A Dream In Hanoi
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Twenty five years after the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese and Americans join forces in a unique collaboration. Two theater companies, one American and one Vietnamese, come together to stage the first performance in Vietnam of Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream. This spirited tale follows the actors, directors, producers and technicians from both countries as they struggle to surmount the huge obstacles of language, culture, ideology, and a history of war on their journey to opening night at Hanoi's famous Opera House.
The film features Vietnam's renowned theater, the Central Dramatic Company of Vietnam, and actors and staff from the Artists Repertory Theater in Portland, Oregon. Music is performed by artists of Vietnam's National Theater of Music and Dance and the Cheo Theater of Hanoi.
A DREAM IN HANOI is the first American documentary about American/Vietnamese relations that does not focus on the Vietnam war or its legacy of human suffering.
'A tremendously moving record of the first collaboration between theater companies from both countries...lovingly crafted.' Ken Eisner, VARIETY
'A treat to behold.' Jonathan Curiel, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
'A hilarious study in miscommunication.' Vicky Elliott, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
'Hilarious and illuminating...' Cassandra Braun, CONTRA COSTA SUNDAY TIMES
'One of those documentaries that greatly surpasses the promise of its subject matter.' Bruce Newman, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
'(Weidlinger) allows his subjects to incriminate and venerate themselves in what seem like the right proportions. It's heartening to know that the Vietnamese 'tradition of shyness' and the American tradition (a la MTV's Jackass) of braying for attention can be irksome and endearing -- and, for creative purposes, mutually beneficial.' Jonathan Kiefer, SF WEEKLY
'A rare and fascinating inside look at the making of a small bicultural miracle...swift, sometimes funny and always compelling...' Bob Hicks, THE OREGONIAN
'Fascinating and funny...To say that the two cultures have different artistic approaches would be quite an understatement....Their squabbling, however, makes for a very entertaining documentary, which manages to upstage Shakespeare's classic story.' Steve Rhodes, INTERNET REVIEWS
'The film succeeds due to Weidlinger's brave ability to show everyone in a realistic light...The play comes off beautifully...And we in the audience find our time justified and possibly even well spent.' Jeffrey M. Anderson, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
'Highly entertaining and well-paced...' Emily Russin, SEATTLE WEEKLY
'An unforgettable testament to the power of drama as a tool for overcoming cultural differences...As a theater professional, I found A DREAM IN HANOI an experience of true catharsis. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to learn from the experience of two very different peoples reaching across vast frontiers.' Dominica Borg, Asst. Professor, Theatre Dept., University of Massachusetts--Amherst
'Without trying very hard, the movie speaks volumes about the Pacific Rim culture clash and the pitfalls of any artistic collaboration, and its optimistic conclusion is as profoundly touching as anything you're liable to see in this year's festival. Best Picks of Festival . ' SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
'What begins with tears of frustration ends with sincere tears of farewell. This experiment in theater was worthwhile; it's twice as worthwhile to watch how it came together.' Richard von Busack, METRO SILICON VALLEY
'Even in the adverse conditions of a language barrier...actors still have the same fundamental struggle: How do I make this character clear to the audience? And--How do I tell this story so that everyone will understand...It is a good exercise in filmmaking, an interesting topic for theatre people, and those interested in learning about other cultures...' Anne Lewis, Associate Professor/Actress, DeSales University, Performing and Fine Arts Dept.
'This is an excellent video for both public and academic libraries. The subject matter is presented in a unique and accessible way...a must see for any library that wants a well-rounded collection of Shakespearean videos, and...an important addition to any library specializing in multicultural studies. Highly Recommended.' Beth A. Kattelman, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Educational Media Reviews Online
'A fascinating study of cultural differences and a testament to the power of friendships that result when people persevere in spite of those differences...heartening...and poignant...' Becky Luening, President, Vietnam Friendship Village Project--US Committee
'A study of how American cultural imperialism can subvert both a classic British text and indigenous Asian culture...With residual tensions from the war always in the background, the F. Murray Abraham--narrated A DREAM IN HANOI offers an interesting contrasting text to James Ivory's Shakespeare Wallah (the seminal film on the Bard's essential universality), providing interesting insights...into incongruities between cultures. Recommended.' Video Librarian
'Entertaining, enlightening...well produced. The pacing is good, the interviews are well selected, and the subtitles are interesting, if not essential...recommended for young teens and older audiences. Theater departments and/or Eastern studies classes would find this particularly useful.' Daniel B. Schuetz, Library Journal
'A rich portrait... Weidlinger's ethnographic presence, an exercise in showing as well as telling, makes this film far superior to some other treatments of young westerners working in Asia... A Dream in Hanoi would enhance any college-level discussion of cross-cultural experiences and how culture and linguistics affects communication. It could also be used effectively in a high school humanities curriculum, exposing students to Vietnam and the Vietnamese while teaching them about the complexities of producing a Shakespeare play.' Asian Educational Media Service, News and Reviews
Citation
Main credits
Weidlinger, Tom (film producer)
Weidlinger, Tom (screenwriter)
Weidlinger, Tom (film director)
Weidlinger, Tom (director of photography)
Abraham, F. Murray (narrator)
Other credits
Editor, Maureen Gosling; director of photography, Tom Weidlinger.
Distributor subjects
Anthropology; Asian Studies; Conflict Resolution; Cross Cultural Communication; Humanities; Multicultural Studies; Performing Arts; Psychology; Sociology; Theater; Vietnam; War and PeaceKeywords
WEBVTT
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[music]
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Yeah. Okay. How do you feel?
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[music]
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This collaboration between U.S. and Vietnamese
theaters was a long time in the making.
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Lorelle Browning, an American Shakespeare
scholar, laid the groundwork.
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She raised money, organized a tour of Vietnam\'s
renowned Central Dramatic Company to the U.S.,
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and then won Vietnamese government approval
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for a joint production
of Shakespeare\'s comedy.
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We\'re… we\'re on the bus. We just
arrived at the airport. Yeah.
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Five years after first contacts
were made, she brought
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American artists to Vietnam.
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Where are you from?
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Uh… United States. Me, Me Portland Oregon.
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Okay. At first, the Americans fear
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they will be met with suspicion because
of the past history of the war.
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But they soon find out,
this is not the case.
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[music]
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What can I say about my
first impressions of Hanoi.
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[music]
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I seem to react with the very air around
me and together we make some kind of cloud
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of electric energy.
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I begin to feel like a fisherman in a flood
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with a net and I\'m trying
to catch all the fish.
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You know, like I have to get everything
around me, the sights and smells and shops
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and people and experiences and food,
everything. For fear that, yeah,
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one day I will wake up and it will all be
like a dream, which is very interesting
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given the play that we\'re doing because, that\'s kind of
what happens. They wake up at the end and they think
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\"Did I really…, was that, wasn\'t
there, did I, did that really, nah.\'
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[music]
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The Americans\' euphoria
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is tempered by the realization at the
size of the job they\'ve signed up for.
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At the headquarters of Hanoi\'s
Central Dramatic Company,
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just seven weeks are allotted for the rehearsal of
A Midsummer Nights\' Dream, a complex production
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requiring a cast and
crew of over 70 people.
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Uh… It\'s okay to make mistakes. It\'s the first time that this
play will be performed in Vietnam. And I don\'t expect everything,
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we know everything about the play yet.
We still have a lot to discover.
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And again, I want to reiterate:
it\'s not about being perfect today.
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So why don\'t we start with Stephanie\'s list. It\'s agreed
that Allen Nause, a veteran Shakespearian director,
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will lay out the basic staging and
framework of the performance.
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Then, Doan Hoang Giang, one of Vietnam\'s
most respected stage directors,
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will add the music and actions, to make the
production a uniquely Vietnamese interpretation.
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[music]
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[non-English narration]
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Uh… Quince can even be more officious.
Uh… uh… more anals retentive.
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A major difficulty is that
just about everything
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has to go through translation, which effectively
doubles the time it takes to communicate,
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and creates lots of opportunities
for embarrassing misunderstandings.
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Okay.
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No. Okay. As if this isn\'t complex enough,
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the play will be performed in
two languages. The American\'s
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will speak mostly English, and attempt
an occasional line of Vietnamese,
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while the Vietnamese will speak mostly
Vietnamese with an occasional stab at English.
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Basin. Patience.
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Bash… Patience. Patience. Yes.
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Patience. Yes, good. Patience.
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So to get to the place where we can find those moments
in those speeches that work for those actors,
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and then can be comprehensible
to us in the audience
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is gonna be a huge challenge. Lorelle, in
addition to being the American co-producer,
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is the script advisor, or dramateur.
In this role,
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she will defend Shakespeare\'s text against
misunderstanding and mistranslation.
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So you are standing over here.
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[music]
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Shakespeare\'s play opens in the court of
Theseus, Duke of Athens, as he looks forward
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to his wedding with Hippolyta.
But their plans
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are overshadowed by the main plot, which
revolves around four star-crossed lovers.
00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.999
Hermia loves Lysander,
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.999
but her father insists
that she marry Demetrius.
00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.999
If she refuses, he threatens
to invoke a brutal law
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that would permit him to put her to death.
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For all that I could ever read,
could ever hear by tale or history,
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the course of true love
never did run smooth.
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But either it was, uh, line.
But either it...
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But either it was different in blood.
But either it was different in blood
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Or else misgraffed in respect of years.
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Keep promise, then. Look,
here comes Helena.
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God speed, fair Helena.
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Whither away? Call you me fair?
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I have a great fear that we
feel separate from each other.
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That it… that sometimes it feels like
it\'s, um… in a way an anti-collaboration.
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.999
Vietnamese actors
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and American actors putting
on a play rather than
00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:25.000
actors putting on a play.
00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:45.000
I promise to be truthful, if you promise to
be truthful. But of course. Promise. Promise.
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Okay. Believe me, believe me. Believe us, truly.
Yes. Thank you. So when in rehearsal with Helena,
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I attack you and hug you
and, um… did you feel like
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it would have been more respectful
to first say, uh… \"Is it okay if
00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:13.000
I grab you, put my arms around you?\"
00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:45.000
But, gentle friend, for love
and courtesy lie further off.
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No.
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Here.
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And we\'re going through, uh, one of the first
scenes and it calls for me to kiss her,
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.999
and I thought \'Well, I don\'t,
you know, uh… do you just,
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do you just jump in?\' I don\'t know what her comfort
level is. Uh… So let\'s just give it a shot
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.999
and… and what I got the first day was
just a lot of cheek. \'Here. Kiss me here,
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and just not, I thought, \"Oh, jeez. Did I,
should I not have done that? I don\'t, you know,
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was that too far?\' I don\'t want
to invade your personal space.
00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:50.000
But what I understand is they don\'t really kiss
in the Vietnamese theater. That doesn\'t happen.
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[sil.]
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Do you, do you find it difficult in… in,
uh… in that kind of relating on stage,
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:23.000
physical or, or emotional?
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So this is our own little revolution. This
could be me making history. Woo-hoo. Lysander.
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:53.000
[sil.]
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[music]
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Lysander and Hermia decide to elope,
and escape to an enchanted forest
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
inhabited by fairies.
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
This world is ruled by a fairy
king and queen who, at the moment,
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.999
are engaged in a marital tiff.
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
Oberon, the fairy king, vows to
get even with Titania, his wife.
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
He enlists his servant Puck
to find a magic flower
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:53.000
that he will use to cast a spell upon her.
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
Puck is a prankster who creates all sorts
of trouble. He is also at the center
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
of the first serious creative disagreement
between the Vietnamese and Americans.
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
Okay, Puck we know has a broom.
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
Giang, we know has been present in all
the rehearsals for the past 10 days,
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
but had never really told Allen
what his ideas were on the show.
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
And so at yesterdays production meeting
those ideas started to come out
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
and it became apparent
that Giang sort of had a,
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
kind of a Broadway extravaganza idea. He
revealed that he wanted to add a few characters
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:40.000
to the play. Namely, some
assistants for Puck.
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
Giang envisions that every time Puck
comes on stage he is accompanies by
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six drumming fairies. We\'re not sure
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
what the effect is gonna be, but it became
clear that Giang had very, very strong ideas
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
that weren\'t anything like
the ideas that Allen had.
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
And it totally took me aback, because it had
never been mentioned, never been brought up.
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
Shakespeare didn\'t write Puck with six servants.
He wrote Oberon with one servant, Puck.
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
I had the feeling last night
that maybe I was just kind of
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going through the motions of getting the play on its
feet and he was gonna come in and direct the real play.
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
That made me feel, um… slightly used.
But, um…
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
I… I, feel that we\'ve come, we\'ve come to
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
an agreement at least today. But
tomorrow I may be surprised again.
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:28.000
Yeah, this… this is…
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Demetrius.
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
[sil.]
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:05.000
Hermia\'s best friend, Helena, loves
Demetrius, but he shuns her.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
Instead, he seeks Hermia in the forest
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
where she has eloped with Lysander.
While lovesick Helena tags along.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
You hard-hearted adamant. But yet you draw
not iron, for my heart is true as steel.
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
Through Athens I am thought as fair as she,
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:34.999
but what of that? Demetrius thinks not so.
He will not know what all but he do know.
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
Helena not only fails to win Demetrius,
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
Kristen\'s work in rehearsals
does not please Giang.
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
He\'s saying that a Vietnamese man could never love a woman
that acts like that. But maybe I can find another way
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
to do that besides doing this.
That\'s right.
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
But I just don\'t like
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
some of your physicalizations. That\'s all.
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
Something that I feel is really clear
about Demeterius, or about Helena,
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
is that she\'s weird. She\'s different.
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
And that\'s why I\'ve chosen to make
her a little over-the-top-top.
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
Use me but as your spaniel. Spurn
me, strike me, neglect me,
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
lose me. Only give me
leave, unworthy as I am,
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:38.000
to follow you. We should be woo\'d
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
and were not made to woo.
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
[sil.]
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
I\'ll follow you and make a heaven of hell,
to die upon the hand I love so well.
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
The thing is, I\'ve never felt so strongly
opposed to a director\'s idea of my character.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
And I just can\'t get on my knees and beg
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
because two men\'s idea of what a desperate
woman looks like. And when he plays Helena,
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
he can get on his knees and
beg, you get my drift?
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:53.000
[music]
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
[sil.]
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
My biggest worry
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
is that on opening night I\'m not going
to remember my Vietnamese lines.
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
My whole performance is going
to be about remembering
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
those Vietnamese lines. Demetrius.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
[sil.]
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:43.000
No, no, I\'m gonna do it. I\'m gonna do it.
Listen and repeat.
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
It\'s like being five, to a certain extent.
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:58.000
And essentially what we\'re doing here is going from
zero to Shakespeare in, in a matter of months.
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:05.000
I\'m not even sure what I\'m saying.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
And, uh… something in there ain\'t right.
So, so people start to laugh.
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
How are we doing? The American actors.
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
Is it good? How\'s the, the, uh, sound?
Pronunciation?
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
[sil.]
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
Be honest. Speak true.
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:43.000
[sil.]
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
Beyond language, there was another obstacle
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
the Americans had expected
to find in Hanoi.
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
This was political ideology, and the
history of war. We were once enemies.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
Older members of the
central dramatic company
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:15.000
have vivid memories of
the American bombing.
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:15.000
[sil.]
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
[sil.]
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
In Hanoi,
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
the war seems long ago. Though Vietnam
is still a communist country,
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
its new open-door policy is fueling commerce
and cultural exchange with the west.
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:53.000
[music]
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
Western investment and western emissaries
of marketing are being welcomed.
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:08.000
[music]
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
French marketing director Cendrine
De Vis is just such an emissary.
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
She works for the American Theater Group.
Her job is not only to promote
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
ticket sales for the play, but to teach
the Vietnamese how to earn money from art
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
and become less dependent on
total government subsidy.
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
The Vietnamese Ministry of
Culture and Information
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
invites her to speak to Hanoi
theater directors about marketing.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:55.000
It\'s an honor to be talking to you
and to be dialoging with you.
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
Your job is important. Especially
because all the environment around us
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
is becoming more and more businesslike.
I\'ve heard stories in Hanoi
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
of people going to theater, maybe
five times to buy tickets.
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
The door is closed.
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
How can you sell tickets
if people cannot buy it?
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
And if it means that
people have to be trained
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
how to answer the phone, how to keep
tracks of everything it is our job
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
to train those people.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
My worst nightmare is that we have a
complete communication breakdown.
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
I think that we have to use this one. Why,
yeah. Well you, uh-huh. Like Cendrine,
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
stage manager Stephanie Mulligan is also
concerned with keeping everybody on track,
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
and on schedule. No, we need eight.
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
But in the Vietnamese theater, there
is no corresponding job title,
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
no single person who has the authority
or responsibility she takes for granted.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
I\'m used to working a full
eight hour days of rehearsal.
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
You take your union breaks,
you take your union lunch,
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
and I get a lot done. I put things on the list,
we\'re gonna work on this scene for 20 minutes,
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:30.000
we\'re, then we move into
this scene for half an hour.
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
And here, the way of working
is you start at 9 o\'clock,
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
and you work maybe until 11:30,
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
and then you take a two and a half hour
lunch. So I just gotta stay flexible
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
and at the same time, how are we
gonna get the job done if we\'re not
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:13.000
doing a lot of work?
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:48.000
[music]
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
We get tense as we try to
negotiate through this.
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
For them it\'s like… like
a river, it just flows.
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
I mean it\'s like crossing
the street, you know,
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
it\'s this constant surge of activity and
it\'s being in the middle of the surge
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
trying to kind of keep a certain amount
of calmness, and being part of the surge.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
Does that make sense?
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
[music]
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
There\'s not one day that
I regret working here.
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
Even thought it drives me crazy and
I\'m upset, you know, and I\'m tired,
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
and I get angry at the people. Whatever.
Sometimes it\'s, you know, happened between us.
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
Yes. And you want things to be perfect.
Cendrine comes to depend
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
on Ho Quic Hung to explain the
Vietnamese way of doing things.
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
He is a production assistant working
for the Vietnamese theater.
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
He\'s the hero for everyone, you know. We have a question, we have
something that has to be done and done well, we\'re gonna ask him.
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
He\'s pulled in many different directions
and has a zillion things to do.
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
I myself, am very much
interested in this approach.
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
It… it\'s… it\'s wonderful. This is the,
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
a very good opportunity for
us to learn from each other.
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
I can see you working all day, so, I
try to follow the way you are working,
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
and how serious you are at work, and
how you, enthusiastic you are at work.
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
And I try to capture your spirit.
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
Ho says there is something the Vietnamese
are better at than the Americans.
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
We seem not to have much a
conflict with each other.
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
The Vietnamese is, uh…
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
working but while they are working,
they don\'t pile all of their attention,
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
all of their energy to the work. They
thinks about other things and let\'s say,
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
while working they can talk to each
other about, uh… their families,
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
their, uh… sentiment, friends, whatever.
So, it… it, make the work less tense.
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
Work is only a part of life.
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:25.000
Not all.
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
Very exciting.
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
Yes. Yeah. Interesting. Three
weeks into rehearsals,
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
Chieu arranges for a Sunday outing
to visit some Buddhist shrines.
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
It is the first time the Vietnamese
and Americans spend a day together
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
without working on the play. Misunderstandings
and frustrations disappear.
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:23.000
[music]
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:43.000
[sil.]
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:08.000
[sil.]
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:18.000
[music]
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:38.000
[music]
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
The morale of the theater
company is boosted by the news
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
that they will open in Hanoi\'s most prestigious
theater. The stage at the Hanoi Opera House
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
is reserved for the nations\' most
treasured cultural performances.
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
This is the Carnegie Hall of Vietnam.
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
I was just very impressed with
the beauty of the building.
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
It was extremely helpful to go over there during
a show and actually be able to sneak backstage.
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
I think it\'s gonna work out
quite well for our needs.
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
So, uh… today I can say that, um… maybe
everything will be wonderful. Yeah.
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
[sil.]
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
About this time, the troop learns
that the American president
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
will be making his historic visit to
Hanoi the same week the play is to open.
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
Is it possible
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
that Bill and Hilary Clinton will honor
them by attending opening night?
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
[sil.]
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
During rehearsal, they have a
visit from a Clinton scout.
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
Evelyn Lieberman is U.S. Undersecretary
of State for Cultural Affairs,
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
and rumored to be a close
friend of the president\'s wife.
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
[music]
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
Comic relief is provided by
a band of amateur actors
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
that prepares to enact a melodrama
in honor of Theseus\' wedding.
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:15.000
[sil.]
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
Puck, the troublemaker, comes upon
their rehearsal in the forest.
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
He can\'t resist the temptation
to create some mischief,
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
so he casts a spell and turns
one of the actors into an ass.
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:48.000
[sil.]
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
Meanwhile, Oberon casts his spell
on his wife, the fairy queen.
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
So that when she wakes she will fall
in love with the first thing she sees,
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
however gross it may be.
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:18.000
You are as wise as you are beautiful.
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:28.000
[music]
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
The minute that we
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
walked into the theater it was clear that this was a romp,
and it didn\'t make a difference what language you spoke.
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
You understood exactly what was going
on, and the energy was unbelievable.
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
It was very exciting to have her here.
00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
We know that we\'re doing
something extraordinary here,
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
but it was wonderful to hear that from a U.S.
government official. One of the things I said today.
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
As word spreads the Clintons might come to
the show, they begin to attract attention
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:15.000
from the press. It\'s obviously a big deal,
uh, but, uh… are you hoping for that?
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
[music]
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
Back in the forest, trouble is brewing.
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
To help Helena win Demetrius\'
love, Oberon orders Puck
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
to give the magic potion to Demetrius.
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
But Puck squeezes the potion
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
into the wrong man\'s eyes,
mistaking Lysander for Demetrius.
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
Then Helena stumbles upon Lysander.
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
I see no blood, no wound.
00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
Lysander, if you live, good sir, awake.
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
[music]
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
And run through fire, I
will for thy sweet sake.
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
Oy, Helena.
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
Transparent Helena,
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
nature shows art, that through thy
bosom makes me see thy heart.
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
Meanwhile, Hermia finds
herself abandoned by Lysander
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
and alone in the dark forest.
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
[sil.]
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
What? Gone already?
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
Lysander.
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
Lysander. As rehearsals progress, tensions
also develop within the production.
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
Allen and Lorelle have been
gone for a couple of weeks.
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
Allen, to direct a production of
Tennessee Williams\' Glass Menagerie
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
with other actors in the Vietnamese company, and
Lorelle to do promotional work on Ho Chi Minh City.
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
During this time, Giang moves forward
00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
with Midsummer Night, but when Lorelle gets
back, she disagrees with changes he\'s made.
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
She confronts him in rehearsal. Well,
what happened this morning was,
00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
I came in on the conversation about
how Hermia ought not to speak English
00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
in this scene. And it just made me realize
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
that really he and I are doing two
extraordinarily different things.
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
I don\'t in any way want to undermine
what he\'s doing, but at the same time
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
I have very strong opinions
about the way the English
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
and the Vietnamese work in this show. And
also, that it\'s very important for us
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:10.000
to tell the story in a very clear way.
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:15.000
Oh, spite… Oh, hell. I see you both…
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:35.000
Can you not hate me as I know you do, but
you must join in souls to mock me, too?
00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
Uh… Demetrius, uh… I\'m pretty frustrated with Mr. Do Ky always
telling me what to do, because it\'s none of his business.
00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
And I don\'t know, I mean, it seems
like they do that here. Like the…
00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
like the actors tell other actors what to do and how
to do it. So it could just be a cultural thing,
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:10.000
but it really irritates me. Never
did mockers waste more idle breath.
00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
There is a huge thing
about what is feminine.
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
And because I walk differently,
because I\'m not on my knees,
00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
that\'s not feminine enough.
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
I know as an actor my
job, in the end, is to do
00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
what Mr. Giang says. And I just don\'t know
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
if I can do it. I\'m just so different
00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
than everyone around here. People
can see me coming sometimes.
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
So yeah, in that respect,
that is like Helena.
00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
[sil.]
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
Today was just not a fun day.
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
It was all about work and problems.
00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
It\'s very hard for me
to keep coming to them.
00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
Cendrine and I have been
trying to make a flyer and now
00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
Mrs. Linh(ph) is the, the,
um… marketing manager
00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
of the theater, uh… came to see and,
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
uh… refused completely our work.
I just feel like, uh,
00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
I have built a house and then after
I have completed it, it collapsed.
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
I got angry with Mrs. Linh
00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
and even with Cendrine.
But, um… I felt very sorry,
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
I feel very sorry about that.
I also want her to tell me
00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
what have… what have I been wrong
so I can adjust them myself.
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
Because I know, I know
00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
I am wrong sometimes. Not every time I am right.
But why do you assume that you are wrong?
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
Why don\'t you think that I was
the one wrong? I feel as though
00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
I didn\'t do my job well.
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
And I, and I feel bad about that.
00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
I always think that the time that we are
working with each other is very short,
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
it\'s very short. But it has become
a very important part of my life.
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
[music]
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
Time is getting short. Only three weeks are
left before the play is scheduled to open.
00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
It\'s at this point that actors and
directors have a first look at costumes.
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
She thinks she needs a scarf like that.
00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
[music]
00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
Those costume designers saying,
00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
\'Okay, I can give that to you.\' You like? Vietnamese. You like? Nice.
Uh… They don\'t like it. They wanna get rid of it. It\'s too peasant.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
No one would call these people aristocracy.
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
But he really doesn\'t like it,
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
I think is the point. So
today we had costume parade,
00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
and the actors were trying on their costumes for
the first time. And I have never experienced
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
a costume parade where every single actor
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
said they hated their costume. I… every
single one. I mean it\'s astounding.
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
I walked into that room and there
were like 35 dejected faces.
00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
[sil.]
00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:08.000
[music]
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
What was even more astounding to me was that they were
all saying this in front of the costume designer.
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
People were running backstage
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
and pulling off costumes from other shows and
bringing them out and saying \'I\'ll wear this.
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
You know. My costume is a Pamper.
Not only is it a Pamper,
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
it\'s a yellow Pamper and
it\'s got a full load.
00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
And it\'s really ugly.
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
And I had to walk around translating,
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
wearing this piece of crap.
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:55.000
[music]
00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
Maybe they, next dance rehearsal they should wear these. Find
out where the problems are, and then we\'ll address them then.
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:28.000
[music]
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
The American\'s ask for a meeting
00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
of the directors and producers to
resolve lingering creative differences.
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
Lorelle asks Allen and Stephanie
to get together beforehand. And by
00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
having six boys haulin\' around drums,
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
barking like dogs, pretending to be horses,
00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
it demystifies that world. That
world needs to be mysterious.
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
These guys are not mysterious. These guys
are trivializing it. We might as well
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
have Disneyland and Peter Pan. They
embarrassed me because they are so bad.
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
I mean, I don\'t have quite
the same take on it as…
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
as you do. I think I can
work almost all of those…
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
those devices that Giang as set up.
The problem we can get into is that,
00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
this is a collaboration between…
between eastern and western
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
and what Giang is doing is
putting in eastern ideas
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
that we\'re saying, or we\'re in danger of saying,
\"Oh, that doesn\'t work for my western sensibility,
00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
so we have to take it out and do it our
way. You keep saying I can live with it.
00:50:55.000 --> 00:51:00.000
I don\'t want to live with it.
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
Lysander! Lysander! Back in the forest
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
Hermia is reunited with Lysander
only to discover that his feelings
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
for her have changed. Why should he
stay home, with a lot of press to go.
00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
Lysander\'s love,
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
that would not let him bide, Fair Helena, who
more engilds the night than all you fiery oes
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
and eyes of light. I think
the play is in good shape.
00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
The place I have real concern
is where the play slows down,
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
where Shakespeare has written
the play to move quickly there.
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:53.000
[non-English narration]
00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
That I\'ve already cut 400 lines
from this play and I will fight
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
to cut one more line.
00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
I am going to stick to my guns on this.
I worry that
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
if we cut more lines were
moving away from the story,
00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:50.000
the story is more important
I think than anything else.
00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
I think
00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
it\'s a bad idea.
Shakespeare… I have to say,
00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
he\'s a better playwright than you
are or I am or you are or you are.
00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
I believe that the Vietnamese
audience will like it
00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:30.000
and will like this show because what we\'re giving
them is something that is rich and wonderful.
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
If we cut it with the… without umm…
without lessens the information of the…
00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
It isn\'t about information.
00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
It isn\'t about information, it is about
00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
what happens on that stage
between human beings.
00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:13.000
This is my point of view. I\'m sorry.
00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
This entire project has been
likened to riding a tiger.
00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
You can\'t get off or the tiger will eat you. So the
best you can do is just hang on and keep going.
00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
[sil.]
00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:23.000
Shall be chronicled.
00:56:00.000 --> 00:56:04.999
If you have any pity, grace, or manners, you would
not make me such an argument. But fare ye well:
00:56:05.000 --> 00:56:09.999
\'tis partly my own fault, which
death or absence soon shall remedy.
00:56:10.000 --> 00:56:14.999
Stay, gentle Helena; hear my excuse: My
love, my life, my soul, fair Helena!
00:56:15.000 --> 00:56:19.999
O excellent! Helen, I love
thee; by my life, I do,
00:56:20.000 --> 00:56:24.999
I swear by that which I will lose for thee,
to prove him false that says I love thee not.
00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:30.000
If thou say so, withdraw, and prove it too.
00:56:35.000 --> 00:56:39.999
Away, you Ethiope!
00:56:40.000 --> 00:56:44.999
Or I will shake thee from me like a
serpent! Why are you grown so rude?
00:56:45.000 --> 00:56:49.999
What change is this? Sweet love…
00:56:50.000 --> 00:56:54.999
Disagreements on the creative interpretation
of the play continue to fester.
00:56:55.000 --> 00:56:59.999
But no one is prepared
for what happens next.
00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.999
The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information
cancels the plays opening at the Opera House.
00:57:05.000 --> 00:57:09.999
The reason is that, after all
00:57:10.000 --> 00:57:14.999
the American President is not interested in the play
and the stage is needed for an alternative performance
00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:19.999
for the Clintons.
00:57:20.000 --> 00:57:24.999
One week before opening, the
troop has no place to perform.
00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:29.999
Cendrine finds this out quite by accident.
They never told us.
00:57:30.000 --> 00:57:34.999
They\'ve 10:30 this morning
at 04:30 we know.
00:57:35.000 --> 00:57:39.999
They don\'t want to confront problems
00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:44.999
until they become absolutely unbearable.
00:57:45.000 --> 00:57:49.999
And what you\'re saying about what 7 o\'clock
this morning, until 4 o\'clock, that\'s nothing,
00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:54.999
that\'s not unbearable yet.
I think it\'s possible
00:57:55.000 --> 00:57:59.999
when they heard the bad news that it would
take them a day just to… Digest it.
00:58:00.000 --> 00:58:04.999
Could be worse. Really?
00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:09.999
Uh… Could be cancelled all together. I guess
we need to kind of put a plan together,
00:58:10.000 --> 00:58:14.999
what… what do we do next. Do we? Do we need
00:58:15.000 --> 00:58:19.999
to continue on this roller coaster when we
don\'t know what\'s going to happen tonight.
00:58:20.000 --> 00:58:24.999
But we have to continue. I think we do have
the option to tell them we\'re leaving.
00:58:25.000 --> 00:58:29.999
I understand your frustration the rail
about because I feel it every day.
00:58:30.000 --> 00:58:34.999
But I really feel that if we
threatened to pull the plug
00:58:35.000 --> 00:58:39.999
or anything like that, it would really be letting this
company down and I think it would send the wrong signal.
00:58:40.000 --> 00:58:44.999
If we don\'t panic and we show strength
and we show we have a plan, that\'ll help
00:58:45.000 --> 00:58:49.999
show get on board. I
think that by all means
00:58:50.000 --> 00:58:54.999
you have to be with them.
We\'re a family now.
00:58:55.000 --> 00:59:00.000
And what are we going to do?
I\'ll make a plan, no blames…
00:59:20.000 --> 00:59:24.999
The next morning, Chau finds another Theatre
for the play, but a misunderstanding
00:59:25.000 --> 00:59:29.999
about dates fuels American
suspicions that they somehow
00:59:30.000 --> 00:59:38.000
still being kept in the dark.
00:59:40.000 --> 00:59:45.000
[sil.]
01:01:00.000 --> 01:01:08.000
[music]
01:01:45.000 --> 01:01:49.999
The replacement theater that
Chou arranges is the monumental
01:01:50.000 --> 01:01:54.999
Soviet-Vietnamese Cultural
Friendship Palace,
01:01:55.000 --> 01:01:59.999
built by the Russians at the height of the
Cold War as a gift to the Vietnamese people.
01:02:00.000 --> 01:02:08.000
[music]
01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:34.999
It\'s actually better than what I thought.
01:02:35.000 --> 01:02:39.999
[sil.]
01:02:40.000 --> 01:02:44.999
It\'s kind of pretty blocky but
it\'s actually not too bad.
01:02:45.000 --> 01:02:49.999
It\'s not really too ugly and we\'d
not be, we have the choice either.
01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:54.999
On the inside we got almost 1,200 seats
01:02:55.000 --> 01:02:59.999
and the stage is larger than
the whole theatre in Vietnam.
01:03:00.000 --> 01:03:04.999
It a huge space. Are we really
going to sell 1200 tickets
01:03:05.000 --> 01:03:10.000
for opening night? I\'m very worried
because this theatre is very big.
01:03:20.000 --> 01:03:24.999
I swear I felt like
01:03:25.000 --> 01:03:29.999
Captain Kirk trying to take over
a cling on ship. It was this
01:03:30.000 --> 01:03:34.999
massive ancient Russian Light board,
and then I thought Come on Steff,
01:03:35.000 --> 01:03:39.999
you did this, it\'s just a light board,
it\'s just a light board, just because it\'s
01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:44.999
about 25 years old in a
completely different language
01:03:45.000 --> 01:03:49.999
and you have no idea if it actually
works, it\'s still just a light board.
01:03:50.000 --> 01:03:54.999
But we try. We\'re going to make it work.
We\'re gonna make it work. Yeah. Yeah.
01:03:55.000 --> 01:03:59.999
They move into the Friendship
Palace the next day. There are just
01:04:00.000 --> 01:04:04.999
seven days left until opening.
01:04:05.000 --> 01:04:13.000
[music]
01:04:45.000 --> 01:04:49.999
During this time, the company
has to erect the stage,
01:04:50.000 --> 01:04:54.999
hang the drops, set the lights,
01:04:55.000 --> 01:04:59.999
finalized props and costumes,
device and rehearsal lighting plot,
01:05:00.000 --> 01:05:04.999
polish dance numbers, and coordinate
01:05:05.000 --> 01:05:09.999
and rehearse all exits and entrances
with lighting, sound, and music cues,
01:05:10.000 --> 01:05:14.999
as well as the synchronization
in Vietnamese and English
01:05:15.000 --> 01:05:19.999
of the entire play in super
toggles projected over the stage.
01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:28.000
[music]
01:05:30.000 --> 01:05:34.999
It seems impossible. Yet things
start to fall into place.
01:05:35.000 --> 01:05:43.000
[music]
01:06:15.000 --> 01:06:20.000
[music]
01:06:40.000 --> 01:06:44.999
[music]
01:06:45.000 --> 01:06:49.999
Rehearsal goes fine. Use
me but as your spaniel…
01:06:50.000 --> 01:06:54.999
Something finally clicks for me and I
am your Spaniel, saying thank god.
01:06:55.000 --> 01:06:59.999
So I don\'t know if it
was just my perception
01:07:00.000 --> 01:07:04.999
that it was a big deal, it
just kind of went away.
01:07:05.000 --> 01:07:09.999
Everything seems kind of balanced out.
01:07:10.000 --> 01:07:14.999
The things are going pretty well today
01:07:15.000 --> 01:07:19.999
and even though I disagree with some of
the things that… that Giang is doing
01:07:20.000 --> 01:07:24.999
to the show, I also see that some of the choices
he\'s made are actually working very well.
01:07:25.000 --> 01:07:29.999
We\'ve also been able to make decisions
together that I think are really terrific.
01:07:30.000 --> 01:07:34.999
If we keep the line in (inaudible),
uh… we don\'t wanna make it too simple
01:07:35.000 --> 01:07:39.999
but because it\'s the beginning of this
01:07:40.000 --> 01:07:44.999
sort of poetic section…
01:07:45.000 --> 01:07:49.999
So it\'s actually not translated correctly.
Okay. Oh, well, that makes a big death.
01:07:50.000 --> 01:07:54.999
Listening to Giang I realized that there
was a lot that was not very clear
01:07:55.000 --> 01:07:59.999
in the Vietnamese translation.
So he agreed to go away
01:08:00.000 --> 01:08:04.999
and work on about six speeches and I
was really pleased because he kept
01:08:05.000 --> 01:08:09.999
most of it. I\'m trying to set the lights.
01:08:10.000 --> 01:08:14.999
I don\'t go… Yeah. On the middle, the
top, blue lights on the middle.
01:08:15.000 --> 01:08:19.999
Uh… Could you bring them up to five?
So a little more, a little more. Okay.
01:08:20.000 --> 01:08:24.999
That\'s… that\'s very pretty.
01:08:25.000 --> 01:08:29.999
Stephanie, the gels are melting
and burning and smoking.
01:08:30.000 --> 01:08:38.000
[music]
01:08:40.000 --> 01:08:44.999
Cendrine and Hung travels south to
Ho Chi Minh City, where the play
01:08:45.000 --> 01:08:49.999
the schedule to open ten days
after the Hanoi premier.
01:08:50.000 --> 01:08:54.999
We\'re going around the city trying
to look at big tall buildings,
01:08:55.000 --> 01:08:59.999
that look really fancy in business line,
that would be full affluent companies
01:09:00.000 --> 01:09:04.999
and give fliers to them and
inform them of the plays
01:09:05.000 --> 01:09:09.999
and try to get them to buy tickets.
01:09:10.000 --> 01:09:14.999
Grassroots marketing. Human eye.
01:09:15.000 --> 01:09:19.999
I think, yeah, that thing over there.
01:09:20.000 --> 01:09:24.999
The production is badly strapped for cash.
Chou is worried
01:09:25.000 --> 01:09:29.999
about how they will meet the costs of moving the
entire showed to the South, for a two to week run.
01:09:30.000 --> 01:09:34.999
[music]
01:09:35.000 --> 01:09:39.999
Cendrine and Hung try to sell as many of
the most expensive tickets as possible
01:09:40.000 --> 01:09:44.999
to people who can afford them.
Uh… Third floor. Okay.
01:09:45.000 --> 01:09:49.999
Vietnamese who worked for foreign companies
01:09:50.000 --> 01:09:54.999
and American and European expatriates.
I have something to…
01:09:55.000 --> 01:09:59.999
with the Vietnam-America theatre exchange.
Is it possible to leave those fliers here
01:10:00.000 --> 01:10:04.999
and have them distributed in the mailboxes?
Okay, no problem.
01:10:05.000 --> 01:10:09.999
And if there\'s a problem or you need more or whatever,
please feel free to call me on my mobile phone.
01:10:10.000 --> 01:10:18.000
[music]
01:10:25.000 --> 01:10:29.999
I don\'t know what\'s
happening to my taste here
01:10:30.000 --> 01:10:34.999
but the woman who makes my dress has convinced me
that I need shoes and a bra for my opening night,
01:10:35.000 --> 01:10:39.999
traditional ausy. And finding a bra
01:10:40.000 --> 01:10:44.999
that fits me in this town
is pretty near impossible.
01:10:45.000 --> 01:10:49.999
Me, in a cast iron push up
bra… Optional. Optional.
01:10:50.000 --> 01:10:54.999
[music]
01:10:55.000 --> 01:10:59.999
The last two days are slated
for full dress rehearsals.
01:11:00.000 --> 01:11:05.000
It is the last chance to
get everything right.
01:11:10.000 --> 01:11:14.999
[music]
01:11:15.000 --> 01:11:19.999
Giang\'s biggest worry is the
very opening of the play,
01:11:20.000 --> 01:11:24.999
in which Puck\'s assistants perform a dance.
01:11:25.000 --> 01:11:29.999
Oh, boy. Oh, boy.
01:11:30.000 --> 01:11:34.999
Without rhythm. Yes, they have no rhythm.
01:11:35.000 --> 01:11:39.999
[non-English narration]
01:11:40.000 --> 01:11:44.999
Because that that sets
01:11:45.000 --> 01:11:49.999
the rhythm for the whole
play, that first dance.
01:11:50.000 --> 01:11:54.999
[non-English narration]
01:11:55.000 --> 01:11:59.999
So we really need to get in there and
for the first 20 minutes it as play
01:12:00.000 --> 01:12:04.999
we\'ve got to be just incredible, while the audience to keep
them here. We\'ve got to get them to love us before we screw up.
01:12:05.000 --> 01:12:09.999
This morning,
01:12:10.000 --> 01:12:14.999
a misunderstanding about actors
call times threatens to jeopardize
01:12:15.000 --> 01:12:19.999
what little time they have left.
How can we work then?
01:12:20.000 --> 01:12:28.000
He says that if you… if you change
01:12:30.000 --> 01:12:35.480
the schedule like this, they don\'t have enough time to rest and they
will fail. Come on its tech week. You\'re gonna have to deal with it.
01:12:40.000 --> 01:12:44.999
Okay. Well, this is…
01:12:45.000 --> 01:12:49.999
This is where I\'m gonna have to just overrule
and insist. If… if I have to be the bad guy
01:12:50.000 --> 01:12:58.000
and draw the line, I\'m drawing the line.
01:13:45.000 --> 01:13:49.999
[sil.]
01:13:50.000 --> 01:13:54.999
Things are tense in the theatre.
01:13:55.000 --> 01:13:59.999
But its\' nothing compared to what happens back in the production
office. So why don\'t you have kind of box office report
01:14:00.000 --> 01:14:04.999
and this morning and finally
he sat down with me…
01:14:05.000 --> 01:14:09.999
and he said, oh, we can not sell tickets.
01:14:10.000 --> 01:14:14.999
And I\'m like, we cannot sell tickets. He said, no, we
can\'t diminish (inaudible) and want us to sell tickets.
01:14:15.000 --> 01:14:23.000
So I said, can they come in the morning for the
dress rehearsal? And she said, no. I said, why?
01:14:45.000 --> 01:14:49.999
Because they want to come in the evening. I
said, why? Because they are important people
01:14:50.000 --> 01:14:54.999
and they want to come in the evening.
So I said, can they send someone else,
01:14:55.000 --> 01:14:59.999
another VIP to come for the morning dress
rehearsal. She said, no. These people want to come
01:15:00.000 --> 01:15:04.999
but they want to come for the evening.
And the very Ministry
01:15:05.000 --> 01:15:09.999
that wants them to be more successful
in those ways, does… does things like
01:15:10.000 --> 01:15:14.999
not letting them sell tickets
ahead of opening night.
01:15:15.000 --> 01:15:19.999
I mean, that\'s absurd.
Somehow not being told
01:15:20.000 --> 01:15:24.999
until 30 hours before our opening
01:15:25.000 --> 01:15:29.999
that we can\'t sell tickets to the opening.
When they have known for months
01:15:30.000 --> 01:15:34.999
that this was the case,
was beyond astonishing.
01:15:35.000 --> 01:15:43.000
I could not believe it.
01:15:50.000 --> 01:15:54.999
But what I heard Chau say today,
01:15:55.000 --> 01:15:59.999
is basically you don\'t know what you\'re doing here,
you don\'t really have any business being here
01:16:00.000 --> 01:16:04.999
and you sure as hell don\'t
have any business telling us
01:16:05.000 --> 01:16:09.999
how to advertise and sell tickets.
It was the first time
01:16:10.000 --> 01:16:14.999
that it was Vietnamese against
the Americans, you know.
01:16:15.000 --> 01:16:19.999
I feel really betrayed.
01:16:20.000 --> 01:16:28.000
[music]
01:16:30.000 --> 01:16:34.999
In a final attempt
01:16:35.000 --> 01:16:39.999
to sort things out, Oberon tells
Puck to lure the to angry rivals
01:16:40.000 --> 01:16:45.000
deep into the forest by
mimicking each of their voices…
01:16:50.000 --> 01:16:58.000
[music]
01:17:15.000 --> 01:17:19.999
Puck reduces them to utter exhaustion.
01:17:20.000 --> 01:17:24.999
Hermia and Helena collapsed beside
them and a final spell is cast.
01:17:25.000 --> 01:17:30.000
[music]
01:17:40.000 --> 01:17:44.999
[music]
01:17:45.000 --> 01:17:49.999
There hasn\'t been a single day that
01:17:50.000 --> 01:17:54.999
we haven\'t had some kind of crisis
but we all want the same thing.
01:17:55.000 --> 01:17:59.999
Now we must continue to reach
beyond the difficulties.
01:18:00.000 --> 01:18:04.999
There\'s so much talent in this room and this
company is as good as any company in the world.
01:18:05.000 --> 01:18:09.999
Tonight, and on tour and all through
this, let\'s keep this in mind
01:18:10.000 --> 01:18:14.999
we want to create the best
Midsummer Night\'s Dream
01:18:15.000 --> 01:18:19.999
that was ever done, every night, even
when we\'ve had bad food on the train.
01:18:20.000 --> 01:18:24.999
[sil.]
01:18:25.000 --> 01:18:29.999
The Americans worry they will play
to an empty house that night,
01:18:30.000 --> 01:18:35.000
because of the restriction on ticket sales,
but about a thousand people show up.
01:18:50.000 --> 01:18:55.000
[non-English narration]
01:19:00.000 --> 01:19:04.999
We feel pretty good, just
hungry enough not to…
01:19:05.000 --> 01:19:09.999
not so full that I can\'t move, just
hungry enough that give me enough energy
01:19:10.000 --> 01:19:14.999
to make me need to get through this. I
feel good, real good. Fight. Fight.
01:19:15.000 --> 01:19:19.999
We could say supported by the ministry,
01:19:20.000 --> 01:19:24.999
support and the Ford foundation… Yeah.
Yeah, you can say that, supported by…
01:19:25.000 --> 01:19:29.999
Is everything going okay? It\'s not too bad.
01:19:30.000 --> 01:19:34.999
Break leg tonight.
01:19:35.000 --> 01:19:39.999
And then we drink…
01:19:40.000 --> 01:19:44.999
[non-English narration]
01:19:45.000 --> 01:19:49.999
Yes, perhaps, perhaps.
01:19:50.000 --> 01:19:58.000
[non-English narration]
01:20:00.000 --> 01:20:08.000
[music]
01:20:15.000 --> 01:20:19.999
In the morning, Theseus discovers
the four sleeping lovers.
01:20:20.000 --> 01:20:24.999
Who wake and profess their true love
01:20:25.000 --> 01:20:29.999
for each other.
01:20:30.000 --> 01:20:34.999
They feel that they have
01:20:35.000 --> 01:20:39.999
just awoken from an astonishing dream.
01:20:40.000 --> 01:20:44.999
[music]
01:20:45.000 --> 01:20:49.999
Meanwhile, Oberon freeze Titania
from the spell he has cast.
01:20:50.000 --> 01:20:54.999
And the unfortunate actors
turn back into a man.
01:20:55.000 --> 01:21:03.000
[music]
01:21:05.000 --> 01:21:09.999
All is forgiven. Everyone gets married
01:21:10.000 --> 01:21:14.999
and they settle down to watch
the (inaudible) troop.
01:21:15.000 --> 01:21:23.000
[music]
01:22:35.000 --> 01:22:39.999
Well done, gentlemen. We did it, huh….
Oh, yeah. Mr. Hung, well done.
01:22:40.000 --> 01:22:48.000
[music]
01:22:50.000 --> 01:22:54.999
What\'s the matter?
01:22:55.000 --> 01:23:00.000
[music]
01:23:05.000 --> 01:23:13.000
[music]
01:23:15.000 --> 01:23:19.999
Uh… I\'m very happy. All
happy… happy and happier.
01:23:20.000 --> 01:23:24.999
At least three quarters of the worries
I had were gone and we\'re really not
01:23:25.000 --> 01:23:29.999
worth worrying about… Process,
it was an amazing ride.
01:23:30.000 --> 01:23:38.000
[sil.]
01:23:45.000 --> 01:23:53.000
[music]
01:23:55.000 --> 01:23:59.999
The company went on tour for a month
presenting a Midsummer Night\'s Dream
01:24:00.000 --> 01:24:04.999
and The Glass Menagerie, in Ho
Chi Minh City in (inaudible).
01:24:05.000 --> 01:24:09.999
Then they returned to Hanoi, were at last,
01:24:10.000 --> 01:24:14.999
they were given the stage at the
Opera House, altogether about
01:24:15.000 --> 01:24:19.999
9,000 people saw the show.
After three months in Vietnam,
01:24:20.000 --> 01:24:25.000
it is time for the Americans to go home.
01:25:05.000 --> 01:25:13.000
Me too. Me too.
01:25:15.000 --> 01:25:20.000
I really love you. You\'re a wonderful man.
Yes. And a wonderful actor.
01:25:55.000 --> 01:26:00.000
[sil.]
01:26:20.000 --> 01:26:24.999
Those who have struggled to find
01:26:25.000 --> 01:26:29.999
a way to communicate with each other
have really earned the right to call
01:26:30.000 --> 01:26:35.000
one another friends.
01:26:40.000 --> 01:26:44.999
[sil.]
01:26:45.000 --> 01:26:53.000
I miss you a lot. I miss you.
01:27:05.000 --> 01:27:09.999
I want to do with you again.
01:27:10.000 --> 01:27:14.999
Yes, we must. Okay.
01:27:15.000 --> 01:27:19.999
We fell in love, you know.
Something binding
01:27:20.000 --> 01:27:24.999
and something that is
larger than we yet know.
01:27:25.000 --> 01:27:29.999
That\'s really what it feels like to me.
01:27:30.000 --> 01:27:38.000
[sil.]
01:27:45.000 --> 01:27:49.999
I feel a little bit like
01:27:50.000 --> 01:27:54.999
there\'s some things that would have done
differently. I made a commitment to myself
01:27:55.000 --> 01:27:59.999
to… to try and be uh… you know,
01:28:00.000 --> 01:28:04.999
a good partner. And uh… and I\'m not
sure that I always was a good partner.
01:28:05.000 --> 01:28:09.999
I also know about myself that my tenacity,
01:28:10.000 --> 01:28:14.999
my perseverance, my commitment is
01:28:15.000 --> 01:28:19.999
I think a large part of why we
all got here. It\'s been amazing
01:28:20.000 --> 01:28:24.999
and hard and wonderful
01:28:25.000 --> 01:28:29.999
and scary and worth it.
01:28:30.000 --> 01:28:38.000
[sil.]