George Chiang


George Chiang is a Taiwanese-Canadian actor, writer, lyricist and composer. Chiang wrote and composed the award-winning musical, Golden Lotus. He also authored the award-winning book, The Railroad Adventures of Chen Sing.

Acting

Chiang began his acting career appearing in many plays in Toronto. He received critical praise for his performances in David Henry Hwang's, The Dance and the Railroad, Serpent Kills, and Urban Donnelleys, which he co-created. He also spent a season, as a member of the acting company, at Canada’s flagship theatre, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, where he performed in Othello and Twelfth Night. Since then Chiang has appeared in other theatre productions such as The King and I and many film and television productions which include, Disney's Eloise at the Plaza, American Girl's McKenna Shoots for the Stars, Mary Kills People, Dark Matter among many others.

Musicals

Chiang wrote and composed the musical Golden Lotus, which is an adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Jin Ping Mei. The story follows the plight of young woman who journeys into a bloody path of forbidden love and passion as the world around her burns into ashes. Golden Lotus is a sung through musical with a score that is a blend of pop rock songs mixed with Chinese instrumentation. Golden Lotus was the first Canadian musical ever presented at the ASCAP Foundation/Disney Theatrical Productions Musical Theatre Workshop in New York, artistic directed by Stephen Schwartz. The musical received its world premiere on September 12, 2014 at the Y-Theatre in Hong Kong. The score and its signature pop love song, "A World Away", were unanimously praised by critics. The production garnered three Hong Kong English Drama Award nominations for "Best Show", "Best Actress" and won for "Best Original Work" at the 2015 Hecklers Awards.

Albums

Golden Lotus: Sounds From The Musical was released on May 31, 2015. It is an album consisting of fifteen songs from the Hong Kong production of Golden Lotus, written and composed by Chiang, as they appeared in the Hong Kong world premiere. Recorded in Toronto with Harriet Chung as Golden Lotus, Charles Azulay as Wu Sung, Thom Allison as Xi Men, George Chiang as Wu Da, Stacey-Lea Marhue as Madam Wang, Scott Watanabe as the District Intendant, Pierre Bayuga as the Fruit Peddler and Josette Jorge as Ping. Music directed by Tim Stiff. Music arrangements by George Gao.

Books

concerns a teenage boy who ventures to North America to build the transcontinental railway through the Rocky Mountains. There are disasters, encounters with wild animals, friendships and unforeseen events that mark Sing's journey. The book was inspired by stories told to Chiang by Ike Sing whose father is the title character of the book. The chapter book for young readers, published in March, 2017 contains full colour illustrations by Jessica Warner and is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats.
The book has won numerous awards such as the Pacific Book Award, two Global Ebook Awards, the Reader Views Reviewers Choice and the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award.

Awards

For The Railroad Adventures of Chen Sing:
For Golden Lotus: