3.5 China Dream: A Theatrical Dialogue between East and West (William Sun and Faye Fei) (P.188-195)

Introduction

• William Sun and Faye Fei are Chinese playwrights who recently emigrated to the United States.
• On a somewhat deeper level, one can account for the success of China Dream in terms of Sun and Fei's capacity to combine two types of dramaturgy, two performance styles, and consequently two visions of the world, without ever reducing one to the other or mixing them in an ill-considered way.
• In its representation of the thematic concerns of interculturalism in this most classical of love stories, therefore, the play is bound to delight and seduce the most diverse of audience.

• P.190 Before writing China Dream, we had been striving to find a way to integrate sung drama and spoken drama style more thoroughly and cohesively, hoping to maximize the potential of traditional Chinese style and the poignancy (沈痛) of contemporary thoughts. Our studies of the modern history of Chinese theatre and Western theatre assured us that this would be the most promising direction for Chinese theatre.
• We noticed that, under the influences of Brechtian and other non-realistic theatre, many Western theatre artists were breaking away from the conventions of domestic drama and climactic structure in favour of episodic and presentational styles. However, most Western theatre artists, including Brecht himself, while increasing the number of scenes and minimizing stage scenery, still adhere (堅持) to the traditional idea of fixed stage time and space and fairly "realistic"acting within each scene. In episodic plays, we often see blackouts, so that scenery can be changed.
• P.191 We believed that, with the inspiration of Chinese theatrical tradition, we could offer a different type of episodic drama that flows more easily and elegantly around the stage / world.
• As citizens of China and residents of the US, however, we wanted to present the intercultural theme from a broader perspective in our play: how some Americans / Westerners see Chinese / Eastern culture, and how some Chinese see the West. We wanted to explore the misconceptions on both sides and the significance of East-meets-West.
• P.192 In the absence of a continuous linear plot, this structure is actually closer to Brecht than Chinese opera. However, the mise en scene looks more like Chinese sung drama.
• Indeed here is not even suggestive scenery - simply and quite literally, a bare stage to indicate these different locations.
• P.194 Apparently, an intercultural play in both style and subject-matter, intended to speak to peoples of different cultures, may hardly speak the same thing to all of them. No matter how we put the characters in a globe perspective, or how we try to transcend the boundary of specific nations, directors, actors and audiences in different countries always have different perspectives in staging and seeing the play. However, this very fact proves, rather than denies, the value of such plays, which we envision as an artistic genre not only to reflect but to promote intercultural dialogue. In fact these different productions of China Dream themselves make up a very interesting intercultural dialogue which was our precise goal in the first place.

China Dream: A Chinese Spoken Drama Asian Theatre Journal (1994)pp. 242-259

Sun, William and Fei, Faye (1994:1996). ‘China Dream: A Theatrical Dialogue between East and West’ in The Intercultural Performance Reader. Pavis Patrice (ed.). London and New York: Routledge. 188-195.