Hip hop singer Tony Roun. Sun/Tory Germann04/01/2007
By Kathleen Pierce,
kpierce@lowellsun.com
Lowell Sun (Lowell, Mass., USA)
LOWELL -- It took about 20 minutes. Tony Roun had just returned from auditioning for Where Elephants Weep when the phone rang. The news was good. They wanted him for the part. "I was pretty surprised. Especially since I just woke up and went to the audition," said Roun, a Cambodian émigré who has been in Lowell since 1987.
The pint-sized rapper with a fiery presence impressed the producers of the new Cambodian rock opera, being performed here at the end of the month, when he busted out the politically charged lyrics for the lead bodyguard role.
"Why would a monk give up on his vows only to hide in a superstar's house?
Up in the room he's undoing her blouse. On a clear day can see all the way to Laos."
These controversial lines, equivalent to calling out a Catholic priest on stage, are guaranteed to prick some ears when the opera debuts in Phnom Penh after its Lowell preview at the end of the month.
Such strident honesty reverberates through this coming-of-age love story between Sam, a refugee from the Khmer Rouge genocide, who returns to Cambodia and unexpectedly falls in love with a pop star. Woven into the multifaceted story are the spirit and soul of modern-day Cambodia. Accomplished librettist Catherine Filloux, who has taught at the Royal University of Fine Art in Cambodia, is part of a team of three -- including producer John Burt and composer Him Sophy -- who have been working on this opera for five years.
"I was amazed at how they understood the mindset of Phnom Penh," said Roun, who was born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime and fled to Thailand with his family.
Sporting a blue blazer with red and white stripes (the colors of the Cambodian flag) tight pinstripe pants, square-toe shoes, hair slicked into a ponytail and giant aviator shades, Roun is straight from central casting.
"I felt so much I could relate to the story. I witnessed it myself," said the 28-year-old.
Although he is not the lead character, who happens to work in the music industry, you could say Roun's been there, lived that. He's been rapping about contemporary Cambodia for years as lead singer of the now-defunct group SEASIA. The popular Cambodian-American fusion band gave voice to the disheartening scenes that struck them on return visits home.
Songs like "Trashland Kids," about homeless children living in dumps and being killed and tortured under the Khmer Rouge, is one such poignant piece. The band, and Roun in particular, were nurtured by Arn Chorn-Pond, a human rights activist whose escape from the Khmer Route dictator Pol Pot was documented in The Flute Player, but it wasn't his connections that won him the role. He stood on raw talent alone.
"We saw a lot of people in New York City. Tony was by far the best choice," said Filloux.
"He's a rapper, he is flexible and willing to work with the lyrics that are there."
For the first time, Roun, who is assistant to the dean at Lowell Community Charter School, is getting paid for his efforts -- most SEASIA appearances were educational and therefore pro bono. He feels his scrappy survival skills, honed on the streets of Lowell, were good practice for the stage.
"I'm not just an actor playing a part. I'm an actor who has lived through the character."
Roun is one of two Cambodian singer/actors cast in the production. Ieng Sithul, a famous actor and singer of the traditional Cambodian form, is the other. Because few Cambodians could make a living as artists after the ruthless Khmer Rouge dismantled the country, there was not a large crop of Cambodian actors to choose from. As a result, most actors in the production are Filipino or Japanese-Americans, said Filloux.
By far Roun, who may or may not travel with the production, will be the hometown favorite in Lowell.
Those who knew him as a roughneck who found peace through rap could not be happier for the soft-spoken Roun. Janic e Pokorski, a Dracut resident, is one of many cheering for him.
"I was delighted to hear that he was in this play. I think it is his life ... It gives me shivers thinking about this," she said.
The pint-sized rapper with a fiery presence impressed the producers of the new Cambodian rock opera, being performed here at the end of the month, when he busted out the politically charged lyrics for the lead bodyguard role.
"Why would a monk give up on his vows only to hide in a superstar's house?
Up in the room he's undoing her blouse. On a clear day can see all the way to Laos."
These controversial lines, equivalent to calling out a Catholic priest on stage, are guaranteed to prick some ears when the opera debuts in Phnom Penh after its Lowell preview at the end of the month.
Such strident honesty reverberates through this coming-of-age love story between Sam, a refugee from the Khmer Rouge genocide, who returns to Cambodia and unexpectedly falls in love with a pop star. Woven into the multifaceted story are the spirit and soul of modern-day Cambodia. Accomplished librettist Catherine Filloux, who has taught at the Royal University of Fine Art in Cambodia, is part of a team of three -- including producer John Burt and composer Him Sophy -- who have been working on this opera for five years.
"I was amazed at how they understood the mindset of Phnom Penh," said Roun, who was born in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime and fled to Thailand with his family.
Sporting a blue blazer with red and white stripes (the colors of the Cambodian flag) tight pinstripe pants, square-toe shoes, hair slicked into a ponytail and giant aviator shades, Roun is straight from central casting.
"I felt so much I could relate to the story. I witnessed it myself," said the 28-year-old.
Although he is not the lead character, who happens to work in the music industry, you could say Roun's been there, lived that. He's been rapping about contemporary Cambodia for years as lead singer of the now-defunct group SEASIA. The popular Cambodian-American fusion band gave voice to the disheartening scenes that struck them on return visits home.
Songs like "Trashland Kids," about homeless children living in dumps and being killed and tortured under the Khmer Rouge, is one such poignant piece. The band, and Roun in particular, were nurtured by Arn Chorn-Pond, a human rights activist whose escape from the Khmer Route dictator Pol Pot was documented in The Flute Player, but it wasn't his connections that won him the role. He stood on raw talent alone.
"We saw a lot of people in New York City. Tony was by far the best choice," said Filloux.
"He's a rapper, he is flexible and willing to work with the lyrics that are there."
For the first time, Roun, who is assistant to the dean at Lowell Community Charter School, is getting paid for his efforts -- most SEASIA appearances were educational and therefore pro bono. He feels his scrappy survival skills, honed on the streets of Lowell, were good practice for the stage.
"I'm not just an actor playing a part. I'm an actor who has lived through the character."
Roun is one of two Cambodian singer/actors cast in the production. Ieng Sithul, a famous actor and singer of the traditional Cambodian form, is the other. Because few Cambodians could make a living as artists after the ruthless Khmer Rouge dismantled the country, there was not a large crop of Cambodian actors to choose from. As a result, most actors in the production are Filipino or Japanese-Americans, said Filloux.
By far Roun, who may or may not travel with the production, will be the hometown favorite in Lowell.
Those who knew him as a roughneck who found peace through rap could not be happier for the soft-spoken Roun. Janic e Pokorski, a Dracut resident, is one of many cheering for him.
"I was delighted to hear that he was in this play. I think it is his life ... It gives me shivers thinking about this," she said.
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