The LongBow Papers

Liberal-oriented columns, commentary and archived articles on national and international news, politics, and the communication arts--with emphasis on China--by Joseph Bosco, author, journalist, director and actor; Professor of Drama and Communications at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Surely the Best Joseph Bosco of All

11:57 PM

Joseph Allen Bosco - April 14, 2007
Joseph Allen Bosco came into this world at 5:24 p.m., April 14, in New Orleans: 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Mother and baby are fine; as is the proud father, and brand new grandmother. The new grandfather (me) is bouncing off the walls in Beijing with excitement!

First Pictures are coming in, courtesy of Allen Mocklin, the distinguished father of Michelle, my beautiful, wonderful daughter-in-law and mother of the 3rd-generation Joseph A. Bosco:

[A post in-progress, first post April 15]

There he is, folks

Joseph, Michelle and Joseph

Michelle and Joseph

Michelle, Joseph and Joseph

Three New Orleans Families are One: Mocklin, Fein and Bosco

He didn't look that happy and proud when the O. Perry Walker High School baseball team beat Jesuit for New Orleans City Championship in 1986

Linda, still so beautiful, our son and grandson

Yes, the resemblence is there, son. But I think he will hit for more power--with some speed, please!

Ronnie "Scoop" Jackson and Joseph. He was my first baseman and left-handed pitcher, starter and short-relief, for almost a decade on three different teams. He is my "No. 2 Son" forever.

Father and Son

11:57 PM / Editor / permalink 7 comments

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Going for Four...

8:35 PM

Somehow we stretched a fairly routine double--akin to two-hopping the wall in the gap in right-center on a slider that didn't--and managed to get invited back for a fourth year on the faculty at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Of course, the can't-throw, can't-run, can't-hit, why-is-he-even-here popgun allegedly throwing me out of here on an inside-out sharply spanked single the other way by one of my guys, turned out to be even worse than his bleak scouting report. 'He' was actually just some fool from the stands who jumped the fence and stole a uniform, or parts thereof.

What's the skinny? Along with the baseball metaphors that are again sprouting like wild grass in my sundry narratives, I am throwing in a cliche--it's nice to be wanted. This is especially true when fools with blind meanness as their only game have spattered other Internet venues for months with in-the-know proclamations of my imminent disgrace and termination.

Not wishing to sound it more clarion than necessary, but, briefly: foreign faculty in Chinese universities serve almost exclusively under one-year contracts to be renewed solely at the option of the university in the spring of each year. Somewhere, apparently, there is a very permeable sanction from the Ministry of Education, which says that two years in succession at any one university is the 'ground rules' limit for any one 'foreign expert.' There is any number of exceptions to this stricture, a statute folks talk about but no one I know has ever seen. In practice, however, it is so obviously true that folks need not go looking for the doctrine, prima facie or in print; better instead they start looking for another job after one or two years if they don't want to go 'home.'

Whatever, I am happy that for at least another year Beiwai has a place for my services; and a wonderfully broad place it is. At BFSU, I have been allowed, and more importantly, encouraged by my several bosses to use all of the facets of an ongoing life and career that so luckily has included most of the fine arts (but not dance or music; I studied them for degree requirements, but could not do either) and journalism, primarily long-form journalism, creative nonfiction books and occasional magazine pieces.

To go with the new English language drama program gig--that now includes a for-credit English language acting class this semester--there is a nascent English language creative writing society that will soon have a web-site, present poetry and short prose readings on campus, and publish a yearly journal of the best works.

It is far too often said that contemporary Chinese university students lack creativity due to their intense primary and middle school regimen of study, and Chinese society's rampant materialistic pragmatism. It is also just that often wrong. Offer a challenge, and the room to explore the range of its fruition, and Chinese university students are as creative as any students anywhere on this spinning rock we call Earth.

8:35 PM / Editor / permalink 0 comments

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Witches In Beijing

5:41 PM

"The Trial of George Jacobs, Austust 5th, 1692" by T. H. Matteson
Come early June, there will indeed be witches in Beijing. 315 years after their quite lethal, but relatively short-lived, appearance in a storied Puritan village in Massachusetts, a beguiling group of comely 'teenage' vixens will again gulp the elixir of immortality, this time in the Capital of China. They will serve yet again as a reminder of the evil that is a theocracy--large or small--in the throes of mass hysteria. Here, inflamed and fueled by the very human trait of a woman scorned; elsewhere, by very human theocrats and ideologues of every stripe.

What brings these witches to Beijing? The new tradition of English language theatre at Beijing Foreign Studies University is taking its next milestone step: producing a full-length English language drama performed by Chinese student-actors for a primarily Chinese audience, "The Crucible," by Arthur Miller.

I chose to direct Arthur Miller's powerful use of history-as-mirror to reflect the ugly realities of any today anywhere under the wrong conditions for several reasons other than my great admiration for the show and its author. Number one being that it has a large female cast; Beiwai has many more female students than it does male students, by far. Plus, a large cast gives more opportunities for student-actors to act, in roles large and small, and that is what educational theatre is all about: University folks giving students an opportunity to do theatre instead of read or hear about it. Some will fall in love with it, but all will benefit from the lessons the stage teaches all whom work on or around it.

We finished auditions for "The Crucible" early this week and casting is almost complete; we begin rehearsals next week. This semester will be another busy one. We will also continue to rehearse and fine-tune our staging of Shakespeare's "Othello" Act V, Scene II, which we will present live in late May at the finals of the Third Annual Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.