front row (left to right): judi moriarty, yang qian, and shi xiaomei. i am in the back.

yesterday, judi, yang qian, and i went to hong kong to see the mabou mimes’ production of a dollhouse. because none of us had ever been there before, we met with a friend for afternoon tea at the penninsula hotel. it turns out that tian qinxin’s godmother, shi xiaomei was also in hong kong as an advisor on a production of 挑滑车. she joined us in the early afternoon.

talking about the beauty of kunqu, shi xiaomei said, “it doesn’t matter how old i am or what’s underneath. when i paint my face, i am only the role.”

shi xiaomei then laughed and said she was always stealing scenes, but that she couldn’t help it. she knows how to breathe in such a way that the audience only followed her movements. judi, who studied acting at nyu and then went to the north carolina school of the arts, commented that scene-stealing was the sign of a natural performer. judi joked that she couldn’t steal scenes from shi xiaomei, who laughed happily.

i was struck by the strength of her personality. even in a cotton golf shirt, she controled the conversation at tea. shi xiaomei specializes in male roles: