Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Thursday, January 26, 2023
Bay Area arts leader Debbie Chinn explores her Chinese immigrant family history through memoir
Datebook: Long before Debbie Chinn was named the new executive director of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley last November, she made her debut as a hula dancer at her departed parents’ restaurant on New York’s Long Island.
3 comments:
Sukie Wang
said...
This is such a moving and impactful article. Bring a Chinese women who witness the experience and journey that my community have been experiencing, especially during the pandemic, I have gained a deeper understanding in Chinese women in western society. The part where she wanted to do theatrical art for a living and thinking back to her parents’ restaurant business truly resonates with me. Coming from a family who is also working in a field that I have no interest in, it is a nightmare for me to do what my parents are interested. When thinking about this and my future, I often ended up thinking what I would be capable of doing if I can’t do theater as a living. The last part where she talks about how her elder family members all love music and dance but never had the chance to do it as a living because of war and hard time also made me think about mine.
This article caught my eye because my mother's family immigrated to the United States from Taiwan not too long ago. I remember my grandfather's stories of living in mainland China and fleeing to Taiwan, and stories about how he and his family ended up eventually travelling to and staying in America. However, I never really thought about, or at least heard about, how the transition to life in America went. As I read the article, I realized how much my mother and her parents could have been forced to go through, just like Debbie Chinn and her family had to experience, unfortunately. And then the pictures remind me that her and her family seem pretty well-off, and there are definitely Chinese immigrant families whose experiences were much worse and whose stories may never be heard. Strangely, I feel that this article was an eye-opener to me. I'm glad I chose to read it.
Chinn’s Q&A was an uplifting read and I am happy she also finds healing in the arts. I liked that she included her own story in the memoir as when telling a story if you can’t insert yourself to some degree within it it may as well not be written by you. Also being Chinese and growing up in the Bay Area, I hope to one day support my local theatre communities as well. I liked when she said she had a place in the arts for her in a homogenized community. I think “the arts” as a big umbrella terms is forever expanding and can make room for anyone in their own pursuit of art on any scale. It’s weird in the school of drama because in a campus made up of majority Asians, being in Purnell is isolating and makes one feel alone like how people can feel lonely while living in a city with thousands of people around them everyday.
3 comments:
This is such a moving and impactful article. Bring a Chinese women who witness the experience and journey that my community have been experiencing, especially during the pandemic, I have gained a deeper understanding in Chinese women in western society. The part where she wanted to do theatrical art for a living and thinking back to her parents’ restaurant business truly resonates with me. Coming from a family who is also working in a field that I have no interest in, it is a nightmare for me to do what my parents are interested. When thinking about this and my future, I often ended up thinking what I would be capable of doing if I can’t do theater as a living. The last part where she talks about how her elder family members all love music and dance but never had the chance to do it as a living because of war and hard time also made me think about mine.
This article caught my eye because my mother's family immigrated to the United States from Taiwan not too long ago. I remember my grandfather's stories of living in mainland China and fleeing to Taiwan, and stories about how he and his family ended up eventually travelling to and staying in America. However, I never really thought about, or at least heard about, how the transition to life in America went. As I read the article, I realized how much my mother and her parents could have been forced to go through, just like Debbie Chinn and her family had to experience, unfortunately. And then the pictures remind me that her and her family seem pretty well-off, and there are definitely Chinese immigrant families whose experiences were much worse and whose stories may never be heard. Strangely, I feel that this article was an eye-opener to me. I'm glad I chose to read it.
Chinn’s Q&A was an uplifting read and I am happy she also finds healing in the arts. I liked that she included her own story in the memoir as when telling a story if you can’t insert yourself to some degree within it it may as well not be written by you. Also being Chinese and growing up in the Bay Area, I hope to one day support my local theatre communities as well. I liked when she said she had a place in the arts for her in a homogenized community. I think “the arts” as a big umbrella terms is forever expanding and can make room for anyone in their own pursuit of art on any scale. It’s weird in the school of drama because in a campus made up of majority Asians, being in Purnell is isolating and makes one feel alone like how people can feel lonely while living in a city with thousands of people around them everyday.
Post a Comment