A Chinese Theatergoer in Connecticut

by+He+Yi

I collected theater posters during my stay in the United States， when I often attended plays at Yale. The posters whisk me back to the days I was stunned by the impressive theatrical performances.

During the five years I worked on a PhD at Yale， I was overjoyed with the abundance of theatergoing opportunities. On weekdays， I counted down the days until the weekend when I had time to enjoy a play and acquire more posters and ticket stubs. In five years， I enjoyed about 100 plays – the posters Im sharing here are only the tip of the iceberg.

Yale takes pride in its outstanding theater program and worldrenowned School of Drama which offer a steady stream of alluring performances. But my favorite company was the classical Yale Repertory Theatre on Chapel Street that offers season tickets to its six shows a year at a surprisingly low price for students： US$60. I will never forget locating my seat and finding a beautiful box of black chocolates with a card： “Thank you for being with us！”

Theaters in and around Newhaven also produce numerous plays annually. The plays， usually dramas and musicals， are often performed by students from the Yale Drama， but are enjoyed in small theaters， some even serving dinner. Now and then， the School of Drama presents a concert and opera as well as new plays from the theaters adjacent to Yale. Every summer when students headed home， I got to stay around and enjoy the Carlotta Festival of New Plays， named after the widow of Eugene ONeil.

Of the productions that most impressed me， some did so with the script， and others with the set. One summer night， Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing was staged in the open air of a park， like a picnic on the lawn. “Am I daydreaming？” I wondered.

One of my favorite productions of all time is Salome by Oscar Wilde， a distinguished 19th-Century Irish writer. I was amazed by the set： a Gothic church with tall arches where young actors danced the Seven Veils.

The first play I enjoyed in the Repertory Theatre was Eurydice， an ancient Greek story adapted to a modern background. Interestingly， the chorus of ancient Greece remained unchanged. That stage design was also very impressive： azure mosaic bathroom tiles， non-stop rain， and an elevator to the underworld.

Another show， The Happy Prince， staged at a theater near Yale University， remains fresh in my mind. A silk curtain was hung behind the players. The sound design was particularly fascinating thanks to various odd musical instruments， some like chandeliers and others like bottles of water.

Orlando by British writer Gillian Wolfe is another of my favorites： The title character lives a legendary life across centuries， eventually transforming from a handsome young man into a woman.

Another of my favorites is Icarus by Edwin Sanchez. The name derives from an ancient Greek myth but the play recounts stories of a group of eccentrics who obsessively chase empty dreams. After fooling themselves， they eventually climb a tall ladder and disappear in the ocean in the distance， like juveniles falling from the sky in the Greek myth.

When the lights dimmed in the theaters， I was always reminded of my days at Peking University when I often attended the theater with classmates from the school drama club. The primary difference is that I saw fewer plays on campus and mostly trekked to far-off venues like Beijing Peoples Art Theater， a state-class theater. I cant recall how many plays I saw there， but after the lights went down， the tunnel of light breaking the darkness to afford passage into another world always stays fresh in my mind.

Afterwards， we headed home on the night bus and drifted down the dark streets of Beijing， our souls heartily stirred. We chatted forever as if we were traveling into infinity.

During my stay at Yale， I attended the theater alone most of the time. I didnt have to buzz around the whole city. The theater is located right on campus. When the curtain fell， the lights were on， seeing various fictional characters stepping into the breach as others fell， hastening to their destiny. They exist only on stage， yet shine forever in my heart.