Goodbye, Rui-Lien

Remembering someone who was so very close to you, by, playing the character that she was in life, to commemorate her in death, translated…

Being able to see Rui-Lien for the third time made me so ecstatic, I believe, that this, was a special opportunity made possible by God, after I’d gotten tested through the years, and until I’m as old as Rui-Lien when I’d met her, that I’d finally, gained the wisdoms that Rui-Lien had acquired. Especially when I just, could no longer perform anymore onstage………

The Character I’d Missed the Most

picture from the papers…

Back in 1988, I’d watched a play from the foreign writer, Luigi Pirandello, 1867~1936, the adapted play of “Six Characters, in Search of Their Creator”, it was about how six randomly created characters by an author got discarded and abandoned by the playwright, they’d come to the theatres, found the director and actors of the play they were originally written up for, and hoped, to persuade them, to let them live once in life.

This play had gotten me so shaken up, it’d also reminded me of all the characters I’d played onstage too, Mrs. Chen from “The Small Town Called Danshui”, Ko, in “Kiss Me, Nana”, Lilly Jia from “The Completed Happiness Manual”………and, all of these characters, after the shows are over, would they still be, drifting between the various theatres they were played in, waiting, to be, “reborn” again?

And I, who’d portrayed all these roles, who, do I hope, to get into the characters, of which of these roles I’d already, played?

not my photo…

Rui-Lien in “The Wrong Door Being Opened from a Wrong Door”, was the she I’d missed the most. Back in 1996, twenty years ago, was the very first time I’d gotten to known Rui-Lien, she was righteous, brave, calm, humorous, and warm, it’d attracted me to her deeply, as I’d played her on stage, I’d felt, like I was, illuminated.

The second time I’d played the roles in “The Wrong Door Being Opened from a Wrong Door”, I’d met up with Rui-Lien again. As I was rehearsing the scripts, I’d found, that how come, Rui-Lien’s lines were so familiar to me? Weren’t those words from my lips before? Turns out, that by the first time we’d interacted, she’d had, such a deep impact on me, and I, in reality, treated her as my role model too, but I know, that I won’t do her character justice at all, because I’m not as brave, sometimes, I’d not kept the calm, gotten agitated enough as I’d portrayed her onstage, the only thing I’d matched up with her was in humor, but sometimes, I’d hurt others, without even knowing that I had, telling the jokes when I wasn’t supposed to. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! How, I’d hoped, that Rui-Lien is right beside me, constantly, reminding me.

Being able to see her a third time, I was ecstatic, I believe, that this, was the chance that God had given me, but, after I’d gone through the years, when I’m her age, I’d finally, acquired the wisdom she had, especially, when I’m at a deadlock onstage, performing.

The Most Pressing Moment

In this play, I’d portrayed, the female lead, Rui-Lien, Tseng-Der Tsai played the hooker, Bobo, the story takes place in a hotel, something strange that happened: one day, as I checked into the hotel, was about to go to bed, I’d heard something from the living room, I’d gotten up, to check, and found that Bobo was there, by mistake, she’d excused herself saying, that she entered through the living room’s connecting door to the next room, plus something that’s really weird, I’d not believed her, asked the guards to take her away; after she’d gone, out of my curiosities, I’d entered into the room which she’d described like a door in time.

This play, used the same setting as the last one we did, but the times were two decades apart, the storyline was on how Bobo was being chased by assassins, and managed to find a hiding place in the doors of time. The actor who played the assassin was too into the play, as he was chasing Bobo, he’d banged hard on the originally wooden prop door, causing the door that should’ve been opened by simply pulling on it, to get stuck, and it just, wouldn’t get opened again.

Bobo, portrayed by the female actress, was originally supposed to enter through the door into the living room, but because the door won’t budge, as the light blinked on and off, she’d, crawled out, from a supposedly to be used as a wall piece—this small room on stage was set to have two walls, but for in order for the audience to see the goings on in the bedroom, parts of the wall aren’t filled, it’s just, that the actors and actresses needed to, see it as real—and so, Bobo is considered to have “broken through the walls”, but gladly, because the theatre was dimly lit, nobody caught that.

Okay, my turn to enter now, the lights shone so brightly, the door won’t budge, I couldn’t enter, and, so, the play was at a halt. And, after I’d tried it a couple of time, made sure, that it wouldn’t budge with me, pulling on it, I’d started using my lines, to hint at the director, that the door was broken, and at the same time, working my mind, trying, to figure out what I should do? I needed to, get in, no matter what!

Then, an inspiration flashed by, I’d, pushed that door which was supposed to be pulled, and, managed to get a crack open, and squeezed myself into it, and, I’d mumbled on, “Weir5d door, but I’d still needed to check what’s inside.”

And then, the play can finally, keep on going, without trouble, it’s just, that although I looked calm on stage, however, a ton of cells in my body were already, scared to death.

And so, you can believe, that the door won’t budge, because it was, this person’s friend, making it known to her, that she’s still there, or, you can attribute it to a simple equipment malfunction, either way, this woman commemorated her friend through portraying the role that her friend was in the play.