Pangaea News
Recent News
November 3, 2009
Pangaea Arts has brought together performing artists from China, Singapore,
and Canada, for a two-week development workshop of JADE in the COAL,
by Governor General Award-Winner Paul Yee, with an original score by
composer Jin Zhang.
World class performers from the renowned Guangdong Cantonese Opera Academy First Troupe join Canadian theatre artists from October 30 to November 6 to develop an original play about the experience of early Chinese immigrants to BC in the late 1800s. The brutal hardship and homesickness of Chinese miners in Cumberland, BC is relieved by the elegance and serene beauty of Cantonese Opera. A rarely acknowledged piece of Canadian theatre history, performers would routinely travel thousands of miles to bring a piece of home to Chinese labourers working underground.
This historical piece is a synthesis of Cantonese opera and western theatre and a cross-cultural collaboration between professional Cantonese opera actors, musicians and western theatre practitioners. Cantonese Opera is a rich combination of music, singing, acting, stylized gestures, dance, mime, martial arts and acrobatics.
May 20, 2009
We are thrilled to announce that the Pangaea Arts production of The
Life of Paper has been recognized with three Jessie
Richardson Theatre Award nominations.
For her original composition, Judy Specht is nominated in
the Outstanding
Sound Design or Original Composition category. Margaret
McKea is nominated
in the Outstanding Costume Design category. Joseph
Wu is nominated in the
Significant Artistic Achievement category for Origami
Artistry. We are
very happy that Judy, Margaret, and Joseph are being recognized for
the enormous amount of work and artistry they put in to the show.
The awards ceremony is on Monday, June
15th at the Commodore Ballroom. Tickets are $25 plus surcharges, available
from Ticketmaster (highly recommended that you purchase tickets in advance).
More information on the awards can be found at www.jessies.ca.
November 10, 2008
Pangaea Arts has been presented
with a prestigious international award by the International Theatre
Institute (a sub-organisation of UNESCO). The Uchimura
Naoya Prize is a cash prize presented yearly to an artist or group
from nominees submitted from around the world, and is intended to promote
the dissemination of Japanese theatre and culture around the world.
Pangaea Arts is the recipient in recognition of their 2006 Jessie Award-nominated
production of The Gull: The Steveston Noh Project, about the
experience of Japanese Canadian fishermen returning to Steveston after
the internment years. Artistic Director Heidi Specht recently
travelled to the presentation ceremony at the Canadian Embassy in
Tokyo to accept the award.
Read More
(PDF) 
Sept 22, 2008
Pangaea Arts has completed the first workshop of the new play JADE in the COAL.
From September 15 to 20, participants engaged in a one-week script development
process with playwright Paul Yee, dramaturge Elaine Avila, director Heidi Specht,
and actors Ming Hudson, Colleen Lanki, Minh Ly, Parnelli Parnes, Donna Soares,
Deborah Williams, and Raugi Yu. Also in attendance was composer Jin Zhang who
will write the score. The second workshop, in early 2009, will consist of a two-week
development process, including Chinese Opera performers, and will culminate in
a public staged reading. The creation and development of JADE in the COAL has
been funding largely through the support of Arts
Partners in Creative Development.
April 17, 2008
Pangaea Arts presents THE LIFE OF PAPER, An Origami Theatre
Event. At the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, May 24 -
June 1, 2008 (2-for-1 Preview May 23),
Tues- Sat 8 pm; Matinees May 25 & June 1 at 2 pm, May 28 at 1 pm. Show
Tickets $22/$18 at www.ticketstonight.ca
Admission to exhibition, workshops & other ancillary events is FREE.
Read More (PDF)
January 10, 2008
Pangaea Arts has been awarded a development grant of $82,042 from Arts
Partners in Creative Development, to commission the creation
and development of JADE in the COAL, a theatrical dramatization about
the early thriving Chinese community of Cumberland, BC. Arts Partners
in Creative Development is a strategic partnership of the Province
of B.C., City of Vancouver, Canada Council for the Arts, Vancouver
Foundation, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and
Paralympic Winter Games and 2010 Legacies Now.
Media About Pangaea Arts
CBC Radio One Interview - The Gull: The Steveston Noh Project
Preview article about The Gull by Beverly Curran for The Japan Times
Review of The Gull by Tia Abell for The Richmond Review