Zach Whitcomb
After school one day in 1899, Genevieve is confronted by her new student Deng in their rural schoolhouse. The city boy feels humiliated by something the teacher did in class, but she insists she was being helpful. Their tête-à-tête reveals that the Chinese-Canadian boy and Québecoise woman share struggles, although they are from worlds apart. On the cusp of a new century, these two outsiders look ahead to a new world where marginalised women and immigrants forge a stronger voice to shape the nation.
Ms. Desjardins was originally commissioned by Expect Theatre and Toronto Arts Council’s Animating Historic Sites program. It was recorded as an audio drama and released as a podcast on PlayME.
PROJECT STATUS: This script has been expanded into a one-act play and is available for production. Suitable for all audiences, including young people.
PERFORMERS REQUIRED: 2
MS. DESJARDINS
Expect Theatre / City of Toronto
PlayME, 2017
Directed by Laura Mullin and Chris Tolley
Cast: Michael Man, Kaitlyn Riordan
Two women compete for the same role at an audition. The brash, younger actor tries to throw Deirdre off her game by questioning her choice to have taken a long hiatus to become a parent. This industry can be so cruel.
PROJECT STATUS: Available for production
PERFORMERS REQUIRED: 4
"Nice work." — Neil LaBute
DEIRDRE DEAR
St. Louis Actors' Studio / LaBute New Theater Festival
The Gaslight Theater, St. Louis, 2015
Directed by Patrick Huber
Cast: Stephanie Benware, Maya Dickinson, Rhyan Robinson, Alicia Smith, Jenny Smith
Set Design: Patrick Huber / Lighting Design: Patrick Huber, Dalton Robison / Costume and Props Design: Carla Landis Evans / Sound Design: John Pierson, Christopher Limber, B. Weller, Patrick Huber / Stage Manager: Amy J. Paige
Be present.
PROJECT STATUS: Available for production
PERFORMERS REQUIRED: 1
IN THIS MOMENT.
Theatre Local / Nuit Blanche, Toronto, 2012
Directed by Norman Yeung
Cast: Cara Gee
On their dying day, a father and son are offered a gruesome glimmer of hope by an enemy creature. Black Blood is an allegory of our wars over resources, giving voice to the victims who are innocent, who do not wish to fight, yet who suffer the most.
Composed by Christiaan Venter
Libretto by Norman Yeung
PROJECT STATUS: Available for production. Please inquire here or with Canadian Opera Resource.
From Canadian Opera Resource:
SYNOPSIS: In a shack surrounded by barren fields, a dying father and his son drink their last bowl of water. They need oil for the machines that will keep them alive and purify their water. A truck rolls past with a huge barrel of oil in the back. The son flags it down, only to discover the person driving the truck is a monstrous creature from the nation they’re at war with. The war has killed millions on each side, and neither the creature nor the humans wish to fight. The creature proposes a deal: a son for some oil.
MUSIC DESCRIPTION: Slow, sparse chords built from open fifths open this scene, as a father and son grapple with wartime scarcity. The music grows increasingly anguished and chromatic as the pair meet a creature from the other side of the conflict and the conversation turns desperate.
PREMIERE PRODUCTION: Tapestry Briefs 2012, September 21-23, 2012 at Tapestry Opera's Ernest Balmer Studio, Toronto
PRODUCERS: Tapestry Opera
CAST: Teiya Kasahara, Derek Kwan, Peter McGillivray
Commissioned by Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist Laboratory
Just as Josie is moving away to pursue her dreams, her partner makes a damning confession.
Composed by Elisabeth Mehl Greene
Libretto by Norman Yeung
PROJECT STATUS: Available for production. Please inquire here or with Canadian Opera Resource.
From Canadian Opera Resource:
SYNOPSIS: Singer-songwriter Josie works on a song in her shared Portland apartment, a girl-at-the-guitar on the cusp of leaving for New York City and a long-anticipated big break. Though her luggage is packed and she’s almost out the door, her boyfriend interjects with objections—he’ll miss her. Josie’s reassurances, dreams of him visiting her on the East Coast or even him transferring schools for them to be together, fail to confront his unspoken real reasons. A scathing soul-inspired arioso follows, unpacking Del’s disbelief in her future plans and abilities as an artist. This lack of faith reads as betrayal to Josie, whose anger vaults the ensuing argument out of singer-songwriter range and into full operatic soprano. Josie struggles to be heard on globally recognized stages as well as in her romantic relationship. Ultimately, guitar case in hand, she walks out the door.
MUSIC DESCRIPTION: The popular music style reflects Josie’s musical milieu. Her vocal lines are freer, with jazz-styled riffs emblematic of her free-spirited nature, while Del’s lines lay flatter with more repeated notes, an indication of his characterization as a “stick in the mud” in contrast to self-starter Josie and their friends.
PREMIERE PRODUCTION: Tapestry Briefs 2011, September 23-24, 2011 at Theatre Passe Muraille Main Space, Toronto
PRODUCERS: Tapestry Opera
CAST: Benjamin Covey, Xin Wang
Director: Sue Miner / Lighting Design: Kimberly Purtell / Stage Manager: Isolde Pleasants-Faulkner / Production Assistant: Ann Bisch / Music Dramaturge: Wayne Strongman / Repetiteur: Dr. Christopher Foley, Jennifer Tung
Commissioned by Tapestry Opera's Composer-Librettist Laboratory