The Saddharmapundarika Sutra, or better known as the Lotus Sutra, says that

Buddhist doctrines should be taught in prose, verse, and song. Our

annual presentations were created with this purpose in mind.

We produced our first bilingual play in 1965, holding only three

performances on our stage. Now, over 40 years later, our play has become

part of the annual Chinese New Year celebration with performances spanning over every February and March.

Each play is based upon true events in the Buddhist Scriptures. Although

our plots are told over several years, each episode is a separate and

independent production so that our audiences can enjoy each presentation

as an individual work. The play is written originally in the Chinese

language and is then translated into English dialogue. Our bilingual guests

may notice that we have taken some liberties with the translation in order to add

humor and drama to the play.

The cast is selected around June. Rehearsals begin immediately and

continue throughout the year. Much of the time is spent on learning to

speak and sing classical Chinese as well as traditional hand gestures and

body movements, which are vitally important to ancient Chinese plays and

operas. The cast members are all volunteers and rehearsals are generally

held in the evenings to accommodate student players, working adults, and

staff.