LSU Theatre is taking its talent to China and establishing itself as a competitive program within this country. “Our peers have been taking trips to Russia and Poland for years but only NYU has gone to China,” said Michael Tick, artistic director of Swine Palace Theatre and director of the play “The Heidi Chronicles.” The play will be performed in China this summer. Tick said the trip to China will establish the University as a theater powerhouse among other universities. “I want to get a jump on the competition,” Tick said. “We want the best students in the country to come to LSU so if our peers are [performing abroad], so should we.” The trip will take place in June and will last three weeks with performances five nights at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center and three nights at the Central Academy of Dramatic Arts in Beijing. Tick said he plans on bringing the first-year Master of Fine Arts candidates as well as three undergraduate actors and five undergraduate technicians. Tick said he had been interested in taking a show to China before the China Initiative was set at the University. The China Initiative, according to the University Web site, “is designed to create a heightened awareness among the LSU student body of the importance of U.S.-China relations and encourage students to choose language and elective courses that have a focus on China.” He said both institutions he contacted in China jumped on the opportunity. “Shanghai is a professional theater and Beijing is a university for the arts so we are really getting the best of both worlds,” Tick said. Although the show will be performed in English, Tick said he is not worried about the show being lost in translation. “There will be translations during the play and both institutions have read the script,” Tick said. “I have been told that the audiences are young and hip in Shanghai and many of them know English, and we are also sending study guides to Beijing.” The translator also knew where the play was coming from. “The lady who translated the script for us is from Shanghai but is an LSU alum,” Tick said. “I think it is great we are so connected to our alums.” Scott Woltz, a first year MFA candidate who plays the role of Scoop in “The Heidi Chronicles,” said he is interested in how the play will be interpreted by audiences in China. “It’s a very American play,” Woltz said. “There are many historical and political references in it, but you are always really surprised at how well people in other countries know abroad. They probably know it better than you sometimes.” Tick said he chose the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Heidi Chronicles” to pay tribute to the playwright, Wendy Wasserstein, who died tragically a year ago. “She is the premier woman American playwright,” he said. “I wanted to produce a play to honor her. This play also fits this group of MFA candidates best.” Tick said the performances in China bring a great opportunity for the students as well as the University. “This is huge for LSU,” Tick said. “It is also a once in a lifetime experience for these kids.” Although the plans have just been finalized, Tick said he has already been contacted by other American universities. “I cannot tell you how many universities have been contacting me to see how we did this,” he said. “I just say, ‘We make things happen at LSU.'”
—–Contact Kelly Caulk at [email protected]