April 17, 2007
By Eileen O. Daday
Daily Herald Correspondent
Schaumburg native Vic Chao plays the starring role in the play, Golden Child running now through May 6 at the historic Chicago Temple building, as part of the Silk Road Theatre Project.
It's not that he struggles to come to terms with his Western way of life and polygamous marriage, as his character does in the play.
But Chao concedes he finds himself dealing with the clash between his traditional Chinese background — and expectations — and his own personal dreams to pursue acting.
Chao stars as Andrew and Tieng-Bin in the Midwest premier of the Tony-nominated play, by David Henry Hwang. It was chosen by Silk Road Theatre Project officials for its sensitive portrayal of dealing with cross-cultural issues.
“I strongly empathize with their struggles to balance traditional Chinese obligation with personal dreams,” Chao says.
Silk Road Theatre Project opened in 2002, in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. Its founders, Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani , hope to promote cultural understanding of the communities located along the historic Silk Road trading routes stretched across Central and South Asia , through art.
The theater opened before the City of Chicago ’s current one-year partnership with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Project, that resulted in Silk Road Chicago.
For Chao, who is 35, coming back from Los Angeles to accept the role has brought him back to his roots, and face to face with the issues he portrays on stage.
Back in high school, he seemed to be on the fast track to success. He graduated from Schaumburg High School in 1989 as a National Merit finalist, gymnastics captain and math team president bound for Stanford University , to study mechanical engineering.
And though he completed his degree, and worked for three years developing medical devices for Baxter Healthcare, he secretly harbored a dream of trying to make a go of it, as an actor.
“I never liked engineering, but coming from a traditional Chinese background, I felt like my career options were as a doctor, lawyer or engineer,” Chao says.
His mother, Kuen-Lan Chao, who still lives in Schaumburg , admits she was not thrilled with the idea of him leaving his engineering career.
“I was against it,” she says candidly. “It’s a tough road; to make it is not easy.”
However, once he started acting, he has never looked back. After an initial stint as the Chicago Bulls mascot, beginning in 1998, he has compiled an impressive resume while living and working in Los Angeles for the last seven years.
Recent film credits have included co-starring in “ Pearl Harbor ,” and in a supporting role in “Miss Congeniality 2” with Sandra Bullock, as well as guest appearances on many television shows, including: 24, Boston Legal, Monk, The Practice, Gilmore Girls and Crossing Jordan, to name just a few.
Chao returned in January to star in the play, and stretch his theatrical credits. He also is able to spend more time with his mother, he says, who raised Chao and his two siblings, alone, after her husband passed away.
“My mother is the most special person I know,” Chao says. “She worked as a research biochemist for 30 years, and sacrificed everything for the well being of her children.”
Acknowledging that the play has caused him to search his own background and cultural expectations, Chao plans to return to China in May with his mother, to explore their heritage, together.