A PERFECT BOWL OF PHO |
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Journey across the noodle of time and space as Nam writes a musical history of the Vietnamese diaspora, told through its foods. |
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郝邦宇 Steven Hao |
Nam Nguyen |
Kevin Vuong |
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Mya Wong Donny Pham |
Honey Pham Joshua Kilimnik |
Victoria Yip Isabelle Bergman |
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Director's Note
Song List
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THE ANSWER |
Farmer, Nam, Kevin
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VIETNAM PIMPIN’ |
Jen, Lang Lieu
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MEDIUM PHO |
Amy, Nam, Company
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LIFE WAS HARD |
Nam’s Dad, Nam, The Owner of Phở Hưng, Company
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SOUPS FOR A NEW WORLD |
Tuyet, Duong, Thang
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PHO IS THE NEW RAMEN |
Noah, Company
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COMING HOME |
An, Company |
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The performance is approximately 85 minutes. There will be no intermission. We encourage you to stick around after the show and see another Fringe Show at this venue! Especially if it’s called Statistics Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited. |
Cast
Creative Team
Secret Spice Blend (Special Thanks)
Meet the Company
Chris is ecstatic to be making his post-shutdown return to the stage by joining this sens-Asian-al company. He recently moved back from living in Manhattan for three months completing an acting conservatory with the off-Broadway company Fiasco Theater. Credits: Romeo & Juliet (Fiasco Theater, workshop); Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night! (Carlos Bulosan Theatre, Tales From the Flipside Festival); Peter Pan (Neptune Theatre, Atlantic acting debut); A Christmas Carol (Magnus Theatre); High School Musical (Theatre Aquarius); Cannibal! the Musical (Starvox Entertainment, US Premiere and North American Tour); Avenue Q (LOT); Commercial: Fall Tips series (the Rec Room). During the shutdown he became a virtual Musical Theatre Teacher for the youth performance academy Innovative Arts. He can next be seen in Guild Theatre Festival’s August staging of Chekhov’s Shorts. Thank you all for coming back to the theatre. Much love to his family, friends, and Richard. Instagram/Twitter @verbitty
Randy (Lei) Chang is a Toronto-based singer-songwriter/actor/musician/educator. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor's in Music. Having started acting within the U of T drama community a little over 3 years ago, Randy is excited to finally make his Toronto Fringe debut through this show this year! Besides partaking in acting, Randy has also been teaching piano privately for several years, has had extensive experience in A Cappella singing and performance, and is currently working on an EP of original music (due for a release by the end of 2022). He is very excited to know how Toronto will find this show - please come out and support!
Mya Wong (she/her) is a Chinese-Vietnamese artist based in Toronto, Ontario, and is heading into her third year in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Acting program. Mya sends a huge thank you to her family for all their support (<3) and another one to pho for always being there for her (<3!!). Select credits include: Drama 101 (Toronto Fringe Festival/Bravo Academy), Morning After (Terra Firma Festival), For Better or Worse (SpringWorks Festival), Nationals 2021/Viral Monologues (24 Hour Plays), and Gay Mean Girls S2 (Obvious Allegory).
Kryslyne is a Toronto-based singer, actor, songwriter, and guitarist. She studied at York University for Classical Voice Performance graduating with honors under Norma Burrowes. With adoration for original work, Kryslyne has been active in workshopping new Canadian musicals along with performing original musicals during the Toronto Fringe Festivals. A few notable credits include Violet in the workshop of Guildwood, Hannah in the Summerland workshop, Deirdre in Be Kind Rewind, Jaime in One Small Step, and Natalie Goodman in Next to Normal. She can be found belting the cast album of Hadestown at any local taco joint. Kryslyne would like to send all her love to her supportive friends and family. She is thrilled to be a part of this amazing show, which has pho-ever inspired her to explore Asian-Canadian stories on stage.
Honey Pham (she/her) is a Vietnamese theatre and film actor born and raised in Winnipeg Manitoba and is currently a fourth year student at Sheridan College in the Bachelors of Music Theatre Performance Program. Select theatre credits include: School of Rock (Winnipeg Studio Theatre); Honey has been active at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival including: Tumbling After, What We’ve Learned From Watching You, and DYSTOPIA (Summer Studios). TV/Film Credits Include: Zaasaakwe, Fourth Period Burnout (CBC Docs); and The Colour Of Scar Tissue (APTN/ImagiNATIVE). If you can believe it- Honey has received Highest Achievement in Acting Performance, The Creative Dance Project Award, and Student Leadership Award (Sheridan College), and the Jean Murray Manitoba Theatre Centre Scholarship. She is immensely grateful to her immigrant parents for their sacrifices and The After School Leadership Program for providing accessible theatre education so Honey could be where she is now. Slay!
Donny comes from an engineering background with a passion for the arts. He is a social dancer with 9 years of experience in Brazilian Zouk. He's also a versatile visual artist in the mediums of graphics, sketching and paint. His most recent work in the upcoming short film Desdemona in the Snow features him dancing Brazilian Zouk. He's incredibly grateful and humbled to be surrounded by and working with such a talented and embracing crew. Special thanks to Henry Tran, Actor and Tennis Coach, who connected him into theatre and Nightingale Nguyen, Community Driven Artist, for supporting him in jumping into this role! Donny's other hobbies include singing (baritone and tenor - he does a pretty decent Ed Sheeran impression), guitar, piano, wood working, and clay modelling. He's really looking forward to having all his friends watch him on stage for the first time.
Joshua is thrilled to be making his downtown theatre debut among these brilliant artists! He is an actor and director completing his theatre education at York University, and is the co-founder of the recently established Shifting Ground Collective. Everything is owed to Ima and Aba, Jonathan, the grandparents, this company, and Annasofie. Selected theatre credits: World premiere of HAGS and digging for sunshine (York University), Dog Sees God as CB (UTSC Drama Society), My Favourite Year as Benjy Stone (Vanier College Productions), Into the Woods as Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince (Wavestage Productions), Les Misérables as Jean Valjean, Beauty and the Beast as The Beast, Crazy for You as Bela Zangler (Mackenzie Music Productions), and director of an upcoming production of Merrily We Roll Along (Shifting Ground Collective). Film/TV credits: Odd Squad (PBS Kids/Sinking Ship Productions), the Bruno and Boots movie trilogy (YTV/Aircraft Pictures), Backstage (Family Channel/DHX), People of Earth (TBS/Conaco), Buzzard (Ford Films) and winner of “Best Student Film” at the 2019 V aughan Film Festival for My Strange Addiction. ig: @officialjoshuak
Born and raised in Seoul, Korea, Izzy is an emerging multidisciplinary artist trying to find their voice and place in the "Canadian" theatre industry. For better or for worse, they will be entering their 3rd year in the Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance Program at Sheridan College come September. This summer, they are working as a Professional Pirate™ at Pirate Life Theatre, worrying about the climate crisis, writing, and seeing as much live theatre as they possibly can. Passionate about local, original musicals and works - especially those made by and for marginalized folks - it has been a dream come true for them to be working on this production. They are incredibly grateful and feel inspired everyday to be a part of this cast and crew. Please feel free to contact them if you'd ever like to give un/solicited writing advice and/or do some musical theatre improv!
VICTORIA YIP (she/they) is thrilled to be making her Fringe debut in A Perfect Bowl of Pho! A musician born and raised in North York, Ontario, her theatre credits include: Ember Island Players' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet in Concert, Victoria College's production of Dave Malloy's musical song cycle, Ghost Quartet, Carleigh Pace-Tonna's sci-fi audio drama, Re-Gen, and Midsummer Snow's radio production of Chinese play Snow in Midsummer. Her recent live musical performances include her time in UofT a cappella group, Tunes. Beats. Awesome., the National Anthem at the 2021 Canada Day Wreath-Bearing Ceremony for the Foundation to Commemorate Chinese Railroad Workers, and a set at The 519's Youth Pride event in 2022 with her collegiate-formed ensemble, FUNK 1001. She teaches voice, cello and violin online and in-person. It's her greatest joy to bring people together with music - if you've read this far, thank you :) I hope you enjoy the show!
"Not just bound to the realm of classical music - the ever eclectic cellist Brendan Rogers is an innovative performer and music educator. A recent recipient of the Felix Galimir chamber award (for two years in a row) and the Laura Kinton Muir prize, he is always eager to be on stage in any form. Prior to this he was extremely honoured to have given the inaugural performance of a cello sonata written for him by the talented budding composer Julian Cruz. In the preceding years Brendan has been extremely active as a performer - sitting in with several orchestras such as the Ontario Philharmonic, Canadian Sinfonietta, and the Georgian Bay symphony. In addition to this he has also played as a session musician for touring artists at great venues including the Mod Club. In a similar vein, he also regularly records for performing artists (such as ‘Russ’) and was recently featured on Nick Vereschak’s latest EP ‘Details’."
Charlotte has performed in dozens of musical theatre pit bands, including the original performance of A Perfect Bowl of Pho and every iteration since. She is ecstatic to return to A Perfect Bowl of Pho for Fringe 2022 and continue making art with the Pho family. Other performances include Sweeney Todd, Big Fish, If/Then, Sunday in the Park with George, The Last 5 Years, Into the Woods, Kiss Me Kate, Miss Saigon, Me and My Girl, Carousel, and Porgy and Bess.
Jasmine Chu is a violinist currently attending the University of Toronto (St. George) for her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance. She began her violin studies at the age of six and has since achieved the RCM's ARCT in Violin Performance. Taking after the mentors in her life, Jasmine also has a passion for teaching. As a violin teacher at the Willowdale School of Music, she hopes to inspire her students of many ages with the same love of music she has. Although Jasmine primarily plays the violin, she enjoys playing the flute recreationally, having been the principal flautist of the Ontario Provincial Honour Band in 2019.
eshav Sharma-Jaitly is a percussionist, producer, and composer based in Toronto, and is a recent graduate of U of T’s Music Technology and Digital Media program. He is also a graduate of U of T’s classical percussion program (BMus), and has studied with Russell Hartenberger, Aiyun Huang, John Rudolph, Beverley Johnston, and Michelle Colton. He enjoys playing in musicals, and has been contributing to shows both on and off-campus, notably Songs For A New World with the CCOC and the Luminato Festival’s 2015 production of Apocalypsis. Keshav has been producing, recording, and mixing music for three years, working with artists in the GTA and the USA, such as Boyce Jeffries, Just Prince, and Kurt Lovely. He releases original music as pyari, and has scored several films, such as Kassy Gascho and Melissa Jones’ Missed Connections, selected for the 2021 Toronto Short Film Festival.
Canadian flutist Gillian Derer is an imaginative and versatile emerging artist known for her passion, dedication, and dazzling on-stage energy. She has studied with some of the world’s most widely respected flutists, notably Emmanuel Pahud, Susan Hoeppner, Julien Beaudiment and Jacinthe Forand. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from Western University in 2022 and looks forward to pursuing her Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory in the Fall. The Perfect Bowl of Pho is her first time performing in a musical, and she is ecstatic to perform alongside such an amazing and talented group of artists.
"郝邦宇 Steven Hao he/him Steven is a Toronto-based director, writer and actor and one of the artistic directors of Precipice Productions (@precipiceproductions). In his work, Steven believes in the usage of powerful imageries as a means of storytelling; he aims to create visually stimulating work that makes ever-lasting memories inside the minds of his audience. A Perfect Bowl Of Pho will be the first original musical directed by Steven. He is very grateful to Nam Nguyen for writing such a dynamic show that allows Asians to be seen in ways never before. On top of being thrilled to work on this rendition of the musical, he also wishes to thank everyone involved for giving so much life to the show. He would like to shout out to Kevin Vuong for being the absolute best partner a director can dream of. His selected credits include: I and You, Director, Precipice Productions (2022); Constellations, Director, Precipice Productions (2021); Color, Silence, Writer/Director, 7 Stages Festival (2021)."
Equally comfortable on the podium, in the pit, and in the classroom, Kevin’s diverse resumé includes engagements as Music Director for numerous musical theatre productions, as a conductor-educator working with school and community groups, and as a freelance woodwinds player and teacher in the Toronto area. Kevin is committed to representation, diversity, equity, and inclusion in music education, with his research focused on promoting student-centred learning in the secondary instrumental music classroom. Kevin holds a Master of Teaching from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Toronto, where he studied clarinet with Peter Stoll and conducting with Dr. Gillian Mackay. Selected conducting and music direction credits include: Union (Green Room Music), Sweeney Todd (EMP), A Perfect Bowl of Pho (fu-GEN), Newsies (RMTC), The Drowsy Chaperone (VCDS) and Hairspray (SMCT). Hope you enjoy our silly soup songs!
Jonah Nung is a pianist, theatre musician, and music director entering his fourth year of the Music Education degree program with a minor in Composition at the University of Toronto. He is passionate about musical theatre’s ability to foster human connections and amplify marginalized voices. He is very grateful to have worked with this talented cast as a rehearsal pianist and assistant music director. Recent musical theatre credits include Disney’s High School Musical (Dir. Paul Meyer, Victoria College Drama Society); Miss You ‘Til Tomorrow (Dir. Isabella Cesari, UofT CDTPS); and 18 Palace Road (Dir. Abigail Lewis, Trinity College Dramatic Society). Film composition credits include Sammi Zhang’s Long Distance (S21E33 of CBC’s Absolutely Canadian) and Luigi Pizzolito’s Near Mint (ACAMIS Student Film Festival 2022). Special thanks to Kevin, Annasofie, and Steven for their inspiring dedication and hard work on A Perfect Bowl of Pho. Enjoy the show!
Margot Greve (she/her) is an interdisciplinary theatre creator, writer and director. She is the Artistic Director of Mixtape Projects, a theatre company that creates unapologetically fun and physical works of theatre. While writing, directing and dramaturgy are her primary practices, she also works as a movement coordinator and choreographer for projects in the Greater Toronto Area. Credits include: Director, Book Writer and Choreographer, Killing Time: A Game Show Musical (Mixtape Projects, 2022); Director, Ursa: A Folk Musical (Uncommon Folk Collective, 2022); Director, Playwright and Choreographer, Rebecca Love (Mixtape Projects, 2020), Director, Book Writer, Over Again (Mixtape Projects, 2019). Follow along @mixtapeprojects
Nam is the product of vast historical forces, and the instrument through which they continue to work.
Wilfred (he/him) is a Chinese-Canadian composer for screen and stage. After spending the last two years doing music school in North Carolina, he is excited to be among Toronto theatre-goers again. He just finished writing the music for Nam's tragic yet heroic death in Scene 12 and he's still pretty emotional about it, but he's doing OK."
Kevin (he/him) is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, but his heart really lies in theatre. Recent credits include: Producer, Orange Chicken: A Sketch Show (Digital Fringe 2021); Music Director, Big Fish (XMTC 2020); Producer, A Perfect Bowl of Pho (fu-GEN 2019). You'll learn more about him in the show ;)
Murphy Diggon (She/Her) is a producer, production manager and stage manager for theatre and film. Murphy holds a degree in Theatre Production and Design from York University. Since graduation, she has spent a year living and working in Japan and another travelling the US working on musical theatre tours. Murphy is currently settled back in Canada as the Assistant Production Manager for the Canadian Opera Company, Venue Manager for Space Space Revolution, and now Administrator for Mainstage Theatre. Selected Theatre credits include: Legally Blonde The Musical, SpongeBob Squarepants The Musical (PSM / Mainstage Theatre), Urinetown, The Music Man, Matilda, Newsies (Rehearsal Manager / Mainstage Theatre), Shopkins Live Tour (APM & ASM / Koba Entertainment)
Annasofie 诗慧 Jakobsen is a Toronto based stage manager who is going into her final year of Performance Production at Toronto Metropolitan University (recently renamed). She is absolutely honoured to have made her Toronto Fringe debut as the stage manager in A Perfect Bowl of Pho. It has been a joy to work alongside such a lovely cast and crew, especially Steven, Kevin and Jonah, who are the heart and soul of the production. Enjoy the show! Select credits include most recently stage managing I and You (Dir. Steven Hao, Precipice Productions), Insert Clown Here (Dir. Kendelle Parks and Jacob Willis, Precipice Productions), Hookman, (Dir. Aaron Jan, TMU) Untamed, (Dir. Lisa Karen Cox, TMU), rabbit hole, (Dir. Nina Lee Aquino, TMU) Upcoming: Stage Manager, Harabogee and Me, (Dir. Brenda Kamino, Shakespeare In Action)
Irene Ly is a multidisciplinary theatre and film artist who is entering her final year in Performance Production at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is thrilled to be the set and costume designer of A Perfect Bowl of Pho! Love to the cast and crew for making this such a great experience! Select credits include being the set designer for Insert Clown Here (Dir. Jacob Willis and Kendelle Parks, Precipice Productions), the assistant costume designer of Spring Awakening (Dir. Paolo Santalucia, TMU), set decorator / wardrobe assistant on Dandelion Green (Dir. Kathleen Burgess, Babyteeth Productions)
Mathilda (She/Her) is a Tkaronto based Lighting Designer and Theatre Maker. She is a recent graduate of the Performance Production and Design program at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). She is a Queer, second generation Canadian of Scottish, Indian, German, and Guyanese descent. She is absolutely thrilled and honoured to be a part of such a wonderful team and to be telling this incredible story. Select credits include: Lighting Designer, Killing Time: A Game Show Musical, Mixtape Projects (2022); Associate Lighting Designer, The Miserere Project, Citadel + Compagnie (2022); Lighting Designer, ECHO, Terra Firma Festival (2022); Lighting Designer, Ursa: A Folk Musical, Toronto Fringe: Next Stage (2022); Assistant Lighting Designer, DinoLand, Rock Bottom Movement (2021)
Alison is a multidisciplinary designer and artist based in Toronto. Their most recent works include joining XMTC as a sound designer for their production of Big Fish, Toronto French Theatre’s most recent run of Les Zinspirés and Mixtape Productions’ debut of Killing Time: A Game Show Musical. After having to spend covid with their artistic focus elsewhere, they are very excited to have returned to their professional roots in live theatre in a design capacity and to be working amongst friends again.
Sabrina Mei Ling Pye is honoured to be the Props Master of A Perfect Bowl of Pho! Entering her last year in Performance Production at Toronto Metropolitan University, she hopes to continue her love of collecting and creating objects for the stage and screen. Select credits include: Props Assistant, R.U.R. A Torrent of Light (Tapestry Opera); Set Designer, Insert Clown Here (Terra Firma Festival); Head of Props, Hookman (Toronto Metropolitan University); Head of Props, Untamed (Toronto Metropolitan University). Upcoming: Design Assistant, Harabogee & Me (Shakespeare in Action).
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