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The Chinese United Dramatic Society and the Ship
Toy Yuen Dramatic Society are two of Toronto's longest established
theatre troupes. What initially began as a social get-together soon
evolved into amateur groups that performed traditional Cantonese
operas for their own entertainment. Unlike the clan or district
associations, which had prerequisites for membership, the dramatic
societies were open to anyone who wished to participate.
During
the 1930s, one recently arrived immigrant to Toronto, Mr. D.J. Lumb,
found participating in the activities of the clubs an interesting
way to spend his free time. He learned to play a few instruments
and, with coaching from former actors, he was taught to sing.
Eventually,
Mr. Lumb took on acting roles; but as women were still relatively
few in number, he was assigned to play the female characters. Ironically,
when Jean Lumb, his wife, started acting, she portrayed men. "Nobody
wanted to play the bad characters," she explained, "so I was chosen
for those parts. We performed together at the Casino Club on Queen
Street."
A number
of years of serious training are required before mastering the rigidly
structured gestures that accompany the verbose verse of classical
Chinese lyrics. Movements and song are strictly dictated by timing.
The skill of the actor or actress is demonstrated in the perfect
coordination of both elements.
Until
professionals were brought in from Hong Kong to perform title operas,
local talent put on Bak Wah Kek, or skits, that demanded
only minimal acting. Instead of classical Chinese, which was often
difficult to follow, the dialogue was conducted in the vernacular,
and the costuming was ordinary attire rather than elaborate costumes.
By
1935 there were three Chinese opera houses in Toronto. The Chinese
United Dramatic Society, the Ship Toy Yuen Dramatic Society and
a third (now the Hung Lok (martial arts) Club) were located in old
Chinatown. The Ship Toy Yuen had its headquarters on Dundas Street
and a theatre at 126 Elizabeth Street, where the Kwong Chow Restaurant
is today. The Chinese United Dramatic Society (Lun Kiu) was further
down the block. When the Holiday Inn on Chestnut Street was built
in the 1970s, the dramatic society moved to its present location
at 350 Dundas Street West. Local performances were also held at
the old Victory Theatre on Spadina Avenue.
Now
and then troupes from Hong Kong would tour Canada presenting Chinese
headliners. One performance entitled One Word Often Relieves
the Difficulties of a Nation captivated Toronto audiences in
March 1940.
The
drama, which boasted local and visiting artists, performed three
to four times a week at the Gee Gung Hong Clubroom on Elizabeth
Street. The play would begin at 7:00 p.m. and run until midnight
- without intermission.
Tickets
ranged from fifty cents to fifteen dollars for those who wished
to support the theatre. Quite often the more seasoned playgoers
did not arrive until the middle of the evening when the tempo of
the story and the acting had reached a high point of interest.
From
1935-49 the Chinese community was actively involved in the dramatic
arts. During the depression and later throughout the Sino-Japanese
and Second World Wars, local talent performed regularly for fundraising
benefits. It was also at this time that the drama associations enjoyed
an influx of visiting stars as the war drove many performers to
North America.
The
Chinese United Dramatic Society and the Ship Toy Yuen Dramatic Society
brought over two professional troupes with about twelve members
each.
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Some,
like Ming Sing Loo, stayed temporarily, but other members remained
and established themselves in the city. Lim Mark Yee, director for
the Ship Toy Yuen, was considered one of the finest instructors
on the continent in the ancient art of Chinese sword and spear dancing.
Chong Yung, who came at a much earlier time, directed the Sing Kew
Theatre in Vancouver and later became very active in promoting Chinese
theatre in Toronto.
On
V-J Day, August 1945, a huge celebration was held in Toronto's Chinatown.
"The Chinese were able to put on a huge parade because of the three
dramatic societies. Each of the societies had a float, and they
dressed in their opera costumes. "
For
those unfamiliar with the Cantonese style of opera, the exaggerated
body movements and facial expressions, augmented by staccato verse
and high-pitched Chinese instruments punctuated by the clash of
cymbals, would be difficult to understand without explanation. Southern
Chinese operas, as a rule, are more lyrical and musical than those
of the north.
The
well-known and popular plays generally followed traditional plots
in which a beautiful princess falls in love with a soldier in her
father's command. The emperor, quite expectedly, is opposed to the
marriage, but the soldier (displaying courage and valour in battle)
surpasses seemingly insurmountable obstacles to win his favour.
As a reward for his efforts, the emperor offers the soldier the
hand of the princess.
Although
the script would imply a variety of scenes and changes in setting,
few props were actually used on stage. In part to facilitate travelling,
the opera stage settings have remained relatively simple. Symbolic
gestures are used in place of props. The delicate lifting of a skirt
hem and tiny footsteps, for example, would indicate the crossing
of a river.
Furniture
would normally consist of two chairs. If a bed was required, the
chairs would then be placed together and a sitting-room would be
transformed into a sleeping area. A table and curtain backdrops
would complete the scene.
Many
believed that after two or three generations Chinese drama in Toronto
would disappear, and indeed this was almost the case in the 1960s
and 1970s. Although the dramatic societies were still in existence,
they no longer performed.
Some
of the members branched out into musical associations such as the
Cantonese Music Club, formed approximately seventeen years ago.
A former actress with the Ship Toy Yuen Dramatic Society assisted
in establishing a Chinese dance group. "She was a tiny actress,
her costumes fit an eight-year-old girl. With the old outfits and
the costumes we had found in a trunk at Lun Kiu, left over from
former days, we altered them for the girls," recounts Jean Lumb,
founder of the group. With the help of the Chinese Canadian Association,
skirts and jackets were fashioned in the style of the original theatre
costumes.
Concurrent
with the present-day revival of traditional drama, Chinese Canadians
are expressing an increased interest in the performing arts as a
whole.
Canasian
Artists, a newly formed umbrella group for Asian Canadian performing
artists, has recently produced Yellow Fever. Written by Toronto
playwright R.A. Shiomi, Yellow Fever has given undiscovered
Asian Canadian actors and actresses their first opportunity to perform
in a major production.
Drama,
within the Toronto Chinese Canadian community is very much alive.
From the forgotten theatres of Elizabeth Street to the Toronto Free
Theatre where Yellow Fever premiered earlier this year, it
has and will continue to entertain.
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