We started working in China the other day. Things are not going so well.
Here's an example:
Yesterday we had our first "real" rehearsals here in China. The local narrators are so thin and tall they don't fit into anything we have for narrators to wear. Charlie ended up going shopping for something for them to wear. Charlie asked the translator to write the name down of the big shopping mall near by so she could just go buy a few things to try. So Charlie got into a taxi with the piece of paper and the taxi driver drove her away. The translator wrote down the fabric district which was 20 minutes away. Charlie was so pissed. She came back in a rage.
In the end, it all worked out.
However, I have had my own problems with translators. While trying to explain to my locals how to do their job, the translator gave me attitude and kept telling me that it wasn't their job. It was really awful. . . I was trying soooo hard to hold my temper but I ended up loosing it a little. The translator, who's name is Bright or something that sounds like it, said to me, "Well maybe that's how you do it in America, but that's not how we do it here in China." I lost it. "I'll have you know Bright, I've never worked this show in America. I've never even seen the show in English. Since I've been with the show, this is how we've done it in Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and now we're gonna do it here in China. If you have problems with this, you need to speak to Andy." (Andy is my boss' boss)
I'm not even asking them to do that much. Hang the clean laundry. Vacuum the floor of the character room once a day. Help dress the characters. That's it. It's the easiest gig in the show. I couldn't believe the audacity of this translator. Who by the way, is the worst translator I've had out of every country I've been to. I may not understand Chinese, but I know how translators should work. I say something in English, I take a pause, the translator says it in the language of the country we're in. The translators here do not work that way and it is very fustrating.
Besids that. . . It's hot here . . . food has been rough. Whatever your idea of Chinese food is, throw it out the window. Because Chinese food in China is completely different! I mean, they consider chicken feet a delicacy here and they don't take bones out of chickens. They just pluck the feathers out and chop it up and cook it. It's pretty gross.
So you've got hot, tired, and hungry people working with people that can't understand English... it's not a very good combination. We're all very cranky and unhappy. I pray that the next few weeks fly by and are a lot better!
