Department of Cultural Affairs

Photo from DOCA
Dear Deer is about a school boy who keeps telling his friends that his father is a ship captain. But nobody believes him.

By Yali Chen
 
A new drama in the 2020 Taipei Children’s Arts Festival portrays the mutual understanding and emotional ties between parents and children.
 
Titled Dear Deer (小路決定要去遠方), the theater is based on a short story by Taiwanese playwright Wu Yen-ting (吳彥霆). His story won the first prize in the children-themed screenwriting contest at last year’s festival.
 
This year, Wu and Co-COISM (明日和合製作所) Director Hung Chien-han (洪千涵) worked together for the first time to present their drama on stage. They created a mobile and interactive stage for their surprising and joyful shows. Their 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. The story won first prize in the children-themed screenwriting contest at last year’s festival.

The idea behind Dear Deer came from a true story of a boy in a fishing village, said Wu, who is a part-time teacher at an elementary school near the sea. The boy missed his father who had to go fishing in the sea. He was in first grade and often dozed off in class.
 
Wu later learned that the boy had stayed up to wait for his father to come home. One morning, his father suddenly appeared. And the kid happily shouted: “Daddy! You’re home.”
 
“I was very impressed with such a scene,” the writer 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 keeps telling his friends that his father is a ship captain. But nobody believes him. One day, this boy disappears because he was taken away by the Black Granny in the forest. He had given his voice to the Black Granny when his teacher found him.
 
The Black Granny symbolizes people’s sad feelings or negative emotions. Wu tried to portray how parents and children handle, manage, and accept each other’s feelings.
 
“When your kid has a problem, you can learn a lot about how they are feeling by simply listening to them or spending time with them. You must believe that your child can make his or her own choice,” Wu said. “I hope that the audience can gain a better understanding of their feelings and learn to live at peace with their emotions.”