Introducing Contemporary Chinese Drama to the West：An Interview with Professor Claire Conceison*#

CUI Xiaoyue Yunnan Normal University

Claire Conceison Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Introduction

Claire Conceison is one of the leading figures in the research field of contemporary Chinese theater.She has multiple roles：a scholar，translator，and director.She is a professor of Chinese Culture and Theater Arts at MIT and the author of two books—SignificantOther：StagingtheAmericaninChina（2004），VoicesCarry：BehindBars andBackstageduringChina’sRevolutionandReform（2009）.She is also the editor ofILoveXXXandOtherPlaysby Meng Jinghui（2017）.Her articles have been published inTDR，TheatreJournal，AsianTheatreJournal，ModernChineseLiteratureandCulture，and other journals.Her recent translations include Meng Jinghui’sRhinocerosinLove（2014）for the BBC andTeahouse（2019）for the Avignon Festival.She has directed student productions and staged readings of contemporary Chinese and Asian American plays at MIT，Duke，Harvard，Tufts，and the University of Michigan.In June 2023，Cui Xiaoyue，Associate Professor at Yunnan Normal University，who is also interested in theater studies，interviewed Claire Conceison via email.Taking her identity of translator into consideration，this interview mainly focuses on Dr.Conceison’s introduction of Chinese drama into the Western world.

I.Studying Chinese Language and Learning about Modern Chinese Society

CUI：When and how did you begin to learn Chinese?

Conceison：I first studied Chinese in high school（Lexington High School，a public high school in Massachusetts）in 1982-83，the first year the course was offered.

Cui：I notice you earned your M.A.in Regional Studies—East Asia from Harvard University.What made you become interested in Chinese theater？ Did learning Chinese language and culture trigger your interest in Chinese theater or the other way round？

Conceison：It was my love for the language that prompted my interest in China，and it was my passion for twentieth-century Chinese history and the plight of Chinese intellectuals that led to my interest in contemporary Chinese theater.

Cui：You earned your Ph.D.in Theater Studies from Cornell University.You must know the contribution of Edward Gunn in the editing ofTwentieth-CenturyChineseDrama.Seemingly Cornell must be one of the best universities in Theater studies in the US.Would you like to introduce the Program of Theater Studies at Cornell to people who are interested in this field？

Conceison：One of the reasons I went to Cornell for doctoral studies in theater after completing my master’s degree in East Asian Studies at Harvard was because Ed Gunn was a professor there（I also worked with David Bathrick in theater studies and Shelley Wong in Asian American studies）.At the time，there were only a few anthologies of Chinese plays in translation（his，published by Indiana University Press，was the earliest，but there were three others published in the 1990s）.Currently，Cornell does not have any specialists in Chinese theater on the faculty in East Asian studies or in theater studies，but the graduate program in theater and performance studies（in the Department of Performing and Media Arts）is very strong.

II.Researching and Teaching Contemporary Chinese Drama

CUI：Your bookSignificantOther：StagingtheAmericaninChinaanalyzed so many contemporary Chinese dramas with insights.You are also a teacher and director.Is your research project helpful to teaching，translating and directing drama？ Which part of your work do you enjoy most？

Conceison：My research，teaching，translating，and production work are four components of my work that are at times separate tasks，but are always interrelated and combined whether I am teaching，translating，directing，or reading，writing，and doing research（field work，interviews，archival work，etc）.For me，these aspects of my work are inseparable and all inform each other and are integrated in my work with students in the US and colleagues in China.I do enjoy all aspects of my work，but in different ways.Translating a play is not very enjoyable when doing the challenging linguistic and written work，but it is a very good feeling when I have completed translating a play and it can be read or produced by English speakers who otherwise would never encounter the play.Directing is very demanding work but the collaborative process is energizing and it is magical to see the results of the wonderful work of actors，designers and others to make the performances happen.I enjoy my field work and research because I can spend time in Beijing and Shanghai with Chinese artists and friends that I love，and watch rehearsals for new plays，and have wonderful discussions with scholars and artists.I suppose what I enjoy most is teaching students，introducing them to Chinese theater and Asian American theater and play translation（three of the courses I teach，among others）.

CUI：Do you include Chinese drama in your classroom teaching？ I know you have directed student productions and staged readings of Chinese drama.Which dramas have you talked about in classroom and which have been performed？ Are they all translations of the best Chinese dramas in your opinion？

Conceison：I teach courses on Chinese theater from the 20th and 21st centuries，ranging from earlyhuajudramas like Cao Yu’sThunderstormand Lao She’sTeahouseto contemporary playwrights like Yu Rongjun（Nick Rongjun Yu）and avant garde productions of directors like Meng Jinghui and Wang Chong.I also include playwrights from Taiwan，China like Lai Shengchuan（Stan Lai）and Li Guoxiu.I also teach Asian American theater，including plays written by Chinese American playwrights like David Henry Hwang and Lauren Yee.

CUI：Could you list the top 5 Chinese modern plays of all time？ To my mind，the top five American plays areLongDay’sJourneyintoNight，DeathoftheSalesman，Who’sAfraidofVirginiaWoolf？StreetcarNamedDesireandBuriedChild.Could you recommend some exceptional American dramas to Chinese students？

Conceison：Your list of American plays is “canonical” —White male playwrights O’Neill，Williams，Miller，and Albee who are the four best-known American playwrights of the early-mid 20th century，plus Sam Shepard（whose work I also like very much）.The plays you listed are all fine plays，especially as an introduction to American theater and its evolution in themes，writing styles，acting styles，set design，and directing，but for my list，it is important to include female playwrights and playwrights from diverse ethnic backgrounds because the US is a multicultural society.Lorraine Hansberry’sARaisinintheSunshould definitely be on that list—not only because it was written by an important playwright who was a black woman，but because it is a literary and dramatic work on par with the other plays you listed.I started studying theater in the 1980s in college，so the playwrights that influenced me most included Suzan-Lori Parks，David Henry Hwang，Craig Lucas，Tony Kushner，Paula Vogel，Cherríe Moraga，and August Wilson.Currently some of my favorite plays are by Chinese American playwrights Lauren Yee and Christopher Chen.

III.Interactions with Chinese Dramatists and Directors

CUI：I have readVoicesCarry：BehindBarsandBackstageDuringChina’sRevolutionandReform（Chinese Version），and I am really grateful to you for granting readers this opportunity to know so much about Mr.Ying Ruocheng and his age.The book brought me laughter and tears，and I was deeply moved by his narration.Would you like to share with me how Mr.Ying influenced your life？

Conceison：Ying Ruocheng has had a profound influence on my life.I first met him in 1990 when he was directingMajorBarbaraat Beijing People’s Art Theatre，then saw him again in 1993，and in 1996 actor Yang Lixin brought me to Ying Ruocheng’s home to visit him when he was ill.That was the first time I told Mr.Ying that he should tell his life story.From 2000 to 2003，I spent each summer in Beijing visiting with Ying daily at his home and then in the hospital，sitting by his side and listening to him talking about his life：his childhood，his education，his imprisonment during the decade of turmoil，his career as an actor，director，translator，intellectual，and Vice Minister of Culture.Beyond his remarkable experiences in life，what has made the most lasting impression on me is his poise and diplomacy，his resilience through difficult trials，his optimism and joy in all circumstances，and of course his incredible memory.I miss him and am honored to have recorded his life for future readers in the West and China—especially young readers—so that his legacy can continue.

CUI：The anthologyILoveXXXandOtherPlaysis a surprise to me.It was in 2018 when I thought I had found all the English translations of Chinese contemporary drama but regretted that there was no single translation for Mr.Meng’s.Then I noticed it and the editor was you！ I assume Meng Jinghui and you are good friends.Would you mind sharing more details about what inspired you bring this book to English readers？

Conceison：Meng Jinghui and I met in the summer of 1993，when he was just starting out as a professional director，and I was a graduate student.We had similar ideas about directing and were both excited about experimental theater，and we became good friends through those interests and also our personalities and sense of humor.We are still close friends，and as a scholar I have followed his work closely and archived his materials such as scripts，programs from performances，books，videos，and interviews with him over the years.The idea of publishing a book about Meng with some of his plays began in the late 1990s—originally Jonathan Noble and I were going to work on the book together，but he became very busy so I did the project on my own（consulting Meng on creative decisions and for permissions etc）.It was wonderful to publish the book in the global translation series edited by Carol Martin because they include many production photographs and allowed me to add a DVD with production excerpts from each of the five plays—it is important to see Meng’s work in production to understand the style of the play beyond the script.

IV.Translating Chinese Drama

CUI：You did not translate all the works inILoveXXXandOtherPlays.How did you choose the translators？ Since you chose to translate “I Love XXX” and “Two Dog’s Opinions on Life，” can I say these two are your favorite among all works in this anthology？

Conceison：I have translated many plays for Meng Jinghui（and his screenplay for the filmChickenPoets），but also wanted to publish translations that other talented translators have done.One of the translators is Wang Chong，who has become an important experimental director in China.Another is Zhang Fang，who also translated Ying Ruocheng’s autobiography into Chinese—we have collaborated often since we met in 1990 and are dear friends.My co-translator forTwo Dogs’OpinionsonLifewas Ren Xiuhua，the mother of Liu Xiaoye，one of the two actors who created and performs in the play.I love all five of the plays.I chose them because（as I mention in the introduction in the book）they represent a range of Meng’s styles as a writer，dramaturg，collaborator，and director over a period of more than 15 years.They vary in content，theme，acting，design，media etc.though they share several of Meng’s signature characteristics.They have also been revised and restaged in various versions over the years（some of them continuing to be performed today even though they premiered 30 years ago），and most have toured to foreign countries and have been performed at international festivals.The texts in the book are the original scripts as they were first performed.Meng also published the same five plays together in a collection in China.Since the book，I have continued to translate his plays，including his recent versions ofTeahousein 2019 andTheSeventhDayin 2022.

CUI：You also translatedRhinocerosinLovein 2014.There is another version of this play by Mark Talacko.Have you read it？ How do you find the difference between these two versions？Moving away from that，some of Meng’s plays are translated for performance.For example，Teahouseis for the Avignon Festival.Is there always performability involved in play translation？

Conceison：My translation ofRhinocerosinLovewas commissioned by the BBC（England）for a radio play performance they were producing in English.They concurrently produced a documentary radio program on contemporary Chinese theater that included interviews with Meng Jinghui，Liao Yimei，and scholars like myself and Rossella Ferrari（who wrote a wonderful bookPopGoestheAvantGardethat features Meng’s work）.The previous Talacko translation is quite different than mine，and there are a few non-published translations that were done by students earlier（Nancy Tsai and Susan Kim）.My translation stays as faithful as possible to Meng’s performance text，maintains word play and sound rhythms，and emphasizes language that is effective for actors to deliver onstage.I also translated the song lyrics，maintaining their singability as well as meaning.Meng Jinghui’s plays are very challenging to translate，butRhinocerosinLoveand the other few plays written by his wife Liao Yimei are more straightforward and more translator-friendly than his plays that feature dense intertextuality and actor improvisation and collaboration（such asTwoDogsandTeahouse）.

CUI：Do you plan to translate more new Chinese plays？

Conceison：There are many recent Chinese plays that I wish I had time to translate—right now I am trying to complete a long-term project of translating five plays that Gao Xingjian has written in French while living in France to publish together in a book（similar to the book of Meng’s plays）.And whenever Meng Jinghui or Yu Rongjun（Nick Rongjun Yu）ask me to translate one of their plays，I usually try to find time to do it.Translation does require a lot of time and focus，and is hard to do when also teaching courses，advising students，serving on university committees，conducting research，presenting talks at conferences，and writing academic articles.