Vietnamese culture more than a Club O’ Noodles

Tuesday, May 26, 1998

Vietnamese culture more than a Club O’ Noodles

CULTURE: Innovative theater troupe sheds light on the immigrant
experiences, adjusting to America, plights of country torn by
war

By Pauline Vu

Daily Bruin Contributor

The lights in the auditorium dimmed and a voice wafted through
the air. "Once upon a time, there lived a dragon prince and a fairy
princess. They met, fell in love, and bred a hundred eggs, which
became children.

"And then, like any dysfunctional family, they began to fight.
The family was divided and went through a nasty divorce, with good
lawyers on both sides.

"When the divorce was over, the dragon prince and princess
realized that some of their children had run away from home. Their
journey brought them to a land called America."

So began a night of song, drama and laughter when "Club O’
Noodles," a Vietnamese acting troupe, performed "Laughter from the
Children of War" on Friday in the Northwest Auditorium. The program
is a celebration of the people and children of a country that has
suffered oppression and war. From a simple stage littered with
newspapers came tales about conditions during the Vietnam War,
recent Vietnamese immigrants to America, and, most prominently, the
meeting of two cultures.

"Hi!" proclaims a family of five as they enter the stage, arms
linked together, feet shuffling awkwardly, "We fresh off the boat!
We eat together, we work together, we even sleep together!" they
said to the audience’s roars. A series of skits depicted the
transformation of the family from a "typical Vietnamese family" to
"a typical dysfunctional family" to "a typical American
family."

"I was a doctor! I was a general in Vietnam!" the father
proclaims proudly.

"Now he waits tables and goes to night school," his daughter
adds snidely.

The family, especially the parents, learn some hard lessons
about life in America. "Kids in America, no respect parents," the
father tells the mother. As she cooks, she sharply reprimands her
children, "You speak Vietnamese at home!"

"Sure, Mom," they reply, rolling their eyes. Later, when they
become "a typical American family," the family is broken: "We never
see each other — but we phone each other, we fax each other, and
we e-mail each other."

The program consisted of more than just the experiences of an
immigrant family, however. There were depictions of motherless
children in Vietnam, satires of Vietnamese people and attitudes in
Hollywood, a re-enactment of a 1991 incident when four Vietnamese
brothers held a Good Guys store hostage, and more questions on what
it means to be Vietnamese in America.

The show ended to wild applause by the audience. Students were
impressed by everything from the simplicity of the stage and
stories to the accuracy of the Vietnamese-American accents.

"I thought it was awesome," said Naoya Imanishi, a fifth-year
East Asian and Asian American studies student. "It was refreshing.
Lots of other plays are one-dimensional, but this one wasn’t."

The representation of Miss Saigon, the language barrier and the
culture gap were reflective of the Vietnamese experience, said Paul
Tran, an Asian American studies graduate student.

The programmer and organizer of the program, Amy Luu, also the
Asian Pacific Coalition’s community outreach organizer, brought
Club O’ Noodles to campus when a coordinator at the Asian American
Studies Center saw a performance. Luu, part Vietnamese, felt the
program was very effective. "Other people might look at our culture
and think it’s interesting and unique," she said, "but they don’t
feel it the way we do.

"It surprised me how good they are," she said of the actors.

Club O’ Noodles was created five years ago, when a group of
Vietnamese actors got together and told the stories of their
experiences.

"These stories need to be told," said co-founder and actress
Uyen Huynh. "We’ve been in the dark long enough."

There were many initial problems for Club O’ Noodles. The group
found gaining publicity difficult because they were inexperienced
and had no model to follow.

Financial problems were so bad that at one point the group
actually went door-to-door to solicit donations. Although the
financial situation still needs improvement, the group is steady
now and has even received grants for their next two
performances.

The initial struggles made them stronger as a group.

As students come onstage to praise and talk to the actors, Huynh
confides, "I’m thankful that there are still people out there who
appreciate the culture."

Phoung Tran, who has acted with Club O’ Noodles for two years,
said they try to base their skits on reality. "It is a way of
laughing at yourself, of taking your pain and turning it into
something funny – showing laughter, showing truth."

In a written statement, the group’s director, Hung Nguyen,
agreed.

"’Laughter’ tells some hard truths, but in the end it neither
blames nor begs for sympathy. ‘Laughter’ invites us to celebrate
life."