Online Excerpt
Family Letter
- Artistic
- Playwright：Chiu, An-Chen
- Director：Chiu, An-Chen
- Performers
- Actor：、Chiu, An-Chen
- Lighting Designer：Chen, Xhi-feng
- Costume Designer：Lin, hui-lan
Title
mainTitle:
Family Letter
subTitle:
TranslatedTitle:
家書
Subject
subjectMatter:
modern drama
genre:
performance record
keywords:
Chiu, An-Chen／modern drama
Description
abstractSynopsis:
There are always conflicts, harms and tears between come-out gays and their parents. Both parties tend to avoid confronting this reality, fearing that any single act, like a bomb accidentally going off, would destroy the harmonious relationship. Different from the Party Theatre Group's previous works dealing with gay identity and quest of self, Family Letter re-examines gay people's relationship with their families from gay people's own perspectives, exploring their eternal love and hate struggle with family. Family Letter describes parents' inner feeling about their gay kids, staging how they face pain and agony. In Taiwan, it's a common wish for parents to see their kids growing up, getting married and eventually raising their own kids. When facing the fact that their kids are gays, parents will definitely feel disillusioned. Their world shattered；hopes gone. This impact is even more serious on aged, retired parents, with no more goal of life. With the shattering of their firm belief in family value, they cannot fit in the society again and feel imprisoned in the family. How can they move on to their next step? Family Letter was based on director Chiu's field work. The play staged how five parents, all above age 55, went through the process of dealing with their kids' coming out. Party Theatre Group also invited Wu Wencui, an actress famous for her physical expressions, to play a role in this production. Both Wu and Chiu had been involved in the theatrical field for a long time. However, they didn't know each other in the past until 2004. They encountered each other in the September, 2004 in the fifth Chinese Drama Festival held in Yun Nan Province, China. Wu presented a play Serpent, I am Lonely；while Chiu participated as the playwright of Lovers Discourse produced by The Fun Stage from Singapore. The artistic styles of Wu and Chiu were not quite the same. In Family Letter, they collaborated with each other for the first time and came up with a strikingly new combination. For those who have an appetite for experimental performing, this show is a must-see. Family Letter was made for gay, gay parents, and straight as well. It's hard to be gay；it's even harder to be gay parents. Through the play, the director hoped to make all gay parents realize that they were not alone and that they didn't have to bear the "sin" unfairly imposed on them by the society. Presenting a better interaction between parents and kids, this play helped the audience see a more promising future.
Subtitles
interTitles:
dialogNarrationTitle:
no
conditions:
good
acquireMethod:
provided by The Party Theater
edition:
restorationRecord:
notes:
language:
mandarin
edition2:
2004.10.15
publisher:
The Party Theater
distributor:
The Party Theater
production:
The Party Theater
Date
year:
2004
date of performance:
2004.10.15
date of debut:
date of recording:
Location
place of debut:
Guling St. Avant-Garde Theatre
place of performance:
Guling St. Avant-Garde Theatre
Identifier
localNNumber
localFileName:
Guling St. Avant-Garde Theatre
metadataID:
oringinalNumber:
ptg002
systemID:
Rights
copyrightRestrictions
holderName:
The Party Theater
digiCopyHolderNames:
Electronic Theater Intermix in Taiwan, ETI-TW
rightsStatement:
authorized
accessRestriction:
noncommercial; for educational and researching purposes
copyrightTime:
2004.10.15
statement:
Owner
originalOwner
originalProvider:
The Party Theater
originalCollocation:
The Party Theater
originalCollectedDate:
2004.10.15
digitalCopyOwner
digiCopyOwners:
Electronic Theater Intermix in Taiwan, ETI-TW
digiCopyCollocations:
Research Center for Theatre and Performance Studies, National Central University
digiCopyCollectedDate:
2008.4.16
Metadata
digitalFilesCollocation:
Research Center for Theatre and Performance Studies, National Central University
digitalFileCreatedDate:
2008.4.16
metadataCreation
metadataCreator:
Electronic Theater Intermix in Taiwan, ETI-TW
metadataCreationDate:
2008.4.16
metadataCreationPersonnel:
Electronic Theater Intermix in Taiwan, ETI-TW
metadataModifiedDate:
2008.4.16
metadataModifyPersonnel:
no
statement2:
no
Type
aggregationLevel:
item
originalSurrogate:
original
worksType:
modern dram
Format
medium:
Digital Video Disc
extent
quantity:
one
duration:
55min08sec
scale
originalScale:
VHS
digitalCategory:
audio-visual
fileType:
mpg2
filename:
Family Letter
fileDesc:
permanent preserved
fileSize:
3726MB
videoSize:
704*480
frameRate:
30fps
videoBitRate:
5.32Mbps
sampleRate:
48kHz
audioBitRate:
1536 Kbps
Others