Theatre NorthWest’s production of Kim’s Convenience sees a Toronto actor take to the stage for his professional theatre debut.
Jason Pilgrim plays four characters in the show opposite James Yi, who plays Appa, the main character, while also directing the play.
Kim’s Convenience is a heart-warming comedy drama about a Korean immigrant family running a corner store in Toronto.
The play, written by Ins Choi, was a huge hit before becoming an award-winning sitcom on CBC television in 2016 and running for five seasons.
Pilgrim started his acting training in 2016 when he decided that being an English as a Second Language teacher just wasn’t working for him.
“I reached a point in my life where I was thinking about acting for so long and I thought now is the time I really go full throttle, put both feet in the pool and really see what can become of it,” Pilgrim said. “I reached a point where I just needed to act. Right there and then I decided to leave the job.”
He went straight to New York to take a six-week summer intensive and from there dove straight into Toronto’s community theatre scene. He acted in fringe festival productions, student films and non-union commercials before the pandemic changed the theatre world for a few years. He decided to continue his studies.
“I got my training at East 15 Acting School in the U.K.,” Pilgrim said. “I am Canadian but I decided to do my degree in acting in the U.K. at a reputable drama school.”
He graduated in October 2022.
“England is known for its theatre scene, its many famous actors, there is a lot more opportunity in theatre in London, particularly, so I wanted to get my training there because there’s a lot of actors in Hollywood that come from England,” Pilgrim said. “So I thought that would be a good start in terms of my career.”
In the summer of 2019 Pilgrim was fortunate enough to be part of To Kill a Mockingbird, a Stage Centre Productions piece out of North York in Toronto where he played Tom Robinson.
“That was a wonderful experience and later that summer I also appeared in a play called Who You Callin’ Black, Eh? and it premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival and we had a space at the Factory Theatre. We got lucky because it was very well received and we won the Teenjur Young Critics Award,” Pilgrim said. “And that was all before the pandemic.”
Pilgrim had never been to BC before he came to Prince George to take on the four roles in Kim’s Convenience.
“So I’m a newbie to Prince George,” Pilgrim laughed. “One thing I knew I was coming to was the nature and that was quite evident as soon as I landed at the airport. The forest and the open fields, you don’t really get that in Toronto, right?”
Pilgrim said Prince George has a small-town feel that he quite enjoys.
“There have been many circumstances where when I’m driving I have been given the right-of-away even though I didn’t have the right-of-way,” Pilgrim said. “I found that very surprising and people on the street when we’re walking by each other have said ‘hi’ to me and you don’t really get that in the big city. So it’s been very welcoming.”
Kim’s Convenience is at Theatre NorthWest until December 18 and started on Nov. 21. That’s a long run by any standards, short of shows on Broadway.
“I play four different characters, so that’s been a challenge just to distinguish each and every one of them,” Pilgrim said. “I’m playing Rich, he’s the first one that appears on stage, then the next one is Mr. Lee, the third one is Mike and then Alex, who is probably a more well-rounded character and who appears in more than one scene. I am extremely fortunate to be part of a cast in which three of the actors have already done a Kim’s production before. James Yi, our director and lead is on his ninth run as Appa. I couldn’t ask for a better situation to be in. Jimmy has a wealth of knowledge and he’s helped make the transition from drama school to the professional stage much easier."
Pilgrim has enjoyed the positive reactions from those who have seen the play.
“We’ve had a good response from the audience,” Pilgrim said. “Last night the cast went out to Nancy O’s and when we got to the door and we were waiting to be seated there was someone who said ‘hey, are you in Kim’s Convenience? I saw you on Friday' and she gave us some well wishes and told us she really enjoyed the show. It was very nice.”
Audience members might be surprised to know that the play and the popular television series are different, Pilgrim said.
“Believe it or not, the play did come first,” Pilgrim said. “The audience will see a story about a family, about community, about forgiveness and the play does go to places – I don’t want to say dark places – but it will go to places the audience might not expect. The character, Appa, (played by James Yi) has a very visible arc. He changes by the end of the play and you’re taken on this journey of his. Anyone who comes to see the play is going to laugh, but they are also in for the harder stuff when it comes to family and relationships. It’s very special.”
The modern Canadian classic goes until Dec. 18 at Theatre NorthWest.
Tickets are available at https://tickets.theatrenorthwest.com/KimsConvenience.