In the spring of 2015, Kevin and I read and interviewed many writers to staff the show. Then for two months in the fall, Anita Kapila, Garry Campbell, Sonja Bennett, Rebecca Kohler, along with Kevin and I, met across from the Art Gallery of Ontario in Strada Productions’ third-floor office and brainstormed ideas, beat out stories, and wove them together. In January 2016, we assigned episodes to all the writers, including ourselves. Each episode went through a process of notes from Thunderbird, Soulpepper, and the CBC, with Kevin and I ultimately massaging the scripts here and there.

In the spring of 2016, we interviewed directors, assistant directors, production designers, directors of photography, editors, costume designers, hair and makeup, continuity people; we scouted locations, auditioned actors, and arrived at our team. On May 24 we moved into ShowLine Studios at 915 Lakeshore Blvd East, and on June 20 we began shooting.

It’s Thursday, June 30, 2016, 10:30 a.m. I’m sitting on a real bed in a fake bedroom behind Peter Wellington, the director; Frazer Brown, the DOP; Liz Farrer, the first assistant director; Frank Gentile, the gaffer; and Donna Gardon, the continuity person. We’re getting room tone. The whole crew is still and silent as Stephen Marian and Dennis Nicholson record the sound of the fake living room for about ten seconds. It’s a quiet ritual amidst the bustle of life on set. It’s my favourite part of the day.

The most difficult part in all of this is creating — investing all your ego, personality, faith, energy, love, hope, and history — and then loosening the grip of that creation just enough so others can get in and do what they do to what you’ve done. When it works, it’s a collaborative miracle.

While the crew sets up between takes, I wander around the sets: the store, the apartment above the store, the car rental agency, Janet’s bedroom, which, I imagine, used to be Jung’s before Janet was born. And then they probably shared the room for a while — maybe even until he left home. Janet still has his skateboard, which sits in the corner of the room. John Dondertman, the production designer, and his team went to my parents’ home and church to do a bunch of “authentic Korean” research. Wouldn’t have had it any other way.

My wandering lands me outside. Lakeshore Blvd East isn’t the most inspirational view, but I look up and it’s all sky. A dome of scratches and curls. Billowing clouds. Birds. Prayers. Blessings. Like a mustard seed that grows into a sheltering tree. And then I hear a voice: “I found Ins. Copy that.” One of the assistant directors on her walkie-talkie kindly urges me to return to the set. “Sorry.”

I’m making a TV show based on my play for the CBC, and I’m loving every moment.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

No artist works in isolation. They stand on the shoulders of their predecessors and are sharpened by their peers. The following is a list of people who have helped me with this play artistically and financially. From an idea to the page to the stage to this book, thank you: