Melissa Oei
Melissa Oei is a theatre actor and director. She is a graduate of Studio 58’s Conservatory Acting program, Langara College’s Film Arts program, and Capilano University’s Theatre Arts program. Melissa has performed with dozens of companies across Western Canada, most recently in the one-person show The Twelve Dates of Christmas with Arts Club Theatre. Melissa is a recipient of the Antony Holland scholarship from Studio 58, the Aida Broadbent Award from Theatre Under the Stars, the Best Performer award from Langara’s Unlock the Vault film festival, an Ovation Award, and is a two-time Jessie Richardson Award nominee.
Melissa was born, raised, studied, works, and lives in Vancouver on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Melissa Oei: Curatorial Statement
When Artistic Director of Western Gold Theatre Tanja Dixon-Warren approached me about curating programming for Western Gold Theatre’s Virtual Gold series for Asian Heritage month, I felt a spark of excitement that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. The next feeling was confusion—what was my job exactly? All Tanja said was, “Your job is to dream.” Wow, and I thought I already had the best job in the world.
During a year when all jobs as a professional stage actor had disappeared, my opportunities for joy were few and far between. Though I had never curated anything before, besides my Instagram account, something about this project really spoke to me. I have had so many mentors during my professional career give me opportunities as an artist, and I was excited to do the same for others of both my artistic and cultural community. And in a year when anti-Asian sentiment and violence has been on a disturbing rise, it felt especially important to highlight the experiences of Asian artists and create Asian visibility.
Because I love plays, the first thing that came to mind was to present a script by an Asian playwright, and because part of Western Gold Theatre’s mandate is to mentor emerging artists, I hoped that we could help a new playwright to workshop and present their work.
When considering an idea for a workshop, I was immediately struck by the idea of shadow puppetry. My father grew up in Jakarta, and I remember clearly two Javanese shadow puppets that used to hang on my grandmother’s kitchen wall. I was always fascinated by their delicate and intricate forms. I was lucky enough to get in touch with Annie Rollins and procure her services to teach us more about this beautiful art form.
Lastly, but perhaps most profound for me, is the roundtable discussion. When the fatal attack of eight spa workers in Atlanta, six of whom were Asian, once again shed light on the rising incidents of Asian hate crimes over the past year, I knew that I wanted to hold a bold and honest discussion with Asian theatre artists from our community. And because of the Western Gold Theatre’s mandate, I especially wanted to feature senior artists. I wanted not only to create visibility for our Asian artists but also highlight their stories and experiences, both the challenges and the victories. My hope is that by creating visibility and deepening understanding of our experiences, we can keep working towards more opportunities, appreciation, and equity for Asian artists in our community.
I hope that you enjoy this programming for the Virtual Gold Series this May as much as I have enjoyed dreaming it up!
