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Have map, will travel with Suitcase Stories

If you want to see Canada through the eyes of a newcomer, Maki Yi is happy to be your tour guide.
suitcase
Maki Yi presents her Suitcase Stories this week at the Evergreen Cultural Centre.

 

If you want to see Canada through the eyes of a newcomer, Maki Yi is happy to be your tour guide.

Five years ago, as part of the lobby shows at Pacific Theatre in Vancouver, the South Korean native presented Suitcase Stories — a series of 10-minute autobiographical tales she turned into a full-length play two years later.

This week, Yi will be at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre to highlight her one-woman show that details her journey from Asia to Toronto, Regina, Montreal and finally Vancouver.

Speaking with The Tri-City News last Friday, Yi said she choose Canada as her destination because her brother had a map of Toronto from his North American travels.

“There was really no other reason for it,” she said. “I was in my 20s. I didn’t have much English — only the little bit that I learned at school — but I wanted to explore the world.”

In Regina, she gained her bachelor of fine arts in theatre performance — writing her first autobiographical show, Home of My Soul — and, once in B.C., she obtained her master’s of fine arts in interdisciplinary studies at SFU, where she penned her second self-discovery solo play, Gramma.

Her full version of Suitcase Stories premiered at Pacific Theatre for its 2016-’17 season.

Directed by Colleen Lanki, Yi said her script and performance have been well received across the country.

“I’m sharing my personal story and I think it’s something that many people in Canada can relate to,” she said. “There are hardships for immigrants but people can also have hope and encouragement and dreams, too.”

• Suitcase Stories runs May 17 to 19 at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam). For tickets at $33/$28/$15, call the box office at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.

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@jcleughTC