| ___________________________ JUNGUA COMBINES CHINESE THEATER, MARTIAL ARTS, ACROBATICS IN HARRAH'S SHOW Tuesday, June 12, 2007 7:02 PM PDT Harrah's Laughlin will take on the flavor of the Orient with their new show, Jungua: Descendants of the Dragon, a theatrical production that highlights martial arts and acrobatic feats. Through dramatic scenery, authentic props and lavish costumes, Laughlin visitors will be transported to a time and place where China's rich history was reflected in the ancestral calling of balance, flexibility and strength. The Kung Fu Monks and the Imperial Acrobats of China, renown in their own rights, join Mark Edward McGuire to form an unforgettable combination of culture, production and performance. Presented by Global Shows Entertainment of Reno, Jungua is a feast for the senses. The Laughlin entertainer recently chatted with producer Mark Edward McGuire about the shows origins and what Laughlin audiences have in store for them. Q. Where did you get the idea for the show? A. I was approached with the idea of co-producing a Shaolin kungfu show. I had seen several Kungfu demonstrations in China, where it is a popular form of entertainment. I really like what the monks do, but it was too narrow of a focus for me. I needed a different approach from the other Shaolin Kungfu shows, which I find to be very repetitive. I would only consider doing the show if I could find a way to present only the best skills of the monks in a theatrical and very entertaining way. Then I was struck by an inspiration to combine the masculinity of kungfu with the feminine grace and beauty of female contortionists and acrobats. It opened up a world of possibilities. After that, the whole concept just blossomed. Q. Had you done a variation before? A. We have been presenting Chinese acrobats in the United States for over 15 years. This is our first show to feature Shaolin Kungfu as well. Q. What makes the show stand out from other acrobat shows? A. Many of the Chinese shows you will see have talented kids, but they fall short on production, music, choreography, and particularly stage direction. Jungua is not a quaint Chinese New Year demonstration. It's a fully produced show which just happens to have a Chinese theme. That's the biggest difference between us and the average Chinese offering. Another important difference is that we start with very strong acts. Most acrobatic and pretty much all Kungfu shows have a lot of “filler” acts which are just there to kill time while you wait for the good bits. Every aspect of Jungua was planned out to the last detail. We carefully balanced the blend of acrobatics, Kungfu, and dance to present a microcosm of Chinese culture. Every moment in the show is there for a specific reason. Q. What is the most spectacular aspect of the show? A. Everyone has a favorite. The girls do six acrobatic numbers, and comments from spectators single out each act as the most impressive. It's the same with the Kungfu. Some people are wowed by the weapons handling, some remember the fight sequences, and some point out the “hard Kungfu” or “qi gong” where the monks balance on the points of spears and break bricks, steel bars, and wooden poles on their bodies. Sometimes, the first thing out of a spectator's mouth is “I loved the music” or “the costumes were beautiful.” We have even had comments from folks who were most impressed by the way the show flows from act to act. For me, the most spectacular aspect of the show is the skill of the artists. They have mastered things which would never be possible for the rest of us to accomplish. I think what impresses people the most is that everything the cast does is impressive. Taken individually, each of these acts could be the highlight of a show. Q. Tell us a little about yourself... A. I began my career as a street performer, sketch comedian, musical parodist, circus clown and stand up comic, juggling on stilts and playing a tin whistle with a glass of beer balanced on my head. In addition to song parodies and comedic sketches, I learned to develop my serious side through song, prose, and dramatic acts. After performing throughout the United States for 12 years, I parlayed my experience as an entertainer into a career as an artistic director and administrator. I went on to direct numerous shows for casinos, performing arts festivals, and conventions. I was a well known entertainment executive at casinos in Las Vegas and Reno for 13 years before founding GlobalShows Entertainment in 2003. I began contracting Chinese acrobats in 1993 at the Circus Circus Hotel-Casino in Reno where I ran the casino's entertainment department. Ten years later, I collaborated on an international variety show which ran at California's Cache Creek Resort Casino throughout 2004. That led to other projects, including the creation of Jungua which began in 2005 and continued throughout most of 2006. In addition to months of preparation, we spent weeks auditioning martial artists and acrobats throughout China followed by months of rehearsals. The final result is the culmination of 12 months work to create and stage the production down to the last detail. Q. Give us a description of one of the performances. Will each performance vary? Can people see the show more than once during the Laughlin run and see something different? A. The show features top level acrobatics and Shaolin Kungfu along with modern variations of traditional Chinese dance. These elements are integrated in a way that they support one another and the shows flows fluidly from scene to scene. I was very inspired by my visits to the Fawang Temple, the second oldest Buddhist Temple in China dating back to 75 AD, and I was shooting for a very Zen approach to the scripting and staging of the show. This is a fully produced and highly rehearsed show. As such, it does not vary from night to night. Q. Talk a little about the martial artists. A. Years of training and meditative techniques allow the Monks to channel their “Qi” (which may be loosely translated to “energy”) to a particular part of the body through extreme concentration. I think the first thing that impresses the audience is the intense focus and concentration of the monks. They are an ominous presence on the stage, and from the very start you know you are going to see some very special things. That first impression is carried out throughout the show in their dexterity with the weapons, athletic ability, perfection of form, and astounding qigong feats. There are thousands of general martial arts or “Wushu” artists in China all training to be the next big movie star or stunt man. We wanted to present the true Shaolin Kungfu and all that that entails. We hand picked these artists for their individual skills. Q. Do the Kung Fu Monks perform in other shows? A. The monks come from the Shaolin Qipanshan Kungfu Institute. Their group is comprised of 200 monks and students and they have performed around the world with shows such as the “Shaolin Wheel of Life.” Q. Tell us a little about the Beijing Acrobat Troupe. A. Each of the acrobats began as girls of 5 or 6 years old, by auditioning and being accepted by the troupe in China's capital city. The coaches look for girls gifted with high levels of flexibility, balance, focus, and that indescribable something which puts the sparkle in a performer's eye. Once selected, they train many hours per day, much in the same way that other girls train to become Olympic gymnasts or figure skaters. All of their meals and even their academic courses take place at the acrobatic school. After several years of establishing the “base” acrobatic skills, each shows an aptitude for one or more particular acts. Once her act is selected, she will spend years perfecting it. The students who rise to the top of the class are offered jobs as the performing artists of the troupe and earn the chance to travel the world. Q. Is this a traditional Chinese show or has it been Americanized? A. The concept was to create a microcosm of traditional Chinese culture and presents it in a way that would be exciting and accessible to western audiences. I wanted to create a great evening of entertainment based on authentic Chinese culture, but without cultural barriers. Western audiences have no frame of reference for “Chinese style” acting, storytelling, music and dance. The style has been ingrained in Chinese audiences from birth, and they can appreciate it on a level which we never could. For us, it's like watching a foreign film without subtitles. It quickly becomes tedious when you don't understand the “language.” I see myself as the translator. I want the audience to feel disoriented at first, as if they are in a strange land. Then, as the evening progresses, my job is to help them to gain more and more understanding about that place and its inhabitants. So the cultural aspect is paramount, but at the same time the show has to be dynamic, interesting, and highly entertaining. I would say that the most “Americanized” aspect of this production is the music. It was inspired by several modern contemporary Chinese, Asian American, and Japanese composers, as well as soundtracks from Asian films. Some of the pieces are from different sources altogether, but they all share an exotic feel. The dances were created by some top Chinese choreographers, using traditional Chinese dance as a starting point. I call it "a modern stage production 2,000 years in the making.” |
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