Who are you and what is your role in the show? I am Rupert Gomez, and I play a number of characters in the show.
One of the characters I am playing is Danny Ma. He is this charismatic and playful young man that gets sucked into the play and is met with a riveting experience. For me, he represents the young and naive counterpart to the older characters providing the audience humour in his awkward enthusiasm.
I also play one of the Lion Dancers. Lion Dancers are a very important symbolic figure in Chinese culture representing tradition. In Act 2, when Lauren encounters the Lion dancers, this figure becomes an obstacle for Lauren, ultimately helping her understand her heritage better.
Lastly, I am also one of the Lum Elders. In contrast to the role of young Danny, the Lum elders serve as the symbol for the older generation and gatekeepers of tradition. They also became an obstacle for Lauren in preserving the culture of Chinatown.
Why should audiences come to see King of the Yees? King of the Yees is a one of a kind play that explores cultural identity and generational experience and is told with comical humour that everyone can relate to.
What would you say would be a highlight of working on King of the Yees so far? The highlight for me is definitely learning how to do the lion dance from actual professional dancers! I found a new appreciation for the art just by seeing the amount of effort and training the dancers go through, many of them starting from a very young age.
