Joanna Wan-Ying Chan
Joanna Wan-Ying Chan M. M. | |
|---|---|
陳尹瑩 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | January 1, 1939 Hong Kong |
| Nationality | Chinese American |
| Education |
|
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
| Institute | Maryknoll Sisters |
Joanna Wang-Ying Chan (陳尹瑩; born 1939) is a Chinese-American Roman Catholic religious sister and a playwright, director, and visual artist.
Life
Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1939, and was raised in Guangzhou, China.[1][2] She and members of her family converted to Roman Catholicism in 1955, when she was 16.[3] She returned to Hong Kong for education, attending Tack Ching Girls' Secondary School and Chung Chi College, Chinese University, where she majored in mathematics.[4] As part of her education, she trained in graphic design.[2]
She joined the Maryknoll order in 1965.[2] She underwent religious training in the Philippines, and her first assignment was in the United States, teaching seventh-graders in Chicago although she was not yet fluent in English.[3]
In 1969, Chan was appointed the first Director of Youth Services at the Church of the Transfiguration in Chinatown, Manhattan.[2][5] The church's priest-pastor directed Chan to find what the neighborhood needed. Chan felt that Chinatown was largely fragmented, and decided to put on community events to bring the neighborhood together.[2] For Lunar New Year in February 1970, Chan put on the play The Emperor’s Daughter (帝女花), which was well received.[5] The performance was adapted from the full-length opera, with simplified choreography for the amateur performers, marking an approach that Chan would continue to use: audience accessibility over authenticity.[6] The show's cast ranged in age and background, including some Puerto Rican and Itaian performers.[6] The show's success led Chan to co-found the Four Seas Players in September 1970.[5][6] As an artistic director of the Four Seas Players, Chan curated the repertory to include both well-known Western plays and traditional and contemporary Chinese works.[5] The group's first production, for Lunar New Year in 1971, was an adaptation of The Tale of the Romantic Fan, set in late Ming China rather than 18th-century Italy.[6]
Chan pursued further education at Teachers College, Columbia University, earning an M.A. (1971), M.Ed. (1974) and Ed.D. (1977).[4] Her 1977 dissertation was titled "The Four Seas Players: Towards an Alternative Form of Chinese Theatre; A Case Study of a Community Theatre in Chinatown, New York City".[6]
In 1975, she began writing her own plays.[2] She began staging plays across the country after 1980.[2] In the 1980s, she was Artist Director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre. In total, she was involved with the theatre for 25 years, also serving as a guest director and playwright.[5]
Chan was a columnist for the Hong Kong newspaper New Evening Post from 1986 to 1997.[4]
In 1994, she co-founded the Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America in New York.[7]
Beginning in the 2000s, she worked with the Sing Sing Rehabilitation Through Arts program in Westchester, New York as a guest playwright and director.[5]
Plays
- Before the Dawn-wind Rises[4]
- Crown Ourselves with Roses (1988)[8]
- The Soongs (1992)[2]
- Empress of China (2011)[2]
- The Chalk Circle
- Dai Lo and Dai Lo: The lives and Times of Ho Tung and Chou Shouson[4]
Recognition and awards
- 1993 Honoree, An All-Star Salute to Chinese-American Cultural Pioneers, City Hall, New York City[4]
- July 9, 1993 and July 9, 2013 named Joanna Chan Day in the City of New York[4][9]
- November 11, 2017 designated as “Dr. Joanna Chan’s Day” by the New York State Senate[4]
- 2017 Dynamic Achiever's Award, OCA Westchester & Hudson Valley[10]
Papers
Her papers are at Columbia University.[5]
As of 2019, MI Design in Hong Kong had published Chan's works in an eight volume series.[4]
Personal life
She is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
By 2016, Chan was living at the Maryknoll main house in Ossining, New York.[3]
References
- ^ Cody, Gabrielle H; Sprinchorn, Evert, eds. (2007). The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-231-14422-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Biagetti, Sam (April 17, 2020). "Building Bridges with Language and Theater: Sister Joanna Wan-Ying Chan 陳尹瑩". Museum of the City of New York. Archived from the original on November 7, 2025.
- ^ a b c Kramer, Peter D. "Why Ossining nun's featured in NYC museum exhibit". The Journal News. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sister Joanna Chan". Maryknoll Sisters. Archived from the original on November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Huang, Yingwen. "From Staging Plays in New York's Chinatown Community Theatres to Fostering Talents in Sing Sing's RTA Program: Joanna Wan-Ying Chan papers". Columbia University Libraries. Columbia University. Archived from the original on December 2, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Lee, Esther Kim (October 12, 2006). A History of Asian American Theatre. Cambridge University Press. pp. 104–107. ISBN 978-0-521-85051-3.
- ^ "Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America - New York". Asian American Theatre Revue.
- ^ Chen, Xiaomei (October 29, 2010). The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Drama. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-52160-4.
- ^ "Sister Joanna Chan". Museum of Chinese in America. July 21, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
- ^ "Maryknoll Sister to be Presented with Award at the 2017 OCA-WHV Dynamic Achiever Award Gala". Dominican Life USA. November 7, 2017. Archived from the original on October 10, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.