We were lucky to catch up with Gefei Liu recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gefei, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
In my creative journey, I’ve often doubted myself. I went through a typical Chinese education for 18 years, where creativity wasn’t encouraged. I ended up in the arts by chance, studying “creative producing” at CalArts. Yes, I’m studying “management” in an art school – an odd combo. My old way of thinking made me doubt: I hadn’t read enough, watched enough films or art, so how could I make meaningful stuff? Even if I did create something, why would anyone care? But then I realized something. I don’t have to be creative to impress others; I can create to express myself when I feel like it. I might not be a pro at writing plays, but I’m sure about how I feel, what I think, and when I have strong feelings, I can express them through writing. And sometimes, writing helps me learn more about myself.
Let me share how I came up with “Birds and the Curiosity,” a play that premiered in Hollywood Fringe. Last summer, I was bored and wanted to write – it’s free, and all I need is my laptop. So what to write about? I started with a question. Maybe it sounds like I’m being excessively self-awared, but I wanted to explore what shaped me. I’ve always felt a bit inferior, maybe it’s imposter syndrome. But on the flip side, I find myself easily relating to people who are visibly or non-visibly different.
So, with Olivia Xing, my co-writer, we talked about our childhoods. I was a chubby kid and got bullied by peers and teachers. But bullying is bigger than just picking on someone’s appearance. Society tends to laugh at anyone who’s not like most people, which is perfectly reflected in any elementary school classroom: It could be the “larger-sized” kid, or the kid who’s wearing a pair of big thick glasses, the kid who speaks with a different accent… In fact, anyone could have felt “different” at some point of their life, which shouldn’t have become a problem, if we hadn’t treated them as if they were inferior or incomplete.
That’s how we came up with our main idea – it’s okay to be different! It’s simple but important to me. We used some of my own experiences, like not getting picked for a school event because of my size. We wrote lots of versions, and it changed a lot from the first drafts. It was through the changes that I understood what I really wanted to say. At first, I thought I was just writing about body image anxiety, but it turned out to be more.
I really had a blast incorporating elements I’m passionate about into the script. Writing a play is a lot like cooking. I’m an on-the-spot cook and writer. When I first started writing and cooking, I didn’t always have a clear idea of how the end result would turn out. I simply rely on my taste and instincts, adding ingredients I enjoy. That’s why “Birds and the Curiosity” has a musical score – I’m a big fan of musicals – and numerous puppets – I’ve got a thing for puppets. But we also make sure these ingredients blend seamlessly with what’s already there. That’s why we removed a section of the protagonist’s stand-up comedy from the script, ensuring everything fits together harmoniously.
Even now, I still doubt my creativity. I think my ideas are dumb sometimes. But I remind myself that a great work isn’t about how smart the idea is; it’s about how genuinely the artist believes in it. Genuineness is more important than anything.
To sum up, keeping my creativity alive means using it to express myself and explore. It’s about embracing doubts as chances to grow, blending different things together, and making something that really means something.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My name is Gefei Liu (刘格非）. I grew up in China, where I experienced the common exam-oriented education system for the first 18 years of my life. Becoming an artist was never an option for me – that’s a game for kids from rich families only. During my time at the university, I found myself spending most of my days outside the classroom, actively involved in the school’s musical club and theatre troupe. So in my junior year, fueled by my passion for theater, I gathered all my courage to share my true aspirations with my parents—I wanted to study theater management and producing in graduate school.
My plan to attend CalArts for the MFA program in Producing was postponed for a year due to COVID. And while I was using the time interning in a theater in Beijing, I met a bunch of like-minded people online, and established a virtually-based art collective, “How Bang! Club”. In the beginning, we only gathered together for a zoom experimental performance of “Every Brilliant Thing”. That was the first time I independently produced a work outside school setting, a true passion project. I didn’t really know much about producing at that time, and I basically just depended on Google, wikihow and my self-learning ability. Surprisingly, things went great. We had three zoom performances with an average audience of 100 people.
Our following two works are both original plays: “Rooftop Somnambulism”, a solo show premiered in June 2021 June in New York, and “20200123 Live”, a verbatim documentary piece performed in January 2022. As usual, I was the producer for both, but I was also trying out new roles in those productions: I wrote the theme song for “Rooftop Somnambulism” and came up with the original idea of “20200123 Live”.
Yet, as I delved deeper into the world of theater, something extraordinary happened—I discovered an insatiable desire to create something original. I never believed that I have a gift for writing – Chinese was never my favorite subject back in high school. But with so many upsetting, infuriating things happening in the world everyday, I felt compelled to do something. “A novel may not be able to change the world, but it could at least reach some people somewhere, even just one.” It’s a quote from Modern Times by my favorite Japanese novel writer, Kōtarō Isaka. The power of storytelling transcends mere entertainment; it possesses the ability to provoke thought, evoke emotions, and effect positive change in the world. In my case, I chose storytelling through theater as my way to make that change.
So I started writing. My first short play, Two Goldfish (Who Become Heroes) was performed in Seattle in December 2022, produced by the local Chinese-English bi-lingual theatre company, Yun Theatre. It’s an animal allegory with the theme of rebellion against totalitarianism. My first full-length play, Birds and the Curiosity, premiered in Los Angeles this June. It’s a self-produced, family-friendly show that covers a wide range of topics such as anti-bullying, children’s rights to human dignity, etc. The play was part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2023, and believe it or not, I even received a prize from the festival’s “Loud Karma Emerging Women and Nonbinary Playwright’s Award”!
As a producer and writer, I think my biggest strength is the faith to believe in what I deemed as meaningful. After “Every Brilliant Thing” performance, one of my collaborators, who initiated the project, said that in the beginning she honestly wasn’t expecting that we could really make it happen, that I would really take her idea seriously and put so much work on it. But for me, it was a simple matter of recognizing the brilliance of the concept and doing everything within my power to make it a reality. I am confident enough to trust my artistic judgment and willing to fully commit to my faith. Similarly, as a writer, once I deem that something is worth writing about, I just put effort into it, and make it happen. I make bold, very risky decisions, anticipate the worst scenario, but always believe that things will eventually work out.
Currently, I am still looking for further producing opportunities for Birds and the Curiosity, especially drawn to the potential of producing a Chinese-English bilingual production.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back isn’t really my thing just yet since I’m still kind of new on this career adventure. But I’ve picked up a few things that have made a world of difference to me so far. First and foremost, it’s all about genuinity. While not everyone may resonate with the themes I explore or the narratives I weave, the discernment of sincerity within creative work is palpable. I grappled with questions like, “What will appeal to a wider audience?” and “What gaps can I fill in the creative sphere?” These questions are valid, but they cannot be the exclusive impetus behind creative undertakings. Rather, the primary source of motivation must invariably stem from a genuine desire to express yourself.
The recognition, acceptance, and even cherishing of one’s own vulnerabilities constitute another profound lesson. Previously, I tended to place excessive emphasis on the virtues of rationality and composure, attributes undoubtedly valuable in their own right. However, an overemphasis on “rationality” can inadvertently hinder the acknowledgment of emotions. The inclination to don a metaphorical armor at the slightest hint of emotional turbulence can prove counterproductive. Instead, I have come to appreciate the merit in allowing oneself to experience a range of emotions – be it sorrow, a sense of loss, or even moments of despair. These nuanced feelings contribute to a more authentic and profound understanding of one’s identity.
Lastly, I’d like to underscore the importance of empathy. Rooted in a childhood adage imparted by my parents – “be stern with yourself, yet lenient with others”. While I comfortably embraced the former facet, demonstrating leniency and understanding toward others was a challenge for me. There have been instances where my expectations, both of myself and of others, were inflexibly high. So there have been times when, for example, an actor quits the show in the middle of a production and I get super upset about it. However, with the expansion of my social interactions, a heightened awareness of the diverse struggles that shape each individual has emerged. Maybe there’s a deeper, rational reason behind what the other person is doing right now that you don’t think is rational. That’s why I now say my greatest wish is that “everyone in the world would be kinder to each other”.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I reckon the most prominent hurdle I grapple with nowadays is the cultural backdrop enveloping my creative endeavors. Countless times, I’ve been met with the challenge of infusing my work with a cultural context that demands prior familiarity from the audience. The twist is, I’m now based in the United States, yet the cultural essence of my creations often remains rooted in China. Consequently, whenever I present my work, I find myself taking detours to ensure that the context is accessible to an American audience. This constant consideration of rendering the script “American Audience Friendly” can be quite a headache, truth be told.
Naturally, not every narrative adheres to a binary spectrum of either China or the U.S.; nuances abound, as exemplified by my play “Two Goldfish (Who Become Heroes),” set in an unspecified time and place within a fishbowl.
Furthermore, I find myself grappling with the notion that while my language and upbringing remain deeply Chinese and unchanging, the question arises – is relying solely on news, literature, family, and close friends sufficient to sustain this connection after departing those familiar shores? As I experience an increasing sense of detachment from Chinese culture due to geographical distances, I simultaneously navigate my status as an outsider in the United States. How exactly to navigate this sense of “cultural exile” amidst unfamiliar terrain is a query that often lingers, awaiting resolution.
Contact Info:
- Website: gefeiliu.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gefeiiiiiii/ AND https://www.instagram.com/birdsandthecuriosity/
- Other: WeChat Official Account: 好棒俱乐部
Image Credits
Zimo Zhao, Carl Zhu, Zhongxu Chen
