lee@leekitchenwriter.com
Summary/Synopsis Broom Maker
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The play Broom Maker is a comedy. The tradition of Guanxi, you help me—I help you—is a thousand-year-old cultural tradition in China. What happens when I do you a favor , you do me a favor, gets hilariously difficult to sweep under the proverbial chair? The period piece features a main character who was a poor student but used his wit, vision, and quick tongue to advance in the world of business, specifically tourism, after failing to help continue the family tradition as broom makers. He is a scoundrel, hopefully a lovable scoundrel, who is prevented from tipping the outrigger thanks to his intelligent wife from an arranged marriage. A comedy of success, failure, and love.
History Broom Maker
Twenty-three years ago, Florida State University appointed me as an adjunct professor to teach business classes in the study abroad program in Spain. The following year I was asked to teach in Spain and the U.K. As a result of three years teaching for Florida State University, FSU asked me to develop business courses for a new program in Tianjin, China. The individual heading the program was Dr. Aaron Lan who was head of the Chinese Studies program at FSU. Dr. Lan had been taking Chinese major students to Tianjin, where he had studied as a graduate student before his doctorate at Notre Dame. We worked closely together for four summers. As part of the student’s education, Dr. Lan and I traveled with students to many parts of China. I was always fascinated when in small villages and even in larger cities, workers swept the streets with extremely large straw brooms. I was obsessed with learning Chinese struggling as I worked full time with two semesters of elementary Chinese (I am most certainly not fluent), a calligraphy course, and later in China, I continued my studies with tutors. Dr. Lan, my mentor, and teacher enlightened me regarding Chinese history, calligraphy, music, and drama. Four years after working with FSU, Tallahassee State College provided me with the opportunity to work as an exchange professor at Tianjin Foreign Studies University. At the end of that year, I was awarded the title of Honorary Professor from Tianjin Foreign Studies University. During my association with FSU in China and representing Tallahassee Community College. I developed a program where Chinese students worked in teams with American students on real products exported from Florida. The winning Chinese teams were brought to the U.S. where they presented to the Florida Department of Agriculture and met with the Governor’s staff.
I traveled extensively throughout China as part of student/faculty excursions and on my own. I met and became friends with four different Chinese families in Tianjin and several professional musicians. During my years in China, I mentored students, listened to their family stories, and developed friendships. The students provided me with insights regarding family, tradition, and Chinese society.
Following my year as an exchange professor, Tianjin Foreign Studies University asked me to return for three more summers to teach only Chinese students. I was offered another opportunity to teach the year before Covid but turned it down because I was working on a manuscript. In addition to teaching in China for so many years, I’ve mentored two Chinese students who enrolled at FSU as undergraduate students and continued to earn their doctorate degrees. I was the proofreader for one of the students whose thesis was “Chinese Cinema and Censorship.” I remain close with the graduates and their parents who reside in China.
Since the first draft of Broom Maker, I’ve been fortunate to share excerpts with Roland Tec’s Wednesday’s Gathering and with the Dramatist Guild Gulf Coast Writers Group. After completing the last draft of Broom Maker, I realized that for my Chinese friends, former students, colleagues, and our surrogate Chinese adult children, a preamble or caveat is necessary.
Caveat Broom Maker
Preamble or caveat for Broom Maker
The Broom Maker is a comedy. The main character bears a resemblance to the main character from the first play I saw on Broadway, Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and possibly closer to Phil Silvers in the TV series Sergeant Bilko. But the two examples aren’t relevant to the generations after Baby Boomers. So let me explain. The period piece features a main character who was a poor student but used wit, vision, and quick tongue to advance in the world of business, specifically tourism, after failing to help continue the family tradition as broom makers. He is a scoundrel, hopefully a lovable scoundrel, who is prevented from tipping the outrigger thanks to his intelligent wife from an arranged marriage. The male character represents just one (1) hypothetical person out of 1.4 billion Chinese. Surely such a character exists. He was pulled from incidents during my twelve summers and one full year working in China. I am not ashamed to admit, I respect China. I love the people, the land, the culture, and the friendships from my years visiting, teaching, and hosting Chinese students in China and the U.S. We have much to learn from Chinese culture and history. I must confess that my character is not representative of the polite and knowledgeable tour guides I experienced during my time in China . The tour guides I met worked hard and were a delight to travel with. My character is the exception. Finally, the play centers on a cultural and spiritual necessity in China, Guanxi. Oversimplifying it means that if you help me, I will help you. A centuries-old tradition that sometimes gets out of hand. A few of my former Chinese students whose families were in business would confide to me that guanxi becomes so extensive and escalates to such a level that it can jeopardize the financial success of a family enterprise. Westerners may label guanxi as bribery. But it’s really no different from the practice of large donors and corporate contributions to politicians, is it? Guanxi may be cleaner because it is expected and generally accepted. The problem occurs when one party does not feel it receives the same consideration as another party during the gift-giving process. On occasion, bringing charges of corruption. Without debating the nature of political systems or cultures, my hope is that the play brings smiles and a bit of laughter. Personalized service tailored to your unique needs.
Production History
Broom Maker has never been produced nor read on stage. The submission to Austin was the first submission for the play.
Contact me, Lee at leekitchenwriter.com
