A major contemporary Asian playwright, Stan Lai has over 40 plays to his credit, including the eight hour-long A Dream Like a Dream, for which the plot came to him in a flash at Bodh Gaya. His book Creativitry, on teaching creativity, has sold one million copies in the Chinese language, and has now been published in English.Born in the US and raised in Taiwan, with a career spanning the Chinese diaspora, Lai says he dreams in Chinese as well as in English. He is also an award-winning filmmaker and long-time educator with a PhD from Berkeley. Here, he talks about his career of over four decades as a writer and director, his celebrated plays that explore themes of displacement and vulnerability, many of which are staged at his 700-seater Theatre Above in Shanghai. Among them is ‘Ago’, a five-and-a-half hour-long play on the quest for a mythical Buddhist “pure land”, based partly in Sikkim, and inspired by the Tibetan struggle.He also talks about how creativity can be taught, and the importance of asking the right questions to lead us to wisdom, and what it truly means to be wise.Timestamps:01:10 On his book ‘Creativitry’02:16 His career spanning Taiwan, China and the US13:20 Sparking creativity in his students; getting an epiphany at Bodh Gaya, India17:30 Teaching wisdom; what is wisdom?21:15 His ‘Map of Creativity’; wisdom in Buddhist philosophy29:14 His perspective as a bicultural ‘outsider-insider’ 30:55 His visits to India, starting in the late 80s34:50 On his plays, writing about themes of displacement37:36 His plays in English, including ‘Ago’39:52 About the eight-hour long play ‘A Dream Like a Dream’47:00 Can creativity be taught?50:50 The motivation to be creative55:45 Creativity exercises59:50 Theatre teaches teamwork1:01:00 Getting into theatre by accidentFollow Anuradha on LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramEmail: [email protected]: Views and opinions expressed are personal. Listener discretion is advised.

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