Katie Voravong wants to make one thing clear about I Fear Love, which she will perform at the Vancouver Fringe Festival.
“Despite the title of the show, I Fear Love, there is a lot of love and support that I’ve had in my life,” the Studio 58 grad tells Pancouver over Zoom. “I think that has allowed me to dive into the question with the depth that I’ve been able to.”
Voravong, an associate artistic producer at Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre (vAct), also wrote the solo show, which is being directed by vAct managing artistic director Derek Chan 陳嘉昊. Voravong adopted a game-show format with audience interaction as a non-linear and non-narrative way of telling her story. The 55-minute production is billed as a comedy.
“There’s a lot of fun to a game show,” the playwright and performer declares. “I think there’s also a lot of room for improv and variation based on what the audience responds to.”
Moreover. Voravong wanted each show to feel unique, which will be a product of audience participation.
Chan, the director, tells Pancouver on the same Zoom call that they have spent a significant amount of time in rehearsals and workshops exploring how to make audience members feel comfortable. To that end, the crew delved into this on a granular level to determine what might make some theatregoers willing to participate.
“They’re not going to make Katie look like a fool and everybody is going to have a good time,” Chan promises. “Katie, the storyteller, is really trying to figure out how to love. And that storyteller genuinely needs input from the audience—from people who have loved or people who haven’t but also have some thoughts on that to share.”
Overcoming the fear of self-exposure
Voravong, who uses the pronouns she/her and they/them, says that the show is broken up into three sections. Each title is derived from turning I Fear Love into an acronym. For example, one segment is called “Inner Feelings, Embarrassing Asks, Real Lessons of Vulnerable Empathy”.
“There are two more that are kind of in that same vein,” Voravong adds.
In the past, Voravong has worked with the Chop, the frank theatre, ITSAZOO, Green Thumb, jk jk, Studio 58, Neworld theatre, and Carousel Theatre. But never before has the work been so personal.
“I’ve voiced this quite a few times to Derek,” the theatre artist says. “But I feel like I’ve been so messy and raw in this process. And I’ve felt very exposed in a way that I didn’t think I could feel—ever!”
However, the love that Voravong has received from the director, dramaturg Stephanie Wong, and the rest of the collaborators has made the process easier, as well as a lot of fun.
Nearly the entire crew is of Asian ancestry. As a result, Voravong says there’s been no stress about encountering any racism or unconscious biases going through this experience. Moreover, many of the people that Voravong wanted to work with happen to be of Asian ancestry.
Yet within this community of Vancouver theatre artists, Voravong stands out because their parents are from Laos. Beyond that, Voravong has Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai heritage.
“The Lao community is much bigger in Toronto,” Voravong notes. “Folks who immigrated to Canada during that big wave in the 1980s ended up going to Toronto. There are a lot more over there than there are here.”
Advice for young artists
Chan believes that Voravong is likely the first theatre artist of Laotian ancestry who’s led a professional theatre project in Vancouver. When asked for what advice he would give to other young people of Asian ancestry hoping to follow in Voravong’s footsteps, Chan has a simple message.
“Do it,” he insists. “That’s my first advice. Do it—and that their stories are also important.”
As the interview draws to a close, Chan has one more thing he wants to say.
“I just want to reiterate: Katie put this piece together. Despite the show’s title, Katie is one of the most loving and caring collaborators I’ve worked with. We have directed together; we have curated together; and we have produced together—within my company and outside it. Honestly, come see Katie’s show.”
The Vancouver Fringe Festival presents Katie Voravong’s I Fear Love at the Nest on Granville Island. Showtimes are on September 7 (6:50 p.m.), September 9 (8:20 p.m.), September 10 (7:15 p.m.), September 13 (9:45 p.m.), September 14 (2 p.m.), and September 15 (8 p.m.). For tickets and information, visit the Vancouver Fringe Festival website. Follow Pancouver on X @PancouverMedia.
