Written by Marjorie Chan
Directed by Aaron Jan
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You Can’t Get There From Here, Vol. 2
Episode 2: The Standard Sing
From the corner of Spadina and Dundas in the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown, two friends, Helen and Justin, find themselves led to an old and abandoned theatre after receiving a cryptic note. Known as The Standard in the early 1920s, during the height of Canada’s Chinese Immigration Act, this venue had a history of renting its space to Cantonese Opera performers. Once inside, Helen and Justin run into the theatre’s mysterious and charismatic caretaker, Mr. Sing, who muses enthusiastically about the theatre’s history of Cantonese Opera performance.
A gripping thriller from award-winning playwright Marjorie Chan, The Standard Sing shines an honest light on the history of the Chinese Canadian experience in Toronto and brings the echoes of this experience to the forefront…suggesting that they may not be at rest…
About the Playwright
Marjorie Chan
Marjorie was born in Tkaronto (Toronto) to Hong Kong immigrants, and makes her home in the East End. As a theatre and opera artist, she works variously as playwright, librettist, director and dramaturge as well as in the intersection of these forms and roles. Her work has been seen and performed in the United States, Scotland, Hong Kong, Russia and across Canada. Marjorie started her professional writing career with CBC Radio Drama and is happy to return to this medium. For Factory Theatre, Marjorie has appeared as an actor in Noran Bang: The Yellow Room, and Mother Tongue. Her play Lady Sunrise debuted at Factory in pre-pandemic February 2020, directed by Nina Lee Aquino, and will be published by Playwrights Canada Press. As well, her plays a nanking winter (Nightwood/Cahoots) and The Madness of the Square (Cahoots/Factory) also premiered on Factory’s mainstage. Her other plays include her Governor General-nominated China Doll and Tails From A City. Marjorie is the recipient of 4 Dora Awards, the K.M. Hunter Artist’s Award, the Entertainment World Award for Best New Work, and the George Luscombe Award for Mentorship. She balances her writing with her role as the Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille.
About the Director
Aaron Jan
Aaron Jan is a Hamilton-born, Toronto-based playwright, director, dramaturg. and educator. He has worked as a creator with Factory Theatre, Soulpepper, York University, Boca Del Lupo, fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre, the Musical Stage Company, Canadian Stage, Sheridan College and most recently as a director with X University and Theatre Erindale. Aaron is a member of the critically acclaimed, Silk Bath Collective, the 2019 winner of the Ken McDougall directing award, the 2021 inaugural co-winner of Highland Arts Theatre’s Rita Joe playwriting award and a co-recipient of The Musical Stage Company’s Aubrey and Marla Dan Fund for New Musicals. aaronchihojan.wixsite.com/home
Cast & Creative Team
Richard Lam
Justin
