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A Long Dream
In 1999， when he visited Bodh Gaya， a sacred Buddhist site in India， Taiwanese playwright and stage director Stan Lai was impressed by pious pilgrims paying homage by circling a pagoda. He was so inspired by the scene that he fell in love with the idea of building a loop-shaped stage allowing the audience to sit in the center while actors perform all around them.
The idea became reality with Lai’s 8-hour epic A Dream Like a Dream， which gives spectators a panoramic view of the play from rotating chairs in the center of a loop-shaped stage. Thirteen years after its premiere at Taipei University of the Arts， the play finally arrived at Beijing’s Poly Theater on April 1， 2013.
In 1990， while in Rome， Lai was moved by a painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder depicting paintings on the wall， ground， and in people’s hands. Inspired by the concept of “paintings in a painting，” Lai quickly scribbled the note： “What if a person in a story has a dream， which becomes another story？”
The line later became the prologue of the play A Dream Like a Dream， a story about death， relief， and redemption. On his first day of work， a medical intern panics when four of five patients under his care die. He calls his cousin， who is drifting through India， to ask for her help. She suggests he listen to the remaining patient’s story. The play’s central plotline is actually the life of the fifth patient， a French diplomat at the turn of the 20th Century， and his romance with a Shanghai woman.
The play’s most prominent theme is death. Lai himself explains that death is a concept reflecting the equality of all living creatures. Before A Dream Like a Dream， he seldom incorporated his understanding of Buddhism into his work for fear of being misread by others. However， this play attempts to motivate the audience to naturally meditate on the meaning of death.
Of course， it isn’t easy to create a dreamlike play that will be enjoyed by a thousand spectators at once. A Dream Like a Dream requires bold innovation in theat- rical expression. When the play moved to Poly Theater， it took a month just to build the loop-shaped stage. The special stage requires Lai’s team to spend at least a week renovating the theater， and another week to restore it after a two-week run. For this reason， each theater earns very little from the play. However， Lai never had intentions of creating a “luxurious spiritual feast，” but wanted to place performers as close to the spectators as possible – when they breathe the same air， the artistic language of the play speaks more naturally. Inward Adventures
Lai was born in Washington， D.C. in 1954. His grandfather， Tu Hengsong， was a diplomat with the Kuomintang government， and his father， Lai Jiaqiu， was also a noted diplomat. Born into such a situation， Lai was exposed to the extensive influence of diverse cultures. After receiving education in the United States， Lai returned to Taiwan to start his career. His life experience bestowed him a spirit of inclusiveness and adventure.
After so many years of living in the West， Lai became even thirstier for traditional Chinese culture. In 1985， soon after graduating from college， Lai staged his first play， That Evening， We Performed Xiangsheng， in Taiwan， a place known at the time as a “desert of drama.” The play inspired many Taiwanese people to rethink the dying folk art of xiangsheng （crosstalk）. Another play， Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land， contrasted images of cruel wartime with a peaceful dreamlike seclusion known as Peach Blossom Land.
Lai’s plays feature three indispensable elements： the Buddhist doctrine of uncertainty， eventful periods of history， and enlightenment of the real world. A Dream Like a Dream is no exception， alluding to the Buddhist concept of eternal liberation through a setting based in 1930s Shanghai and Paris. Even so， the play still embodies its author’s gradual change.
Along with his Buddhist practice， Lai enjoys a variety of simple hobbies such as playing basketball， storytelling， and writ-ing. Despite his rise to fame， his interests never changed. However， one thing is different： His overwhelming ambition has waned in recent years. “I once thought of life as a process of external pursuits in knowledge， career， and creation，” Lai explained in an interview. “But now I realize the so-called ‘Peace Blossom Land’ to which I had been looking is still an external concept no matter how beautiful it may be. Real joy comes from every moment you cherish and appreciate.”
After so much stage success， Lai did make a few attempts in film， but his work performed disappointingly at the box office. His only non-fiction work is a book titled Creative Learning， which argues that creativity， which he sees as a process of internally understanding the universe and mankind， is trainable. He has never stopped exploring realms of drama， and continues expanding the reach of his plays. All the while， he continues tightening his inward adventures to weave more peaceful dreams.
Bio With lineage from the Hakka ethnic group， Stan Lai was born in Washington， D.C. in 1954， but his ancestry can be traced to Huichang County in southern China’s Jiangxi Province. He received a Ph.D. in Dramatic Arts from University of California， Berkeley， and founded Performance Workshop， a contemporary theater group， in 1984. Due to his acclaimed achievements on the stage， he has been called “Asia’s top theatre director.”
The Village
From 1949 through the 1960s， postwar immigrants to Taiwan inhabited villages which were originally built as barracks for Kuomintang soldiers and their dependents retreating from the Chinese mainland. The villages ended up becoming “military dependents’ villages，” a unique type of community in Taiwan. The Village depicts the lives of four families across three generations in one such village， and traces the history of demographic amalgamation in Taiwan.
Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land
Two drama troupes mistakenly attempt to rehearse in the same theater at the same time： One troupe is working on the earlymodern tragedy Secret Love， and the other， The Peach Blossom Land， a comedy based on a classical poem. The stakes are high because both plays are scheduled to open soon. Since they have only one space for rehearsals， quarrel and conflict follows. Eventually， they rehearse together， creating a unique mix of tradition and modernity， sorrow and delight. Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land has been dubbed the “most successful play in the repertoire of Performance Workshop.”
That Evening， We Performed Xiangsheng
In Huadu Nightclub， two DJs announce that two xiangsheng masters will perform at the club after a long absence. When the masters don’t show， the two DJs are forced to disguise themselves as the masters. Time flashes back to days when xiangsheng was at its pinnacle. Five crosstalk shows are performed， all related to themes of “loss”： loss of tradition， loss of culture， loss of memory…Since its premiere， the play has proved tremendously popular in Taiwan.
In 1999， when he visited Bodh Gaya， a sacred Buddhist site in India， Taiwanese playwright and stage director Stan Lai was impressed by pious pilgrims paying homage by circling a pagoda. He was so inspired by the scene that he fell in love with the idea of building a loop-shaped stage allowing the audience to sit in the center while actors perform all around them.
The idea became reality with Lai’s 8-hour epic A Dream Like a Dream， which gives spectators a panoramic view of the play from rotating chairs in the center of a loop-shaped stage. Thirteen years after its premiere at Taipei University of the Arts， the play finally arrived at Beijing’s Poly Theater on April 1， 2013.
In 1990， while in Rome， Lai was moved by a painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder depicting paintings on the wall， ground， and in people’s hands. Inspired by the concept of “paintings in a painting，” Lai quickly scribbled the note： “What if a person in a story has a dream， which becomes another story？”
The line later became the prologue of the play A Dream Like a Dream， a story about death， relief， and redemption. On his first day of work， a medical intern panics when four of five patients under his care die. He calls his cousin， who is drifting through India， to ask for her help. She suggests he listen to the remaining patient’s story. The play’s central plotline is actually the life of the fifth patient， a French diplomat at the turn of the 20th Century， and his romance with a Shanghai woman.
The play’s most prominent theme is death. Lai himself explains that death is a concept reflecting the equality of all living creatures. Before A Dream Like a Dream， he seldom incorporated his understanding of Buddhism into his work for fear of being misread by others. However， this play attempts to motivate the audience to naturally meditate on the meaning of death.
Of course， it isn’t easy to create a dreamlike play that will be enjoyed by a thousand spectators at once. A Dream Like a Dream requires bold innovation in theat- rical expression. When the play moved to Poly Theater， it took a month just to build the loop-shaped stage. The special stage requires Lai’s team to spend at least a week renovating the theater， and another week to restore it after a two-week run. For this reason， each theater earns very little from the play. However， Lai never had intentions of creating a “luxurious spiritual feast，” but wanted to place performers as close to the spectators as possible – when they breathe the same air， the artistic language of the play speaks more naturally. Inward Adventures
Lai was born in Washington， D.C. in 1954. His grandfather， Tu Hengsong， was a diplomat with the Kuomintang government， and his father， Lai Jiaqiu， was also a noted diplomat. Born into such a situation， Lai was exposed to the extensive influence of diverse cultures. After receiving education in the United States， Lai returned to Taiwan to start his career. His life experience bestowed him a spirit of inclusiveness and adventure.
After so many years of living in the West， Lai became even thirstier for traditional Chinese culture. In 1985， soon after graduating from college， Lai staged his first play， That Evening， We Performed Xiangsheng， in Taiwan， a place known at the time as a “desert of drama.” The play inspired many Taiwanese people to rethink the dying folk art of xiangsheng （crosstalk）. Another play， Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land， contrasted images of cruel wartime with a peaceful dreamlike seclusion known as Peach Blossom Land.
Lai’s plays feature three indispensable elements： the Buddhist doctrine of uncertainty， eventful periods of history， and enlightenment of the real world. A Dream Like a Dream is no exception， alluding to the Buddhist concept of eternal liberation through a setting based in 1930s Shanghai and Paris. Even so， the play still embodies its author’s gradual change.
Along with his Buddhist practice， Lai enjoys a variety of simple hobbies such as playing basketball， storytelling， and writ-ing. Despite his rise to fame， his interests never changed. However， one thing is different： His overwhelming ambition has waned in recent years. “I once thought of life as a process of external pursuits in knowledge， career， and creation，” Lai explained in an interview. “But now I realize the so-called ‘Peace Blossom Land’ to which I had been looking is still an external concept no matter how beautiful it may be. Real joy comes from every moment you cherish and appreciate.”
After so much stage success， Lai did make a few attempts in film， but his work performed disappointingly at the box office. His only non-fiction work is a book titled Creative Learning， which argues that creativity， which he sees as a process of internally understanding the universe and mankind， is trainable. He has never stopped exploring realms of drama， and continues expanding the reach of his plays. All the while， he continues tightening his inward adventures to weave more peaceful dreams.
Bio With lineage from the Hakka ethnic group， Stan Lai was born in Washington， D.C. in 1954， but his ancestry can be traced to Huichang County in southern China’s Jiangxi Province. He received a Ph.D. in Dramatic Arts from University of California， Berkeley， and founded Performance Workshop， a contemporary theater group， in 1984. Due to his acclaimed achievements on the stage， he has been called “Asia’s top theatre director.”
The Village
From 1949 through the 1960s， postwar immigrants to Taiwan inhabited villages which were originally built as barracks for Kuomintang soldiers and their dependents retreating from the Chinese mainland. The villages ended up becoming “military dependents’ villages，” a unique type of community in Taiwan. The Village depicts the lives of four families across three generations in one such village， and traces the history of demographic amalgamation in Taiwan.
Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land
Two drama troupes mistakenly attempt to rehearse in the same theater at the same time： One troupe is working on the earlymodern tragedy Secret Love， and the other， The Peach Blossom Land， a comedy based on a classical poem. The stakes are high because both plays are scheduled to open soon. Since they have only one space for rehearsals， quarrel and conflict follows. Eventually， they rehearse together， creating a unique mix of tradition and modernity， sorrow and delight. Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land has been dubbed the “most successful play in the repertoire of Performance Workshop.”
That Evening， We Performed Xiangsheng
In Huadu Nightclub， two DJs announce that two xiangsheng masters will perform at the club after a long absence. When the masters don’t show， the two DJs are forced to disguise themselves as the masters. Time flashes back to days when xiangsheng was at its pinnacle. Five crosstalk shows are performed， all related to themes of “loss”： loss of tradition， loss of culture， loss of memory…Since its premiere， the play has proved tremendously popular in Taiwan.