Julia Chien - i am a CLAM

i am a CLAM

If I could, I would be a clam. It seems to be an elegantly simple and kind existence.

This was my first ever theatrical work and performance! I created it over the course of seven months with the Object Movement Puppetry Residency and Festival at the Center at West Park. It was performed March 22-23 2024.

Photo by Dylan Fan

Photo by Jen Leno

Some sketchbook excerpts! This was my most personal work yet, so I had to exclude a lot of the intimate writings.. This piece was about a lot, but mainly my relationship with both my immediate family and my extended family. Almost my entire (very large) extended family lives in Taiwan. We are the only ones in America. I am definitely the weird American cousin.

Clams are passive creatures and work as filters. I feel similarly when I go to Taiwan and see my family. I can understand Mandarin relatively well, but I cannot speak. I become a quiet observer. I'm privy to other's thoughts and personalities, but they never know mine. It's sad to me that I know my extended family well, but they don't know me.

This carries on to my immediate family. I'm extremely close with them, but I cannot share everything with them. And I feel saddened by this, but it is my own doing. I have shut them out and refuse to let them in in case they can hurt me. In this way, I greatly admire the clam's passive, painless acceptance. It cannot stop something from prying it open, and just lets it be.

The pearl is a very fruitful symbol. Clams take an insult and begin to coat it in themselves, making it smooth and beautiful. This idea of transformation within yourself is so powerful.

Above is my tech rider! This was how I could communicate to the lighting designer (Gabriel Esparza) and stage manager (Jamie Chen) what I was going for with the piece. They were both extremely helpful and understanding! The first is a sped up version of my video diagram and below that is the actual tech rider. I learned so much about how theater works and also! The meaning and usage of the word "dramaturgical".

Above are my storyboards for this piece. I normally like to take a very loose approach with pre production in my work (as in I don't like to storyboard often lol). I wanted to take that approach initially with this piece, but I became overwhelmed with this new way of thinking (as in theatrically!). These are my storyboards for the entire piece that I made in week 4. I did not look back at the storyboards since creating it, but it helped get my ideas out of my head and concretely on paper. It's pretty funny that the final piece followed almost all of these beats to a T.

Stop mo siphon! You can read more about the animation for this project here

The small scale clam was made from a rock, tin foil, string, paper clay, and (after the initial string broke) wire. The rocks were made from tin foil, papier mache, and acrylic. The large clam was made from lots of cardboard, hot glue, epoxy, tissue paper, acrylic paint, and lots of masking tape. Pictured with the large clam's innards are Ashley Ro and Jaehee Cheong, my two friends who helped me build it! Could not have done it with out them as well as all of the people listed below.

A Film and Play by: Julia Chien

Performed by: Julia Chien, Sienna Aczon, SJ Munford

Sound Design by: Julia Chien

Music by: Femi Shonuga-Fleming

Props by: Julia Chien, Ashley Ro, Jaehee Cheong, Jim Freeman, Trent Kim, Nadia Kossman, Sienna Aczon, SJ Munford

Lighting Design by: Gabriel Esparza

Stage Manager: Jamie Chen

Filmed by: Jaehee Cheong, Emily Everhard

Live Feed Operator: Leah Levine, Jim Freeman

Thank You to: the Object Movement Mentors and Curators (Rowan Magee, Marcella Murray, Justin Perkins), the Object Movement Cohort (Sienna Aczon, Duygu Bayar Ekren, Emmy Brett, Cohlie Brocato, Leah Levine, Brenna Ross, Marina Tsaplina)

Special Thanks to: Niyuan Chien, Minze Chien, Jeffrey Chien, Jaehee Cheong, Ashley Ro, Sienna Aczon, SJ Munford, Cohlie Brocato, Joey Diconcetto, Leah Levine

Additional Thanks to: Michael Redman, M.J. Geier, Brenna Ross, Lou Syder, Emma Powell, Duygu Bayar Ekren, Maddy Rosaler, Madelyn Paquette, Elaine Wu, Mochi Lin, Dylan Fan, Jen Leno, Joe Cohen