Derek A. Graham - Sound Designer | Audio Engineer | Producer-Composer
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The Chinese Lady

By Lloyd Suh
Directed by Lava Alapai
Artists Repertory TheatRe
presented by portland CenterStage at the Armory

Creative Team

Scenic/Costumes 
Lighting 
Props 
Dialect Coach 
Wig Design 
Sound
​Original Music 
Stage Management 
Executive Producer/Afong Moy 
SARA RYUNG CLEMENT
​JENNIFER LIN
​JAMIE TAIT
KARL HANOVER
DIANE TRAPP
​SHARATH PATEL
​Derek A. Graham
​KRISTEN MUN-VAN NOY
BARBIE WU

Composer's Note

THE CHINESE LADY DOES A REMARKABLE JOB IN CONVEYING A NARRATIVE THAT FOCUSES ON BEING ISOLATED IN AN EXPLOITATIVE, CULTURAL BOX WITH ALL THAT'S LEFT OF ONE'S CULTURAL ORIGIN UNTIL IT GRADUALLY DISAPPEARS FROM YOUR IDENTITY. IN THIS PROCESS, THE MUSIC INSTRUMENTATION IS CULTIVATED WITH EAST ASIAN INSTRUMENTS. I WAS ALWAYS ENAMORED BY WORLD MUSIC AND WANTED THE MUSICAL MOTIF TO EASILY ADD TO THE WORLD-BUILDING.
DerekGrahamSound · The Chinese Lady - Main Theme (Traditional)
IN UTILIZING TEXTURAL PASSAGES OF THE GUZHENG, THE SILKY NATURE OF THE ERHU IN HARMONY WITH THE DIZI (WOODWIND),  THE FUNCTION OF the musical MOTIF TRACKS AFONG MOY'S "WALK." WHENEVER I IMAGINED HER exhibition WALK, I FELT LIKE SHE WAS lost in TIME, TIME THAT ULTIMATELY LEAVES HER ISOLATED AND FULLY EXPLOITED BY AMERICAN IDEALISM UNDER THE PRETENSE THAT THe NEW WORLD WOULD DEEM HER MORE THAN THE EXHIBITION SHE WAS CONFINED TO.
DerekGrahamSound · The Time Jump (from The Chinese Lady)
I took this build even further for the rapid time jump from the year 1882 to the very present day (21st Century). the 'Time Jump' was built to combine contemporary western world instruments that would gradually OVerlay the traditional asian instruments, intentionally blending them to shift the  aesthetic of traditional customs modern ones.
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