Battling at Han Lin

Today we watched ‘The Art of Shuochang with Han Lin’ at Dadaocheng Theater. Besides watching the show, we also exchanged what we have learned about shuochang with students at Han Lin. This was our first shuochang battle on stage, and we were both nervous and excited. How would we fare against a group of shuochang experts?

Event Profile

Time & Date: 13:00 to 17:30, Sunday January 24th, 2016 Venue: Dadaocheng Theater Participants:

Event Log

│Everybody enjoyed our performance.│

Rehearsal

│Rehearsal│

Before today’s event, we have already had numerous mock interviews at school. Even before the event started, we practiced today’s performance, including the Da Guo Men congratulatory speech, in the stairwell of the theater.

Interviewing Han Lin Students

We interviewed four Han Lin students before our performance started. They have learned shuochang for at least one year. Besides cross talks and storytelling with clappers, they have also learned storytelling in Beijing dialect with drum accompaniment. That was something phenomenal!

Performance

│Interviewing Han Lin Students│

Han Lin Tea-House students performed the scripts they used for competitions both inside and outside of school. They seemed very poised and confident on stage, and their performance was extraordinary!

Shuochang Exchange

Director Wang of Han Lin Tea-House introduced us on stage, and we finished our performance meticulously. The audience gave us a very warm round of applause, and we were really happy. My student shuochang expert teacher Jackie also performed an outstanding segment of clapper talks.

Interview the Director

Director Wang shared Han Lin’s history and its method of promoting shuochang with us. He added in stories throughout the interview to help us experience what’s fun about shuochang, and we all laughed so hard. We then experienced what Director Wang had said earlier, ‘laughter is contagious,’ from the interview.

│You-Jun wrote a thank-you card to wish Director│

An Unexpected Gift from a Former Student

After the interview came to an end, we presented Director Wang with a secret gift from a Yu-Tsai student. Wang You-Jun, who is currently a third grader and a member of our shuochang club, joined Han Lin’s summer shuochang camp two years ago. Until now, You-Jun is still reminiscing about Director Wang’s teaching. As a gesture of appreciation, You-Jun wrote a thank-you card to wish Director Wang well.

Congratulatory Clapper

In the end, we performed a congratulatory speech for Director Wang using three-piece clappers. He was very happy with our performance, and he gave us a few pointers and words of encouragement. We need to articulate clearly, get the words out of our mouths, and put on facial expressions to make our performance more enjoyable.

Text: Jenny, the Original Artsy Shuochang Posse │ Pictures: the Original Artsy Shuochang Posse