Department of Cultural Affairs

Photo from DOCA
Dear Deer is about a school boy who tells his friends his father is a sea captain, but nobody believes him.

By Yali Chen
 
A new drama at the 2020 Taipei Children’s Arts Festival portrays the mutual understanding and emotional ties between parents and children.
 
Entitled Dear Deer (小路決定要去遠方), the play is based on a short story by Taiwanese playwright Wu Yen-ting (吳彥霆), which won first prize in the children-themed screenwriting contest at last year’s festival.
 
Wu and Hung Chien-han (洪千涵), director Co-COISM (明日和合製作所), worked together for the first time to present their drama on stage, creating a mobile and interactive stage for their surprising and joyful shows. The seven performances ran from July 17 through July 19 at the Wellspring Theater (水源劇場) in Taipei.


Photo from DOCA
Dear Deer is based on a short story by Taiwanese playwright Wu Yen-ting that won first prize in the children-themed screenwriting contest at last year’s festival.

A part-time teacher at a coastal elementary school, Wu said he got the idea for Dear Deer while observing a first-grade student, a boy from a fishing village, who would often doze off in class.
 
It turned out the boy missed his father when he went out to sea and stayed up at night waiting for him to come home. One morning, his father suddenly appeared and the kid shouted happily: “Daddy! You’re home!”
 
“That scene left a very deep impression on me,” Wu said.


Photo from DOCA
Dear Deer portrays the mutual understanding and emotional ties between parents and children.
 
Dear Deer is about a school boy who tells his friends that his father is a sea captain, but nobody believes him. One day, the boy disappears when he is stolen away by the “Black Granny” of the forest. He gives his voice to the Black Granny, and then his teacher finds him.
 
The Black Granny symbolizes sad feelings or negative emotions. Wu tries to portray how parents and children deal with each other’s emotions and learn to accept them.
 
“When your kid has a problem, you can learn a lot about how they’re feeling simply by listening or spending time with them. You have to believe your child can make their own choices,” said Wu. “I want the audience to gain a better understanding of their own feelings and learn to be at peace with them.”