Each month, we feature an artist who caught our attention. They could be in theatre, film, music or visual art. The point is we think they’re kick ass and you should know who they are.
Originally from Toronto, Chloé Hung is currently completing her MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her play Issei, He Say (or the Myth of the First), inspired by her grandparent’s immigration to Canada in the late 1960s, has been workshopped under the guidance of Oskar Eustis and Suzan-Lori Parks. Her play All Our Yesterdays, about the 2014 Boko Haram kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, was awarded Patron’s Pick at the 2015 Toronto Fringe Festival and will next be seen at the Next Stage Theatre Festival January 7-17th at the Factory Studio Theatre. Find out more here.
Name: Chloé Hung
Handles across social media: @thisthatchloe (Twitter)
5 things you can’t live without: A notebook, my iPod, soup noodles, my friends and my family.
What’s the best show you’ve seen recently: HAMILTON! Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius. It is the most incredible theatrical experience I’ve had. The music, the lyrics, the story, the characters (and casting choices) -everything is crafted with such care and put together brilliantly. I hope it comes to Toronto.
What are your plans for 2016: Graduation, then Peru! It’s been my life long dream to travel in South America, especially to see Machu Picchu.
Most memorable moment of your career thus far: The whole Toronto Fringe Festival was an incredible experience. Strangers came up to me to tell me how they were touched by my writing and moved by All Our Yesterdays.
What would you be doing if you weren’t doing this: Teaching. I did teach before this. I taught an English immersion kindergarten class in South Korea for a year before I started my MFA. I would love to teach again in the future. I love working with kids.
What advice do you have for people who want to get to where you are: My mom told me, “If there’s something you want to do you better go for it otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering if you should have.”
Industry shout out – who does it go to: Brendon Allen, Angie Silverstein, Cathie Pfaff – my high school Drama and English teachers. These three people are the reason I’m doing this.