J-School alumni trace their roots for The Living Magazine live journalism show

The Living Magazine premiered its first-ever live journalism issue, “Uprooted”, , on Sept. 28 as part of the second International Live Journalism Festival (external link) . The theme follows journalists tracing their ancestries, lived experiences, and, how that influence their work as storytellers. 

A “part magazine, part spectacle,” The Living Magazine (external link)  was founded by Adam Chen, MJ’19, as a space where storytellers and artists can workshop new stories and connect with audiences in innovative ways.

“The power of live journalism, especially in our practice that we do at the Living Magazine, is that we tie in the heart and the mind all of our productions on a stage that will engage you intellectually, but will also engage you emotionally,” said Chen.

In the warmly-lit venue, 918 Bathurst, students and alumni watched the six featured journalists perform their personal stories for a live audience. Students served as volunteers and on the production team. Chen explained that stage designer Jen Pham conceptualized the dyed fabric draping the backdrop to tie the weaving of storytelling.

J-School assistant professor Adrian Ma, MJ’09, performed a version of his written feature in The Walrus (external link)  earlier this year,  revealing his mixed feelings about his identity and place as a Chinese-Canadian citizen. In “Where are you from?”, Ma details the trip he took with his family to British Columbia where his father first immigrated, tying his story to the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Paired with an immersive sound design and slide show, Ma’s story resonated with the immigrant community who felt they weren’t Canadian enough.

With sounds of rushing water in the background, Rosemary Georgeson and John Endo Greenaway shared their ties to fishing within their cultures for the piece,  “Something Fishy”. The tradition of fishing is more than a hobby for Indigenous and Japanese cultures and the two storytellers shared how fishing shaped their outlooks on life.

Twirling onto the stage in a sari with gold embellishments, journalist Aparita Bhandari made a dazzling entrance for her piece, “Dancing Between the Lines.” As an arts journalist and producer of Hindi language podcasts, Bhandari’s performance portrayed how she navigated pitching journalistic story ideas that tied to her cultural background to editors.

J-School alum Dylan Freeman-Grist ’18, performed  “Sanctuary City.” In an ode to the city of Toronto, Freeman-Grist, who is also the director of operations at The Living Magazine, lamented the state of climate change and how it has affected the city he calls home.

Chen closed the show with a performance of “A Glimpse of Our Own” tracing his roots back to the Chinese Exclusion Act.  Chen’s great-uncle, Kew Dock Yip,  who was a key figure in dismantling the act, became an actor, even appearing in a Cyndi Lauper video. Chen weaves his grandfather’s journey with his own as an aspiring Asian creative. With mentions of Canadian actor Simu Liu and Crazy Rich Asians, Chen’s piece is a hopeful outlook on the progress made towards uplifting Asian voices in media.

Beyond the personal and emotional ties to lineages and cultural roots, these journalists opened the space and created a connection with the audiences that has been challenging to do in a written article. Seeing the journalists share deeply personal stories allowed them to show themselves as more than a byline. Chen says he hopes the show highlights the voices and communities that make up Toronto.

“This is especially interesting because we're not only doing it for Toronto audiences. We have an international audience flying in, and they want to understand what is journalism and what is live journalism in Toronto. What better way to show them that than to show how Toronto in this current age is made up of all these people from different journeys and backgrounds.”