RED BOAT TROUPES AND CANTONESE ... - University of Georgia

of the eyes upward and ties it tightly on the head to make the eyes and eyebrows look even more
slanted. I shadowed actor Hung Hoi when he painted his face for a short opera excerpt in a
movie (summer, 2008). He spent more than an hour just painting his face by using a Peking
opera face mask in a picture as model (the character was from Ba wong bi gei –Farewell my
Concubine). To remove the make-up, he used baby oil.
Figure 6. Mr. Hung Hoi starts painting. 125 Figure 7. Painting of his face is complete.
Beard is to be worn on his chin. 126
Dancing seldom appears in Cantonese opera, but movement is carefully choreographed.
In a wu plays, the kungfu and fighting movements are organized precisely and meticulously. In a
wan play, the movements, especially of a fa dan, should be as elegant as possible. For instance,
the walking pace should be light, the moving of hands should allow for some fingers to bend,
and all movements should be slow. The sheng usually wears high white platform boots.
Traditional arranged scenes (pai cheung) are the precious legacy of previous generations.
Pai cheung is a scene, an excerpt of a play. Each pai cheung has standardized percussion, tune
125 Picture taken by the writer.
126 Ibid.
56