On the evening of November 20, 2024, the Language and Culture Center (LCC) at Duke Kunshan University hosted the inaugural “Chinese Theater Night” at the Performance Café. The event featured three short plays and an original Chinese song, drawing an audience of approximately 150 people, including students, faculty, staff, and members of the community. Together, they experienced an inspiring and creative showcase of language and culture.
This event was a collaborative effort led by LCC instructor Yao Hui, along with student theater enthusiasts Wu Shu, Liao Xinyu and others. Professors Zhang Yili, Pang Lianyun, Zhou (Sophia) Xiayun, and Chen Mengtian contributed to the planning. Over 20 students, faculty, and staff participated in the writing, directing, performing, and backstage work. The event received strong support from the Language and Culture Center, Office of Student Experience, and Campus Engagement.
The performers were primarily international students, with Chinese language proficiency ranging from beginner to advanced levels. Some participants were not currently enrolled in Chinese classes but saw this event as an opportunity to maintain and enhance their language skills while expressing themselves creatively and connecting with others.
The evening began with Four Broken Hearts, an original comedy performed by international students Amanda Duarte Barbosa Arrais Oliveira, Nika Tatoshvili, Anna Poledna, and Lisandra de la Caridad Hernandez Brito. The play reimagined characters from the Chinese textbook Integrated Chinese—Wang Peng, Li You, Gao Wenzhong, and Bai Ying’ai—as students at Duke Kunshan University. The clever twists and turns of the story, combined with humorous use of vocabulary and grammar from second-year Chinese classes, elicited hearty laughter and nods of recognition from the audience.
Next, the audience enjoyed Act One of Stan Lai’s classic stage play Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land. The story revolves around two theater troupes, Secret Love and In Peach Blossom Land, clashing over rehearsal space. It was presented collaboratively by three groups of students—K. Bian, Leah Wildermann, and Du Enqi; Liao Xinyu, Solana Torres, Sophia Paske, and Khatanbuuvei Battulga; Wu Shu, Sara Kojic, Amar Battulga, Delfin Kaplan, Anna Maureen Galvin, and Soumya Lahoti—with piano accompaniment by Phillip Zhu. This multilayered exploration of themes like love, war, separation, and memory highlighted the complex and emotional power of theater.
The final play, Tie Dan’s Confession of Love, was written collectively by Chinese Debating Issues class students, Sara Salazar, Aspen Dong, Sophia Paske, Kira Li, and Polina Konovalova, under the guidance of Professor Zhang Yili. Tackling the question, “Should freshmen date?” the actors engaged in a humorous and relatable debate, addressing a topic familiar to many college students.
The evening concluded with the original song You Can, written by Maximiliano Amici and Zhou (Sophia) Xiayun, performed by Leah Wildermann as a soloist and later joined by Soumya Lahoti and Solana Torres. Their heartfelt performance brought the event to a moving close.
Jin Yixuan, Su (Lisa) Hang, and Simon Vollmer provided technical support for subtitles and lighting for the event. Don Snow, Li Jinhua, Zhang Xin, Ji Wenting, Wang Meng, Ian McNally, Kim Hunter Gordon, Feng Liying, Yan Jia, Su (Lisa) Hang, and Ying Chengxi, among others, offered valuable insights during the months of preparation.
Chinese Theater Night was a vibrant fusion of language learning and theatrical performance. It offered Chinese language learners a platform to showcase their linguistic and creative talents while fostering cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration. This event not only enriched the artistic life of the campus but also paved the way for further innovations in combining language and performing arts at Duke Kunshan University.
Author: Yao Hui
Photography: Zhou Jietong
