Saturday, March 14, 2009

SWAN Day 2009

SWAN Day is being celebrated all over the world in two weeks on Saturday March 29, 2009.  It is an international holiday to fete and support women artists through a multitude of events including, readings, performances, panels, workshops, fundraisers, anything, really, that the host dreams up.  Last year, for the inaugural SWAN Day, there were 160 events/house parties in 11 countries.  The SWAN site helps you to plan, post, advertise and manage your event, and also check out events happening in your city, country and the rest of the world.

The swans you see above were made by Lucy Zhou Cuan Qing, an artist who makes such sculptures out of disposed materials, anything from plastic bleach containers to nylon stockings to styrofoamy apple protectors.  She will be one of 6 artists  SWAN Day Shanghai, that I'm hosting from 13:00-17:00 at the Downstream Performance Space in the Xuhui district.  After the artists talk about their work, I will facilitate a writing workshop for both Chinese and English writers.  And then us gaggle of gals will swan our way into the Shanghai night and continue celebrating.

Check out the International SWAN Day events, happening on 5 continents, from Argentina to Berlin, from Quebec to Kenya.  Also, for you Usians, you can see where the U.S. SWAN Day celebrations are happening in your city--participate or host an event of your own.  Think of all the women artists you love, whose work you support, and set aside March 28 to gather, toast, fete, and enjoy.  

I mean really, how often do you get a holiday where the only gift you have to give is good feeling and appreciation, and where a woman can be seen beyond being a mother, love object, or the cooker for the feast?  Good reason to celebrate.  Women artists are so neglected and pushed into the margins that one day of good international vibration will be an uplifting miracle and something to do besides mope about the economy.   

And now that more people have been pushed into the margins, what is there to lose in appreciating the strength and resilience of women who, despite all the pressures of the patriarchy, listen, follow and create their own voice?  Now that the good ole boys have run the machinery into the ground, one day to listen to the gals express may yield valuable content, at least nurse back a trust for truth and alternate ideas.

Happy Swan Day!

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posted by Alice Tuan at 3:33 AM 2 Comments

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Ah-Bu, a short play


A road.

tap tap tap tap tap tap tap

AH-BU is typing on a keyboard. On the side of a road. There is no monitor, no terminal connected to the keyboard. He is just typing.

A bike rides by him, ding ding ding.
Ah-Bu continues to type.
A motorbike putters by, beep beep.
Ah-Bu tap tap tap tap taps.
A three-wheeler passes, emitting lotsa exhaust.
Tap tap cough cough tap tap tap.
A car whizzes by, splashes.
Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.
A bus lumbers by, intensely honking as if Ah-bu were in great danger. He isn't. It obnoxiously continues on.
Ah-Bu stops for a moment, thinks, finds the word and then tap tap tap tap tap tap taps.

Two girls, MAY and JUNE, slowly stroll by.

May:  What will I do?  I love one...
June: AND you love the other.
May:  It's not true.
June:  Yes, it certainly is.
May:  No, it certainly isn't.
June:  May--
May: I never told you, June.
June: But I can tell, May.
May:  I've done nothing different.
(tap tap tap tap tap tap tap)
June:  O!  (in Chinese) What kind of shoe horn face is this?
(tap tap tap.
Ah-Bu stops.
He stands.
He bows to the girls.
June laughs at him.
He sits back down.
tap tap tap.)
June:  What a moron!
May:  June, be nice.
June:  Look at him, typing idiotically, just sitting there, mindlessly, like a retard. What a waste of a life.
May:  He seems to be quite concentrated on his task.
June:  What task?  He's sitting, on the side of the road, typing on a keyboard, not even connected to anything, not a monitor, not a terminal...does he expect his words to just show up somewhere?  Just, just print out on some random page, all the thoughts he's so uselessly concentrated on, all the fruits of his 'task' just...just...appear? 
May:  He's free.
June:  You know what the definition of insane is?  It's repeating the same action over and over again, expecting different results.
May:  Well maybe he doesn't expect any different results.
June: You must be insane to even empathize.
May: It's not always what you think.
June: May, I know you like the back of my hand--I know you even better than I know myself!
May: Well that isn't exactly saying much.
June:  I've been watching you, listening to you, about the one you love and the other one, too.
May:  You've been listening, but do you hear? There is no other one.
June:  I know there is.
May:   How can you be so sure?
June:  I...
May:   You what?
June:  You...
May:   I what?
June:  You left your e-mail message open...
May:  And you...
June:  You left it open!
May:  You read it?
June:  You left it open for all the world to see.
May:  And so...
June:  Ah-Bu
May:  What about him?
(Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.)
June:  He doesn't hold back.
(Tap tap tap.)
May:  OK, June.
June:  There is another.
May:  There is.
June:  C'mon, let's walk...
(Tap tap tap...tap tap tap),
June:  ...get away from this moron.
(May does not move.)
June:  Let's go!
May:  No.
June:  Well I don't want to stay here.
May:  You go ahead, then.
June:  What is wrong with you May?
May:  It's Ah-Bu.
(Ah-Bu stops typing.
Ah-Bu puts the keyboard aside.
Ah-But stands and bows to May.)
May:  We married.

Lights out.

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posted by Alice Tuan at 6:42 PM 0 Comments