顽皮猴子戏剧社:用喜剧架起沟通的桥梁

Life in a foreign culture can be exciting， but it can often lead to misunderstanding due to the differences in language and culture. That contributes to widen the gap between local and foreign communities. And breaking down these barriers and bridging the divide is not an easy task.

One theater production company in Beijing --- Cheeky Monkey Theater （CMT） --- is trying to use humor and laughter to dissolve the cultural barriers that stand between people. “We want to use laughter and beauty to communicate ideas and push people outside of their cozy boxes of assumptions，” Elyse Ribbons， the founder and the chief producer of the CMT said.

For Elyse， it is a natural choice to use theater and improv performances to bridge the culture divide. “I'd have to just refer to the Chinese concept of "yuanfen" as its a very powerful feeling， of being on stage or seeing your work on stage and communicating directly with an audience.” She explained.

外国的生活方式听上去总是充满新鲜刺激，但由于语言和文化的差异，人们很容易对其产生误解。这使本土和外来文化间的沟通更加困难。想打破障碍、促进沟通绝非易事。

“顽皮猴子戏剧社（CMT）”，一个来自北京的戏剧出品公司，力图通过幽默搞笑的方式化解不同文化间沟通交流的障碍。该剧社的创始人和总监制柳素英说：“我们想用搞笑的方式给大家做出示范，进行思想交流，使人们对外国文化的认识不再局限于他们自己的想象”。

柳素英觉得，通过话剧和表演的形式进行文化沟通是她自然而然的选择。“我想借鉴一下中国‘缘分’的概念，因为这是一种很强烈的感觉，无论是自己在舞台上表演还是看见自己的作品在舞台上呈现，都是直接与观众进行沟通。”

Cheeky Monkey Theater

美好未来靠“坚持”

The journey of CMT all began in 2006.

After participating in a small play at the People's Arts Theater in the Summer of 2006， Elyse took a couple months and wrote the play "I Heart Beijing". “I was bitten by the theater bug yet again after the show. I've been a student of theater arts since I was a child， and have always loved the feeling of a stage.” She laughed. At that time， Elyse was working at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing as a web administrator. The show was produced by her and her friends at the HART Centre for the Arts in 798 in November 2006.

顽皮猴子话剧社成立于2006年。

2006年夏天，柳素英参与了一个人民艺术剧院的小剧场话剧演出。演出结束后，她花了几个月的时间创作话剧“我爱北京”。“我觉得我被话剧的魅力深深吸引住了。我自幼开始学习剧场艺术，一直对舞台十分向往。”她笑道。那时，柳素英还是美国驻北京大使馆的一名网站管理员。2006年11月，在她和朋友的共同努力下，她的第一部话剧终于在大山子798艺术中心上演。

The play focuses on the lives of a group of Americans and locals， and on what foreigners love and hate about Beijing. “I Heart Beijing” has all ingredients of a successful entertainment comedy： intrigue， chinglish puns， flirtation， hot asian chicks， cute ABCs multi-lingual pick-up lines， insults， typical laowai men， sex clown， and， most importantly， plenty of humor.

Tickets were sold out for all three nights and the play received rave reviews. Owning to the success of “I heart Beijing”， Elyse quitted her job at the embassy and established her own theater company， CMT. The following summer she produced a second run of "I Heart Beijing" and went on to produce a series of well- received plays like Kung Pao Shakespeare， Green Eyes on Chinese， Lethal English and Iron Brothers through the CMT.

该剧关注的是一群美国人和中国人在北京的生活，讲述了外国人对北京的喜恶。“我爱北京”汇集了成功喜剧所需的所有元素：引人入胜的情节、中式英语的双关语、、亚洲美女、美籍华裔特有的搭讪开场白、嬉笑怒骂、典型的外国男人、以及大量其他的幽默元素。

三天的演出，其门票皆被出售一空，反响极高。“我爱北京”的成功使柳素英决定辞掉在使馆的工作，开始创立其自己的话剧公司“顽皮猴子”。2007年夏天，她推出了“我爱北京”第二轮演出以及“宫保莎士比亚”、“绿眼睛识黑汉字”、“风险英语”和“铁哥们儿”等等其他一系列大受欢迎的话剧。

Breaking the Cultural Barriers

打破文化障碍

All plays， both dramatic productions and improv performances， produced by the CMT are never bored or short of humor， always intending to break down stereotypes. “We want to get audiences to laugh， while learn something，” as Theodore Ribbons， the Associate Producer of the CMT， said， “and jokes are such an entertaining in nature， people don’t even notice they are learning anything.”

As most of the audiences are Chinese， the theater usually performs in Chinese， rarely in English. But Chinglish， a fusion of English and Chinese， always comes in to add more fun to the play. “We use Chinglish all the time， because it is a fusion， there is a lot of fun of these little words and audiences know them. If they don’t， they hear it， they love it，” Theodore said. By that， Chinese and foreign audiences can break the cultural wall and laugh together.

顽皮猴子剧社所有的话剧表演都非常幽默，从不会让人觉得无聊。这些表演旨在打破模式化的观念。正如剧社助理制片人柳泰迪所说，“我们希望逗观众笑，但这个过程中他们也会有所收获。但是观众本身不会察觉这一学习过程，因为开玩笑的过程非常放松”。

因为大多数的观众是中国人，所以演出通常会使用中文，偶尔也会使用英语。“中式英语”，一种将中英文融合的语言，总是能为话剧增添更多喜剧色彩。“我们一直使用中式英语，因为它是融合的产物，一些小的词汇也可以很搞笑，而且观众知道这些词。如果他们之前不知道，他们听到了也会喜欢的”，柳泰迪告诉我们。通过这种方式，中外观众就可以打破文化的隔阂，一同欢笑。

Due to the bilingual nature of the plays， the CMT employs a mix of local and international actors， and constantly encourages and forces actors to interact with other actors. “This is strictly a stage theater. As a stage actor， the first thing you have to learn how to interact with other actor， before you can interact with the audience. ” Theodore said. Therefore， actors from all over the world and from a variety of acting traditions can learn something new.

The improv is the main focus of CMT. As the improv drops down to the very basic level， it can lower the audience’s cultural safeguard and walk pass all those cultural differences. It can bridge the gap between people and open audience up， so that cross-culture exchange can be promoted.

“The improv bridges the gap between people， not the culture. At the moment， you bridge the gap between people， once we realized that we are just the same. When they look at and hear about something about other cultures， they won’t think from their perspectives，” Theodore explained. “People are still people despite doing thing differently. They have seen it， they can’t say it is wrong. It breaks the cultural barrier， May be it is a little bit but because of that crack， the cultural wall will eventually fall down.”

由于话剧的双语性，剧社的员工来自世界各地。而且，剧社一直鼓励演员们进行交流。柳泰迪说：“这是一个严格的舞台剧场。作为一个舞台剧演员，最重要的事情就是要知道如何与其他演员进行互动，这样才能与观众进行互动”。因此，来自世界各地演员不同的演出习惯可以使他们相互学习、开拓眼界。

顽皮猴子剧社很重视即兴表演。因为即兴表演通常是从最基本的层面做起，它可以使观众放松对其他文化的戒心，接受文化间的差异。它可以帮助人与人间进行沟通，使观众对文化保持较为开发的态度，从而推动跨文化交流。

柳泰迪告诉我们：“即兴表演沟通的是人，而不是文化。在演出中，你会使人们意识到他们原来是一样的。当他们看到或听到来自其他文化的事情，他们不会用老眼光去判断。人与人之间本是相通的，只是做事情的方式不同。他们亲眼看到过这样的现象，他们就不能否认它。即兴表演可以打破文化障碍。也许这个过程需要一定时间，但阻隔文化交流的高墙终会被打破。”

Difficulties the Cheeky Monkey Theater Facing

顽皮猴子戏剧社面临的困难

When the CMT produces a show in China， the CMT faces many difficulties. For producers at the CMT， one of difficulties is not allowed to talk about politics.

“If you look at other famous improv troupes in America， one of the things that they always talk about is the thing that touches people daily live. One of them is politics. For instance， in the US， we constantly insult our officials. We don’t care. But we can’t do it in China. We cannot even touch it. It is kind of frustrated because it is big part of people live whether they like it or not.”

“The whole censorship process is a big pain for the CMT production. Previously with my show "Green Eyes on Chinese" I had a whole bunch of stuff cut from the script， which is frustrating and emotionally not pleasant to deal with.” Elyse added.

Given the sensitive nature of politic in China， a lot of good materials for making jokes are being stripped away. The CMT has to switch the topic to other issues in people’s daily life， for instance， like people cooking jianbings （Chinese Pancake） on the street. But it makes harder for the playwright to create good jokes.

Adding to that stress， nowadays audiences are much more easily distracted and more difficult to keep them entertained. “Before the invention of self phone， audiences are much more stationary. They are much more willing to wait. But with the self phone and the internet， it is much harder to keep them， they are distracted easily. So as an actor， producer and entertainer， we really need to find a way to keep them on the toss. If not， they are gone to check weixin or something.”

顽皮猴子剧社在中国表演时面临着许多困难。对制片人来说，困难之一就是戏剧中不允许谈论政治。

“如果你看看美国其他著名的即兴表演团体，他们总在谈论的事情就有关乎们每天生活里接触的东西。其中之一就是政治。例如，在美国我们可以不断地取笑我们的官员。我们一点儿也不怕。但是在中国我们不能这样。我们甚至不能触及这方面的东西，这实在令人沮丧，因为它是人们生活里重要的组成部分，不管他们喜欢还是不喜欢。”

“整个审查过程对顽皮猴子剧社制作来说十分痛苦。以前我的演出《绿眼睛识黑汉字》有一大堆东西要从脚本中切掉，这相当令人沮丧、不愉快。”柳素英补充说道。

鉴于政治话题在中国具有敏感性质，很多可以开玩笑的好材料被剔除了。顽皮猴子剧社只能切换主题，谈论人们的日常生活，例如在大街上摊煎饼的人们。但这使剧作家更难创造好的笑话。

除了这些压力外，如今的观众更容易分心，更难让他们尽兴。“在电话发明之前，观众更固定、他们更愿意等待。但随着电话和互联网的兴起，更难留住观众，他们很容易分心。所以作为一个演员、制片人及艺人，我们真的需要找到一种方法，让不安的他们静下心来。如果不这样，他们就会分心去玩微信或其他东西。”

Places for performance are another major problem for the CMT， as the rent in Beijing has raised a lot since 2005. “The rent of theater space in Beijing is skyrocketed” Theodore commented. To cover the cost， the CMT needs to charge audiences more for watching the play. But from the audience’s perspective， it doesn’t make sense to play 200 kuai to watch a show. Therefore， instead of having a bigger venue or a better stage， the CMT does the improv shows in bars like D22. So Instead of paying 200 kuai for the show， audiences pay the ticket and get a free drink for 50 kuai.

And unlike most other international cultural capitals like New York and London， Beijing doesn't have a central cultural district. It makes harder to get audiences out to see the show. “They've tried to make one up in Haidian， there's the disney-fied hutongs over near Houhai， but not really a West End or Broadway，” Elyse said.

找地方表演是顽皮猴子剧社面临的另一个主要问题，自2005年以来，北京的租金已经涨了很多。“北京剧场的租金暴涨”，西奥多说道。要支付相关成本，顽皮猴子剧社需要向观众收取更高的观剧费用。但是，从观众的角度来看，花200块钱来看一出剧不值得。因此，顽皮猴子剧社只能在D22酒吧之类的地方演出，而不是寻找更大的场地或更好的舞台。相对于付200块看一场剧来说，观众只需支付50块门票，就可以看剧并得到一杯免费的饮料。

不像纽约和伦敦等大多数其他国际文化首都，北京没有中央文化区。要让观众来看表演十分困难。“他们试图在海淀区建一个这样的文化区，那里的后海附近有迪斯尼式的胡同，但不是真正意义上的伦敦西区或百老汇。”柳素英说道。

And maybe it is hard to believe， but the production theater as famous as the CMT also has difficult to get actors in place. All actors in the troupe are having a day job， as they don’t receive monthly holding wage from the performance. So the CMT has to move the schedule time around their schelude. Even worse， in China， working over time is a common phenomenon， so actors may not be able to show up on the scheduled time. “It is really frustrated from my perspective.” Theodore said.

For foreign actors， the situation is no better either. Although foreign actors are allowed to perform on stage after the government approval， the paper work procedure takes a long time. “It takes significantly longer for a foreign actor or director to be approved by the ministry to be on the stage，” Elyse frustratedly said.

The traffic in Beijing is the biggest frustration for both actors and audiences. Rush hours seems never end in Beijing. Cars can be easily stuck in the traffic for hours. They may miss the show because of the traffic jam. “Well， shows start at 7：30pm. Who can get away from the office and over to the theater and get dinner on the way on time？ Nobody，” Elyse stressed. “It’s one of the pluses of Star Theatre， two subway stops right at its front door， but still， it’s not super convenient.”

也许很难相信，顽皮猴子剧社这样知名的剧社也很难让演员到位。剧团的所有演员在白天都有其他工作，因为他们没有从演出中获得工资。所以顽皮猴子剧社不得不根据演员的时间来改变演出安排。更糟的是，在中国加班是一种常见的现象，所以演员可能无法在预定的时间内表演。“从我的角度来看这真令人沮丧。”西奥多说。

对外国演员来说，情况也好不到哪儿去。虽然经过政府批准后，外国演员可以在舞台上表演，但文件审批过程需要很长的时间。“外国演员或导演经过相关部门批准后能在舞台上表演，这需要很长的时间。”柳素英沮丧地说道。

北京的交通最令演员和观众失望。高峰时间在北京似乎永远不会结束。汽车很容易因为交通阻塞而滞留数小时。他们可能因为堵车而错过了演出。“嗯，演出在晚上7：30开始，但几乎没有人可以从办公室离开后按时到达剧社、按时吃饭。”柳素英强调。“繁星戏剧村的好处之一是靠近两个地铁站，但仍然不是很方便。”

Learn the Chinese Culture through Mandarin

通过汉语，了解中国文化

Does Elyse， a long term Beijing resident and a fluent Mandarin speaker， has any suggestions for foreigners who try to understand Chinese culture better？ “First and foremost， they need to learn to speak Chinese. So much of Chinese culture is hidden away in the language. Obviously not everyone needs to gain total fluency， but for me the joy of China is to be found in conversation with Chinese people， friends and strangers alike.” She said.

“I can ask anyone on the side of the street what a certain character is and they will happily share with me，” she continued.

Elyse also suggested other foreigners to open up their hearts and try to appreciate the beauty of Chinese culture. “Sure， there are some things I dislike about Chinese culture， but I think many foreigners allow these dislikes to cloud their hearts， so that they don't have an opportunity to see the other wonders available. Kind of like the pollution in Beijing is sometimes so awfully disgusting that it can hide away how wonderful the city is in so very many ways，” Elyse smiled.

长期居住在北京的柳素英，能讲一口流利的普通话。提及对那些试图更好地了解中国文化的外国人有所建议？柳素英表示，“首先，他们需要学习讲中文。这么多中国文化都隐藏在汉语里。显然，不是每个人都需要讲得十分流利，但对我来说，与中国人、中国朋友和陌生人谈话就能从中体会到中国的乐趣。”

“我可以在大街上问任何一个人某个字是什么，他们会很乐意与我分享。”她继续道。

柳素英还建议其他外国人敞开心扉，尝试体会中国文化的美。“当然，中国文化的某些方面我并不喜欢，但我觉得很多外国人因为这方面的厌恶关闭心扉，使他们没有机会看到其它奇观。就像北京的污染让人觉得恶心，所以人们也看不到其他方面这个城市是多么美妙，”说及此处柳素英无奈的笑了。