Squeezing in "Lu Xun" in June

Sometimes, things just work. The stars align, the puzzle piece falls into place, the phone rings at the right time.

Such a thing happened to me a few short weeks ago. I returned home from my cottage on a Sunday night, feeling kind of low that chances were I wouldn't have work for the next two weeks, making it three months since the last paycheck.

Then, the phone rang. It was Nan Shepherd, that wonderful human and stage manager, who previously had hired me for the Glenn Gould School opera double bill. She asked, "What are you up to for the next two weeks?" I tell her I fly to Winnipeg on June 19th, she tells me the show wraps on June 18th. The next day she called me back to confirm it - I had a paid position as an apprentice stage manager!

The show I worked on was part of the LuminaTO festival. It was called Lu Xun Blossoms, and it brings to life five short stories by Chinese writer/philosopher Lu Xun. The cast was half Chinese, and half Canadian. The play was performed half in Mandarin, half in English, with English subtitles. It is one of my favourite things when two people have a conversation in two different languages. Sometimes, I'll speak English to someone who speaks French to me, but we can both understand each other. That is what drives the dialogue in the play - the idea that they are still communicating despite speaking different languages. For the most part, the Chinese spoke Mandarin, and the Canadians spoke English. It was very interesting to listen to.

Lu Xun Blossoms was the North American premiere of the first ever Sino-Canadian collaboration. It was originally produced in Shanghai several years ago, in collaboration with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre. The piece was created and directed by the artistic directors of Theatre Smith-Gilmour, Michele Smith and Dean Gilmour. Dean and Michele (or Mimi) also both acted in the play.

The six actors all played several roles, sometimes within one scene! They brought characters, animals, imaginary creatures, and even objects to life through their physical acting. The third Canadian actor was Adam Paolozza who, along with Dean and Mimi, (though not at the same time,) studied at l'école LeCoq. The Chinese actors were Guo Hong Bo, Zhao Sihan (or Sunny), and Wang Yangmeizi (or Meizi). Hong Bo and Meizi spoke very little English, we had a translator, but it was amazing watching the way they learned to communicate with the Canadian actors. Sunny's English is excellent, and she's able to carry on a conversation. I found out that she learned how to speak English by talking to people, which is just amazing!

All three of the Chinese actors took turns playing Lu Xun at various stages of his life. Dean played old Lu Xun, remembering his past. It was truly an amazing play, and I feel so privileged to have been a part of it. 

I was backstage during the performances, and my duties included helping out with a few quick changes, tracking props from one side of the stage to the other, handing off props, receiving props, and I got to cue a confetti cannon! There was no set, it was a black-box type of stage, and several props were mimed. It sounds minimal, but in reality there were probably over fifty props. I had to be a well oiled machine, and do everything the exact same way every performance. Truth be told, that didn't really happen. We were making discoveries all the way through. For example, during the second performance, I realized that it would be helpful if I moved an actor's hat for him at a certain time. So, for the remaining performances, I did so. 

It was definitely an interesting process, and things were a bit rushed. I hear this is typical of festivals. We were waiting on a shipment from Shanghai, that didn't arrive until the beginning of tech week (or rather, tech couple-of-days.) So, I was trying to track props, not knowing what we were missing, what was a stand-in for now, and what would even be in the package from Shanghai. In the end, it all worked out quite well. It wouldn't be stage management, without some problems to solve!

It was amazing to work with Nan again. She teaches me to trust my instincts. She has such confidence in me, and she's teaching me to see that in myself. With Nan I learn through doing my job, watching her do her job, and having wonderful conversations with her. It's lovely to have a comrade, a friend, a co-worker, and a teacher all in one.