As an Asian-focused organization, VACT feels that their role in the community is to provide opportunities for Asians and Asian-Canadians in comedy and theatre. The controversial 'Hyphenated-Asian' is part of what they represent because they feel like that is part of who they are. By expressing themselves as actors, their Asian identity is exposed to the audience and this identity is reflected amongst the community through their shows. They wanted to expose a contemporary genre of Asian entertainment to Vancouver because previous Asian performances were mostly traditional operas, dances, or plays taken directly from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. VACT thought that perhaps the newer generation of North American Asians may not be able to connect with such ancient and traditional entertainment, so they decided to incorporate a North American flair to their shows.
This is not to say, however, that VACT just focuses its entertainment on the younger generation. Joyce and Tom also wanted to look into satisfying the tastes of older generations as well. They felt that while younger generations found it difficult to connect with traditional arts, the older generation also found it difficult to connect with North American entertainment. VACT describes this as a skip in generations; the gap is such that the younger and older generations just miss connecting with one another. They wanted to be able to bring the younger and older generations together through VACT. One way they have done this is to include the use of Chinese language surtitles projected above the stage at their 2008 production of The Odd Couple, thus enabling new immigrants and the older non-English speaking generation to appreciate their brand of Asian Canadian theatre.
With their success, we can see that the Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre has brought attention to something that is important to the community. By producing shows like Flower Drum Song, old generations can reflect on classic plays, while new generations have the chance to learn about them. As well, Flower Drum Song's director, Rick Tae, took the opportunity to update the classic 1958 musical for today's audience by speeding up the music and also putting a tongue-in-cheek spin on the story to compensate for the slightly sexist and racist content that would have been perfectly acceptable in the past.
With their success, we can see that the Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre has brought attention to something that is important to the community. By producing shows like Flower Drum Song, old generations can reflect on classic plays, while new generations have the chance to learn about them. As well, Flower Drum Song's director, Rick Tae, took the opportunity to update the classic 1958 musical for today's audience by speeding up the music and also putting a tongue-in-cheek spin on the story to compensate for the slightly sexist and racist content that would have been perfectly acceptable in the past.
