(Le français suit)
Dear CATR Colleagues,
It is with heavy hearts that the CATR Board learned of the recent passing of our colleague, friend, and BC Representative, Dr. Eury Chang, after a long illness.
On the CATR Board, Eury served on the Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Committee, the Archival Committee, and as the Board’s Working Group Liaison.
As a scholar, Eury’s work on Asian-Canadian theatre was groundbreaking, with theatre-related publications on bouffon, immigration, intercultural performance, and Asian Canadian Dance. He was also an editor for Ricepaper Magazine.
For those who knew him, Eury was a valued colleague ready to hold any conversation about theatre at the many conferences he attended across the country, particularly while browsing new titles at the book tables. He was a kind, curious, empathetic, and generative listener when in conversation with professors and fellow graduate students alike, always eager to hear what you thought about any subject, grand or minute. Perhaps he knew that we are all searching for answers, even to the unanswerable, and that it was the thrill of the chase that made academia and life worthwhile.
The CATR Board and CATR 2023 Organizing Committee will give space to say more in Eury’s memory at the Conference and on our website (https://catracrt.ca). For now, we send love and warm thoughts to his family, friends, and colleagues far and wide in this difficult time.
The UBC Department of Theatre & Film has posted this tribute.
Ricepaper Magazine has posted this tribute.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robin C. Whittaker
CATR President
Associate Professor, Drama, Department of English
St. Thomas University, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
rwhit@stu.ca
Select publications by Eury include:
Chang, Eury Colin. “Bouffon: The Roots of ‘Critical Clowning’ in Canada.” Canadian Theatre Review, vol. 183, 2020, pp. 25–29, https://doi.org/10.3138/ctr.183.005.
https://ctr.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/ctr.183.005?journalCode=ctr
Chang, Eury Colin. “Towards Reconciliation: Immigration in Marty Chan’s The Forbidden Phoenix and David Yee’s Lady in the Red Dress.” Theatre Research in Canada, vol. 36, no. 2, 2015, pp. 196–215, https://doi.org/10.3138/tric.36.2.196.
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/download/24304/28115?inline=1
Chang, Eury Colin. “Asian Canadian Dance: Cross-Cultural Currents in Vancouver’s Kokoro Dance and Co. ERASGA Dance” Contemporary Directions in Asian American Dance. Edited by Yutian Wong, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2016.
https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/drs.2018.0226
*****
Chers collègues de l’ACRT,
C’est avec tristesse que le conseil d’administration a appris récemment le décès de notre collègue, ami et représentant de la Colombie-Britannique, Eury Chang (PhD), à la suite d’une longue maladie.
En tant que membre du conseil d’administration de l’ACRT, Eury a fait partie du comité sur l’antiracisme et l’anti-oppression et du comité sur les archives, en plus d’assurer la liaison avec les groupes de travail du conseil d’administration.
La recherche d’Eury portant sur le théâtre canadien d’origine asiatique était innovatrice, notamment ses publications sur le bouffon, l’immigration, la performance interculturelle et la danse canadienne d’origine asiatique. Il était aussi un des rédacteurs de Ricepaper Magazine.
Pour celles et ceux qui l’ont connu, Eury était un précieux collègue, toujours prêt à discuter de théâtre lors des multiples conférences auxquelles il participait partout au pays, particulièrement lorsqu’il bouquinait. Il savait écouter avec gentillesse, curiosité et empathie lorsqu’il échangeait avec des collègues professeurs ainsi qu’avec des étudiantes et des étudiants des cycles supérieurs, toujours intéressé à entendre ce qu’ils pensaient sur des tas de sujets, quelle que soit leur importance. Peut-être savait-il que nous sommes toutes et tous à la recherche de réponses, même celles qui sont impossibles à trouver, et que c’est l’excitation de cette quête qui nous pousse à nous investir dans le monde universitaire et dans la vie.
Le conseil d’administration de l’ACRT et le comité organisateur du colloque 2023 donneront l’occasion d’honorer la mémoire d’Eury lors du colloque et sur le site Web de l’Association (https://catracrt.ca). Pour l’instant, nous voulons dire à sa famille, à ses camarades et à ses collègues que nous pensons chaleureusement à eux en ces moments difficiles.
Le Département de théâtre et de cinéma de l’Université de la Colombie-Britannique a publié cet hommage.
Ricepaper Magazine a publié cet hommage.
Salutations,
Robin C. Whittaker, PhD
Président de l’ACRT
Professeur agrégé, Théâtre, Département d’anglais
Université St-Thomas, Frédéricton, Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada
Voici quelques publications d’Eury :
Chang, Eury Colin. “Bouffon: The Roots of ‘Critical Clowning’ in Canada.” Canadian Theatre Review, vol. 183, 2020, pp. 25–29, https://doi.org/10.3138/ctr.183.005.
https://ctr.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/ctr.183.005?journalCode=ctr
Chang, Eury Colin. “Towards Reconciliation: Immigration in Marty Chan’s The Forbidden Phoenix and David Yee’s Lady in the Red Dress.” Theatre Research in Canada, vol. 36, no. 2, 2015, pp. 196–215, https://doi.org/10.3138/tric.36.2.196.
https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/download/24304/28115?inline=1
Chang, Eury Colin. “Asian Canadian Dance: Cross-Cultural Currents in Vancouver’s Kokoro Dance and Co. ERASGA Dance” Contemporary Directions in Asian American Dance. Edited by Yutian Wong, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2016.
https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/drs.2018.0226
I was so sorry to hear about Eury’s recent passing in Vancouver. The last time we spoke in person was at the Vancouver conference in 2019 – where he encouraged me to keep coming out to conferences and doing exactly what I was already doing for as long as possible. It was an exchange that I thought was characteristic of his warmth, kindness and generosity as a colleague – which extended well beyond his very active involvement active in Canadian Theatre Research Association to the field in general. His groundbreaking work on Asian Canadian theatre and performance speaks for itself. I feel it is very much a sign not only of the significance of the work he had completed as part of his dissertation but the esteem in which he was held at his own university, that he was granted his doctorate on compassionate grounds on March 15th. I am glad that he lived long enough to see that final acknowledgement of his scholarly work by his peers. He was a lovely, warm, generous colleague as well as a bright, productive one – and he left us far too soon. He will be sadly missed by those whose lives he touched.