Playwright David Yee discusses winning the 2023 Siminovitch Prize

February 9, 2024April 3, 2024 Arpita Ghosal

Congratulations to David Yee for being named the 2023 Siminovitch Prize Laureate. Yee, of course, is a Dora Mavor Moore Award-nominated actor and playwright known for groundbreaking work that has advanced the theatrical art form. And this prize, which is named after playwright Elinore Siminovitch and University Professor Emeritus Lou Siminovitch, is Canada’s most prestigious theatre award.

Awarded annually for innovation and excellence, the $75 000 prize alternates recognition among directors, playwrights, and designers. It also emphasizes mentorship by allowing the laureate to select a protégé to receive $25 000 – Yee has chosen Julie Phan, a talented Vietnamese-Hoklo writer-performer and arts leader who is currently an artist-in-residence at Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

David Yee (photo by Dahlia Katz)

Yee, who is of mixed Chinese and Scottish heritage, is being recognized for his diverse contributions and his extensive efforts to uplift Asian Canadian voices in theatre – efforts that showcase commitment not just to his craft, but to building community and fostering new talent. He is co-founder and Artistic Director of fu-GEN Theatre Company, which focuses on Asian Canadian works. His plays, such as lady in the red dress and carried away on the crest of a wave, have earned him multiple nominations and awards, including the 2015 Governor General’s Award for Drama. And his work spans a broad range: from digital theatre and new media/performance hybrids to site-specific forms and opera.

Yee’s dedication to theatre is almost primal: “So long as I can remember, theatre is the only thing I’ve really loved to do. Moreover, it’s something that I found difficult to quit – though not for lack of trying.” He studied theatre in university for four years, and then – counterintuitive though it might seem – “for some reason, the most natural thing I found to do was give it up completely”. Happily, the pull of natural inclination was too potent: after a brief detour into a “corporate job that paid reasonably well,” his passion led him back to his true calling. The decision to leave a “stable life” that made him miserable to immerse himself in writing plays was transformational: “I eventually just stopped going to work altogether, and spent all of my time writing plays,” he recalls. “Eventually, this led to me losing my job and joining the Factory Theatre Playwright’s Lab. I’ve never looked back.”

Following the Siminovitch Prize ceremony, SesayArts Magazine had the pleasure of asking Yee some questions about what the prize means to him, the importance of mentorship, and the lasting impact of Guillermo Verdecchia on his life and career.

SesayArts Magazine: In what ways has your work and leadership at fu-GEN Theatre impacted your approach to playwriting and storytelling, especially in terms of representing and amplifying Asian Canadian voices in theatre?

David Yee: The best part of my work at fu-GEN is the ability to champion Asian Canadian voices, and to develop them within the in-house programs we run. Over the last decade, it’s been my job to challenge new cohorts of emerging artists and they have, in turn, challenged me. When I challenge them to keep pushing, keep exploring, keep evolving, I have a responsibility to exemplify those qualities in my own work; to lead by example. Which isn’t to say that I would encourage them to write like me, only that I want to abide by the principles of creation I espouse to them. I never want young Asian Canadian creators to feel obliged to create work that looks or sounds a certain way, or that concerns itself with any subject in particular. As such, I allow myself a certain restlessness in my own work, so that the road ahead might seem a little less untravelled for them.

SesayArts Magazine: Receiving the 2023 Siminovitch Prize is a monumental accolade. Congratulations! What does this prize mean to you? Are there specific goals or initiatives that this prize could lead to or that you are now more inclined to pursue?

David Yee: It really means the world to me. That it was decided by a jury of peers whom I respect and admire is even more meaningful. I’m still a little in shock, if I’m honest. What I spoke about before, the trade-off in stability for pursuing the thing you love… this prize really helps to balance those scales a little, which is incredibly impactful and necessary, not to mention rare.

Beyond the commerce of it, I look at it as a signal from my peers that I’m on the right track. Some of the work I do can be a little… unusual. Not exactly traditional. The recognition of that work as fundamental in my evolving artistic practice is heartening. It’s very difficult, verging on impossible, to adequately express how meaningful it all is on a lot of different levels.

SesayArts Magazine: The mentorship component of the Siminovitch Prize is a unique and significant aspect. Can you share your thoughts on the importance of mentorship in the theatre community and what led you to choose Julie Phan as your protégé?

I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in if it weren’t for the encouragement and guidance of my mentors. As an emerging artist, it’s crucial to have people who’ve done it all before who believe in you and champion your work. The increased support for emerging artists that the Siminovitch Foundation piloted this year is absolutely essential. I was really pleased to see each emerging artist chosen by the finalists be recognized and rewarded.

Julie is an artist I’ve known since she was in high school. I’ve always been impressed by her dedication and determination to tell stories. I very much recognized the way it lives in her as similar to how it lived in me at her age. We have a very natural rapport, a very – almost familial – relationship that has grown over the years. She’s very dear to me, but I also believe in her potential to a degree she’d probably balk at.

SesayArts Magazine: How do you hope this mentorship will shape her career and the future of theatre in Canada (and beyond)?

David Yee: My hope is that this gives her the time, freedom and exposure to grow into the artist I know she’s capable of becoming. Just watch. She’s going to be something special.

SesayArts Magazine: What are you working on now that you would like to tell us about?

David Yee: I’m working on a few commissions from Tarragon Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, and the Stratford Festival. I’ll be starting a new project soon with the National Arts Centre, as well. So there’s no shortage of work to be done, which is great. I’m exhausted, but I also wouldn’t have it any other way.

SesayArts Magazine: Who has been a major influence on you and how has their inspiration and advice impacted your work?

David Yee: When I was in university, we studied a play called Fronteras Americanas by Guillermo Verdecchia in theatre history. As one of only two BIPOC students in my cohort, it was a sort of spiritual and artistic awakening. I’d never seen or read theatre that didn’t originate from or service the cultural majority. The year we studied Fronteras… I also saw MJ Kang’s play Blessings at Tarragon, which also left me reeling. I’d never seen an Asian person on stage who wasn’t doing some form of martial arts. Verdecchia’s play, in particular, was such a turning point for me. It made me really consider how I could write for theatre.

When my first mainstage play was in development, we hired Verdecchia as my dramaturg. I worked with him for two or three years on that play, which was lady in the red dress, and we developed – I think – a really unique friendship. It was sort of like the friendship between Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, from Breaking Bad, where he’s this extraordinary genius and I’m the f- up kid that he sort of can’t get rid of, but you can tell he’s quite fond of.

I’d say he’s been one of the most influential people for me, but I’m not sure even he knows that. Or would believe it. But it’s true. Even today, when I get stuck or doubtful, I think back to the advice he’s given me (that maybe he didn’t know he was giving me, or think of it as advice, per se) and, in that way, his guidance has never led me astray.