Choate’s very first Chinese play took place in the Gelb Theater on Friday, April 22. The production, which was around 30 minutes long and comprised 8 scenes, tells the story of a young girl, Zhu Yingtai, who disguises herself as a boy to go to school. There, she meets a man, Liang Shanbo, and their love story begins.
Chinese teacher Ms. Dan Zhao, who directed the play, said the idea first came up the year before last. “We acted out short plays – traditional Chinese stories – in class,” she explained. “The class acted really well, so I thought we should make it a play.”
The idea was finally set into motion during fall term this year. Ms. Zhao found a “group of wonderful students” to perform in the play after the word spread. “I was just interested, and it was a chance to practice my Chinese,” said Katharine Chae ’18, who played both the main character’s mom and a student.
The chosen play was called Butterfly Lovers, because, according to Ms. Zhao, it is comparable to Romeo and Juliet in that “it is very authentic. It is from 2,000 years ago, so everyone in China knows it. It also reflects how women can be courageous enough to pursue their freedom to choose their lovers and get married – because at that time, women did not have many rights.”
The costumes worn during the play were actually from China, ordered by Ms. Zhao and brought to the US by several students over spring break. The rest of the props were made in the i.d.Lab.
Since many cast members had afternoon commitments, they practiced together during conference blocks. “Until the last week, we ran through it only three times as a whole group,” said Ms. Zhao. “Memorizing lines and preparing the props was hard, but it was also fun,” Chae commented. Shin Young Kwon ’17, the stage manager and narrator, added, “I wish we had a longer time to work on it, but it went better than expected.”
Despite having limited time to practice, the cast and crew successfully performed the play, albeit with a few line and prop blunders. The audience seemed to find it amusing, with laughter dispersed throughout the show. “It was supposed to be a tragedy, and I think that we weren’t able to convey that because the audience took it as a comedy and found it entertaining,” Kwon commented.
Audience member Amy Hagan-Brown ’18 said, “I didn’t understand a word, but the actors still made the performance a delight to watch.” Will Raccio ’18 added, “I thought it was really fun, and everyone seemed to have a good time. I could only understand a little bit of the Chinese, so the summaries in the program really helped.”
Due to the positive audience response, the future looks bright for Chinese plays at Choate. “I feel very encouraged,” concluded Ms. Zhao. “We’re definitely going to have our second play next year.”
