This A-Profiler we bring you Marty Chan, a playwright, radio writer, television story editor and young adult author from Edmonton, Canada. Writer Rosie Chuong interviews Chan to find out this storyteller hopes that he can make "good stories that are funny, poignant, thrilling, and moving." His play, Mom, Dad, I'm Living with a White Girl, has won an Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Best New Work and the Adams Chinese Theatre Award at Harvard University. In October 2004, the play also had a Off Broadway run in New York. Despite Chan's mother still wanting him to be an engineer, this writer is doing what he loves and loves what he does.

Your site URL:
http://www.martychan.com/

You were born in small town called Morinville, did that ever affect your perspective on how big the real world was?
Small town living turned me into a real fast sprinter. Being the only Chinese kid at school, I had to learn how to fit in or how to fight. I opted to run. When I visited and worked in larger cities like Toronto and New York, I was amazed at the diversity of the population. No longer did I feel like the stray red sock in a dryer of whites. But while you can take the boy out of the small town, you can't take the small town out of the boy. If there's any sign of trouble, my first instinct is to run away.

I've read that you're a playwright, radio writer, television story editor and young adult author, have a Bachelor of Arts Degree for English Major/Drama Minor and even have a bit of experience in engineering! How were you influenced to become interested in those subjects?
My parents influenced me to take a year of engineering. They wanted their first-born Chinese son to have a respectable and good-paying career. A slacker, I figured I had nothing better to do. Once I got into University, however, I learned that college kids really know how to throw great parties. I got kicked out of university for a year to think things over. During my time off, I looked back at my high school years and came to the conclusion that I loved telling stories. In grade ten, I was the Dungeon Master for a role-playing game. My job was to create a sword and sorcery adventure for my buddies. I loved being able to create stories that had my friends on the edge of their seats. I never thought I could make a living off this writing thing, but I was willing to try. My parents tried to influence me out of my decision, but writing was the only thing that truly satisfied me. My philosophy was if I was going to pick a career that spanned 40 or 50 years, I'd better pick something I enjoyed doing. Today, I still love to write, whether it's a short radio commentary, a full-length play, a half-hour television show, or a kids' book. At the heart of all these genres, I'm still just telling a good story.

Your signature play, Mom, Dad, I'm Living With a White Girl actually won a (stage play) Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Best New Work and the Adams Chinese Theatre Award at Harvard University. How does it feel to know that your work is greatly recognized and what would the next level of achievement be for you?
I love awards, because they're things I can hold up to my parents to say "Look, I did make the right career choice. Now stop hounding me to go back into engineering!" On a more serious note, awards are nice moments of recognition, but they'll never replace the sound of an audience gasping at a revelation in my script or the sight of someone weeping because my words have moved them.

Thistledown Press launched your first young adult novel, The Mystery of the Frozen Brains and Resource Links magazine rated/listed it as one of the Best books of 2004 (for grades 3 to 6), what is the story about?
The book is a semi-autobiographical story (a quaint phrase meaning "don't sue me if you think the jerk in the novel is you") about my childhood experiences in my home town. In the story, the protagonist believes the reason he looks different than his classmates is because his parents are aliens from outer space. In an attempt to prove his theory, the young boy discovers frozen brains in an ice cream cooler, which makes him suspect that his mom and dad are planning an invasion of Earth. He tries to save the town from being taken over by the invading alien forces. In the process, he confronts the truth about himself and makes a new friend.

You've taught playwriting at the University of Alberta, in your opinion, is it better to teach your passion or learn about it?
I can't teach passion. Students either have it or they don't. I can teach craft, but students assume that I'm imposing a formula on their passion when all I'm trying to do is give them the tools to express their passion. If I'm going to be completely honest, I've been writing for over 11 years, and I still learn new lessons with every script I write. These moments of self-discovery are what keep me writing every day. I think the day I say that I can learn no more about writing is the day that I've stopped being a writer.

What is the latest piece you're working on and what motivated you to write it?
The project currently renting the space in my brain is a stage play called The Forbidden Phoenix. I want to create a hybrid of Peking Opera and North American theatre. The story is about the "Bachelor Men," early Chinese immigrants who came to Canada to build the railroad, but were not allowed to bring over their families. The "Bachelor Men" were trapped in the west. I'm loosely basing the play on Journey to the West, the Chinese novel about the Monkey King's travels and tribulations. While the play will unfold as a Peking Opera, the story underneath is a historic allegory that documents that tragedy of the real-life Canadian "Bachelor Men."

What were your parents' thoughts on you following your dreams in writing instead of engineering?
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

For aspiring writers, like me, what advice are you able to give for us to achieve our very best?
Never be afraid to kill your babies. If a scene or even a character doesn't contribute to the story, then you have to cut it for the sake of telling a better story.

Are there any words that you live by everyday?
About 9 years ago, a television producer was looking for a Chinese actor to play a recurring role in a Canadian one-hour series called Jake and the Kid. I had no formal acting training, but I said to myself: "Why the hell not." My plan was to meet the producer so that she'd remember me later when I pitched her story ideas. My plan backfired because I got the part. Instead of turning down the role, I thought "why the hell not." The acting gig eventually led to an internship in the story department the next season. Since then I've always lived by the motto, "why the hell not."

What was the first piece you've written and how have you grown on writing since then?
Years ago, I watched the movie, Good Morning, Vietnam, in which there was a scene where an army bureaucrat claimed to be as funny as Robin William's character. To argue his comic prowess, the geeky desk clerk proudly stated that he was published in Readers' Digest. The audience roared with ironic laughter, while I slunk a little lower in my seat. My first piece was a funny. amusing...cute 50-word story in the same publication.

Since then, I hope I've grown as a writer. I think I can tell good stories that are funny, poignant, thrilling, and moving. At the very least, I know I can write stories that are longer than 50 words.

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This issue of A-Profiler is brought to you by Rosie Chuong.

Image courtesy of Marty Chan.
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