The Firecracker Department

Our guest this week is Chinese-Canadian actor, writer - RONG FU!

Rong was born in Qin-an, China and was raised in Toronto, Canada. She knew at a young age that she wanted to be an actor and started her classical training in theatre at Earl Haig, an arts high school in Toronto and then went on to graduate from York University’s Acting Conservatory in 2012.

Rong’s theatrical debut was in the critically acclaimed production of THE CRUCIBLE at Soulpepper in Toronto. She has since performed on stages across Canada in amazing productions including the Shaw Festival’s STAGE KISS and THE ORCHARD AFTER CHEKHOV in Niagara-on-the Lake, Vertigo Theatre’s SHERLOCK HOLMES and THE RAVEN’S CURSE in Calgary, Toronto Tarragon Theatre’s THE MILLENNIAL MALCONTENT, and Roseneath Theatre’s Dora Nominated THE MONEY TREE in Toronto.

You may recognize Rong on the small screen in shows such as: CBC and NBC’s PRETTY HARD CASES, CBC and Netflix’s WORKIN’ MOMS, CBS’s AMERICAN GOTHIC, ABC’s ROOKIE BLUE, CTV’s CARTER, and The CW’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Most recently, on Paramount+’s STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, and Lionsgate and BuzzFeed Studios’ MY FAKE BOYFRIEND.

Rong plays the romantic lead Avery in CBC Gem’s original HELLO (AGAIN), a k-drama inspired rom-com created by Simu Liu and Nathalie Younglai, that recently won BEST DRAMA PILOT in the DIGITAL SHORTS SERIES in SeriesFest in Denver, Colorado.

MAY FLOWERS, ASIANS IN THE SIXTH is a short film that Rong wrote and it premiered on CBC: CANADA REFLECTIONS in 2020. She is a founding member of a community collective of Asian artists in film and television called ASIANS IN THE SIXTH as a Facebook group. In 2021, she curated a program of various free industry workshops to uplift and support fellow Asian artists, including workshops about The Business Side of Acting and another workshop on Authenticity and Wellbeing.

Twitter: @rongideas

Instagram: @rongideas

Website:

https://www.officialrongfu.com/

HELLO (AGAIN)

@watchhelloagain #watchhelloagain

@cbcgem

Watch: https://gem.cbc.ca/media/hello-again/s01

Podcast Team

Head Producer and Editor: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong

Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz

Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019

To listen to the podcast: https://linktr.ee/firecrackerdept

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Talking with Annie Murphy is like hanging out with an old highschool buddy. From a quiet life amongst the tulips of Ottawa to starring in "Schitt’s Creek" and married to a rock star we’re gonna talk about her journey. She chose acting, over being a lawyer, and I am so glad she did because she is a delight as Alexis Rose on "Schitt’s Creek". We had a really fun, honest conversation about the fear of auditioning, her dislike of too much sunshine, and how writing can get you through the tough times.

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Our guest this week is award-winning screenwriter, executive producer and founder of Ink Canada- KAREN WALTON! She is best known for penning the original cult classic horror film, GINGER SNAPS, along with writing and co-executive producing Bell Media and BBC America’s hit sci-fi series, ORPHAN BLACK. Other credits include: Showtime’s QUEER AS FOLK, CTV’s FLASHPOINT, THE LISTENER, THE ELEVENTH HOUR and CBC’s WHAT’S IT LIKE BEING ALONE, STRAIGHT UP, DROP THE BEAT. She also wrote 2 true-life MOWs, CBC’s HEART-THE MARILYN BELL STORY and THE MANY TRIALS OF ONE JANE DOE, which won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing in a Movie or Miniseries. Other accolades include: the prestigious Margaret Collier Award, ACTRA Toronto’s Nell Shipman Award, Women In Film and Television Toronto’s Crystal Award for Mentorship, the Writers Guild of Canada’s Writers Block Award, and the Banff Media Festival’s Fellowship Alumnus Award, Toronto International Film Festival Special Jury Citation for Screenplay, a Canadian Comedy Award, and Canadian Screen Awards for Best Dramatic Series. Karen founded INK CANADA - CANADIAN SCREENWRITERS AND THEIR SKETCHY FRIENDS on Facebook in 2007, and it has grown to over 9K screenwriting pros, students, fans of the art and industry colleagues from Canada and around the world.

Karen Walton Instagram: @helloiwrite

INK CANADA - CANADIAN SCREENWRITERS AND THEIR SKETCHY FRIENDS Twitter: @inkcanada Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/inkcanada/

Podcast Team Head Producer: Winnie Wong @wonder_wong Editor: Shayne Stolz @shaynestolz Graphic: Vicki Brier @brier2019

Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!

Catch up with our firecracker core team members Naomi @snieckus Emily @emchurchill Anna @tooconvoluted and Avelyn @avelyn.graye and what they thought of the @JessSalgueiro episode! Jess Salguerio is a Canadian wonder, appearing on multiple television shows and giving back to her community. Avelyn, Anna, Naomi and Emily all loved her episode and are thrilled to share their thoughts. Let us know what resonated with you too! Reach out anytime @firecrackerdept and find this awesome Aftershow and more over on our Youtube channel! Come say hey!

Every first Sunday of the month, I talk to a past guest about what’s going on with them now, and we release it as a bonus episode on the pod!

For the May Spark Chat, I caught up with comedian couple Jess & Eman, The El-Salomons! Hear what they’re up to in 2020. Look out for July’s Spark Chat with director Renuka Jeyapalan to be released as a podcast episode NEXT month! But first, Jess & Eman!

Follow Jess and Eman solo, and together @TheElSalomons.

Just For Laughs special "Marriage of Convenience" is out NOW on Crave TV!

Comedians vs the News LINK