The feeling that there was not enough Asian Canadian representation on stage in Vancouver despite the growing population of Asians contributed to the founding of VACT. This created an opportunity to increase the number of Asian Canadian shows and furthermore provide Asian Canadian actors with more opportunities to express their unique identities and stories on stage.
Although the Asian Canadian community in Vancouver is vast, residents of the city do not get many chances to explore stories about the lives of Asians in Vancouver. Joyce, the founder of VACT, insists that these stories need to be told and shared with others as Asians are an integral part of Vancouver’s society. Tom, a producer, writer, and actor at VACT, mentions that he strives to prove to other communities that Asians can be and are as funny and approachable as others. On this he says,
"[P]eople would think that Asians aren’t very funny...we kind of have this self-loathing thing about us, so they think we can’t be funny, right? We can do math… We can do math… And we can do math! But we’re not supposed to be funny...so it was kind of a way to make ourselves...comfortable on stage, and present a cool image of us because we are funny, we know a lot of funny people, we’re just as funny as anybody else."
Their recent success in producing the play, “Flower Drum Song”, proves their achievement in getting people involved in the Asian Canadian community. They were successful in exemplifying the excellence of Asian actors, as well as attracting audiences from various age groups and ethnic backgrounds. Joyce marks this production as her proudest moment in VACT history. She was overjoyed to see the audience laughing and enjoying the show, and she is looking forward to bringing more shows to the stage in the future.
"[P]eople would think that Asians aren’t very funny...we kind of have this self-loathing thing about us, so they think we can’t be funny, right? We can do math… We can do math… And we can do math! But we’re not supposed to be funny...so it was kind of a way to make ourselves...comfortable on stage, and present a cool image of us because we are funny, we know a lot of funny people, we’re just as funny as anybody else."
Their recent success in producing the play, “Flower Drum Song”, proves their achievement in getting people involved in the Asian Canadian community. They were successful in exemplifying the excellence of Asian actors, as well as attracting audiences from various age groups and ethnic backgrounds. Joyce marks this production as her proudest moment in VACT history. She was overjoyed to see the audience laughing and enjoying the show, and she is looking forward to bringing more shows to the stage in the future.
