The Chinese Lady - Director

By Llyod Suh

With the Philaletheis Society at Vassar College

2024/3 - 2024/5

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Cast:

Afong Moy: Demi Qu (Scene 1&2), Yeqing Yu (Scene 3), Karina Wu (Scene 4), Serena Liang (Scene 5), Xiaoyi Huang (Scene 6)

Atung (Voice Over) : Oliver Hollman

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Production Team:

Director: Yining Shang

Stage Manager: Jiaying Zhang​

Assistant Stage Manager: Sara Iglesias

Set/Prop Designer: Katrina Wu, Ian Ho

Costume Designer: Miranda Liu

Lighting Designer: Serena Liang

Sound Designer: Fei Wu

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Concept: 

​In this production of The Chinese Lady, I took the step to cast Afong Moy, in each scene as different actors that doesn't resemble each other. This create the concept that even though this is an historical event took place 150 years ago, we are still all the "Afong Moy" in the current society and this is an experience that is both unique to her and that historical period, but also applies to everyone. 

The idea of Atung, the translator of Afong Moy, being a voice over comes from the accident of having an actor unable to perform anymore due to personal reasons. We presented Atung as a modern-day video camera and a voice that we never saw. A voice that never exist in the room but seems to have a lot of power in setting up the route of communication between Afong Moy and the world represents actually the sensible voice that exist in the hearts of immigrants. The practical stage business assigned to Atung get assigned to actors of Afong Moy in different scenes, representing the idea of generation of immigrants helping each other out, but also trapping each other in this concept of collective identity. ​