Tony Le-Nguyen
Encyclopedia
Tony Le-Nguyen, born as Lê Thiện Toàn in 1968 in the Mekong Delta
region of Vietnam
, changed his name to Tony Lee since he began working as an actor in 1985. Over the past 20 years, Le-Nguyen has worked as an actor, writer, director and producer. He is currently the Community Engagement Coordinator for Quang Minh Buddhist Centre based in Melbourne, Australia.
Le-Nguyen was the first Vietnamese Australian
to be appointed as an Official Prison Visitor to Port Phillip and Fulham
Correctional Centres by the Minister for Corrections, the Honourable Andre Haermeyer
in 2003 to act as an independent voice for the prison system in Victoria.
He is best known for his role as Tiger in Jeffrey Wright’s 1992 feature film Romper Stomper
. He has also appeared in other television productions including: Stingers
, SeaChange
, Raw FM
, G.P., Fast Forward, All Together Now, Embassy, Secrets, The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, Paradise Beach
and Australia’s most wanted.
Le-Nguyen studied Television Production at RMIT in 1989 and completed his Bachelor of Arts (Drama/Community Development) in 1998 and Diploma of Education in 2000 at Victoria University.
He was awarded the Community Cultural Development Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2000.
Between 1986 and 1988, Le toured with Mary Coustas
in Handspan Theatre
’s production A Change of Face written by Andrea Lemon and directed by Carmelina di Guglielmo. He worked on the Victorian Opera
1990 production of Madama Butterfly and performed in Theatreworks’ 1992 production of Titus, directed by David Pledger and Robert Draffin
In May 1994, he founded Australian Vietnamese Youth Media with the support of Huu Tran and the theatre coordinator at the Footscray Community Arts Centre. The company received its first funding from the Queens Trust in 1995 to produce Chay Vong Vong, a play he wrote and directed with the Vietnamese Community in Footscray
, Melbourne. The following year, this organisation received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts and the Sidney Myer Foundation
to re-stage Chay Vong Vong as a fully professional production at the Napier Street Theatre, in South Melbourne
. In 1998 he was commissioned by Urban Theatre Projects to write and direct "Chay Vong Vong" with the Vietnamese Community in Sydney, Australia.
Le-Nguyen has directed and produced such professional and community productions as A Time of Your Life, St. Martins Youth Theatre and Flemington Community Centre 1996, Now I Lay Me Down, La Mama 1997, Taboo, Next Wave Festival 1998, Running In Circles, Urban Theatre Projects and 1998 Carnivale Festival in Sydney, "Aussie Bia Om, 2001 Fringe Festival and directed segments for the Maribyrnong Festival in 1997 and 2000, He co-directed Worlds Apart in 1996 with Gary McKechnie, a half-hour Television drama about generation conflict within a Vietnamese Australian family. Worlds Apart was first screened on SBS Television
in December 1997.
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
region of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, changed his name to Tony Lee since he began working as an actor in 1985. Over the past 20 years, Le-Nguyen has worked as an actor, writer, director and producer. He is currently the Community Engagement Coordinator for Quang Minh Buddhist Centre based in Melbourne, Australia.
Le-Nguyen was the first Vietnamese Australian
Vietnamese Australian
A Vietnamese Australian is an Australian either born in Vietnam or is an Australian descendant of the former. Communities of Overseas Vietnamese are referred to as Việt Kiều or người Việt hải ngoại.-History in Australia:...
to be appointed as an Official Prison Visitor to Port Phillip and Fulham
Fulham Correctional Centre
Fulham Correctional Centre is a medium security Australian prison located in Hopkins Road, Sale, Victoria, Australia. The prison consists of mainstream medium security cell blocks, a drug and alcohol treatment unit and a protection unit....
Correctional Centres by the Minister for Corrections, the Honourable Andre Haermeyer
Andre Haermeyer
Andre Haermeyer is an Australian politician. He was the Australian Labor Party member for Kororoit in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2002, prior to that representing the Yan Yean electorate in Melbourne's north from 1992.Before being elected to Parliament, Haermeyer worked for the...
in 2003 to act as an independent voice for the prison system in Victoria.
He is best known for his role as Tiger in Jeffrey Wright’s 1992 feature film Romper Stomper
Romper Stomper
-Awards:The film was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards. It won Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Original Music Score.-Box office and Reception:Romper Stomper grossed $3,165,034 at the box office in Australia,...
. He has also appeared in other television productions including: Stingers
Stingers
Stingers was an Australian police drama television series. It ran for eight seasons on the Nine Network before it was canceled in late 2004 due to declining ratings and the late timeslot Channel Nine gave the program...
, SeaChange
SeaChange
SeaChange was a popular Australian television show that ran for 39 episodes from 1998 to 2001 on the ABC. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, Tom Long and Kerry Armstrong...
, Raw FM
Raw FM
Raw FM was an Australian Television series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that aired for one season of thirteen episodes between November 1997 and February 1998. Raw FM was about an independent radio station of the same name and the young people that run it...
, G.P., Fast Forward, All Together Now, Embassy, Secrets, The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach
Paradise Beach is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow Pictures. It is associated with New World Television for the Nine Network that aired between 1993 and 1994...
and Australia’s most wanted.
Le-Nguyen studied Television Production at RMIT in 1989 and completed his Bachelor of Arts (Drama/Community Development) in 1998 and Diploma of Education in 2000 at Victoria University.
He was awarded the Community Cultural Development Fellowship by the Australia Council for the Arts in 2000.
Between 1986 and 1988, Le toured with Mary Coustas
Mary Coustas
Mary Coustas is an Australian television personality. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character "Effie": a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian...
in Handspan Theatre
Handspan Theatre
Handspan Theatre, Visual Theatre, Melbourne puppet company, Arts collectiveHandspan Theatre 1977 - 2002 was a Melbourne puppetry collective founded by Ken Evans, Andrew Hansen, Helen Rickards, Maeve Vella, Peter J...
’s production A Change of Face written by Andrea Lemon and directed by Carmelina di Guglielmo. He worked on the Victorian Opera
Victorian Opera (Melbourne)
Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 and commenced operations in January 2006 with funding from the Victorian government, and Richard Gill as Artistic Director...
1990 production of Madama Butterfly and performed in Theatreworks’ 1992 production of Titus, directed by David Pledger and Robert Draffin
In May 1994, he founded Australian Vietnamese Youth Media with the support of Huu Tran and the theatre coordinator at the Footscray Community Arts Centre. The company received its first funding from the Queens Trust in 1995 to produce Chay Vong Vong, a play he wrote and directed with the Vietnamese Community in Footscray
Footscray, Victoria
Footscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
, Melbourne. The following year, this organisation received funding from the Australia Council for the Arts and the Sidney Myer Foundation
Sidney Myer
Sidney Baevski Myer was a Russian Australian businessman and philanthropist, best known for creating Myer, Australia's largest chain of department stores.-Early life:...
to re-stage Chay Vong Vong as a fully professional production at the Napier Street Theatre, in South Melbourne
South Melbourne, Victoria
South Melbourne is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km south from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Port Phillip and Melbourne...
. In 1998 he was commissioned by Urban Theatre Projects to write and direct "Chay Vong Vong" with the Vietnamese Community in Sydney, Australia.
Le-Nguyen has directed and produced such professional and community productions as A Time of Your Life, St. Martins Youth Theatre and Flemington Community Centre 1996, Now I Lay Me Down, La Mama 1997, Taboo, Next Wave Festival 1998, Running In Circles, Urban Theatre Projects and 1998 Carnivale Festival in Sydney, "Aussie Bia Om, 2001 Fringe Festival and directed segments for the Maribyrnong Festival in 1997 and 2000, He co-directed Worlds Apart in 1996 with Gary McKechnie, a half-hour Television drama about generation conflict within a Vietnamese Australian family. Worlds Apart was first screened on SBS Television
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
in December 1997.
External links
- Australian Vietnamese Youth Media Official Website
- Tony Le-Nguyen Blog
- Australian Vietnamese Youth Media @ Vicnet
- I'M AN ARTIST BUT... ,1997 DARE CCD Conference in Brisbane, Australia 1997
- CCD IN THE YOUTH SECTOR, 1997 DARE CCD Conference in Brisbane, Australia 1997
- Australian Content
- The Deep End, Radio National, ABC 2003
- Australia Council for the Arts.