<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 14 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><u><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Press Release for <i>Here Be Dragons</i> – IMPACT ’11 Theatre Festival</span></u></b><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><u><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p><span style='text-decoration:none'> </span></o:p></span></u></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>English map makers in the 10<sup>th</sup> century placed the phrase ‘here be dragons’ at the edges of their known world, and this designation became general knowledge. This territory, beyond the familiar, was indentified with dragons because these creatures represented violence, misfortune and the frightening unknown. Across Europe, throughout the middle ages, the dragon is a symbol of sin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#2A2A2A'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>On the other side of the world, in Asia, the dragon is revered, as it symbolizes good luck and possesses </span><span lang=EN-US>potent and auspicious powers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>A young man grows up in Canada, between these two territories. He lives in a place colonised and dominated by Europeans, still suspicious and fearful of the dragon and other unknowns. As a descendent of people who revere the dragon, he must navigate carefully; as a person who </span>identifies as <span style='color:#2A2A2A'>a sexual orientation at odds with his parents’ </span>expectations<span style='color:#2A2A2A'>, his navigation is doubly hard.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>He decides to leave his hometown, to travel. He hopes to find a more open place, marked by more complex origins and attitudes. Before he goes, he wants to re-consider his origins; he visits some of the locations of his past, to reflect, remember, and ultimately forget. The audience is invited along, as witnesses of this farewell.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i>Here Be Dragons</i></b> is <span lang=EN-US>a multi-media performance that will guide its audience on a journey of displacement; a mythogeographical mapping of queer, Asian-Canadian identity in downtown Kitchener. </span>Directed by Andy Houston and performed by David Lam, Nancy Tam and Johnny Trinh, the work was collectively developed by all four members. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US>The performance begins with an outdoor tour, starting at </span>the Hong Kong Plaza (</b><b><span lang=EN-US style='color:#1A1A1A'>265 King Street East) at 8:00 pm on Sept. 23, 24 and 25.</span></b><b><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>Space is limited for this production, so reserve your tickets early. Visit the IMPACT ‘11 Box Office at <a href="http://www.mtspace.ca/">www.mtspace.ca</a> or call </span><span lang=EN-US>519.745.4711 or 1.888.745.4717<span style='color:#2A2A2A'> </span></span><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>to book your ticket. Tickets are ‘pay what you can’ and can be purchased before the show, on site, with a suggested amount of $15 for general admission and $10 for youth and the unwaged. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>The performance contains mature content. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'>Please dress for the weather and wear shoes comfortable for walking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:#2A2A2A'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>