Lazy lazy weekend.
Oct. 30th, 2005 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sugarplumkittyMy cough has come back a bit, so I'm still fighting this stupid virus. Poor Eric is really miserable. He got hit hard by it during the night and didn't sleep well at all.
Computer lab didn't happen yesterday. I was too tired. Nothing much happened yesterday. I puzzle pirated a bit and played Sims2 last night. We did drive through Del Taco for dinner.
Eric wants Mr. Chau's hot and sour soup. He says that and our usual take-out from there sounds good to him. I guess I'd better get myself together to get it for us. I need to do some shopping, too. We're nearly out of catfood. Oh, and laundry... and homework... and jack-o-lantern carving.
Ugh. I just want to go back to bed. Once tomorrow starts, I won't have time to do any of that until Wednesday. With current catfood stock, tomorrow morning is the the last meal for them.
Bleh. I'd better clean myself up and get shopping... but not until I share this!
I was actually starting to go to bed when I got caught up watching an independent film on the local college station. It was about a theatre troop who went to Vietnam for a first time collaberation since the fall of Saigon. They went to put on Midsummer Night's Dream with a Vietnamese theatre troop in Hanoi. Since I had no idea if Eric had anything special recorded on the videotape in the VCR, I didn't want to randomly start taping, so I stayed up to watch it.
Half the production was in English, half in Vietnamese with a big screen over the stage with subtitles in both languages. The Vietnamese directors didn't understand how much we revere Shakespeare and kept wanting to cut the speeches. They gave Puck six very stylized servants to act as horses or trees or whatever. They were the scene changers. They had a dance routine to open the show and none of them could dance. It was a total train wreck. Since Puck is supposed to be Oberon's servant, having six servants of his own completely skewed the dynamics of that relationship. But there were a lot of compromises that had to happen for the Vietnamese audience to relate to the play. They kept putting in dance routines and songs that had seemingly had nothing to do with the play. Then they complained that it was too long and wanted more lines cut! They conceded by only cutting Vietnamese dialogue and then only if they were unable to tighten up some of the non-verbal action. They cut the dance by Puck's servants at the opening.
The US actor who played Lysander was shocked to discover that nobody really kisses in Vietnamese theatre. That was an interesting discovery. The person who played the object of his affection was a Vietnamese actress, cast into a strong female role that completely opposed her nature. She made the decision to act as her character was described and boldly break through traditional barriers. When they rehearsed the kisses, all the female cast members were giggling and hiding their eyes.
Opposing that scenario was a US actress playing a shyer part who had no clue how to be the Vietnamese equivalent of shy. The Vietnamese director wanted her to be on her knees begging her lover to stay with her and she had a very hard time understanding any emotions that would put her on her knees. Her love object was a Vietnamese actor who was very unhappy with her lack of ability to take the direction. In their eyes, she wasn't feminine at all. By the end, she said somehow all the problems she had with it just faded away and she couldn't remember why it was so hard.
The US director and producers were women which also caused some difficulties. The Vietnamese director and producer were men and not used to the boldness of US women. They interpreted the director's insistance on keeping to Shakespeare's story and words as disrespect. They also had a hard time understanding the US team's insistance on keeping precisely on schedule. The US director & producer had a hard time dealing with the fact that traditional Vietnamese work hours are 2.5ish hours in the morning, have a 2.5ish hour lunch and work 2.5ish hours again in the afternoon. They had trouble with fuzzy start times. People sort of show up around the start time and when everyone gets there, things begin. The US producer wondered how they ever got anything done. The Vietnamese team wondered how anyone was supposed to feel rested and have enough time for their families. They didn't understand the "scientific precise" times she wanted. The final week, the Vietnamese team caved to the US schedule because it was the only way the play would truly be ready for opening night.
Hmmm... maybe I should go live in Vietnam! I seem to naturally fit the fuzzy time thing.
Anyway, by the end they'd lost their theatre because President Clinton was coming to visit and wasn't interested in seeing their play. The government wanted the theatre for another performance. They had to find another place one week before opening. They went from a medium-sized theater to a palace theatre of 2,600 seats built by the Soviets, long ago. The US lighting lady had to figure out the ancient Soviet lightboards, but she managed. The scenery was adapted to the huge stage.
Opening night was approaching with no ticket sales. It turns out the Vietnamese censors have to see the opening night performance before they'll allow tickets to be sold. They refused to come before opening night. The American director was beside herself and very upset because the Vietnamese directors told her she didn't understand anything about anything and maybe she shouldn't have come to Vietnam at all! This after she worked for five years to make this whole thing happen! She was worried about opening night happening with almost no audience.
Dress rehearsal was a fiasco. Every actor hated their costume. The Vietnamese actors weren't shy about voicing their opinions. They even went to the racks from previous plays to find something else to wear! The designer worked differently than the US ones do. She designed the costumes then took notes on what the actors wanted to "refine" them, and did what they wanted. Here, you'd never tell a designer your opinion. You'd just wear the costume and make it work.
The censors were told of her worries and invited a lot of guests to fill in part of the house. They had a nice crowd there. Then it was nail-biting time. They had an opening song and dance about blessing love in the traditonal Vietnamese theatre style, then went into the play. I tried to pick out the different fairies during the scene with Bottom as a donkey, but failed to find Cobweb, the part I played as an understudy eons ago. I think I recognized Peaseblossom, but that's all.
The audience loved it! The American director said it all came together and she was able to see how the additions made by the Vietnamese director actually did work very well. The Vietnamese directors said they understood now why she stuck to her convictions and had great respect for her. They were all working from their emotions so that's why it was so difficult. The censors approved the play and it went on tour for several weeks. At the end, everyone was in tears saying they were going to miss each other and the styles of the other group very much. The directors were clinging to each other in tears.
Heck, I was close to crying myself just watching them.
Computer lab didn't happen yesterday. I was too tired. Nothing much happened yesterday. I puzzle pirated a bit and played Sims2 last night. We did drive through Del Taco for dinner.
Eric wants Mr. Chau's hot and sour soup. He says that and our usual take-out from there sounds good to him. I guess I'd better get myself together to get it for us. I need to do some shopping, too. We're nearly out of catfood. Oh, and laundry... and homework... and jack-o-lantern carving.
Ugh. I just want to go back to bed. Once tomorrow starts, I won't have time to do any of that until Wednesday. With current catfood stock, tomorrow morning is the the last meal for them.
Bleh. I'd better clean myself up and get shopping... but not until I share this!
I was actually starting to go to bed when I got caught up watching an independent film on the local college station. It was about a theatre troop who went to Vietnam for a first time collaberation since the fall of Saigon. They went to put on Midsummer Night's Dream with a Vietnamese theatre troop in Hanoi. Since I had no idea if Eric had anything special recorded on the videotape in the VCR, I didn't want to randomly start taping, so I stayed up to watch it.
Half the production was in English, half in Vietnamese with a big screen over the stage with subtitles in both languages. The Vietnamese directors didn't understand how much we revere Shakespeare and kept wanting to cut the speeches. They gave Puck six very stylized servants to act as horses or trees or whatever. They were the scene changers. They had a dance routine to open the show and none of them could dance. It was a total train wreck. Since Puck is supposed to be Oberon's servant, having six servants of his own completely skewed the dynamics of that relationship. But there were a lot of compromises that had to happen for the Vietnamese audience to relate to the play. They kept putting in dance routines and songs that had seemingly had nothing to do with the play. Then they complained that it was too long and wanted more lines cut! They conceded by only cutting Vietnamese dialogue and then only if they were unable to tighten up some of the non-verbal action. They cut the dance by Puck's servants at the opening.
The US actor who played Lysander was shocked to discover that nobody really kisses in Vietnamese theatre. That was an interesting discovery. The person who played the object of his affection was a Vietnamese actress, cast into a strong female role that completely opposed her nature. She made the decision to act as her character was described and boldly break through traditional barriers. When they rehearsed the kisses, all the female cast members were giggling and hiding their eyes.
Opposing that scenario was a US actress playing a shyer part who had no clue how to be the Vietnamese equivalent of shy. The Vietnamese director wanted her to be on her knees begging her lover to stay with her and she had a very hard time understanding any emotions that would put her on her knees. Her love object was a Vietnamese actor who was very unhappy with her lack of ability to take the direction. In their eyes, she wasn't feminine at all. By the end, she said somehow all the problems she had with it just faded away and she couldn't remember why it was so hard.
The US director and producers were women which also caused some difficulties. The Vietnamese director and producer were men and not used to the boldness of US women. They interpreted the director's insistance on keeping to Shakespeare's story and words as disrespect. They also had a hard time understanding the US team's insistance on keeping precisely on schedule. The US director & producer had a hard time dealing with the fact that traditional Vietnamese work hours are 2.5ish hours in the morning, have a 2.5ish hour lunch and work 2.5ish hours again in the afternoon. They had trouble with fuzzy start times. People sort of show up around the start time and when everyone gets there, things begin. The US producer wondered how they ever got anything done. The Vietnamese team wondered how anyone was supposed to feel rested and have enough time for their families. They didn't understand the "scientific precise" times she wanted. The final week, the Vietnamese team caved to the US schedule because it was the only way the play would truly be ready for opening night.
Hmmm... maybe I should go live in Vietnam! I seem to naturally fit the fuzzy time thing.
Anyway, by the end they'd lost their theatre because President Clinton was coming to visit and wasn't interested in seeing their play. The government wanted the theatre for another performance. They had to find another place one week before opening. They went from a medium-sized theater to a palace theatre of 2,600 seats built by the Soviets, long ago. The US lighting lady had to figure out the ancient Soviet lightboards, but she managed. The scenery was adapted to the huge stage.
Opening night was approaching with no ticket sales. It turns out the Vietnamese censors have to see the opening night performance before they'll allow tickets to be sold. They refused to come before opening night. The American director was beside herself and very upset because the Vietnamese directors told her she didn't understand anything about anything and maybe she shouldn't have come to Vietnam at all! This after she worked for five years to make this whole thing happen! She was worried about opening night happening with almost no audience.
Dress rehearsal was a fiasco. Every actor hated their costume. The Vietnamese actors weren't shy about voicing their opinions. They even went to the racks from previous plays to find something else to wear! The designer worked differently than the US ones do. She designed the costumes then took notes on what the actors wanted to "refine" them, and did what they wanted. Here, you'd never tell a designer your opinion. You'd just wear the costume and make it work.
The censors were told of her worries and invited a lot of guests to fill in part of the house. They had a nice crowd there. Then it was nail-biting time. They had an opening song and dance about blessing love in the traditonal Vietnamese theatre style, then went into the play. I tried to pick out the different fairies during the scene with Bottom as a donkey, but failed to find Cobweb, the part I played as an understudy eons ago. I think I recognized Peaseblossom, but that's all.
The audience loved it! The American director said it all came together and she was able to see how the additions made by the Vietnamese director actually did work very well. The Vietnamese directors said they understood now why she stuck to her convictions and had great respect for her. They were all working from their emotions so that's why it was so difficult. The censors approved the play and it went on tour for several weeks. At the end, everyone was in tears saying they were going to miss each other and the styles of the other group very much. The directors were clinging to each other in tears.
Heck, I was close to crying myself just watching them.
