Encounter with Theatre

Shengang Township is a rural area on Taiwan's central coast, where cultural resources are relatively limited. Even so, more than 20 years ago a local woman who loved theatre—Director Kuo, Yueh-mei (nickname: "Kuozi")—founded Pingpengcao Children's Theatre Troupe, the only children's theatre troupe in Changhua County. Today, it is still one of the county's few and most well-known modern theatre troupes.

Kuozi used to work at a radio station and was a senior reporter for many years. To focus on running the theatre troupe, she chose to retire early and devoted her life to the stage.

The Beginning of Her Dream

From high school on, Kuozi fell in love with theatre and movies. But at that time, there was very little information about performing arts in central and southern Taiwan. Martial law had only recently ended, so news about theatre was limited and often appeared only in small newspaper culture sections. She followed theatre news by collecting and clipping these articles. Through those writings, she also discovered essays by the theatre master Geng, Yi-wei, which planted a deep love for theatre in her heart.

When she was young, distance and money made it hard for her to travel north to big cities to watch plays. One time, Lee, Kuo-hsiu's famous play Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land toured to Fengyuan, Taichung (also in central Taiwan). She even quietly followed a worker who was delivering lunchboxes into the theatre, so she could finally see her first show.

That night, she was completely absorbed. During the break, when she went to the restroom, she unexpectedly heard Chin, Shih-chieh rehearsing—his singing was beautiful and moving. It shocked her in the best way and made her even more sure that she truly loved theatre. Later, when the National Institute of the Arts held entrance exams, she applied with great excitement. She didn't get in, but her dream never faded.