Recently, the traditional Taiwanese puppet theater group “Guangxing Ge Puppets” kicked off their Southern California tour. On October 2nd (Friday) evening, they performed the classic play “Golden Light Aesthetics – Love of the Divine Bow” at the Baldwin Park Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles County.
This special indoor performance of the tour attracted Taiwanese-American families and overseas compatriots of different generations. The four hundred tickets made available to the public were sold out in less than a week, and the live performance received enthusiastic applause and cultural resonance.
The tour was organized by Overseas Community Affairs Commissioner Wang Weixing, in collaboration with the Orange County Overseas Chinese Service Center. They coordinated with various Taiwanese associations, schools, businesses, and Taiwanese-American communities in Southern California to make the tour a success. The tour spanned across Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles, with some shows integrating flag-raising ceremonies for Double Ten National Day, Taiwanese tourism promotion, and community activities, showcasing Taiwanese folk artistry in Southern California.
Wang Weixing expressed that the primary goal of inviting Guangxing Ge to Southern California was to bring the most authentically Taiwanese traditional performing arts overseas. Many older overseas Taiwanese still hold memories of puppet theater from their childhood, whether it was the lively scenes at temple fairs or occasional glimpses on the streets. It is rare for them to have the opportunity to fully appreciate a professional indoor theatrical performance overseas.
Wang Weixing believes that puppet theater has the charm to transcend language and generations. Even though some young audience members may not understand the Taiwanese dialect, they are still captivated by the puppeteers’ expertise, swift martial arts rhythm, stage music, and evolving plot. Especially for the second and third generation of Taiwanese-Americans, English subtitles were thoughtfully provided to ensure cross-border audience understanding of the detailed plot while preserving the essence of Taiwanese dialect and unique singing style in puppet theater performances.
Wang Weixing also mentioned that there were discussions within the group about performing in English, but the essence of the puppet theater’s dialogues and physical rhythms, honed over centuries, might be lost in direct language translation. Therefore, they ultimately chose to adhere to the method of “Taiwanese dialect vocal performance with English subtitles” to present the classic play in its original form on the overseas stage.
The event showcased heartwarming scenes of cultural heritage across different generations. Among the audience were second-generation Taiwanese-American families, young parents accompanied by preschoolers, and even though the children might not grasp the Taiwanese dialect, they were engrossed in the puppetry effects under their parents’ detailed explanations. There were even four generations of Taiwanese-American families watching together, highlighting the gentle power of cultural transmission in everyday family life.
Dr. Yu Zhongcun, a well-known traditional Taiwanese puppet collector in Southern California, was also present at the event. In his advanced age, he emotionally expressed that witnessing authentic Taiwanese puppet theater in Los Angeles allowed him to relive the warm memories of watching puppet shows with his father in their hometown’s temple fair during his childhood.
To deepen the cultural experience, before the official performance, Guangxing Ge Puppets arranged a special “Parent-Child Puppet Theater Exchange Experience.” Puppeteers demonstrated the dynamic techniques of puppet manipulation and invited children from the audience to come on stage and operate the puppets themselves, providing a close-up experience of the charming artistry on stage.
The overseas tour of traditional puppet theater posed significant challenges in terms of prop logistics and transportation. Wang Weixing revealed that transporting a large number of delicate puppets, audiovisual equipment, and stage structures between different cities was extremely demanding, and he even personally constructed the stage for the tour. It was only with the generous assistance from numerous overseas Taiwanese associations, cooperating partners, and volunteer friends in Southern California that the seemingly impossible became possible.
Ruiyi Ran, the event planner for the Baldwin Park Performing Arts Center, stated that the performance received strong support from organizations like the North America Changhua Association, Taiwan Center, and the “J. Yang Scholarship.” Through Guangxing Ge’s exquisite performances, they aimed to deepen the mainstream Southern California society and overseas community’s understanding of the innovation and transformation of Taiwanese puppet theater over the past century. Simultaneously, they hoped to open a beautiful window for the next generation growing up overseas to get closer to Taiwanese traditional culture.