ANIVIA 2025 Public Presentation

We would like to invite you to embark on our journey on December 12th 7:30pm as we present an immersive workshop showing of ANIVIA at Small World Music Centre (180 Shaw Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M6J 2W5)

ANIVIA combines Western Theatre and music from Vietnamese folk traditions to immerse the audience on the Wanderer’s musical journey to pick up fragments of a broken mirror and his identity. Weaving the audience together with musical theatre and Vietnamese folk music, tales and folk games, this is a story about identity, love and remembrance.

ANIVIA has 2 acts:

Act 1 engages the audience in playing the Vietnamese folk game "Lo To Show" (musical drag bingo). The winner of each round gets a prize and reveals one aspect of The Wanderer's story, one by one until the last round, when we fully understand who The Wanderer is, what the mirror fragments are, and why The Wanderer has to commence the journey of picking them up.

Act 2 follows the conventional musical theatre format: The Wanderer journeys to the past to meet with Emperor Khai Dinh, the first and only openly gay King of 19th century Vietnam. The encounter teaches both The Wanderer and The Emperor lessons to set them free.

ANIVIA was conceptualized by Tan Vu at Buddies In Bad Times (Emerging Creators’ Unit 2022), partially workshopped at Aluna Theatre and presented at Factory Theatre (Caminos 2023). This is a project that explores what it means to explore and return to one’s roots. Utilizing a mixture of immersive theatre and historical context, this is a musical theatre piece that is rooted in both the vulnerable and culturally historical. This has been a multi-year long process that has cultivated from a solo piece to a large ensemble cast and we are thrilled to be taking these next steps on our journey.

This workshop presentation will feature a talented cast of Nam Nyugen, Jeanette Vannieu, Michelle Naidu, Kat Zhang, Diego Teran, Alex Franks, Tan Vu, Willah Bateman, Blake Pyne and Queen Hezumuryango. Supported by our wonderful crew:

ANIVIA 2025 WORKSHOP & PUBLIC PRESENTATION TEAM

1- Cast:

Diego Terán - THE WANDERER

Tan Vu - EMPEROR KHAI DINH

Queen Hezumuryango - LADY HOANG THI CUC

Blake Pyne - THE MC / NGUYEN DAC VONG (VONG)

Nam Nguyen - FISHERMAN / ROYAL GUARD 1

Alexander Franks - FISHERMAN / ROYAL GUARD 2

Michelle Naidu - LADY LIEN

Kat Zhang - LADY TRANG

Jeanette Vannieu - LADY HOAI

Willa Bateman - LADY THONG

2- Creative Team:

Chase Lo - Co-Director/Choreographer

Tan Vu - Co-Director/ANIVIA Creator

Shane O’Regan - Music Director

Heidi Wai-Yee Chan - Sound Designer

Evan Ellison - Lighting Designer

Emily Jung - Projection Designer

Jieun Jung - Technical Supervisor (Small World Centre) / Sound Booth Operator

Lisa Sciannella - Production Stage Manager / Lighting Operator

Iris Asserlind - Assistant Stage Manager

3- Production Team:

Tan Vu - Producer

Alexander Franks - Associate Producer

Lisa Sciannella - Production Stage Manager

Ta Thanh Hoa - Traditional Vietnamese Costume Maker / Costume Sourcer

4- Creation Team:

Tan Vu - ANIVIA Creator / Creator of Book, Lyrics and Sung Melodies,

Alice Ping Yee Ho - Creative Arrangement, Orchestration and Transcription (for certain songs),

Viet Anh Vu - Creative Arrangement (for certain songs),

Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh - Historical Consultant and Dramaturg

Dao Nhat Quang - Song Development Consultant

Bao Huynh - Writing Assistant

5- Administration Team:

Tan Vu - Project Leader

Tan Vu - Fundraising, Payroll, Community Liaison, Social Media Marketing (Visual & Copy Design), and other administrative tasks

Alexander Franks - Social Media Marketing (General), Ticketing, Casting Call Postings.

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