Joining me on Cue To Cue today is Actor/Singer Kelly Wong! Kelly and I have known each other for a long time but have not seen one another in quite a while, so it was great to reconnect and hear about his time at Shaw Festival, his development as an artist and have some laughs! It is Kelly’s 9th season at the Shaw Festival in Niagara and he said this is one of his favourite seasons yet!
Kelly is currently performing in Michael Healey’s, 1979 at the Shaw Festival. A comedic recounting of former Prime Minister, Joe Clark’s last day in office. I was lucky enough to be able to catch him in it that evening after we recorded this episode. I knew Kelly would be great in it, as I am familiar with his work, but as far as the show goes, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The show is great. Really. Kelly plays many different roles including Pierre Elliot Trudeau and milks every last moment of it. It was refreshing to watch something that is about Canadian politics and from a simpler time when these days we are bombarded every hour by the goings on of our neighbours to the south.
It was interesting having had our conversation a few hours earlier, then seeing Kelly do his “thing” on stage. I thought I might be wrapped up in my head, cross-referencing his performance with things he had mentioned on the podcast, but there was none of that. I really just enjoyed watching my friend give it all he had and got wrapped up in the story.
If you have a chance definitely go check it out! You will laugh!
In this episode:
- What is it that we draw inspiration from
- If given unlimited amounts of funds to create anything, what that would be
- How being mixed race has affected his development an career as an artist
- What acting skill he is working on in particular at the moment
Kelly Wong: Being Creative Is About Growth Not About "Getting It Right."
A little about Kelly:
Born and raised in Calgary, Kelly now calls Toronto home. After studying acting at Mount Royal University in Calgary, he moved out to Oakville to attend Sheridan Institute’s Music Theatre program.
For the past nine seasons, he has been a proud member of the Shaw Festival’s acting ensemble. This season, he can be seen in Michael Healey’s 1979 – a new comedy about Prime Minister Joe Clark’s final days in office, and Wilde Tales – Kate Hennig’s adaptation for all ages of Oscar Wilde’s most beloved short stories. Highlights from past seasons include: Light in the Piazza, Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, Peter and the Starcatcher, Sunday in the Park with George, Cabaret, Guys and Dolls, Alice in Wonderland, Light Up the Sky, My Fair Lady, His Girl Friday, Serious Money.
Other selected credits include: The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen (SummerWorks); Little Shop of Horrors (Stage West); Seussical (Silvermist); Miss Saigon (Drayton); The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Vertigo); Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare in the Park Calgary).
In addition to performing, Kelly is also an accomplished web developer, creating sites for clients such as Thousand Islands Playhouse<http://1000islandsplayhouse.com/>, Cahoots Theatre Company<http://www.cahoots.ca/>, Thom Allison<http://thomallison.com/>, Kieren MacMillan<http://kierenmacmillan.info/>, Ruff Handmade<http://ruffhandmade.com/>, and more. Visit his site at www.kellywongdesign.com
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