Inside the Production of Found in Translation: The Ghost of Keelung
How did all the pieces come together for Found in Translation: The Ghost of Keelung? What inspired the transnational, cross-time period story? How does a traditionally auditory format come to life as a live, outdoor performance? Hear from writer Jamie Lin, director Audrey Seraphin, and dramaturg Carey Lin.
What inspired the story and characters of The Ghost of Keelung?
Jamie, Writer: I initially envisioned The Ghost of Keelung as a pitch for the Post-Meridian Radio Players, a community radio theater group I often work with in Somerville. Every Halloween they put on a spooky show — often borrowing from public domain classics like Dracula or the works of Edgar Allan Poe. But as a Taiwanese-American artist, I'm always hungry for stories from my background, and Taiwanese stories in Boston theater are especially rare to see.
So one Halloween, I thought — Taiwan is an old country that certainly must have some spooky stories of its own. I stumbled upon the story of the Keelung Ghost House and pretty much lifted the plot wholesale from that blog. I found it especially kismet that the historical Lin owners of the house shared my last name (林), although as far as I know we have no relation. Beyond the known characters — the Lin owner, the lovelorn Taiwanese girl, and the American soldier who spurns her — I filled out the cast with some inventions who seemed like they would fit the times.
Is this your first radio play? What is the process of writing a radio play like?
Jamie, Writer: I'd written another 10-page script in the radio format before this, mostly to get a feel for the format, but The Ghost of Keelung is my first full(ish) length radio play! Thankfully, in my work with PMRP, I've been exposed to a variety of wonderful scripts by talented writers, so I was able to pull from their scripts for inspiration and reference.
Easily the most fun (and challenging) part of writing a radio play is the focus on the sounds. Because visuals are not a part of the story, the sound effects have to do the heavy lifting of creating the environment. Some are relatively straightforward — clinking glasses and pouring of liquid to represent the bar. A few more I did my best to describe (the jukebox, the finale fire), but I'm sure it'll be an interesting challenge for the foley & sound design team to bring to life — I can't wait to see what they come up with!
Is this the first staging of The Ghost of Keelung? How does it feel to have The Ghost of Keelung staged as a part of Pao Art Center and The Greenway's VISIONS/VOICES: YEAR OF THE TIGER performance series?
Jamie, Writer: This is the first proper staging! I did an informal reading a few years ago with some friends, where it was helpful to have the text heard and get a sense for how the dialogue was working as well as the plot and characters. But the only Asian in the room was myself — an unfortunately non-unique experience in my time in Boston theater, but a reminder of one of the main reasons I wrote the play in the first place.
That's why I'm so excited to have this as part of Pao/Chuang/AATAB's Found in Translation series as well as the Year of the Tiger series! To have both a superstar quartet of Asian producers as well as the support of community resources — and to stage this in Chinatown no less — is a dream come true.
What drew you to The Ghost of Keelung's script and story?
Audrey, Director: I love when traditional narratives are flipped on their head, and The Ghost of Keelung is just that. I love that this play sets you up to think you know where it's going, and then inverts the story on itself. It reminded me of the first play I directed with AATAB, This is Not a True Story. I love to bring women's voices and stories to life on stage, and so this woman-driven script with gender-flexible and race-flexible casting notes immediately had my attention. I was also obsessed with Happy Days as a kid, so the 1950's time period is a fun one to play around in for me.
How has the process been of imagining the staging of the radio play around the outdoor YEAR OF THE TIGER installation space?
Audrey, Director: The outdoor, hyper-public nature of installation space is probably one of the biggest joys and challenges in this process. I'm so excited to have the City of Boston as an additional character, playing the role of Keelung itself. Being one of the first performances on the pavilion stage is a huge honor.
Is this your first time directing a radio play? How does the radio play format inform your creative process?
Audrey, Director: I have never directed a radio play before! I am still learning from my collaborators all the possibilities of the genre and look forward to what we put together.
With The Ghost of Keelung spanning time, geography, and culture, what context did you want to ensure was amplified in this production?
Carey, Dramaturg: As part of the ‘Lost in Translation’ series, it was important to me that the team knew the reason behind why Mandarin is the primary non-English language in this play, rather than Taiwanese. The reason for this was that Taiwanese was banned in this time period.
I wanted to ensure that the multi-cultural diversity of Taiwan is amplified and represented in this production. Taiwan has historically always been influenced by different cultures. The founding of Taiwan was influenced by American democracy tied with Chinese traditions, but we’ve also been influenced by the Dutch, by Japan, and of course by the many indigenous tribes native to our island.
In the specific time period of this play, the Americans were ‘the current trend’. The dynamic of having “foreigners” in Taiwan wasn’t new, but it would be fresh, young, and hip in contrast to the Japanese and government dictated cultural influences.
Taiwan has always had strong ties with the US and I think with today’s political situation, it’s important to understand why, how, and the many sides of it. The Ghost of Keelung is one such story that showcases the dynamic of the relationship between Taiwan and the U.S.
What was the process of research like for this radio play?
Carey, Dramaturg: Research for this play was a mix of talks with my grandfather, my own observations from working in education and with the kids of Taiwan, as well as some online research. I would not have been able to achieve this depth of research if it weren’t for being here in person, as online resources about Taiwan’s history and culture are somewhat limited.
My grandfather is a bit of a history guru, and he has been an especially helpful resource. He has told me stories of his time in military, and how the names of places in Taiwan have come to be. For instance, the name “Keelung” actually originally came from the name of the mountain that surrounds the seaport, and it means “Chicken Cage”. The characters don’t represent this meaning because the name was only established in writing during the Japanese colonization. They used ‘kanji’ or ‘Han’ characters to name and systematize the island as it would be easier to govern.
Working as an educator in Taiwan, I was also able to observe firsthand how politics and military has affected the education of the different generations in Taiwan. At the time of when the play took place, Taiwanese was actually banned and deemed illegal as it was not ‘nationalist’. The education at the time focused on re-establishing a sense of national identity by the political party (KMT) that self-exiled to Taiwan. Hence, as we see in the play, the primary language spoken is Chinese, not Taiwanese. This then makes the significance of the Taiwanese song in the play even more prominent.
Overall the research process is a combination of all my observations and questions about my family’s and my country’s past and identity. This research is very personal to me, and I’m just glad I was able to also contribute to such a beautiful play.
Is this your first time working on a radio play? Was there anything about the history of this format that you researched in depth and wanted to highlight in the performance?
Carey, Dramaturg: This is indeed my first time working on a radio play. I’ve listened to some on an actual radio growing up, but I was too young to understand at the time what it was, so I was not very invested in the story. However, it does being a sense of nostalgia and I think this medium really suits “Ghost of Keelung”.
Today, less and less people listen to the radio, but taxi drivers, and my own grandfather still listens to it on the car. I’m sure culturally it will evoke a sense of nostalgia for the culture and the time as it was one of the primary methods of mass communication at the time this story is taking place.
During our meetings, we’ve talked about retaining elements of the radio play and the emphasis of sound in our production but we’re not entirely keeping to the radio play concept. We have the idea of using shadows and there will also be some simple blocking… Audiences will have to watch the performance to find out what it ends up being!
How has the pandemic and the past three years impacted you all as creatives?
Jamie, Writer: Easily the biggest change for me was the loss of live theater. My 2019 was entirely too busy — I'd sort of said yes to every project that came my way. Obviously I wasn't happy that the reason for my stepping away from theater was a very scary and isolating global pandemic, but I think the break allowed me to reassess my values and goals as a creative performer and producer.
These days, I want to be telling stories that center BIPOC characters or at the very least don't treat them like an afterthought. One of my pandemic projects was directing a virtual staging of Jasmine Sharma's Radial Gradient, a play featuring 3 women of color. (Shoutout to Samuel-Lancaster Productions for entrusting me with the project!) Before, I was just happy to be on stage. Now, I really want the theater I make — as an actor, director, organizer, and of course writer — to embrace and champion the BIPOC community. And I'm so thrilled we get to do it in front of in-person live audiences again!
Carey, Dramaturg: Personally, I’ve been hit pretty hard by the sudden lockdown and quarantine restrictions caused by the pandemic. Despite my best efforts to continue creating or leaning into the arts as a form of therapy, it was incredibly difficult and I found myself avoiding it instead. It’s been harder than ever to dance or create because my instinct was to suppress it all and hide.
Right now, from time to time, I still find myself avoiding the arts simply because the emotions from creating or experiencing can feel so overwhelming after I’ve distanced myself from it for so long. Lately, however, thanks to the work I’ve been doing and some new people I’ve met, I have rediscovered my passion and creativity.
Creativity truly thrives when people come together to work on things together. Working with AATAB and the team behind Ghost of Keelung has been a truly remarkable and meaningful experience. It’s helped me stay connected to the community I thought I had lost due to moving away, and it’s only inspired me to continue pursuing the arts by whatever means necessary.
What do you hope audience members will leave the performance feeling or thinking?
Jamie, Writer: I hope that our bilingual audiences feel represented, but that our audiences who may only understand half the dialogue can still understand the story. It is an old, familiar story at heart, but I hope they still find something new in it that resonates in 2022. In a story that deals with an unexpected pregnancy, somehow 2022 can feel as fraught as 1956 — protect abortion rights.
Carey, Dramaturg: What we see in the media is oftentimes an oversimplification of reality. With all that’s going on in the world today, there’s a lot of talk in the U.S. about Taiwan’s political value. After seeing Ghost of Keelung, I hope audiences will learn a little more about Taiwan’s culture and identity, as well as the complex relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan, and leave feeling like they want to learn more.
The world premiere of “Found in Translation: The Ghost of Keelung” will take place on Saturday, June 25th from 6 PM - 7 PM at The Greenway’s YEAR OF THE TIGER installation by Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong at Mary Soo Hoo Park (by Chinatown Gate).