If I'm not mistaken, nowhere in the world is there an elevator as unique as the one at La Mama Experimental Theater Club: the entrance door is at the front, and the exit door is on the side.. However, what is even more distinctive is the nature of this club—its experimental and groundbreaking approach to artistic expression. Next Sunday, the Club will celebrate its founding anniversary, so the place we visited was filled with items that people brought to prepare for the singing and dancing program to celebrate the Club's 40th birthday. According to the introduction, this is one of the 3 stages of the Club. It's very casual, with a wooden floor, and the audience section has no fixed seats. When we arrived, Ms. Elan-Sti-iot, the Director of La Mama Experimental Theater Club, was overseeing the stage setup. She was a black woman of about 70 years old, with dry and wrinkled skin but a strong and agile build. She had braided her white hair into many tiny ponytails and was wearing 4 huge gold rings on her hand. With a slightly eccentric appearance and a hoarse but passionate voice, she revealed herself to be a unique artist and a fervent lover of art. She quickly pulled out old chairs and invited us to sit down as she got to work. She believes that art should incorporate elements of music, dance, singing, and dialogue, but she emphasized that the idea is truly important while dialogue is not as crucial. She said:

I believe in universal values and want to be a part of the world. I strive to create plays that help the audience see, feel, and comfortably connect. There's no worse punishment than watching a stage performance without understanding what people are saying on stage!

Established 40 years ago, La Mama Experimental Theater Club manages 3 stages (considered the most unique in New York) and regularly organizes performances of experimental and innovative plays. It has become a routine, with performances running from September of one year to June of the following year, featuring a new play every 3 weeks, each of which is performed for 3 weeks.

Mrs. Elen Schtiowt admitted that her club houses the only truly international art troupe in the United States. She explained: "People from all over the world come here to perform. We have a Vietnamese dancer, many actors from China, Japan, and the Philippines. Moreover, we also have La Mama branches in China, Mongolia, Turkey, and Japan. In Serbia, we have recently completed the Romance of Music project for children aged 9 to 13."

She recounted her visit to Vietnam and openly stated: "I am very interested in Vietnam, where there is a rich tapestry of both rural folk arts, such as Puppet Theater, and national plays performing works like Shakespeare. I combined these diverse genres to create a Greek play."

She made an insightful observation: "I noticed that your water puppets had no defined roles on stage; they seemed to move back and forth. Additionally, both the Puppet and Drama theaters are Vietnamese, yet they had never collaborated. During my visit to Vietnam two years ago, I connected the two theaters to produce a Greek-style play. I gave the puppets distinct roles. For the first time, your National Water Puppet troupe created large puppets, a venture they had never undertaken before. In the scene where Zeus conceals his children, the water puppets portrayed their roles like genuine actors. I united the two theaters, and it was a success."

Still clearly affected by her remarkable journey to Vietnam, Ms. Elan-Sti-ouot fondly recalled: "Vietnamese people lead very open and friendly lives. When I arrived, the Central Puppet Theater was undergoing renovations, and it's probably completed by now. While in Hanoi, we endeavored to create numerous folk dances, incorporating new music composed by Vietnamese musicians. The water puppets became the storytellers of the tale. Our approach is that we all inhabit the same world and should communicate and coexist. We must blend your culture with ours to forge a new culture."

When I learned about the Club's activities expanding to many countries around the world, I inquired about why the Experimental Theater Club had such a broad influence. Ms. Elan-Satiow explained, "We aren't actively trying to influence anyone. Instead, we work on convincing cultural foundations to sponsor our activities, enabling us to expand our presence to other countries. We have received funding from cultural foundations. For instance, a cultural foundation in Asia sponsored a trip for us to visit Vietnam and create an experimental play there. These cultural funds provide financial support to social organizations rather than individuals. Furthermore, we also receive sponsorship from the Foundation for Common Understanding, along with numerous charitable causes organizations."

Compared to American theater, the Experimental Theater Club's "theatre" appears somewhat unrefined. The stage is quite basic with wooden flooring and aged backdrops. The attic and balcony for the audience are also constructed from ordinary wood, giving them an appearance of instability. Although the Director explained that this was due to preparations for an upcoming performance celebrating the founding anniversary, I still find it challenging to envision how it typically appears. Nevertheless, what truly stands out is the boundless enthusiasm of the Club's owner. It seems that Mrs. Elan Satiow is willing to sacrifice everything for the recognition of her artistic endeavors. When Ms. Thuy inquired about the audience and revenue generated from performances here, the Director responded, "It varies depending on the play. Some performances are participated by 150 people, while others accommodate 350, but never more than that." Upon learning that Vietnam's EADOLA troupe, led by a French-Vietnamese female director, had recently performed here, I asked about the audience size and was told it was 75 people. AsMrs. Elan Soti-out paused, Ms. Thuy raised another question regarding the Club's income. Mrs. Elan Satiow smiled warmly and said, "The proceeds from ticket sales are never sufficient. Our concerts continuously operate at a loss. The staff's salaries are always lower compared to New York's standards, and sometimes they work without pay, purely out of passion. Consequently. , the artists working here have to make do with limited resources and occasionally perform elsewhere." She confided, "In the United States, we are rarely invited to perform anywhere else besides our own stage. We find it challenging to sustain ourselves in America, but we frequently receive invitations from other countries. We have plans to visit Korea, Austria, and Italy next year." Sensing our surprise at the fact that an American theater club struggles to exist in the United States, Ms. Elan Sitiows explained, "In America, the audience has a preference for language and words, whereas we aim to convey content without relying on words. Consequently, this approach may not be suitable. Americans tend to favor auditory experiences, while we appreciate visual elements to connect with the art," she continued. "I still hold the position of a visiting professor in Korea, and in January 2002, we will embark on a project similar to the one we executed in Vietnam."

Ms. Elan Satioud concluded in a way that left me pondering: "Through our staging, even in Shakespearean tragedies, dialogue becomes unnecessary, yet the audience still grasps the essence of the content." In fact, in Shakespeare's plays, the lines are profoundly expressive, including the famous phrase that has become a global maxim: "To be or not to be?" Removing such elements might hinder the audience's full enjoyment of the work. Nonetheless, this is an experimental endeavor. As Professor Martin Su-le-man once stated, at La Mama, anything is possible; people may ride pigs instead of horses, and pigs can even seem to take flight.

As we bid farewell, Mrs. Elan-Sti-oot gathered a group of women and whispered something that appeared to be very personal and intriguing. While waiting for the others to join us, we took the opportunity to examine the posters of the plays displayed by the Club. We found them rather peculiar, including one featuring a nude woman riding a large white pig. Strangely, both the man and the pig appeared to be wearing contented smiles. Could it be possible to feature such "characters" on stage?