1.When did you have first contact with Kid¡¦s Drama¡H Why you want to form the kid¡¦s troupe¡H

Master Huang Chun-Ming replied¡G

I liked to watch theatrical play since I was a kid. At that time, there is nothing of kid¡¦s drama. In the time of poverty, we watched whatever grandma watched, and I watched almost every play and it brought up my interest in drama. I liked to listen to tale telling, so I went along with grownups to watch theatrical play. They are noisy and funny. I did not have understanding of the contents of the plays I watched, or what meaning they were conveying.

Like most of the children watching drama at that period of time, as long as the play sounds good, looks good, funny and playful, we would like it. In this way, we liked it, formed a habit and were kind of addicted to it. Later, when we grew up gradually, we have the chance. I was a teacher and I was graduated from Pintung Normal School. In its 10 anniversary, we had the chance. I wrote a script of ¡§The Red Shoes¡¨, originated from Anderson and I directed the play. This is a rather specific commence of my interests in kid¡¦s drama.

2.Have you encountered any difficulty in establishing Kid¡¦s Troupe¡HIf so, how did you overcome it¡H

Master Huang Chun-Ming Answered¡G

The difficulties encountered are mostly money problem. It is not only I like kid¡¦s drama, many of us like it. To perform a play, it takes actors, stage properties¡K, and there are many people come over. In early days, there is a Cheng Jang Kindergarten. It was established by several celebrities. It was then with a history of more than a decade, they were gradually unable to maintain, while we had many actor came from that kindergarten. In funding, we have support of a foundation, we therefore made our fame. Later, I returned to Yilan. Later, I traveled between Taipei and Yilan. At that time Shoe Troupe was still active. I thought why not moving Shoe Kid¡¦s Troupe to Yilan. Later, I was hired as assistant general manager of a shoe manufacturer in Douliao, who was making NIKE shoes.

The reason I was hired was because I helped Adidas in making advertisement material, which was very successful. This led NIKE to hire me. The factory has about 600 employees, most of them are female. NIKE shoe is very expensive, when other shoes were selling at US$5.00 per pair, NIKE¡¦s price tag was US$30. High price makes high profit and when it is not profitable, the capitalists would run away to look for lower cost production in other places. So, the employees needed to produce expensive shoes. As they are highly skilled, other factory would true to solicit them. It takes time and cost to train employees to produce high price shoes.

When I was there, I told them that most of the employees are with children and the factory has wide space, I told them to build a kid care or kindergarten, then the employees would stay, even attract other employees to join. Then we have a foundation to support. Later, when the Cheng Jang Kindergarten is closed, so I used the fund of the foundation to buy it and we established the Shoe Kid¡¦s Troupe. From there, the Troupe was turned to real. In the beginning, Shoe Kid Troupe was in Taipei, we had ample supply of actors. We want to perform kid¡¦s drama and we want to selected talented actor, so we move Shoe Kid Troupe to Yilan. Then, we renamed this troupe as Huang Ta Yu Kid¡¦s Troupe.

3.Why the troupe is names as Huang Ta Yu Kid¡¦s Troupe? What does it mean by Huang Ta Yu (Yellow Big Fish)¡H

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Comparing with other names, I felt that an animal is better for children to accept. Then, why fish? We know there is old tiger, old dog, but I have never heard anything like old fish. There is big fish and there is small fish, but not old fish. So fish is not turning old.

4.Why most of the members are local Yilan people¡HWhat is the reason¡H

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Master Huang Chun-Ming answered: It is only because the troupe is located in Yilan. We can not expect member shuttling between Taipei and Yilan. It is simply that we pick up gifted and interested from local.

5.Why do you want to promote kid drama in schools? Any obstacles and how do you deal with it¡H 

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Why in the school? It is not necessary in school. I promote it in school, also in other place, as I believe education provided to children must be of multiple aspects. Do you know what elements required in a dram play? Element is rather abstract, what things are needed in a drama play? There are people, music, dancing, dialogues, stories, and there are contents in stories. In a historical drama, for instance, an emperor likes to eat sugar, we may think about a situation in Warring State era and a person in the name of Chu Yuan. When talking about scarecrow and sparrow, we would talk about mother-nature and ecological issues, such as why sparrow eats rice and should it eat rice. They are of multiple dimensions, such as music, dancing, drama, literature and stories, ecology and many other things, but they form integral body, just like my heart, liver, intestine, kidney.. .

Each of them is integral part of the body and none of them is independent and nothing of them is dispensable, and missing any of them the whole body is non-existed. This is an organism. If your teacher tells you a tale, a funny tale, just once, and you remember it. Do you have the experience? Have your teachers told such kind of tale? When your teacher tells you a good story, you would tell your mother when you got home, that your teacher told you a good story and replay for your mother, and you would not miss anything. Yet, when the teacher teaches you a lesson and wants you to memorize it. IN most of the cases you are either unable to memorize it, or it takes a lot of effort. Some of knowledge teaching in the class, you have to spend long hours to memorize it and the next day you are barely passed the examination. Why is it so?

A good story can be replay by same one without difficulty, but knowledge needs to work very hard. As I said, the story has an organic connection. For example, if I link the chains together, it may become an organic connection. If I forgot the first one, I may not go to the second. If I memorize the second, I may not memorize the third. In a story, as long as the first one is initiated, they all activated. They are in organic connection. Do you know what is organism? Story is an education for children. If I am not well educated, not with theater education, but in drama, it gives you wide field of life. If you are interested in literature, in drama, which are not taught in class, you will find experiences, sentiment and society of people from extra curriculum readings, from drama. They are rich in every aspect and you will have a foundation to realize things more solid than before. Last time whey you watch the play of ¡§ Li Junior is not a Liar¡¨, you may not understand what it was all about, but as long as you have feeling and watched it from beginning to the end, you will find it very interesting, then you will watch it until it is ended. After the end, what? You find the peach pedals falling down, he pedals of paper and the choir.

¡§ Look! Let me tell you the beautiful arcadia¡¨(Master Huang started to sing the song of the theater) you must have heard of this song. The resonance and transmission of it makes the atmosphere exception ally good. After learning something, check your brain what was left ¡K but other things are different ¡Kin our kid¡¦s drama, grownups were forced to watch the play reluctantly as their kids wanted to, but when they sit down and watch, the grownups are so attracted that they stay to the end. ¡§How could the children performed so well?¡¨

6.Other than the troupe and circuit performance, what will you do in promoting kid¡¦s drama? Have you hade a practical idea¡H

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Master Huang Chun-Ming answered: In the circuit performance, as we have funds here and there are students who hardly have any chance to watch the play, we make it possible for them. For instance, ¡§Little Humpback¡¨ we played in Tatung Township in a school of total 27 students. It was Nov. 17, 2005 and a cold front was staying in Taiwan, up in the mountain, colder than here. In the porch, without stage, property nor lighting, we hung up a black fabric and I walked up to the stage and announced that we were going to play ¡§Little Humpback¡¨.

In front of the stage, there was an open field and many trees at the back. We heard the school bell ringing. We expected that many students would pass through. We began our play ¡V a troupe of more than 30 played for audience of less than 30. The aboriginal students were much touched. I don¡¦t know what is promotion, and I don¡¦t know such act is kind of promotion or not. We are now playing to be watched wherever needs us and we want to move fast to gain the time. They may not have another chance of watching stage play, if they missed this one. This is not necessary promotion of kid¡¦s drama.

7.When you are writing kid¡¦s book, what idea / concept you are trying to transmit to children¡H

I write when I have something to transmit to children. When I find a story interesting and touching, I write it down and offer for reading of children. When I feel a story is good, I write down and I was not intended to be a writer of kid¡¦s book. It was not preplanned for each part of a book, for transmitting idea or concept. It is not so rigid. If the world is rigid as it is, the things produced will be deadly rigid. I think seriously that your question is dumb and dull. It is not so. Even if I tell you now, what can you do about it. Sorry, I am sorry, this is exactly my nature.

Teacher Lu¡G

Sorry, our agenda in more in the direction of your troupe¡K we may be a bit ¡K.

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Well, it is not the question kids want to know. If we ask a child to write an article, we will find it is full of the knowledge learnt from school, like, if Yilan is an Arcadia, then¡K¡K¡K. Where is the feeling of our children? What is thing they want know. You can ask me about Huang Ta Yu Kid¡¦s Troupe or else, its okay, but why don¡¦t we talk about the play¡K. In your way, it would sound no difference¡K. From your question 1 till now, I am almost unable to answer. I am not blaming you, but the whole Taiwan is becoming so. Many graduated students came to me and were driven out by me. They wanted to write about my novel and asked me that we heard that you have written a novel in the title of ¡§A woman watching the sea.¡¨

I knew that they did not check met up before coming to see me, so I impishly said ¡§It was [A man watching the sea.]¡¨ I did not write anything in that title, what I have written is ¡§The days we watched the sea¡¨. They have no idea at all but they came to see me for interview. What the hell of ¡§A women watching the sea¡¨- what an exaggeration! They were uttered surprisingly ¡§Really! Don¡¦s kid me! It was said by people visited you earlier.¡¨ They came for interview than acting like a kid. You students should ask what you want to know as a child. Since you have watched ¡§ Li Jr. is not a Liar¡¨ you could ask the question, how old is the youngest actor, or the Li Jr. he is Grade 4. How could he play so well? He was not that good from the beginning. But I told him to take it easy, read the script and play gradually. You are not so at all. Your questions are read like grownups. This is not right. I answered and but what would these questions and answers be good for? What are they good in learning. Sorry, I feel like to be sincere and honest to children and I am not good at pretending.

Teacher Lu¡G

Because I feel that this question is rather difficult to ask.

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Master Huang Chun-Ming: it is not of depth at all.

Teacher Lu¡G

You will have your show next week, right! We shall make interview appointment with you when you are available after the students watched your show.

Master Huang Chun Ming answered¡G

Master Huang Chun-Ming: Let them watch it and come to have a talk if they feel it is good. It is no point to discuss it if they don¡¦t feel good about it. There has been a case. A father brought his son to enlist in our troupe. The son was accepted and the father was accepted too. It gave a wonderful feeling. We had no idea about them before they came to us and now we are good friends and became an integral body. I will tell you many stories, then if you still want to know how the troupe was formed in the school, we can then talk about it. This question should not have been asked by them.