Hong Xiu Yu

HXY is my teacher now at COI for GZX. (fei hua.. i think everyone knows liao) And recently, her sis came to rehearse with us for the coming performance at Indonesia. Hong xiu mei is a nice person~ Blur blur one but cute lor. She is willing to help the students and not stuck up like some other 'stars'.

Alot of people ask me why I want to learn gzx instead of other opera types as I like many form of opera. Why GZX? Initially, I just want to play play with my mum in the troupe, not serious about wanting to do GZX but I think HXY kinda changed my mind.

I have learnt opera from so many people, performed for many troupes before and i have never met someone like HXY.

I know that GZX is not really very artsy and it is more coarse in comparision to other opera types. Hence, when HXY teach, she don't really go into details. She dun have the time anyway.

However, I felt that she is so determined and her sense of professionalism is so strong. Alot of China teachers teach well and can explained much more details than her but no teacher I have met is as hardworking and as 积极 as her.

In our troupe, she is the teacher, actress, musician, director, script writer, make up consultant, image designer, costume designer, props designer... She practically bao ga liao...

It is really not easy. Although she is a full time opera actress, she got the time to go and do these things but still... it is not easy.

Now, 4 times a week, she will rehearse with us. For us, it is very easy. When our scene came, we go rehearse. When it is not our scene, we sit down gossip, talk rubbish. I can say that our rehearsals are not exactly taxing but for HXY, it is, she can't rest. She has to concentrate throughout the whole rehearsal and our rehearsals are often 5-7 hours long. She doesn't eat anything, just drink the dunno what wheat milk.

At times, students kok up, throw tantrums or some stupid things happened which can kok up the whole show. She will deal with all these kind of silly things also.

Then at home, especially when it's near to performances, she will work until very late to adjust the music. We are using CD, as most of you know, and she record all that music herself one. She often record music until 3-4am and fell asleep doing it. If she fell asleep she has to redo the whole thing again. I think now she got secretary help her do music. So not too bad.

She also has to design our looks in the show. Whatever we want to wear, whatever toushi we want to use.. even the shoes... we have to show her before using. She will advice if we can use or not and she will also teach us how to place toushi. Everytime, I will bring my wig before performance to show her and she will place all the toushi for me.

For unique roles like qian nv, ramayana.. etc.. she will need to design the looks. So she did the 7 wigs for us in Qian Nv. 7 wigs!!! done in like one week.... plus all the chapalang things she need to take care. For ramayana.. the thing that we wore on our heads were designed by her too. I dunno if she was the one who did it.. but I know she is the one who designed. I think it is her secretary who sew it.

During performances, she has to take care of everything from props to backdrops to mic to our appearances head to toe. Everyone will be like...

'Lao shi zhe yang ke yi ma?'.. 'wo de tou fa ok ma?'... 'wo de toushi ok ma?'... 'hu zi ok ma?'

Sometimes.. a student didnt do the make up well.. she need to touch up.. She also need to arrange hair pcs for all the dans... If you arrange urself.. u will probably end up with her yelling..

'Hee lay yuying! Your guding push back abit!' or 'Ah may! Your hair pcs like that cannot! I arrange for you later!'

Then still got ppl ask her to help stick moustache... Ask about costumes.. shoes..

I remembered that Ah may told me this story.. May: You dont mind i share your story hor..

We were at Victoria performing Ramayana. May was doing this fairy role and HXY placed all the hair pcs on her guding for her already. Unfortunately, she went back to the changing room and other people helped her rearrange her hair pcs abit. Then later.. when she was walking outside.. HXY saw and yelled:"May.. come over!"

She then look at the hair pcs and said," This one not I arrange one hor.. WHy u change?!" She can remember every single thing she did. She even remembered how she arranged May's toushi. Even if you just replace one single hair pc, she will notice one.. and yell. So don't try to be funny.

Anyway, we are used to her yelling already..

After performance, she still need to collect ALL the costumes and bring them home to dry... pack and put back into place. We will often bring our costumes home ourselves but HXY realised that some pieces will go missing or some accidents may happen to the costumes so recently, she decided to bring back all of them and dry herself.

Still got to colect back the hair.. the chapalang small small things which she lent us.. In case you dunno, drying costumes and packing them.. together with all the chapalang things is a very tedious job.

After all these.. she actually don't make alot of money also. She is better off at taiwan.. Less work more money but she insisted to stay with us. She say that she see us so into this gzx, she is willing to help us

Also one more thing, she is never biased. No matter how much she is angry over a student. She will still give her/him a chance and she will very soon forget how angry she was with this student. Some students hurt her before but she still let these students do heavy roles and willing to teach her/him seriously and not heck care about this student. This is professionalism.. I felt.

Yes, alot of teachers can teach very well but not many can do wat HXY do.

She told me once that she has many 遗憾 in life and she won't feel real happiness even though her show is a great success. She will only feel 遗憾.

I felt very sad for her~ Though she probably is not sad.. she is a very strong and brave woman.

There are still so many countless obstacles that she overcame which I cannot type out one by one but she fearlessly took in everything.

That is why I will support her, I will learn my gzx properly and do my best.

I think students of COI will feel the same as I do. right?

(She also got her cons.. she very hot tempered and like yelling at students. I also very scared.)