Drama
CCI's early attempts
Chinese Cabaret: Cold Stone
and the Water Flowing, an original work by Paul
Warner and Peter Melnick. The work was inspired
by Chinese Bronze Age courtship poems. It combines
those ancient lyrics with a musical score for a
saxophone, percussion and keyboards. Using the striking
images contained in the poems, the piece attempts
to capture, from a woman's point of view, the changing
phases of a relationship.
This was the first attempt of CCI in the field of theatre arts. It was staged at its gallery facility at 272 Tremont
Street。 A staff
member, Glenn Bravermann, was somewhat knowledgeable
in lighting. He and another young man worked on
the set and lighting designs. They successfully transformed
the spacious gallery into a world of poetry and drama. The space
was filled with audience every night during its'
nine day run.
The President proposed a full fledged
theatre production to the Board. However the
Trustees were not prepared for such a project which
was not within the scope of CCI's programming. Mostly
they worried about the costs and human resource.
The president's rationale was; "Our mission is to
promote understanding and appreciation of Chinese
Culture. Theatre is irrefutably an important aspect
of a culture. It is a syncretic art that encompasses
many different art forms. How can we claim to be
a cultural disseminator and disregard theatre?"
According to CCI's policy, if a Trustee initiated
a project that was beyond the scope of CCI's programming,
the Trustee had to be fully responsible for it financially
and otherwise. He/she must assume the duty of Project
Director and work closely with the staff and volunteers
to ensure the successful completion of the project.
Under that challenge CCI's President took the job
of producing a daunting play, The Malice of Empire by China's renowned playwright, Yao Ke. The play
was translated into English by Jeremy Ingalls. Some cuts had to be made from the lengthy script. Many minor
characters were also cut or doubled up. But it still
involved thirteen actors.
The designing and building of the costumes (19th
century Chinese royal attire), headdresses, hats,
shoes, and accessories were major challenges since they could not be purchase anywhere. The
sets desing and construction were also major undertakings. The rehearsal took months because the actors were not experienced professionals.
Th eplay was staged at the Tower
Auditorium of the Mass College of Art for three
weeks. The production was directed by James Williams
and Yihjian Tai, and produced by Artistic Director Jung
Chu. The scenery and prop were desgined by Liu Tian
Wei and built by John Riley. The lavish costumes
and all the trappings of the Ch'ing dynasty court
apparels, designed by Jung Chu, built by Elizabeth
Cole.and adorned by Liu Tian Wei, dazzled the audience.
