Naomi Chung
School of Theatre and entertainment Arts Graduate (1990)
Head of Xiqu, Performing Arts, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
I remember it was the last semester of my studies. A Japanese drama troupe came to perform in the Hong Kong Arts Festival. I was among one of the students assigned to undertake production works in the Paint Shop. The lighting designer of the troupe asked us to produce more than 120 pieces of gobo with the same pattern. Instantly, we, as supporting lighting crew, were startled because normally, only about 30 pieces would be needed in a show, or for a large-scale performance at most 50 to 60, which is already a huge number. Therefore, we all had doubts as to what kind of effects such an unusual arrangement could achieve. Cutting more than a hundred pieces of gobo was tough and we kept hurting our fingers until we finally completed the task with great effort.
Surprisingly, as the performance began, we saw how the little props we made help to produce the special effects under the stage lights and it was beyond our imagination. The scenes created were really marvellous and we were deeply moved. This incident is still memorable to me. It has taught me that despite the doubts about our work, we can benefit massively if we are willing to open up and learn humbly from the process. This has become an incident that constantly reminds me to first respect new thoughts, and then verify ideas with experience. It was a small but memorable gift from the Academy.