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 PRODUCTIONS
HELLO, YANG GUI ZI!
Coming in 2007
Hello, Yang Gui Zi! is Visual Expressions' new production now in development and is slated to be mounted in 2007.
Hello, Yang Gui Zi! will be family-oriented theatre in the genre of East Meets West, and it will continue to share Hua Hua's life
and art journey with observations of Asian and Western culture; how both cultures are similar and how they diverge.
In the past, because of misconceptions about the West, some Chinese people referred to Westerners as Yang Guiz Zi which,
literally, means "foreign devil." Over the past 30 plus years, China has opened the door to the West, and the old
misconceptions have faded as Chinese and Western people have gotten to know each other and share
each other's perspectives and aspirations. Now, the phrase "Yang Gui Zi" has a different,
humorous, meaning among Chinese people and not a meaning of fear and misunderstanding.
Hello, Yang Gui Zi! will contain several vignettes based mainly on famous Chinese fables and characters,
and it will be presented in live theatre with various types of puppets. The production will be designed to make
people of all backgrounds cherish their similarities and differences in a delightful, humorous fashion.
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REFLECTIONS
Reflections, Visual Expressions' latest production, developed in collaboration with Pandemonium Puppet Company,
is the recipient of a 2006 grant from the Jim Henson Foundation.
The show is based on observations Hua Hua Zhang made growing up in China, her observations living in America
for nearly nine years, as well as her observations while touring and performing in more than a dozen countries around the world.
We live in a very special time; one filled with creation and discovery as well as conflict and turmoil.
Our lives are ever changing; at times very comfortable and at times confusing.
The conflict and peace of our inner thoughts depend on many circumstances.
Making choices can be difficult. Resolutions are unpredictable. According to ancient Taoist Chinese philosophy,
keeping the balance and harmony of nature is the core requisite for a rich life. Reflections explores from different
angles how people deal with this balance; achieving it or not.
The essential concept of the production is to give the audience a broad invitation for questions
and discovery while reflecting on their own experiences and feelings. Some of the questions presented are:
What is the importance and value of family? Where are the connections that make life significant?
What is the balance of power and wealth? How does love come into effect? Where is the harmony in the world? Is there hope?
Mature Audience Production. Reflections premiered at the Sayre Theater, Sayre, PA, on March 11, 2005.
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BUTTERFLY DREAMS
Butterfly Dreams was the recipient of a grant from the Jim Henson Foundation. The production carries the
audience to the edge of the sleeping and waking worlds where humanity
confronts itself. This innovative, visual production by Chinese Master
Artist Hua Hua Zhang blends several forms of puppetry, music and movement to
create a vibrant theatrical production.
In ancient Taoist Chinese philosophy there is the story of a sage, Zhuang
Zi, who had a dream that he had become a butterfly and derived pleasure from
flying. After he awakened he asked whether he was a man who had dreamed he
was a butterfly, or if a butterfly was now dreaming that it was a man.
We are living in a dream of dreams. If you don't dream, life has no interest
and no meaning. Everybody has dreams at different levels - both waking and
sleeping. Here there is an undeniable connection. Awake? Asleep? It does not
matter. Do we dream that we dream?
Mature Audience Production. Premiered at the Philadelphia
Fringe Festival in September, 2001 and has been performed at various venues
including La MaMa ETC in New York, the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center
in Boston, and at the 13th Worldwide Festival of Puppet Theatre in Charleville-Mezieres, France.
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EAST MEETS WEST
East Meets West is a collection
of wonderful vignettes guaranteed to delight, enchant and amuse the audience.
Each vignette is a different story with its own message to share.
The combination of short pieces offers both Asian and Western characters and ideas blended, and based upon experiences in both cultures,
by Master Artist Hua Hua Zhang.
The show is performed with Chinese traditional dance and with string puppets, hand puppets, and rod puppets.
East Meets West is a family-oriented production and has been performed at and acclaimed
by audiences of all ages at numerous venues from schools, libraries and Chinese adoption organizations to such distinguished
theaters as The Smithsonian Discovery Theater in Washington, D.C., Mum Puppettheatre in Philadelphia, PA,
and The Children's Museum in Boston, MA.
East Meets West premiered at the Rialto Theater, Canton, PA, on May 10, 2001.
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THE BELL
The Bell
is based on two legendary Chinese characters, Pan Gu and Nu Wa,
who in the void of emptiness create the universe and life.
Through a mixture of dependence and independence, a society is
formed and people build a communal centerpiece in the form of a large bell.
This bell brings joy and a sense of unity. However, hidden within society's glory
and pride, there is fear, suspicion and jealousy. That which is made as a
symbol of society becomes the wedge of society's undoing. How easily can the world turn upside down?
Mature Audience Production. Premiered at The University of Connecticut in April of 2000.
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