Clap, clap, clap—!
The curtain had just fallen on Kang Yong-hui’s new show at Bisangcheolddo 777.
Sitting in the front rows near the stage, Jessica, Jo Yi-su, and I sprang to our feet, giving an enthusiastic standing ovation.
After a brief curtain call the performance truly ended, and the audience filtered out row by row.
Amid the buzz inside the theater, I asked Jessica, “How was the play, Jessica?”
“Hm, it was fun; I couldn’t follow a lot because my Korean is poor, though.”
Seeing her grumble about why translation software still is not up to scratch, I burst out laughing; she looked genuinely frustrated.
“It’s fine; it let me see other things more clearly. I had to give up on the story, but—”
“Oh, like what?”
“Since I could not understand the lines, I focused on the actors’ facial acting and vocal tone; I had to know whether a performer was happy, sad, or angry.”
“That makes sense.”
“And… the direction was excellent. This is where you made your debut, right, Siwoo?”
“Yes; Director Kang cast me.”
“I knew it; he has a sharp eye. He uses lighting well, the moments synced with the BGM are outstanding, and he makes very effective use of a cramped stage. There were a few scenes I practically want to borrow.”
“Really?”
Her praise was even more glowing than I expected; to hear a Broadway giant say she wants to learn from it—later I must tell Kang Yong-hui, even if I have to listen to him boast afterward.
Jo Yi-su, who had been quietly listening, asked, “This piece was written by Director Kang himself too, right?”
“Yes; most shows staged here are his scripts,” I replied.
“It exceeded my expectations. The direction is one thing, but the storyline fascinated me as well,” Jo Yi-su said.
“Yi-su, you have to tell me what it was about,” Jessica added.
“Of course, Jessica.”
Because Yi-su understood Korean, he seemed more taken with the story than the staging and began praising Kang Yong-hui with enthusiasm. Hearing both of them applaud him lifted my mood; after all, Kang Yong-hui was the first to recognize me now.
“It has improved so much compared with his play I caught during my brief trip to Korea before; I am glad we came,” Jessica said.
“Right; you mentioned you had seen his work once,” I recalled.
“Oh, Yi-su, I want to hear that in detail too,” she pressed.
Jessica and I stared at him with shining eyes; under our intense gaze he backed away a step.
“At this rate, I may not get home tonight,” he joked.
“For a good discussion I will gladly buy anything,” Jessica promised.
“Wow, I want to come too,” I chimed in—if it is theater talk, I cannot be left out.
While we were excitedly chatting, we failed to notice that all other patrons had already left. Oops—too wrapped up in conversation.
I turned to suggest we head out of the empty house when—
“Hey, you still here?” a familiar voice called.
“Director!” I answered.
Someone popped out from backstage and flagged me down. He must have recognized my voice; hurrying toward us, Kang Yong-hui spotted Jessica and Yi-su beside me and widened his eyes.
With a grin, he trotted across the stage and down into the house, then bowed to the foreign guest.
“Oh, hello.”
“Yong-hui? Nice to meet you; I’m Jessica Brown.”
“You know me? Nice to meet you,” he replied in charmingly accented English—so this is Konglish, I thought. My uncle once said Korean can approximate any language’s sounds; hearing it live was a first.
He shook Jessica’s hand without missing a beat.
“Long time no see,” he went on.
“You are… the Broadway director, right?”
“Yes, glad you remember.”
Passing Jessica, Jo Yi-su greeted him in Korean.
“Your name was unusual… Jo, Jo-sui?”
“Jo Yi-su.”
“Right, sorry. Anyway, thank you for coming; I hope you enjoyed it.”
“It was great.”
Clearly, they did know each other, although Director Kang had briefly forgotten; soon they were shaking hands with easy smiles.
“You watched with these two?” he asked me.
“Yes, Director. After RUN ended,s they wanted to visit the company I act with. They both said today’s play was terrific.”
“Really? You guys, today stage fun, fun?” he asked, pointing toward the set.
Catching his pronunciation, Jessica blinked and nodded; Yi-su laughed and translated into Korean.
“Jessica was saying she found it very moving.”
“Is that so? Thank you; I am your fan too, Jessica.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, yes, I go to your stage; well, I went to see Siwoo, but still.”
“Siwoo is a great actor,” Jessica replied, catching my name from his Korean aside.
Amazing; even with that English they are conversing fine. Yi-su and I watched their exchange like spectators.
“Oh yes, ha, you know, I discovered a raw gem. You know? Siwoo is my actor,” Kang declared.
“Huh? No, he is mine,” Jessica countered.
“What? I discovered him first.”
“No, no.”
Why are they suddenly arguing? I stared up at the adults bickering over who “owns” me, then shook my head wearily.
“Maybe I should hit the big leagues too; a small-company director has a hard life,” Kang sighed.
“What?” Jessica blinked.
“Stop it, both of you,” I mediated in Korean and English; they fell silent, apparently embarrassed to quarrel with a child between them.
“Anyway, Jessica is the lead director of RUN; Yi-su, what brings you here?” Kang asked.
“I was RUN’s associate director,” Yi-su explained.
“Really?”
Given the media focus on Jessica, little had been printed about him; no wonder Kang was surprised.
“Yeah, Yi-su hyung is Jessica’s right-hand man,” I added.
“Right hand? Where did a six-year-old learn that phrase?” Kang laughed.
“TV,” I answered.
“TV is ruining kids’ education these days,” he joked. “So you work at Rainbow Pictures now?”
“Yes; it has been a while.”
“Impressive; maybe invite me next time? I will study more English.”
“Director, more than ‘a bit’,” I teased.
“Siwoo, are you looking down on my English?”
I angled my head and feigned innocence.
“Well, kidding aside, Jessica.”
“Uh-huh?”
“Despite my joking, I really respect you. Honestly, I raised Siwoo, but seeing him act in RUN made me so happy. Someday I will direct on Broadway too; please come watch then, okay?”
Yi-su swiftly interpreted; Jessica nodded repeatedly and answered with a smile, “Sure, okay.”
“Okay, okay,” Kang echoed.
Indeed, Jessica likes people like him—competent, proud of their work, yet unpretentious. Few can speak so informally to Rainbow Pictures’ chief director.
They shook hands, promising to meet again.
“Siwoo, let’s see each other again; contact me if you come to the US,” Jessica told me.
“All right. When do you fly back?”
“Tomorrow morning. It is a shame, but the rest of our chat will have to be in America.”
“Too bad… but okay. Travel safely, Jessica.”
Seeing my crestfallen face, she smiled warmly.
“See you again, my Little Giant.”
After Jessica and Yi-su left Korea, I was officially cast in Kang Yong-hui’s next production.
Once more I went to Bisangcheolddo 777 every morning with Uncle. Normally we headed home together each night, but today Mother arrived early to pick me up. My rehearsal work was finished, so I waved to Uncle on stage and climbed into her car.
“Seat belt on?”
“Yep!”
We glided into traffic.
“How was it, getting back to rehearsals at the troupe?”
“Good; I liked it.”
“Siwoo, Mommy has something to ask today.”
“Hm? What is it?”
Rush-hour cars crawled; while we were almost stopped, Mother spoke carefully.
“You are six now; how about trying kindergarten?”
“Kindergarten?”
The word sounded half-familiar, half-strange.
“Yes; it is a place for kids exactly your age.”
“What do you do there?”
Kids my age meant six or seven. Compulsory schooling in Korea starts at eight, I had heard.
“Before elementary school you make friends and learn simple things; it is an educational place for young children. I love that you act and perform with the troupe, but I would like you to attend kindergarten too. What do you think?”
“Um… do I have to?”
Just picturing a crowd of little kids made me tired.
Seeing my lack of enthusiasm, she pressed gently.
“It is not mandatory, but all the people you meet are adults; I keep thinking you should be around peers. Movies and books can only teach so much. Playing with children your age lets you experience new things, which will help your acting later.”
“Then can’t I hang out with the RUN kids I know?”
That seemed better; the RUN child actors were already quite childish even though they were two or three years older than me, and spending time with younger kids felt less useful than rehearsing at the troupe. We were even meeting all the RUN kids tomorrow at a parents’ network gathering.
“That is different, Siwoo; the purpose of kindergarten is not the same.”
“Purpose?”
“Right; kindergarten is an educational facility. The experience differs from simply playing with actor friends.”
“Hmm.”
Such education did not seem necessary. If I did not know a word, I could look it up in Mother’s dictionary; new slang I asked Uncle. To absorb culture, I had books and films…
“So, how about visiting one with Mommy?”
It was hard to ignore the hopeful light in her eyes. Fine, let us try; I can decide after seeing it.
“Okay; I will go with you.”
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