Every summer, Ann leaves Taiwan for the US, where she grew up, to relive her past.
“I go back ... so I can be the other part of me,” she wrote on Project Miss, a Web site devoted to exploring women’s experiences of living across cultures.
The Web site, created by Taiwanese curator Wang Chun-chi (王俊琪), provides a forum for Asia-born women to share their perspectives on living in Western countries and the cultural difficulties they encounter when they return home.
The testimonials, given from women throughout the world, are combined with live interviews for Miss, a video and dance performance that Wang developed in collaboration with South Korean-born director Eunice Maurice, who was adopted by Dutch parents at a young age. The performance is part of the Guling Street Little Theatre Arts Festival and premieres tonight at 8:30pm.
“Eunice grew up in the West and I lived there for 10 years. When I came back to Taiwan I wanted to search for my identity,” Wang said. “When Eunice came here she was ... confused and I understood that because that’s how I felt when I first came back.” It is this sense of uncertainty that the performance examines.
Miss investigates how cultural backgrounds shape and influence woman’s collective memories, the places that become part of their identities and nostalgia.
The stage resembles an enormous aquarium, with fabric for glass, and the play’s single performer gradually sheds layer after layer of clothing. This process suggests that to discover inner identity, and gain a deeper understanding, a person must first peel away the outer layers of their experiences.
WHAT: Miss
WHERE: Guling Street Little Theatre (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號)
WHEN: Tonight and tomorrow at 8:30pm and tomorrow and Sunday at 4pm
ADMISSION: NT$350 tickets are available through NTCH ticketing
ON THE NET: www.chunchiwang.com
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