“I made a swift left turn later in my life to become an artist, to go into acting and writing,” says Choi.

Choi, who wrote and stars in the production, worked in collaboration with artistic director Kaitlin Williams. They are bringing the play back to Vancouver’s Pacific Theatre, where it first debuted in 2025.

Family, faith and art

Unlike his father and grandfather, who were both pastors, the play depicts Choi’s experiences in choosing to pursue the arts.

“I do feel there was some more responsibility in terms of leading things as a teenager at church,” says Choi. “I felt a pressure to be involved, to be visibly involved.”

Choi is the youngest sibling of three, including two sisters. As the only son, he shares the pressures of continuing a generational legacy of faith based work.

“There’s the Korean speaking Korean church, and then the English speaking Korean church, like a second generation Korean church,” he says. “It feels like a big family reunion.”

Instead of entering church leadership, Choi studied theatre at York University. His own experience in acting was met with difficulty due to the lack of Asian male role models in western pop culture. This dynamic continues today.

“I know that when Koreans or Asians are in the house, it gets a little louder,” says Choi. “I think they can appreciate the nuances in the immigration household, and especially in church, like the dynamics that happen in a preacher’s family at church.”

Reflecting on his place in Canadian theatre, Choi says he’s only written three plays but knows he’s representing a community of artists.

“Artists who have worked really hard – their whole lives: writing plays, directing, trying to get on a main stage, acting,” he adds. “It’s flattering.”

The latest production contains five stories: part standup, concert with six songs and one poem.

The next chapter for second generation immigrants

Choi reflects on changes in family expectations with second generation immigrants, as their sense of identity and belonging in Canada differs from previous generations.

“When I was young, at times I would distance myself from being Korean or Asian and try to assimilate more with the dominant culture,” he says. “But my kids, they’re like, bring it.”

Choi points out the immigration experience and the story is quite recent – many immigrant families came to North America in the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s; and it’s just one generation and now two generations – with some younger second generation Korean-Canadians choosing to return to South Korea.

“There’s a large number of my peers and younger than me that are moving back to South Korea,” says Choi, “because it’s surpassed the West in many regards, in public transit and healthcare, especially for the elderly.”

This new understanding of where one’s family comes from and where they are going, can change the story of immigration.

“Our parents came to Canada to give us a better education and opportunity, but maybe the end of the next chapter is that we move back to our homeland,” says Choi. “Then I’m the foreigner, so I’m an immigrant to Korea”

Choi shares how audiences have been receptive.

“They can relate. It ends with a poem and people feel inspired to create, to make something, whether it’s art or something that was on the shelf for them,” says Choi. “That’s what a lot of people are saying.”

Son of a Preacherman won Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for Outstanding Original Script and Significant Artistic Achievement. The play runs from Nov. 10–14 at Granville Island’s The Revue Stage.

For more information and tickets, please visit www.pacifictheatre.org