by Samantha White
Northwest Asia Weekly
Beginning June 11, the Book-It Repertory Theatre will bring Amy Tan’s 2001 novel “The Bonemaker’s Daughter” off the page.
Adapted by Desdemona Chiang and directed by Rosa Joshi, the series will be the world premiere of Tan’s family epic, featuring an all-female and non-binary Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) actor, playwright and director. The production will run through July 3 at the Center Theater at the Seattle Center Armory.
“The Bonemaker’s Daughter” tells the story of a Chinese-American woman, Ruth, who learns about her mother’s childhood by reading her diary. According to the press release, the show is set in a variety of historical contexts, including the modern-day Sino-Japanese War, and delves into “the heart of the family, with a firm look at the often complex relationship between mother and daughter.”
“It’s a fascinating book,” Josh said of their source material.
complicated mother-daughter relationship
Desdemona Chiang
At the beginning of her collaboration with Book-It, Jiang said they initially wanted to adapt Tan’s most famous novel, The Joy Luck Club, but they couldn’t get the rights to it. This led to an in-depth reading of all of Tan’s books before Jiang decided on “The Bonemaker’s Daughter.”
“That novel has some wonderful epics,” she said, adding that she found the story’s nested doll-like structure – a daughter reading her mother’s diary, and the mother reading her mother’s diary – very vivid and inspiring attention. Jiang also noted that the story includes four generations of a family, evokes ancestors, and touches on something ancient. The deeper they go, the more mythical stuff.
This is Jiang’s first time adapting a work for the stage, and Tan’s novel is 400 pages long and the audiobook is nearly 12 hours long, and the story had to be edited. Ultimately, Chiang Kai-shek, who worked primarily as a theater director, focused on Ruth and Lu Ling’s relationship, while the former discovered the latter’s origin story.
For Josh, whose recent work includes Shakespeare and other classical plays, exploring the mother-daughter relationship is a familiar one for her to immigrate and immigrate their own daughters.
“This work feels closer to my experience,” she said. “I have an Asian mother in her 80s.”
Like Ruth, Josh has come to realize that her mother lived her entire life before she was born. While this is something many people experience, Josh says it’s especially heart-wrenching when the rest of your parents live in another country (in Josh’s case, Nepal).
Jiang agreed.
“It’s hard to communicate between mothers and daughters,” she said, adding that there is something special between Asian mothers and daughters that adds another layer to the relationship. “We hide things.”
The play reminds Josh of her own mother, what she knows about herself, and things she’ll never know. She also wanted her daughters to be in town so they could see “the bonemaker’s daughter”.
“If you have a mother, you can go together, and if you have a daughter, you can go together,” Josh said of who she advises people to bring to the show. “Even if you don’t, find out what’s on your mind through the stories of our parents [helps us] Learn more about ourselves. “
Pause for the pandemic
Book-It, a non-profit organization founded in 1990, whose mission is to transform great literature into great plays and inspire audiences to read, has been Book-It’s goal – since 2020, bringing “Boneless” The Master’s Daughter” was brought to the stage. But like live productions everywhere, the pandemic has other ideas. In 2021, they started talking again about making the show a reality, and Jiang started writing in the fall. Casting took place earlier this year.
“The Bonemaker’s Daughter” is Josh’s first full in-person production since the pandemic.
“It’s very exciting, it’s kind of like riding a bike,” she said of returning to the theater. She conceded that with the pandemic, the gears on the bikes have changed and some road rules have changed.
In a press release, Book-It managing director Janine Clark said they didn’t want to just let it go and chose to wait because this is an important story from an important writer. Plus, she said, Seattle has a rich AAPI community that knows “there’s incredible writing, directing and acting talent to tell this story.”
“Well, good things will come to those who wait, and two and a half years later, we’re bringing this story to the stage with an incredible cast of all-female and non-binary AAPI actors, directors, and playwrights,” Clarke said in the release. “I couldn’t be more excited.”
Universality through specificity
Although she started a local theatrical run at the Northwest Asian American Theater in the late 1990s, “The Bonemaker’s Daughter” was the first Asian American show and an all-Asian cast (who played male and very few non-Asian American characters) and) directed by Josh.
“I love it, I’ve never had that experience before,” she said, adding that through her theater company, the upstart Raven Collective, she works with all-female and nonbinary actors.
Josh has long said that the idea of universality in the story comes from white culture. But when that universality — in this case, the mother-daughter relationship — comes from a non-mainstream culture, it creates a more inclusive context for people whose stories aren’t always centered on the story. sexual space. This helps them feel seen.
Jiang added that when it comes to universality, the key is specificity, and she’s curious to see how audiences will respond and connect with the mother-daughter relationship in “The Bonemaker’s Daughter.” Because the show not only shows “Chineseness,” she said, it also tells the story of our parents’ survival and what they went through to get us here.
Powerful all-AAPI moment on stage
During the rehearsal, the actors talked about their mothers and their own personal experiences. Josh says it’s amazing to see the diversity between different Asian cultures, but there are still certain things that can relate to each other, which creates a kind of shorthand for the culture.
Having said that, they can’t just make assumptions and Josh still needs to learn a lot about Chinese culture. They have a lot of research to do to make sure things are accurate. She added that she is grateful that Jiang was born in Taiwan and spent the first few years of her life as a playwright and cultural consultant.
As a director, Jiang’s experience is the opposite of Josh’s — having worked with AAPI actors, but not all-female and non-binary actors. For Jiang, seeing the show’s full company of eight Asian-Pacific women and non-binary actors on stage for the first time was something to watch.
“It was a powerful moment,” she said. “It’s amazing.”
Tickets and COVID Guidelines
“The Bonemaker’s Daughter” runs Wednesday through Sunday, and single tickets are now on sale. Tickets range from $33 to $50. Additionally, student tickets of all ages with a valid student ID are $20. Groups of eight or more tickets are eligible for a 10% discount. To purchase tickets, visit book-it.org or call (206) 216-0833. The box office is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Those attending the show will need to wear masks, as well as proof of vaccinations or a negative COVID-19 test. There will not be separate sections for vaccinated and unvaccinated customers.
Samantha is available at info@nwasianweekly.com.
