Arts & Culture
‘Year of Blessings: Band of Dragons: Sync, Oar, Swim’.
Photo by Jaana Björk
Gateway Theatre’s Free Audio Play
Published 11:35 PDT, Fri June 23, 2023
Last Updated: 4:43 PDT, Thu July 20, 2023
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A Year of Blessings audio play series continued at Gateway Theatre with the release of the third episode Year of Blessings: Band of Dragons: Sync, Oar, Swim on June 22, in celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Perfect for kids and parents, Band of Dragons: Sync, Oar, Swim tells the lively story of star athlete Faye, a fifth generation dragon boat drummer who has a secret passion for playing music in the band, Skyhorns. When the Skyhorn’s biggest gig yet—opening for Manta Del Rey— falls on race day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Faye is faced with an impossible decision; fulfill traditions or forge a new path. Faye seeks wisdom from the immortalized Chinese poet, 屈原 (Qu Yuan). With so much on the line, how will the young dragon choose? Will they sync, oar, swim?
A Year of Blessings: Band of Dragons: Sync, Oar, Swim is devised and co-written by Derek Chan, Jasmine Chen, Howard Dai, Amanda Sum, and Nancy Tam. Performers including Heidi Damayo as Faye, Aidan Chan as Devon, Katrina Teitz as Aria, Amy Amantea as Coach, Derek Chan as Qu Yuan, Robyn Jacob as JellyBelly, Conor Wylie as Logan Longan, Nancy Tam as Dimsum Auntie Cat, and Howard Dad as Noodle Guy. Additional voice actors include Cindy Kao, Stephanie Wong, Kimberly Ho, and Jasmine Chen.
Songs The Dragon’s Heart, We are the Skyhorns, and why??? are composed and performed by Robyn Jacob with the sound design and additional composition by Nancy Tam. The project is mixed and mastered by Ira Jordison.
A Year of Blessings audio series is created by Five Blessings Collective, a talented team of Asian-Canadian artists that include Derek Chan, Jasmine Chen, Howard Day, Nancy Tam, and Amanda Sum with associate producer, Charlie Cooper. Episodes in this series each celebrate a traditional Chinese festival. The first two episodes of the series released earlier this year were A Year of Blessings: 繽紛新年 Bun Fun New Year and A Year of Blessings: 蝦仔 Little Shrimp released earlier this year. 繽紛新年 Bun Fun New Year tells the story of twin bunnies Bunnifer and Bunnithy preparing their first Lunar New Year family fest and learning the true meaning of new year festivities and a couple of interesting recipes along the way. 蝦仔 Little Shrimp honours Qing Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day. A brave Little Shrimp with a big heart goes on a musical adventure through the underwater and underworld to connect with friends, family, and ancestors.
All episodes are now available free of charge at GatewayTheatre.com. Free colouring activities illustrated by Cherry Lu can also be downloaded for young audiences to colour along while listening.
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