Joanna Wan-Ying Chan papers, 1970-2020

Series II: Theaters=劇團, 1970-2016

Series comprises documents from three repertories: Four Seas Players 四海劇社, Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America 美國長江劇團, and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre 香港話劇團, dating from 1970 to 2016. Joanna Chan was one of the founders and the Artistic Director at Four Seas Players from 1970 to 1977 and from 1983 to 1992. She also founded the Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America in 1992 in New York City and led for 24 years until around 2016. In addition, she was the Guest Director of Production at the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre in 1985, and the Artistic Director from 1986 to 1990. The materials include administrative and financial records such as meeting minutes and agenda, reports, correspondence, memoranda, programs, programming arrangement materials from the three repertories.

Subseries II.1: Four Seas Players 四海劇社 consists of board meeting minutes, administrative and financial records, and programs from the Four Seas Players, dating from 1970 to 1992. The materials include the founding materials of the Four Seas Players and highlight the theater as a collective of dramatic repertory in the heart of New York's Chinatown. The Four Seas Players of Transfiguration Church was founded in 1970 by Dr. Joanna Chan, Ms. Sun Fu Lo, Dr. Leo Yam, and Mr. Chung Lo in October 1970. Its purpose is to cultivate the talents and skills of the Chinatown community, to promote a spirit of unity and cooperation, and to nurture an interest in the dramatic arts. The name "Four Seas" represents the first two Chinese characters in the ancient saying: "Within the four seas, all men are brothers." Since 1970, the Players has been mounting three full-length theatrical productions yearly in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, at the nearby Schimmel Center, Pace University. Under the artistic direction of Joanna Chan (1970-1972, 1984-1992), Yeh Yung-Ching (1973-1983), Liang-Tee Tu (1993-1998, 2004-2006), and Jackie Huang (1999-2003, 2006–Present), the Company has presented more than one hundred productions, ranging from Chinese and Western classics. Website: https://fourseasplayers.org/

Subseries II.2: Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America 美國長江劇團 includes records related to the Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America, dating from 1993 to 2014. Materials consist of board meeting minutes, financial records, and documents related to dance, exhibitions, concerts, and programming funded and supported by Yangtze. The subseries highlights the various arts programming that Joanna Chan created in conjunction with Yangtze for Asian American artists and its community as a place to showcase their works.

Yangtze was co-founded by Joanna Chan and others in 1992. Yangtze Repertory Theatre has been a welcoming home for artists whose work is not readily seen in the U.S. and supported them to launch their professional careers in NYC. Yangtze has been responsible for the New York debuts of many artists, including Wang XiaoYing 王小鹰, Deputy Director of China's National Theater in Beijing, and Gao Xingjian 高行健, the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Literature, who was brought to New York by Yangtze to direct his own play, Between Life and Death, and to present a showing of his ink paintings. To date, these events remain the only full-scale presentations of Gao's works in the United States. In the fall of 2005, together with Columbia Promotions, Yangtze presented Beijing People's Art Theater, China's most historic and prestigious theater company, in its signature masterpiece, The Teahouse, in its New York debut during the company's first U.S. tour. The Theatre has been funded by the New York State Council on the Arts (since 1994), the Alliance of Resident Theaters/New York (1995-2007), the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (since 1999), New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (since 1997) and the Asian American Arts Alliance (in 1998; 2008). It received a special development grant for emerging artists from the New York State Council on the Arts (1995).

Yangtze has also co-presented art exhibitions, dance performances, and musical concerts, featuring artists and choreographers from China, Hong Kong, Philippines and Taiwan as well as associates of Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey companies. In the past, the company has featured the famed novelist/composer/vocalist, Sola Liu 刘索拉; the pianist Margaret Leng Tan, a noted collaborator of John Cage; and, presented with Columbia Promotions, Li Guyi 李谷一, one of China's best known folk vocalists; and China's renowned pianist, Liu Shikun 刘诗昆, at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. Website: https://www.yzrep.org/

Subseries II.3: Hong Kong Repertory Theatre 香港話劇團 includes two folders of board meeting minutes and financial records related to the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, dating from 1983 to 2012. Joanna Chan was the Artistic Director of HK Repertory from 1986 to 1990 and was the guest director and playwright for 25 years. The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre is the longest standing and largest professional theatre company in the city, established in 1977 and incorporated in 2001. Financially supported by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre operates under the guidance of its Governing Council, and employs a team of over 80 full-time professionals including the artistic director, assistant artistic director, actors, drama educators, technical and stage management staff as well as administrators. Since its establishment 46 years ago, it has presented more than 400 productions, many of which have become classics of the local theatre canon. Website: https://www.hkrep.com/en

Arranged in 3 subseries and arranged chronologically within each subseries.