Zoetrope

Founded in 2011, O Theatre Workshop is a Hong Kong-based international theatre company. It strives to create high-quality theatre works and promote drama and performing arts. Its creator is the versatile theatre extraordinaire Olivia Yan, who is a leading dramaturg, director, actress, educator and writer all in one. Yan is a multi-faceted person. She can be at times powerful like fire, and other times gentle like water. She has a keen eye for aesthetics and a sharp sensitivity for life. Her works are wittily poetic, rooted in love and concern, and always reaching out to touch people’s souls.

The company is named ‘O’ with its unique artistic vision: “O” is exclamation, is surprise, like life, like theatre, and represents Yan’s artistic pursuit. “O” is a circle, like the infinite extension of the universe, symbolising the impact of theatre. “O” is like the full moon, representing union, signifying the desire to connect souls with love and concern.

Renowned multi-talented artist in the field of Asian contemporary theatre, Yan is a leading dramaturg, director, actress, educator, writer and currently the artistic director of O Theatre Workshop. With over 30 years of experience in the performing arts industry, particularly in creation, education and operation, Yan has participated in more than 50 theatre works. She has been invited to perform, exchange and coach in various art festivals. Well-recognised for her achievements in theatre, she has been awarded Artist of the Year (Drama, 2014) and Rising Artist (Drama, 2003) at Hong Kong Arts Development Awards, Asian Cultural Council scholarship (1999), Best Actress (2000, 2005) and Best Supporting Actress (1993) at Hong Kong Drama Awards, to name a few.

Yan often works with different institutions to hold workshops and talks to share her artistic experience and vision with artists and people from different backgrounds. Recently, she co-curated ÉLAN Lost Child Project HK 2022 at Tai Kwun with international physical theatre master David Glass, aiming at helping the teens to get through difficult times in life with creativity and art. She also collaborated with Such Films to document her teachings and film Bad Acting; charity screenings were offered to provide young artists the opportunity to learn with masters in the industry.

Yan is now an associate artist in David Glass Ensemble, Co-Opted member of Performing Arts Committee of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and Arts Advisor (Drama) of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

A Hong Kong-based film art director and director. Man has been nominated for Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards multiple times and won on several occasions. He directed his first film, a documentary Keep Rolling, in 2020.

Widely influenced by different elements such as folk, alternative rock, contemporary classical and modern music, contemporary composer Cong is known for his darkly evocative musical style. He is the co-creator of the music label Raven & The Sea, and one of the music directors of Freespace Ensemble. He was commissioned by Hong Kong Ballet and Shanghai Grand Opera House in 2018 and 2019, and was the co-music director of the musical drama All My Life I Shall Remember (2019) by Chung Ying Theatre Company. Recently, he composed music for Beijing director Tien Zhuangzhuang’s film. In 2021, he participated in In Sync: Music in Motion that inspired his performance The Interpretation of Milou’s Dream and his subsequent sold-out concert I am afraid of. Cong further created the art show birth of an Idea in 2021 and sound installation A Prelude for the Future in 2022, presented by K11 Art Foundation.

Lam is a multi-faceted and well-respected actress, artist, curator, and the ambassador of the French May Arts Festival. She is a mother of two, also the first to have won the Golden Horse Awards for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best New Performer. Besides acting, she is also passionate about photography and pottery. Her love for the arts has seamlessly transcended through her life, both work and leisure. In 2020, she was awarded the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government in recognition of her efforts in promoting French arts.

Graduated with Distinction at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Chak has developed a diversified portfolio spanning scriptwriting, directing, acting, and drama coaching. He was a full-time devising performer in PIP Theatre from 2006 to 2013, and later a familiar face in a wide range of television and film productions.

His appearances in well-received productions include: MircoSex Office series (2009 to 2012), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2008), Wild Boar (2012) and Good Luck Man (2013). In 2007, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Comedy/Farce) for Of Wills & Willpower at Hong Kong Drama Awards. In 2019, he was invited by MGM Theatre, Macao to perform in the Argentina’s show Fuerza Bruta Wayra.

A Chinese opera creator specialises in scriptwriting and music composition. Kong also performs and plays several musical instruments. In 2021, he founded the Cantonese opera original YouTube channel Aphros to promote Cantonese opera.

Kong began his all-round traditional Chinese opera training from the age of nine. He studied with Jiang Yanhong and Han Yanming before enrolling in the Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong and Shanghai Theatre Academy. In 2018, he graduated from the School of Chinese Opera of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In 2012, Kong won the Young Artist (Xiqu)  at Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In theatre, he studied scriptwriting with Raymond To, and Chinese and western dramaturgy with Fredric Mao, Danny Yung and Ho Ying-fung.

His works include: Cantonese opera Moving House, premiere and rerun (2017); reboot of Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers, Hong Kong Arts Festival premiere (2018) and rerun tour (2019); contemporary Cantonese opera Journey to the West Rewind (2020 to 2021) commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival; and original naamyam piece Gone with the Chocolate (2022).

Li is the 2nd runner-up of ViuTV’s talent show King Maker II.

He studied Fashion and Textiles at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Later, he entered the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts on a full scholarship and graduated with a BFA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance, minoring in Choreography and Dance Education. He also studied Marketing and Sociology at Hong Kong Baptist University as an exchange student. 

He began his gymnastic training from the age of three, and joined Hong Kong Acrobatics Gymnastics Team when he was 14. At the age of 18, he started to explore different dance styles, and such performing arts as singing and figure skating.

Graduated from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chung is a local independent singer/songwriter and member of Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH). She enjoys composing and performing pop music, as well as collaborating with artists from different disciplines, including the contemporary dance company 4 Degrees Dance Laboratory. She recently expanded her career into theatre performances. Participated productions include: cabaret The Memory of Herbs by O Theatre Workshop and the Mills (2020, composition and performance), devising theatre The Drifters by Jing Wong Creations (2021), and musical The Impossible Trial by Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (2022). Chung is currently a freelance creator and regular singer.

Lane performs as a soloist, orchestral and chamber musician in Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. He studied under Jan Sedivka, Bruno Giuranna and Garth Knox, as well as in Germany at the International Ensemble Modern Academy, and in Switzerland at the Lucerne Festival Academy under Pierre Boulez. He was a prizewinner of Valentino Bucchi Competition in Rome in 2005.

Lane was principal viola of Ensemble Resonanz and a member of Hong Kong Philharmonic; and has appeared as guest violist of Ensemble Modern and Lucerne Festival Strings. Based in Hong Kong since 2008, he is founder, artistic director and violist of Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Asia’s most active professional chamber ensemble dedicated to new music. In 2013, he was awarded Young Artist (Music) by  Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Fung graduated from the Music Department at the Chinese University of Hong Kong majoring in clarinet under the tutorship of Martin Choy, and pursued his Master of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK. As a chamber musician, Fung is a member of Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Wuji Ensemble, Freespace Ensemble, The TimeCrafters and LENK Quartet. He regularly appears as principal clarinet with the Ponte Orchestra & Singers and has performed with various local arts groups. Fung has given numerous solo recitals in Hong Kong, Macao, Shantou and Manchester. He has also appeared as a recitalist at Our Music Talents series presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in 2021. He currently teaches clarinet at the Education University of Hong Kong, Caritas Institute of Higher Education and Diocesan Girls’ Junior School.

Core member of Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong (CCOHK), Leung was invited to perform as guest soloist in Vivaldi Unmasked by CCOHK in 2018. She has joined Viva Pipers since 2015 and has been collaborating with Premiere Performances of Hong Kong in the Chamber Music in Schools Programme to bring live performances into local and international schools. She is also a founding member of Reed4ble, an innovative group dedicated to introducing classical musical instruments to the audience in a unique way.