Li Mingjue’s personal experience

Born in Shanghai on October 3, 1930, his father graduated from Yale University in 1919, and his uncle graduated from Yale University in 1918. In 1949, at the age of 19, after dropping out of high school, he moved to California in October. He initially worked as an art student at Occidental College in Los Angeles (one of the three Chinese among the 900 people in the school). At this time, he began to develop his interest in stage and drama. interest. One year after graduating from UCLA, Li Mingjue moved to New York to work, where he studied under Joe Melkina, a leading American stage design master. His first stage design project was The Moon Besieged on Broadway in 1962.

Li Mingjue’s fate with the theater stage seems to be innate from his mother. Her mother, Tang Ying, was a socialite in Shanghai (her father, Tang Naian, was a famous Western medicine doctor in Shanghai). She studied at the most aristocratic Christian Chinese and Western Girls’ School in Shanghai. She was excellent in academic studies, beautiful and generous, and was versatile. She loved Kun Opera and was good at singing and acting. In the autumn of 1935, Tang Ying also appeared on the stage of the Carlton Theater (today's Yangtze Theater) and performed the Peking Opera "Wang Baochuan" in English. Her performance shocked everyone and became a talk among the upper class. When Li Mingjue was still in his infancy, he began to go to the theater with his mother, and he was immersed in it, although he didn't understand anything.

In 1947, Li Mingjue’s family moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Here, his uncle Li Zuyong established Yonghua Film Company. It was the first large-scale and modern film production facility in Hong Kong, with a full set of film photography, recording, and developing equipment, including background projectors. As a result, Li Mingjue developed a strong interest in film art. At that time, Yonghua had gathered many of China's top talents in editing, directing, and acting movies, but he particularly admired the heroes behind the scenes who designed and produced the backgrounds.

In 1949, Li Mingjue entered the University of Southern California to study film art, but in the end he chose the stage design major. His father, Mr. Li Zufa, graduated from Yale University in the United States in his early years. After returning to China, he worked in the life insurance industry. He had no feeling for art and did not approve of his son's choice - what future could he have in stage design? However, Mingjue is determined to go his own way.

In 1954, as soon as Li Mingjue graduated from college, he went straight to New York. New York is a city where all the impossible becomes possible. Any outstanding young person may become famous here, but only if he needs a stepping stone. Li Mingjue has no relatives, where can he find this stepping stone? He was thinking hard, and suddenly he had a flash of inspiration, remembering that when Eddie Kirk, the manager of Century Lighting Company, came to the school to give a lecture on stage lighting, he once said to the students: "If any of you come to New York, you can come to me. "So he tried calling Kirk. Unexpectedly, Kirk did not break his promise. Not only did he receive him, but like "Bole", he recommended him to study in the studio of design master Joe Melzina.

In 1962, Li Mingjue returned to New York and successfully designed the scenery for the opera "The Moon Besieged" ("The Moon Besieged"). Soon, Li Mingjue was invited by the famous theater director and performer Joseph Papp to serve as the chief stage designer of the Shakespeare Festival. He designed the scenery for the festival's Public Theater in Lower Manhattan and the annual Midsummer performances at the Drakkot Theater in Central Park. . This was an important turning point in Li Mingjue's artistic career. In the next 10 years, he designed more than 20 works in a row, including Shakespeare's plays and Greek tragedies, and won a huge reputation.

In 1970, his stage design work Billy was nominated for Broadway's most prestigious Tony Award for the first time. In 1983, he won the Tony Award for his stage design of K2, written by Patrick Meyer. Since then, he has lived in New York and has won many awards. Including the U.S. President’s Outstanding Contribution Award, the 2002 U.S. National Award for Arts and Humanities, etc. Only four Asians have won national arts medals in the United States, including Li Mingjue and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Li Mingjue's wife is British Betsy Lee.

Merzina was the most famous stage designer in the United States after World War II and was active until his death in 1976. He is good at starting from the connotation of the script, absorbing certain factors in life and applying them artistically. He can also avoid repetition and create new ideas every time he uses them. She took a liking to Li Mingjue at a glance and taught him his design concept. Li Mingjue, on the other hand, learned and explored like a sponge absorbing water. From 1954 to 1958, he practiced while learning. His designed works include "The Most Happy Fella", "Happy Hunting", "The Square Root of Wonderful", "Silk Stockings" and so on. In just four years, the benefits are endless. Melzina valued this smart and diligent Chinese man very much and always helped him during his lifetime.

The ancients said, "You stand at thirty." Li Mingjue also bid farewell to his mentor at that time and went to work alone as a resident stage designer at an opera house in Baltimore (Peabody Institute of Music).

There, he designed the stage background and lighting for nine scripts including "Whoop-Up", "A Loss of Roses", "There Was a Little Girl", and "The Best Man". In 1961, Li Mingjue also worked part-time as a stage designer for the San Francisco Opera House. Unexpectedly, this part-time job actually cultivated his special feelings for opera.

Li Mingjue’s stage design works include quite a few Broadway, ballet and classical and modern plays, such as Othello, Macbeth, Waiting for Godot, The Glass Menagerie, The Joy Luck Club and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. Dream of Red Mansions Nine Songs Family Chorus, etc.