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Briefing at Principal’s Office
After finalizing this year’s research direction and structure, our teacher asked us to formulate this year’s research plan and make it into a report. We would brief the principal on our research plan. In the process, we hoped to garner support from the principal and school. More importantly, we hoped the principal could give us some suggestions to make our research on the art of shuochang more comprehensive.
Steps of Briefing
| Report Making |
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The purpose of this briefing is to help Principal Pan understand the research structure. Therefore, the briefing will focus on: 1. Research 2. Learning participation 3. Sharing and promotion 4. Interviews and surveys 5. Support from school.
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| Briefing Detail Assignment |
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Our briefing assignment will be based on the following five aspects:
1. Research: Andrew, Ryan
2. Learning participation: Tim, Jessica
3. Sharing and promotion: Howard, Nicole, Cathy
4. Interviews and surveys: Candy, Ariel
5. Support from school: Jessica
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| Arranging for an Interview |
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After our preparation was done, we brought our proposal to meet with Principal Pan and set up a date (October 13th) for the briefing. Principal Pan reminded us that we must give the interviewee sufficient time to avoid being rude.
 Andrew: We must prepare ahead, even if the interviewee is our principal. We must makeappointments early and pay attention to details. |
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| Briefing Rehearsal |
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Before the briefing, we each wrote our own cue cards and practiced in pairs. We must consider possible questions that Principal Pan may raise during the interview to be fully prepared.
Tim: Our teacher said that everyone must understand the details of our project fully and know why we chose the subject matter. If we are able to do that, there will be no problems too difficult for us during the briefing. |
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| Briefing the Principal |
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Every one was extremely nervous before entering the principal’s office. However, Principal Pan defused our tension with a humorous opening. Our briefing got underway after each of us greeted the principal. During the briefing, Principal Pan gave us valuable insights and suggestions on every research aspect of the project. Moreover, he promised us school’s unconditional support for all of our activities, and he even agreed to join us for the MRT flash mob. Principal’s suggestions made our research more comprehensive. |
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| Revising the Research Details |
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After the briefing, we added suggestions from the principal into our proposal and modified our research and planned activities slightly.
After theat, our teacher finally gave us the green light to get started! |
Briefing Detail
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We see shuochang performances at school very often. Their clappers were loud, and their facial expressions and body movements were captivating. We were mesmerized by their storytelling and clear articulation. They must have spent a lot of time in order to perform so well. Therefore, we would like to adopt shuochang as our research subject, and we hope we could get the nod and support from Principal Pan. |
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Our research is divided into five major aspects, and they are mainly on researching information related to shuochang. There are highly qualified students who have more than three years of experience learning shuochang. We plan to invite them to teach us some basic shuochang, and hopefully we will be able to promote the art of shuochang from inside of school to the community. Finally, we will use our findings to build the project website in Chinese and English. |
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Our research is in two parts. The first part goes in depth to study the art of shuochang in Taiwan. The second part is about understanding the promotion of shuochang at Yu-Tsai. Why does our school have such a meaningful course? How do students go about learning shuochang? And how do teachers teach shuochang? These are all questions we will look into. |
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In order to dig deeper into shuochang, we have planned interviews and surveys to get a better feel of how well do our schoolmates and people in the community know about shuochang. Furthermore, we will invite experts and teachers of shuochang to share with us how they promote shuochang. |
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Yu-Tsai’s shuochang classes have nurtured a group of shuochang experts, and we hope to have them teaching us shuochang. In our six-month-long research, we want to know about Yu-Tsai classes, and we will participate and record every performance activity. |
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The main research objective of Cyberfair project is to share and promote. We hope to promote shuochang to every corner of school and community so more people would be able to feel its charm. As for inside the school, we will organize shuochang exhibits and performances to show what we have learned.
Shuochang is an art form with deep roots in Chinese culture. We want to let our foreign teachers understand the art of shuochang. Therefore, we plan to go into their classrooms and do shuochang with them.
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In promoting shuochang outside of school, we came up with a few possibilities. First, we could do storytelling with clappers and doggerel to help shop owners peddle at the traditional market. Second, we could try traditional tea-house performance where we go to a store and perform for rewards that would be donated later. Third, we could do a flash mob at a MRT station in Yonghe and Zhonghe to allow more people to experience the excitement and richness of shuochang. |
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During our research, sometimes we might have to conduct an interview during school hours, or we might need school’s assistance with transportation or issuing official interview requests. We need Principal Pan and school to give us help in those aspects. |
Feedbacks from the Principal
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Our briefing concluded smoothly, and the principal gave us some suggestions and pointers for us to contemplate.
 Interviews: We must first make sure of the focus and purpose of the interview, and then come up with an outline. We must make arrangements for meetings ahead of time. The principal is also able to help us make arrangements for interviews outside of school.
Market peddling: The art of shuochang originated in China. It was more commonly performed at tea houses in northern China in recent times. If we would like to do peddling, we must find a suitable market. (For this suggestion, we decided on Zhu Lin Market that is just across from school, and we have also planned to promote shuochang in the community as part of the project.)
MRT flash mob: We must first decide on which MRT station to do the flash mob. One prerequisite for the flash mob is we must not disturb the normal operation of the transit system. Therefore, we should first inquire the MRT office on the feasibility of holding a flash mob there. Principal Pan has agreed to join us for the flash mob.
Promoting in school: We can get help from the bilingual department director to get school’s foreign teachers to experience shuochang. As for in-school performance, the middle graders are more suitable. Once our audience is confirmed, we would then make an outline of our performance.
Watching professional shuochang: We should watch shuochang performed by a professional group, such as TQT, Han Lin, or Comedians Workshop, during the project. We should experience shuochang live to feel its vibe.
Briefing: Today’s briefing went well, but we need to be more confident about ourselves. We should sound more natural when briefing and answering questions. Otherwise, it may sound like a recital. Our performance should get better after we get more experience. |
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Afterthoughts
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Andrew
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Tim
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Text: the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse │ Pictures: the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse
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