DragonBeard Screening w/ Playwright Clara Hsu

DragonBeard Screening w/ Playwright Clara Hsu

Join us for a special video screening of the Cantonese stage play DragonBeard, along with Q&A with Playwright and Producer Clara Hsu. More details coming soon!

Video version of DragonBeard is directed by Anna Sophie Loewenberg.

《昧夜之交》是舊金山詩人馬文蕙第一部用粵語寫成的廣東話劇。該劇描述一位年輕移民的困境和掙扎，以及她如何透過四位異常的朋友來克服心理的挑戰。

DragonBeard is the first Cantonese stage play written by San Francisco poet Clara Hsu. The play tells the story of the plight of a young immigrant, and how she overcomes her challenges after befriending four mystical friends. 

馬文蕙找不到有關舊金山灣區粵語話劇的資料。透過歷史學家David Lei才知道約二十五年前在舊金山唐人街上演的最後一部戲劇是用白話寫成的，題為《 花園角過客》。而在紐約，四海劇團50多年來一直積極製作粵語話劇。 馬文蕙得知以後深受感動, 因此寫下了《昧夜之交》以褒表粵語和新移民的家庭。

There hasn’t been any Cantonese play in San Francisco Chinatown since the late 90s. Through historian David Lei, Clara was able to see the script of the last Cantonese play, titled "Portsmouth Square." While in New York City, the Four Seas Players have been actively producing Cantonese plays for over 53 years. Inspired by the Four Seas Players in using drama to uplift the Cantonese language, Clara wrote DragonBeard in honor of her mother tongue and the new immigrant families that she befriended through Clarion's children theater.

很多移民由於沒有接觸過西方文化和教育，都是靠自己的智慧生存。 有人可能會問：現在的現實是否該否定過去？ 在美國出生長大的人對於移民都有他們自己的看法。 移民對他們的新國家及其人民有他們的看法。 一個人的現實就是另一個人的幻想。 幻想與現實交織融合，置身於魔幻寫實的境界。

Coming into a new country is like falling into an inexplicable dream. Without previous exposure to Western culture and education, immigrants survive by their own wit. Some might wonder: should the reality of the present negate the past? Those who are born and raised in the United States have their own ideas about immigrants. Immigrants have their own ideas about their new country and its people. One’s reality is the other’s fantasy. Fantasy and reality interspersed and fused together, and thus we exist in a realm of magical realism.

Upcoming Events