My Journey to Shanghai 谢谢

谢谢 “One word or phrase a day! I’m going to learn and use one word a day”. And Ms. Branice Mckenzie kept her word. Branice and the other 11 E Company members that joined me last week in Shanghai, no doubt came home with many new phrases to say; however, there was only one phase I came home with and it was xie, xie; (pronounced shay shay) or 谢谢.

To recap this trip in 600 or so words would not do it justice. All I can say it was a transformational lifetime experience on so many levels. And to be perfectly honest: I haven’t digested all that there is for me to absorb by this transformation journey. Yes, there are great stories to tell; photos to see; and gifts to exchange; but none of those elements really touch the depths of my journey to Shanghai. Perhaps, I haven’t absorbed all that there is for me to absorb because so much of my time was focused on “others”. This allowed me to be a witness to other’s transformation, but unaware of my own – in the moment. And I don’t regret that at all – in fact I would say 谢谢. However, I did come away with an awareness, that if I put as much attention on my life, as that I put on others – just think of what I could create. But then I realize that my life is about creating experiences of transformation of others. It’s what I do. And for that I say, 谢谢. Thank you for a life that allows me, gives me and I might say, insists that I live my vision. My journey to Shanghai began 14 months ago when I was introduced to Cheyenne Lu the playwright that wrote the play “At the Playground”. Cheyenne gave me a copy of her play, asked me to review it, direct it and perhaps take it back to her home town (Shanghai) someday. Her request would serve as a catalyst of how I structured my life over the past several months. Little did I realize that by fulfilling her dream, the experience of doing so would then become a metaphor how I will structure my life going forward. Every major turning point in my life has begun with the awareness – actually hearing myself saying out loud: “My life just changed”. It’s a spontaneous pronouncement. Not anticipated – it just arrives when it arrives. It happened when I said yes to moving to California; met my partner of 12 years; invited my godson into my home and life; and now once again after what I thought was going to be a casual meeting with the owner of the PG Theatre in Shanghai. My friends, I heard those words once again. “My life just changed” was ringing in my head as I stepped into the elevator following that meeting. In that meeting he asked me to fill his stage with American musicals and plays and to work with him to develop a musical depicting the diversity of Shanghai. “I want you” – he said. “You are a smart man. You understand that theatre comes from the heart.” I know my life just changed, and once again, all I can say is: 谢谢