Concentrate on hearing, broaden the imaginative horizon, discover the warmth and depth of a touching ghost tale.

“When vision dims, hearing awakens the imagination.” The storytelling concert Deep Lake Man, draws inspiration from “Wang Liu Lang” one of the episodes of  Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. It tells the tale of Xu, an old fisherman who spends his days drinking and fishing by the lake, forging an inseparable friendship with the water ghost Wang Liu Lang. Under the direction of CHENG Yung-shan, original characters such as Xu’s wife and the daffodil fairy are introduced, adding depth to the characters’ emotions and enriching the layers of the story.

Deep Lake Man riches with emotional and melodic music, composed by Koji Sakurai, a Japanese composer who has lived in Taiwan for over 30 years, and features a fusion orchestration such as sheng, erhu, pipa, cello, percussion, keyboard, and electronic music.  The story will be played by six professional musical performers:  Berson WANG, CHIANG E-ray, YU Tzu-yen, LO Hsiang-ling, DAMULA Chuyoji, and WANG Ting , who guide the audience beyond the boundaries of reality and into the heart of the narrative. This is the only production in Taiwan that utilizes the “d&b Soundscape” audio system, delivering sound effects on par with Dolby cinema standards. Through precise sound localization, it constructs a world of sound that surpasses 3D stereophonics. By closing eyes and allowing hearing to lead all senses, one can truly immerse in the joy and sorrow of the world within Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Music Director, Composer, Playwright& Sound Designer / Koji Sakurai
He has lived in Taiwan since 1993. His work spans both popular music and the performing arts, specializing in creations that blend cross-disciplinary elements. Initially, his primary focus in Taiwan was arranging and producing for pop music albums. Through fortunate encounters, he serendipitously stepped into the world of performing arts. Since then, he has collaborated with many talented local musicians and renowned performing arts groups. His compositions and arrangements cover a wide range of genres, including orchestral music, string music, traditional Chinese music, percussion, choral music, musicals, dance dramas, and film scores, with diverse themes and styles. He was also invited to serve as the Music Director for the opening ceremonies of both The World Games in Kaohsiung and the FISU Taipei 2017 29th Summer Universiade.

Director & Playwright / CHENG Yung-shan
A theater director and producer. Recent works include the creative integration of the 2024 Ju Percussion Group’s 2024 Percussion Theatre Hexalogy, the lyric composition for the choral suite  Voices of Water by the Tabernacle Women’s Choir, and directing and writing for Weiwuying’s Sketches from the Journey — The Joy and Sorrow of Life for the “Show Time” series. In 2023, she served as producer and live narrator for Fallen Suns and Missing Stars: Memorial Concert for the 80th Birthday of Zheng Sisen, and wrote and narrated for Salut to Tom Chang for the Salut Taiwan Chamber Orchestra.

In 2022, she was the playwright and director for Weiwuying’s Storytelling Concert Deep Lake Man. She has also been the playwright for NCO National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan’s 2022-2024 productions of A.I. Xiaomi’s Internship Notes and The Brave of Light—Helen Keller. Other works include directing the 2019 concert Journey with Strings, The Legend of Parade Formation (2018), and writing and directing the national tour of The Adventure of Cub Bear from 2009 to 2018. She also wrote and produced the script for Ju Percussion Group’s 2012 Super Concert Got my Beat.