Making a Theatrical Debut in China!
Wow, where to begin recapping my recent trip to China… 4 weeks, 4 cities, 24 shows performed, 5 or 6 workshops.
It all started when I was hired by Tasmania’s amazing Terrapin Puppet Theatre Company to be a part of their production of You And Me And The Space Between. This show is part play, part picture book/animation with a moving set controlled by a puppeteer. Terrapin describes it best:
“From the mind of Australia’s most accomplished children’s playwright, Finegan Kruckemeyer, comes a tale of wonder and invention that is brought to life in unexpected ways. Storytelling, choreographed projections and live drawn animation explore the plight of refugees fleeing environmental change through the eyes of a child.
Step inside a picture book with an artist and storyteller, amidst a paper set that is cut, ripped, patched and manipulated live to create a world of play.”
Live drawn animation - that’s where I came in!
Photo by Dean Stevenson right before we opened the first show of the tour.
The main cast was made up of four people on stage and some very important off stage characters:
Dean, the tour director, composer and live musician
Nicole, the amazing narrator from Shanghai
Rosie, the fabulous puppeteer controlling the set
Me, illustrating live from the ipad which is projected on stage
Simon (seen below) , the doer of all things including the very important stage lighting
Julien and Regina (seen below), our tour managers who we could not survive without
Celebrations in Zhengzhou above after opening night.
This photo was taken during the first show in Xi’an.
Considering I have never been on stage for anything since middle school (where I was a nameless role on stage with one line in Annie), it was pretty scary at first. Luckily we were performing for mostly children and hearing them laugh and gasp in the audience made this an extra special experience for me.
Performing this in China means that the entire show was in Mandarin! So literally all of our cues were in Mandarin too. Luckily I had an earpiece for other cues. It was pretty amazing to witness the poetry, humour and emotional side of the story translating seamlessly from the English version.
We performed in a diverse set of cities and venues! First we were in Zhengzhou’s Little Dreamer’s Theatre which hosts children’s performances from around the world for their regular members who are treated as family there. It was really a special venue and getting to know the staff and kids made us feel extra welcome.
Next, we traveled to Suzhou! It’s the Venice of China with artists sketching everywhere, a history of amazing embroidery work and much more! We got to explore a little bit on our days off. I really enjoyed that many people were wearing or renting traditional outfits from different time periods as they strolled around the museums and shopping areas. Nicole rocked her Tang dynasty outfit with us tagging along asking for translations every 5 minutes. One particularly special moment was when we stumbled into a Tea & Whiskey shop where the owner brewed us a special 20+ year old oolong tea. We watched him transfer the water from vessel to vessel until the tea finally made it into our tiny porcelain cups.
The venue we performed in was massive! There were museums, movie theatres, gigantic broadway show theatres and more inside. One of the small joys was having real coffee available right outside of our small theatre.
When we walked up to this the first time I think we were all in shock. Especially me, being an introvert accustomed to working in a silent solo cave.
Above photos inside and outside of the Suzhou venue.
Then we got on another train and went to Xi’an! It’s hard to decide which one was my favourite city on the trip, but Xi’an is definitely up there. On our days off we checked out some of the sights and ended up in artistic visual delight heaven! Ink brushes, calligraphy, handicraft galore! My eyes and brain hurt from absorbing it. Plus we went to see the Terracotta Warriors which was just unbelievable to process.
The venue we performed in Xi’an was spectacular. Walking up to it for the first time was definitely another shocking moment. Like are we performing in a palace?! China certainly knows how to light up an entire area with a million lights and this was one of them. The Shaanxi Opera House is just one of MANY buildings in this long strip of museums, theatres, shopping malls and more.
I had to grab some aerial views off of the internet because my photos just do not do it justice. Our hotel was in walking distance so it was wild to absorb this in between shows and do some people watching.
For week four we were sent to Urumqi, all the way in China’s northwest Xinjiang region. Although it ended up being a week of workshops instead of doing the show, it was an eye opening experience for all of us. Xinjiang borders many other countries/territories including Russia, Tibet, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. WHAT?! With all of the different ethnic groups it was definitely a different atmosphere. There was a lot to process and some difficult issues to witness, but putting that aside we had an amazing week.
The Helen O’Grady Drama School hosted us during the week, taking us to shows and amazing meals. (Scroll down for food highlights later.) We did workshops with kids loosely based on the show and it was wonderful meeting so many families and the super hospitable staff at the theatre school.
After a month in China we flew to Shanghai to begin the long journey home. Our one night in Shanghai just so happened to be on my birthday, so it was pretty special. It was hard to believe it was all over! There were a lot of laughs over the month to recap with funny translation fails, spa visits, different customs, interesting foods and more. Hopefully I can return to China one day and spend a bit more time in Shanghai!
Rolling in my 31st birthday in a spectacular way!
And now, a very quick recap on what I will miss most of all… the food. Oh the noodles and dumplings… and things I never knew of or tasted before. So cheap, so delicious…
Until next time, China!