Workshopping
The Big Buddha at Po Lin Monastery
The Temple at Po Lin
Action shot of Charlotte's performance. (She's behind the map)
Charlotte and her friend Hilary speaking about the Hong Kong Express experience.

Here are some more photos of our trip and the convention. We had the closing ceremonies last night, and Charlotte practiced for her future career as a diplomat by helping the distraught Brazilian clown communicate with the Cantonese tech crew. The negotiations went from Portuguese to Spanish to English to Cantonese and back again. The performer from Brazil was so grateful to Charlotte that he gave her a big bear hug when it all got worked out.

Not much time to post this morning. We are on our way to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on Kowloon Pennisula for the final Keynote address and closing ceremonies. I have taken workshops in Korean Hahoe and Japanese Kyogen theatre (taught by an Australian woman!), finding ones inner clown (the best yet! All about non-competitive games and cooperation. It will make me a better teacher.), and teaching a second language through dram (Madame! You will love this! I took it in French and English!)
Cheers,
Kate

More performances

The kids from Macau performed a surreal piece entitled "Dreaming on the Wild Sea". I think they wrote this themselves in workshops guided by their teacher. It was in Cantonese; so I didn't understand all of it, but some kids explore a shipwreck and realize that there was another group of children who were trapped on this ship many years before. The plot was lost on me once they started worshipping a shaman becaus eof the language barrier, but I was so impressed with the physicality of the piece. The cast was standing stock still for 15 minutes as the audience entered. Then one group performed in unison the morning ablutions of parents getting ready for work while the other group mimed farmers going about their business. The actors' emotions and reactions were so clearly expressed throughout the play through their movement. Remarkable for 13-15 year-olds.
A mostly non-verbal piece followed, called "Memoria para los Ausentes" (Memorial for the absent ones). Three actors told the story of the thousands of Peruvians who disappeared under a cruel government. Only recently are the families and descendents of some of these desparecidos finding the graves of the lost. The piece was very moving at times but the 3 dancer/actors repeated the captures, tortures, and deaths many times, which detracted from the power of the piece.
The Cantonese Children's Opera Company performed an excerpt from "The Legend of White Snake" (my favorite story form Chinese Opera!!) and then demonstrated characteristic sleeve gestures. The fight scene was amusing with sea creatures fighting the armies of the evil monk as they flodded the temple. It's a complicated story..
Last night we saw a dance company from Germany perform an environmental piece about water. They are classmates of Charlotte's in the HK Express program, and their piece in Victoria Park ROCKED! The mostly Cantonese audience was astounded and very appreciative. Charlotte was inspired to think about environmental dance/drama performance at Nichols.
We had a demonstration of an ESL class by 20 adorable 8-year-olds from HK performing a folk tale about the Moon Festival. They used a few props and chairs and delighted the audience with their expressions and movement. Their English was excellent too! Precious kids.
More tomorrow - last day of the conference. I'll capsulize the workshops I've been taking.
Oh, and yes, Mother, I did get to the night market with Charlotte, and we bought the place out!
Cheers,
Kate

We're seeing performances from all over the wold here. Nearly every night is a double bill, often followed by a talkback. I'm getting lots of ideas for how I want to direct my productions this year. I miss my students already. Here's a run- down of shows so far:
"The Magic Floating Tabletop" - Black clad puppeteers stand behind a table and manipulate objects like chopticks, leaves and fans. You can only see what is caught by a very tight beam of light on the table. Expressive gibberish and both Chinese and English words made it clear what was happening in each scene. Amusing and the objects became oddly endearing!
"Her Son, Jose Rizal" - A group of Filipino students did a very melodramatic, Greek tragedy- version of this true story of a rebel against the Spanish. Fascinating use of a Greek Chorus type ensemble and compelling stage pictures, but the whole thing was at the same high intensity level througout. It also seemed to have about 5 times when you thought it was over. I'd tighten up that script and try to give more of an arc to the action, but I learned something about the history and passion of the people.
"Story of Mona" - Palestine. A Palestinian girl of 14 is being forced by her uncle and father into marriage. When she rebels, they beat her, and ultimately they kill her. The court freed the father and gave the uncle only 3 months in prison. True story. Well acted. They followed with a forum based on the work of Boal where audience members offer suggestions to change the outcome and take the part of the oppressed. Unfortunately there was a really obnoxious group of young people there who giggled through much of the improvisation, and I felt offended by the lack of regard for the plight of these women depicted in the play.
Mahjanok- Never Say Die" - Thailand. An exquisitely played piece about the survivors and saviors of the tsunami bookended by the myth of Mahajamok, a king who braved the ocean to follow his heart and was taken by an angel/goddess to heaven. I wept for these characters - both mythic and real.
Gotta go now. More later.
Cheers,
Kate

IDEA Keynote addresses so far

Amusing how the captions don't exactly line up with the photos, but you'll figure it out. We've had a heck of a time getting computers here to do what we want them to, and they yell at us in Chinese when they don't want us to access our e-mail or put in a new post. So while I have this one's cooperation, I'll fill you in on the IDEA Conference.
The Keynote addresses so far are full of warnings and underlying tensions with government interference with education practices. The president of IDEA, called this a time of danger but said that the hope for the future lay in the hands of individuals who weren't waiting for their governments to do the right thing but were installing arts programs on their own full of innovations. He charged us to "change the drama of teaching and the theatre of learning to change the world." Social activism through theatre education is the flavor of the year. 4 years ago it was process drama (little emphasis on product).
The panel of teachers from China and Hong Kong gave a dismal picture of the education reform that has resulted in purely learning by rote for the test. Students are looking only to geting a job and few see a university in their futures. Teachers are afraid or forbidden to bring the arts into the classroom. Theatre is not seen as necessary to passing the test or getting a job.
The next day had a panel of educators from Sweden, Australia and Ireland who were examining where drama/theatre education should go in the 21st century. The Swede gave a clear history of movements in drama education that gave a foundation to the proceedings. The Aussie had great phoyos of comprehensive theatre programs throughout Australian schools (mandated!), but said that funding and support were now in danger and that teachers had to show the government how theatre is basic to new goals of education in preparing students for life. The 3rd speaker talked about drama as a medium to find beauty and to inspire students to learn more. He said that the applause and recognition received are hollow if unaccompanied by that epiphany of what made the dramatic experience beautiful. He spoke of Confucious - beauty through practices and Schiller - beauty in the dream of what could be. This panel was followed by a lively discussion of : we socially active enough in drama education? Process vs. Performance? How do we convince the powers that be that theatre is necessary in education? Panelist said, "Because drama examines the human condition, it should be part of the bsic curriculum."
There are delegates here fro Australia, Austria Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cuprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong (distinction), Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Macau, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Singapore, S. Africa, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, U.K., U.S.A., Uraguay, and Vietnam among others that I couldn't hear over the applause.
Tomorrow I'll post about the workshops and performances. I saw the Children's Cantonese Opera Company yesterday!!!
Cheers,
Kate

Photos from Hong Kong

Charlotte on the footbridge The restaurant where we heard "Rock Around the Clock!"

Our magnificent view of the Harbor and Tai Chi groups from our hotel room.

First Night and First Morning

Okay. I'm across the footbridge now at the Pacific Coffee Company where if you buy anything, you get free internet. Unfortunately I can't seem to access my AOL account. At least not right now,and I can't plug my camera into this set up; so I can't upload the photos. SO Charlotte is going to have to help with that back at the hotel. Last night we checked into ou cute little room with a spectacular view of the Harbor. We changed some money, bought a phone card at the 7 Eleven, and let Ken know we were AOK. Then we ventured out again across the footbridge (the SAFEST way to cross multiple streets and loaded with helpful signage) to a great restaurant, Cinta J's, that served Thai, Malaysian, and Filipino food. I was a little nervous on the way as we passed a grimy place with a sign that said "Bar and Girls" next door to this restaurant, but in Cinta J's there were families, pleasant waitresses, and a couple of singers performing oldies like "Rock Around the Clock". Everyone was swing dancing and smiling. We ate prawns in coconut milk ( messy because they had to be peeled but delicious!) and panang curry with beef (Charlotte's fave). It was just right and very cheap.
This morning we woke at 7:00 and saw people doing Tai Chi in the park below our hotel. Wow! We're in Hong Kong! We'll see the opening ceremony for the IDEA conference this afternoon and watch 2 plays, "The Magic Floating Table 2" from Taiwan and "Her Son, Jose Rizal" from the Philipines. Can't wait! More later.

Here at last

We're here! We're here! We arrived right on time on Lantau Island Airport. The time her is 12 hours ahead; so we didn't have to change our watches - ust our body clocks! I tried to sleep early on the plane and to stay awake at the right time, but I still was awake all night. What we would call a "gypsy cab driver" tried to get us to take his cab and followed us through the airport, but I just kept smiling and saying, "We are all right. We want a blue taxi." We actually wanted a red taxi, but we found the official lineup with little trouble. The cab drivers call their central office on a cell phone and have you tell it where you want to go. Then they get the translation and whiz along the expressway to Kowloon and then to Hong Kong Island. Excellent driver - worth the 35 bucks US. We are in the Wanchai area, and the Academy for the Performing Arts, where Charlotte is taking her first workshop is right next door. But I read the schedule wrong, and we went across to Kowloon on the Metro to the HK Cultural Centre first, but then backtracked all the way and still got her there on time. I don't have to register till later; so I'm back here at the "internet zone" in the hotel posting for an exorbitant price of 7 bucks US because it's convenient. I'll find the cheaper places tomorrow.
rrow

Rules for this road

ok, one last post before we leave. For months, I have been reading every tour book and tip list on Hong Kong and China I could lay my hands on, and here are some of the tips I picked up. Most of these come from multiple sources.
Don't talk politics with the Chinese, but don't be surprised if they ask you a bunch of personal questions about your family, your home and your job. I printed photos of several plays we have done at Nichols over the past several years, of the school, my house, and my family to whip out at a moment's notice.
It's okay to wipe your chopsticks before using them in a restaurant, but don't play with them. Don't stick your chopticks upright in rice. they'll look like prayer incense sticks for the dead. Don't give white flowers (funeral color), and don't wear all white. Big problem. I ended up dying several items of clothing so that I wouldn't be all in white. Several of my students and friends said that we don't necessarily think that someone is going to a funeral if they wear all black, but I pointed out that we do sometimes think they are in mourning, or an emo, Goth, or hey! an actor! Heaven forbid!
No midriffs, major cleavage, or mini-skirts. Long shorts are fine, but cut-offs are definitely a no-no. No flip-flops, but a strap-back sandal is okay. ( I heard that in many Asian countries the naked foot is too revealing.) Sloppy dressing is frowned on too. It's going to be VERY hot and HUMID at this time of year, but the convention venues and restaurants are positively arctic, so a shawl or jacket is a must.
Leave some food in the dish or your host will lose face because obviously they couldn't feed you well enough. Wo! As a child of the clean-plate generation who had to think guiltily of the starving people all over the world every time I left a bite of stewed tomatoes and okra in the dish, this presents quite a challenge.
I got a tip from Rena's (5th grader - taught me some survival Chinese) mom, however to avoid those big buffets at the hotels, but street food that has been steamed, boiled, etc. is perfectly safe. Good to know since Charlotte is looking forward to trying crickets.
The Chinese apparently love business cards. Present yours with both hands, and receive theirs the same way. (This sounds so Japanese to me.) Don't stick their business cards in your pocket or purse right away, but hold it or place it in front of you on the table for a bit and look at it a couple times as you continue your conversation. I printed up dozens of NYSTEA business cards to use at this conference. Carol Sue helped me tear the perforations.
Refuse a gift three times before taking it. Otherwise you'll look greedy. The Chinese will refuse your gifts at least three times; so keep offering it and pushing it gently into their hands. They probably won't open it in front of you either.
The older generation still do a little bow with their fist placed in the palm of the other hand. In addition to the verbal greeting, they will appreciate it if you do the same.
If you are tall and blond (whoops, Charlotte) people will probably point at you and comment on your foreign status. Smile, and nod pleasantly.
Don't lose your temper. If you display your dissatisfaction with someone, they may smile, but they also lose face. Stay flexible and keep smiling and apologizing for inconveniencing THEM. I learned three ways to apologize in Mandarin! The Chinese are very forgiving of respectful foreigners who make a mistake.
We're bound to make a ton of mistakes. I'll let you know how we fare.
BTW, we have a guide in Beijing, thanks to a recommendation from my friend, John. Sarah Peng (sarah@toobj.com) and I have been e-mailing each other over the last few days, and planing that leg of the trip. She has excellent suggestions, and I'll share more when we arrive ther in a couple weeks.
For now, Hong Kong and IDEA and more theatre from more countries than I could have dreamed of. Heaven! Talk to you in a few days.
Cheers,
kate

Scout mourns

My dog knows I'm going. She recognizes the packing process. Sorry, Scout! China is not for you.

Packing to wazoo

Six hours of packing, and I'm almost finished. Plug converter/adapters, multiple phrase books, reservation confirmations, hand sanitizers, medications, tickets, to wazoo. Thank goodness for travel compression bags or there wouldn't be room for clothes. Charlotte said, "Great, Now I can pack more." I began with every intention of just six outfits for 19 days...it kind of expanded to 8. I couldn't believe how difficult it is to find gift items that aren't made in China. I figured I would need gifts for a family I'll visit in Hong Kong and for guides or other hosts. Yajie suggested a cup unique to the US or Buffalo, but that's not easily packed and most of them are not made here. I finally settled on WBFO's CD's of local artists performing the blues, some pens, pencils, and keychains imprinted with the Buffalo skyline, and pins with the NYSTEA logo and our motto, "Theatre Transforms Students' Lives" for new friends met at the conference. I can't wrap them till I go through customs; so I had to pack tissue paper and ribbon too.

Wind in My Sails

Four years ago, I attended the International Drama Education Association (IDEA) World Congress in Ottawa. There I learned that the next one would be in 2007 in Hong Kong, and the theme would be "Planting Seeds". This trip is a dream come true made possible by a grant from the Hardner Fund, my late world-travelling aunt, my mother and my husband, and a host of Nichols faculty and administrators, especially Yajie and Mary. One thousand thanks to all. You are the wind in my sails.
Like my colleague, Sheila, who is in Avignon, I was inspired by a student's senior project blog from China. Thanks, Julia and Sheila. My posts may not be as frequent or complete as yours because I am not taking my own laptop with me, but I will try to get to an internet cafe periodically throughout our 19 day sojourn.
My daughter, Charlotte, and I are on my way in less than a week and have been planning our trip for months! (Nancy, our administrative assistant and school nurse extraordinaire, has been a font of information as have Yajie, Mary, and a great website: journeywoman.com.) Charlotte will participate in workshops designed for teens at the IDEA Conference and will perform in the closing ceremonies.
After the 6-day conference, we plan to take the overnight train from Guangzhou to Zhengzhou to see the Shaolin Temple (think David Carradine, Kung-fu) and the Longmen Caves. Then we will hop on the train again heading to Beijing where we will have a PACKED 5 days of sight-seeing before heading back to Hong Kong on the express train - a 25-hour trip! We figured that we would see more of the country by train than by flying from place to place. Thanks to Yajie, I have all my train ticket requests written in Chinese and her voice saying them recorded on my i-Pod so that I can try to speak coherently as well. I am even learning how to say, "I'm sorry that my Chinese is so bad!"
My hero, Jackie Chan, said in a recent interview that he wanted all Americans to speak Chinese and Japanese, all Chinese to speak English and Japanese, and all Japanese to speak Chinese and English. My Chinese will be Mandarin, not Cantonese, but I'm working on it, Jackie! Wo shi xiju laoshi. I am a drama teacher. (Sorry the tones aren't marked in my pinyin.)