
Rong Fu
06/08/22 • 70 min
2 Listeners
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
Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!
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
Subscribe to our newsletter at https://www.firecrackerdepartment.com and follow us @firecrackerdept!
Previous Episode

Sally Shaar
Our guest this week is Toronto-based Juno-winning vocalist, songwriter, director, music marketing specialist and Syrian-Canadian - SALLY SHAAR! Sally studied with Canadian vocal legends Christine Duncan, Lorraine Lawson, Falconer Abraham, and Micah Barnes. She has such an amazing voice and she’s constantly pushing the boundaries of her voice both on stage and in the studio. Through her studies at Humber College’s music program and an unfortunate bout of tonsillitis, Sally has become a veritable expert on vocal health and recovery.
Sally is a founding member of the alternative rock band MONOWHALES. They recently won a 2022 Juno for Breakthrough Group of the Year!
Sally has been the creative force behind numerous music videos, photos, and online marketing campaigns for the band. That’s right, Sally’s ingenuity and forward-thinking approach to music marketing has helped MONOWHALES establish themselves as one of the most exciting new bands in Canada and the WORLD!
MONOWHALES’ 2019 single RWLYD (Really Wanna Let You Down) broke the record for the highest-charting single by an unsigned Canadian band when it hit number two on the Mediabase Canada Alternative Rock Chart. They released their latest album DAYTONA BLEACH in early 2021 which included RWLYD along with Top 10 singles ALL OR NOTHING and OUT WITH THE OLD. By the way, OUT WITH THE OLD has over 1 million streams on Spotify!
Sally is no stranger to the stage, she has toured extensively with MONOWHALES. Performances include Reeperbahn in Hamburg, Germany, Canadian Music Week in Toronto, Canada, Festival d’ete in Quebec City, Canada and Yellowknife PRIDE. MONOWHALES has played in support of artists including K Flay, Our Lady Peace, Death From Above 1979, Marianas Trench, Sloan, I Mother Earth and many more.
MONOWHALES were just on a cross-Canada tour with indie-rock band Mother Mother and they have a new album slated for release Fall of 2022.
Fun Fact:
Three MONOWHALES songs off 2018's CONTROL FREAK were featured in Season 1, Episode 5 of 2020 Netflix series SPINNING OUT, which also included a cameo appearance by the band.
Twitter: @SallyShaar
Instagram: @sally_shaar
MONOWHALES
@monowhales - Instagram and Twitter
Podcast Team
Head Producer and Editor: 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!
Next Episode

Amanda Brugel finds beauty in her daily “delights”
The incomparable Amanda Brugel should truly be recognized as an artistic chameleon. With her seamless ability to transition from comedy to drama - in roles like Karina Duff on Pretty Hard Cases and Rita Blue and then effortlessly to her work on The Handmaid’s Tale - Amanda is constantly reinventing herself and breaking away from the proverbial “box” that many actors seem to fall into. But her successes haven’t come without setbacks, and she tells Naomi how she’s learned to be open about her struggles throughout her life, and also to take time to appreciate the little “delights'' that appear. She shares that one of the most valuable muscles for her is the one that helps her recognize the victories in her life, big or small. And, even though she knows life is a never ending journey, Amanda is learning to always show up as herself, and learning that no matter what role or struggle she may face, she can always find a way to Brugel-ize it.
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