Wang Da Chung Puppets: June 25, 2004
A renowned classical Chinese novel – complete with a spiderman and a spiderwoman – will come to life in a traditional Chinese hand puppet show performed by the Wang Da Chung Hand Puppet Group on Saturday, June 26, at the South Brunswick Library. Children will also be given the chance to learn how to use the puppets and learn about Chinese folklore at the same time.
The Wang Da Chung Hand Puppet Group, which features young puppeteers, will perform “”Journey to West,”” based on a story written by Wu Ch’eng-en, a scholar-official who died in 1582. The tale weaves a journey westward featuring the fabled Monkey King and incorporates Chinese fables, fairy tales, legends, and superstitions. The adaptation is full of action and music, guaranteed to captivate young audiences.
The art of hand puppetry utilizes hand-sized figures dressed in elaborately embroidered Chinese folk costumes, topped with expressive, painted heads. The puppeteer wears the puppet like a glove and by using his hands and fingers can manipulate the movement of the puppet’s head and arms for dramatic or hilarious effect.
The June 26 performance features 28 young performers in three teams, all students from the East Brunswick, Edison, and Union Chinese schools, which serve elementary school age children through middle school and high school. The students have the opportunity to learn about their own culture within the Chinese community, then share it with the general public.
One of the performers is Kelly Wang, 12, who just finished the seventh grade at Hammarskjold Middle School in East Brunswick. She has been a member of the puppet group since its inception four years ago. Her father, Chih-Kuo Wang, started the group after a visit to Taiwan where he saw the art of puppetry and thought audiences back in central New Jersey would enjoy it too. His mission was to preserve and promote Chinese traditional hand puppetry and his whole family is involved. His son, Eric, 15, helps out with the music for performances. His wife, Li-Chuan, travels with the group, takes photos and videos, and helps out with anything else the group needs. When Kelly’s father isn’t working with the group or traveling with them, he runs his own business making and selling Chinese frozen food for Asian supermarkets.
Kelly says the basic movements are not hard, but when it comes to fighting, it takes a lot of practice and time to make the puppets move in a convincing way. “”There is a part when you are holding the puppets and the puppets are spinning plates, and that is tricky because it takes patience to learn how to do it,”” she says. “”Sometimes the plate might fall on your head, and it hurts because the plate is metal. Kelly says she enjoys performing because people always seem fascinated and interested. She is a straight A student in school and also enjoys playing games, going on the computer, and reading.
The troupe has performed throughout the state, in the New Jersey Chinese Festival, the Spring Celebration in Livingston, Community Day in East Brunswick and Holmdel and the annual Chinese New Year Parade in Edison. They participate actively in cultural exchange activities sponsored by the network of Chinese culture and language schools throughout New Jersey, including the Mid-Jersey Chinese School, the Union Chinese School, and the Tzu Chi Academy. The group has also performed outside New Jersey, including Washington, D.C., Boston, and New York.
At the end of the June 26 program show, which is sponsored by the Folklife Program for New Jersey and the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, audience members will be invited to come up and use the puppets so they can learn how to manipulate them and learn some of the basics of hand puppetry.
-Euna Kwon Brossman
Journey to the West, presented by the Wang Da Chung Hand Puppet Group, Saturday, June 26, South Brunswick Library, 110 Kingston Lane, Monmouth Junction. 1 p.m. Free. 732-745-4489.
Registration is required as space is limited. For more information or to register for this free Folklife program, please contact the Commission, 732.745.4489. Those with hearing impairments may call 732.745.3888 (TTY users only) or 711, via the New Jersey Relay System. The South Brunswick Library is an accessible site. An Assistive Listening System will be on site and in use during the events.
