Oriental Interpretation of the West: Graduation Production by Students of NYU 08-12-2009

Dec. 3rd，   five students of NYU China Project gave their themed graduation performance Shakespeare’s Night at STA Lian Hua Campus. This performance adapted the physical form and music of Beijing Opera to interpret sections of the western classical plays such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream， Romeo and Juliet， Twelfth Night and Othello. Especially the two students who played male martial roles adopted part of the Beijing Opera performance San Cha Kou to present the scene of a night fight in Othello won the acclaim from the audience.

This form of graduation production was adopted for the first time in NYU- China Project. Vice President of STA William Sun attended the performance and affirmed students’achievements in acting. Raymond Chu from School of Tisch， NYU said，“Through three months study， I have attained basic understanding in Chinese Opera including singing， speaking， acting and fighting， which helps to understand the differences and connections between eastern and western theatre arts. This project has left strong impression on me， and the teachers here were very committed and patient.”

Participants of the forth STA-NYU student exchange program undertook a three month training of Chinese opera， Chinese art and culture， and Chinese language.  In the past program， students only learnt pieces of Beijing Opera performance. However this time， Prof. Fan Yi Song of STA has renewed the program with the adaption of Chinese Traditional Theatre forms on the basis of Stanislavski system， fill the western classics with eastern art philosophy to produce a new performance style. Through the three-month study the students has learnt to use the basic formalities of Chinese Opera with the support of Stanislavski’s psychological realism to realize a new form of presentation.