ABOUT THE PLAY

 
Salesman in China

By Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy
Suggested by the memoirs of Arthur Miller and Ying Ruocheng
Chinese translations by Fang Zhang
A Stratford Festival/Banff­ Centre Co-Commission
World Première
Directed by Jovanni Sy

Grade Recommendation Grade 9+

Content Advisory

The play explores mature themes including staged violence, suicidal ideation and suicide. Please see the show page for a detailed audience advisory.

Synopsis

In 1983, American playwright Arthur Miller travelled to China to direct a production of his classic play, Death of a Salesman. Working with the Beijing People's Art Theatre, Miller and his collaborators struggled to bridge the gap between languages, cultures and national identities with local audiences having been long shut out­ from the West. Salesman in China retells this daring act of cultural cross-pollination on stage.

Curriculum Connections

Global Competencies

• Citizenship, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Metacognition, Self-Awareness
  
  

Grade 9-12

• The Arts
• Canadian and World Studies
• English
• Health and Physical Education
• International Languages
• Technological Education
  
  

Grade 11-12

• Social Sciences and Humanities
  
  

Post-Secondary

• Suitable for courses in disciplines such as Arts, Asian Studies, Chinese, Cultural Studies, Creative Writing, Dance, Drama, English, Fine Arts, Gender Studies, History, Human Rights, Intercultural Studies, Music, Social Development Studies, Teacher Education and Theatre

Themes

• 1980s China and the Impacts of the Cultural Revolution
• Ambition, Dreams and Unfulfilled Potential
• Failure and Success
• Fathers and Sons
• Generational and Cultural Di­fferences and Expectations
• Hope
• Identity and Self-Worth
• Individualism vs. Collective Values
• Intercultural Connection through Art
• Isolation and Loneliness
• Language, Writing Systems and Translation
• Loyalty: to Family, to Country, to Culture and to Self
• Materialism, Social Disparity and Im/mobility
• Reality vs. Illusion
• The Role of Theatre in Cultivating Hope
• Stage Traditions
• Surveillance and Privacy

DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION QUESTIONS

PRE-SHOW QUESTIONS

• What are the reasons why people create art? Do these reasons differ across different times and cultures
• In what ways can art make us feel less alone?
• Artists experience the world in different ways. This play features characters who are playwrights, actors, directors and photographers. How might their different artistic practices affect the way they view, experience and interact with the world? 
• This play is presented in both Mandarin and English. Have you ever seen a play performed in multiple languages, in or with translation? If so, what was your experience? How do you imagine this bilingualism will impact the audience coming to Salesman in China and enrich their experience?
• What do you already know about 1980s China? How did the political landscape in China at that time connect to Canada/the US? What do you already know about Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman? Find out three new things about these place/s and time and about this play.
• What makes a play or text a "classic"? Who decides what qualifies as a classic? Do classical texts "translate" across different cultures? Why or why not? Use examples to support your position.
• Playwrights, Jovanni Sy and Leanna Brodie, chose to frame this piece using a play within a play. This is a convention often used by theatre creators. What do you think the purpose of putting a play within a play is? What do you imagine it might add to the audience's experience?
• What challenges might arise when people from different cultures interact? What personality characteristics might be needed in a leader to navigate respectful intercultural relationships?
• Is it possible to understand another culture? What challenges are there in understanding a different culture? What might help someone to develop greater cultural competency? Explain your thinking.
  
  

POST-SHOW QUESTIONS

• What did you find most meaningful about the show? Why?
• What were your first impressions of the environment that the designers created?
• What were the differences in approach to running a rehearsal room at the Beijing People's Arts Theatre in comparison to Arthur Miller's previous experiences in the United States? Did he succeed in adapting to the new environment? Explain why or why not.
• In Salesman in China, we see two cultures in conversation. Reflect on what you experienced observing the interactions depicted in Salesman in China. Are we more alike than we are different? Explain your position using examples from the play.
• How did the use of both Mandarin and English contribute to the overall storytelling and atmosphere? In what ways does the bilingual aspect enhance or challenge the audience's engagement with the play?
• Identify three moments in the play where language and/or translation become a central theme or a tool for character development or plot.
• What moments in the play challenged any preconceived notions you might have had? Share one moment, the preconceived notion and the resulting changes in your perspective.
• What did you notice about the characters' reactions to being surveilled or engaging in surveillance? When reflecting on their personal circumstances, what factors might have influenced them to being more inclined to react in the ways they did?
• Are there any unintentional harms that might be caused through the production of this play? If so, what are they and what might be done to take care of the artists and audience members participating in the work?
  
  

MINDS ON

Objective: Students will have the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the process from Director and Co-Playwright Jovanni Sy's perspective.

Materials:

• Synopsis (above) of Salesman in China
• An Interview with Director and Co-Playwright Jovanni Sy

Directions:

1. Read the synopsis of Salesman in China aloud.
2. Split the class into groups of 4-5 students.
3. Distribute copies of or share the link to the interview with Jovanny Sy.
4. Invite students to read the interview once.
5. Next, invite them to read it again and to do the following:
   • Underline at least five sentences that illuminate/clarify something for them or that resonate/connect with their own experiences/perspectives
   • Draw a squiggle below at least five they wonder/have questions/want to know more about
6. In small groups, invite students to share both their moments of resonance and their questions with one another. Give each group time to choose a few to share with the rest of the class.
7. Lead students in discussion, sharing these together.

 Debriefing Questions:

• What themes or messages did Sy mention as central to the play? How did Sy envision the play impacting its audience? After seeing the play, reflect on whether Sy's hopes for audience engagement and thematic connection resonated with your own experience as an audience member.
• What insights did you gain about the director and playwright's creative process? Did it surprise you to learn how collaborative the process of playwriting can be? Why or why not?
• What aspects of Sy's creative process do you find inspiring or thought-provoking? How might these insights influence your approach to future involvement and creation in theatre?
• How did gaining insights from the director and co-playwright impact your curiosity about seeing this new piece of theatre? Do you believe that context enhances or detracts from a theatrical experience? Explain your thinking.
• What questions might you ask the director, playwrights, creative team or cast members if given the opportunity?

Possible Extensions:

Research Project

Invite students to further research the political context of this play using the following guiding questions:

• Why was Arthur Miller invited? What were the intentions of producing this "American classic" at a Chinese theatre?
• What was the relationship with surveillance in relation to America and in China?
• What was happening in Canada at the time? How did the political landscape of China at that time affect folks in the Chinese diaspora?

Inspired by Inge

1. Share with students that Inge Morath, Arthur Miller's wife who we see photographing the days of the rehearsal process depicted in the play, was a celebrated photographer known for her "optimistic yet unswervingly critical style."
2. Share the following quote about her work: 
   If a thread can be said to run through her work from beginning to end, it is the marvel of human creativity which Morath both documents and exemplifies in her photography. What distinguishes Inge Morath's work from that of her colleagues is the consistency of her eye for life's brilliant theatricality. Whether photographing festivals or artists' studios, on film sets or on the street; whether photographing celebrities or strangers, on the street or on a fashion runway, Morath invariably encountered the world around her as a stage for the performance of life, each of her subjects contributing equally to its beauty. (Inge Morath Estate)
3. Ask students to reflect on this quote, sharing what seeing the world "as a stage for the performance of life" means to them.
4. Invite students to create a photo essay documenting an aspect of their school lives inspired by Inge Morath's lens of "life's brilliant theatricality" or seeing the world "as a stage for the performance of life." Ask students to follow these parameters in so doing:
   • Choose one aspect to focus on (e.g., a class, a sports team, a school play, a teacher, the cafeteria) 
   • Take photos over the course of at least three days.
   • Take as many photos as you like (with permission from any subjects included in their photography) with the need to narrow down to no more than 10 photos to be shared.
   • Decide how best to share your essay (e.g., social media, slideshow, zine, poster board, short video).
5. After students have shared, invite them to reflect on any similarities/differences between their photo essays.

CONNECTION TO THE ARCHIVES

The play within the play in this production is Death of a Salesmanby Arthur Miller. It has been produced twice by the Stratford Festival: once in 1983 and again in 1997. Other Miller works we've produced include The Crucible (twice) and All My Sons. In both Chinese and North American theatre contexts, very old plays continue to be produced alongside new plays. Why do you think we so often re/turn to old stories? What might classic plays from different cultures bring that plays from within our own cultures cannot?

Michael Hogan as Biff, Stephen Ouimette as Bernard, Nehemiah Persoff as Willy Loman and Booth Savage as Happy in Death of a Salesman, 1983. Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by Guy Sprung. Set design by Ming Cho Lee. Costume design by Debra Hanson. Lighting design by Harry Frehner. Photograph by Robert C. Ragsdale. Stratford Festival Archives, GPO.1983.005.0046.

The Stratford Festival's Archives maintains, conserves and protects records about the Festival and makes those materials available to people around the world. Their collection contains material ranging from 1952 right up to the present and includes administrative documents, production records, photographs, design artwork, scores, audio-visual recordings, promotional materials, costumes, props, set decorations and much more. These materials are collected and preserved with the aim of documenting the history of the Festival, preserving the page-to-stage process, and capturing the creative processes involved in numerous other activities that contribute to the Festival each season.

RESOURCES

Study Guide PDF

Study Guide - Simplified Chinese PDF

Study Guide - Traditional Chinese PDF

Stratford Public Library's Salesman in China Reading List

Study Guides

View Study Guides for selected 2024 plays along with those from previous seasons free of charge on our website.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Historical Context, Characters and Events

Conceison, Claire. Significant Other: Staging the American in China. 2004.

The Cultural Revolution: all you need to know about China's political convulsion | Tom Phillips, The Guardian

Death of a Salesman in Beijing | Center for US-China Arts Exchange

In 1983 Arthur Miller directed one of his best-known plays in China | Elizabeth Amos, The Economist

Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities | HISTORY Channel

Miller, Arthur. Salesman in Beijing. 1984. | Excerpt in Vanity Fair

Willy Loman Takes on New Territory | Washington Post

Ying, Ruocheng and Claire Conceison. Voices Carry: Behind Bars and Backstage during China's Revolution and Reform. 2009.

Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman and Inge Morath

Arthur Miller + Death of a Salesman | Kennedy Center

Death of a Salesman | Britannica

Death of A Salesman: A Play That Resounds in the Heart and the Gut | Charles Isherwood, TheNew York Times

Inge Morath Photography

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. 1948.

Miller, Arthur. Timebends: A Life. 1987.

Mental Health & Suicide Preventation

9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline | Government of Canada

Canada Suicide Prevention Helpline: 1-833-456-4566

Hope for Wellness Helpline: 1-855-242-3310 (Available 24/7 to Indigenous People Across Canada)

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 I Text 686868

LGBT Youthline

Provincial Mental Health Supports | CMHA

U.S. Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Booking Information: Student Matinées, InterACTive Preshows, Workshops & Chats

Student Matinées

You may book any available date, but selected student matinée performances for this show are at 2 p.m. on the following dates:

• Wednesday, September 11
• Thursday, September 19
• Thursday, October 10
• Thursday, October 17
• Thursday, October 24
   

Workshops & Chats

Workshops and Chats (virtual, onsite or at your school/centre) can be booked by calling the Box Office at 1.800.567.1600 or by emailing educate@stratfordfestival.ca.

Pre-Show Workshops customized to your students' needs and interests are available from 10-11 a.m. or 11 a.m.-noon before selected matinées. $10 per student. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca/Workshops.

Half-Hour Post-Show Chats with cast and creative team members are available after selected matinées. $3 per student. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca/Chats.

TOOLS FOR TEACHERS SPONSORED BY

Tools for Teachers includes InterACTive Preshows, Study Guides and Stratford Shorts.       

THE 2024 SEASON IS SUPPORTED BY OPHELIA LAZARIDIS.

 PROUD SEASON PARTNERS:

DEVELOPED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE'S NATIONAL CREATION FUND.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS:

KARON C. BALES & CHARLES E. BEALL

CATHY & PAUL COTTON

THE HARKINS & MANNING FAMILIES IN MEMORY OF JIM & SUSAN HARKINS

THE FABIO MASCARIN FOUNDATION

THE TREMAIN FAMILY

MARILYN GROPP

MARTIE & Bob SACHS

ESTHER SARICK

SYLVIA SOYKA

ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL SUPPORT:

THE DAVID & AMY FULTON FOUNDATION

JOHN & THERESE GARDNER

SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION INITIATIVES IS GENEROUSLY PROVIDED BY THE ESTATE OF NOELLE SAVILLE, LAURIE J. SCOTT AND AN ANONYMOUS DONOR.