Cheng-Hua Wang is on the Front Cover of the Deutsche Bank International FORUM Magazine November 1999 Issue
Cheng-Hua Wang as Si Lang in "Si Lang Visits His Mother"	Cheng-Hua Wang in Her Office Auther Giovanna Gambale Cheng-Hua Wang With Her Make-Up in "Si Lang Visits His Mother"

"When you truly love something you make the time for it" says Penny Wang from her office in New York's 4 Albany location. During the day she is kept very busy as vice president in GIS' Common Data Base Engineering Group. And in her spare time she pursues her "true love" - being on stage.

Penny Wang loves being on stage - she says there is nothing like it. "It is all about presenting yourself and the story in a way that makes the audience understand and appreciate the art of Chinese opera," she says. Since the shows are over three-hours long, Wang spends her spare time practicing movements and songs required for her roles. She is currently rehearsing for the performance of the opera, Si Lang Visits His Mother, scheduled for December. Wang is a modern day patron of the arts. She and her husband John established the NYJPW (New York John and Penny Wang) Chinese American Arts & Culture Association Inc., a not-for-profit organization three years ago. This organization produces one Chinese opera a year and sponsors the work of numerous artists through its website, www.njpw.org.

Acrobatic Movements

Every Sunday morning Wang travels to Manhattan from her home in New Jersey to meet with a voice trainer. In the afternoon she practices the complex action movements required for the opera with another instructor. Chinese opera is not performed with a stage background so the body movements and gestures of the actors are essential for the audience to understand the story. "It takes a great deal of imagination on the part of the performers and onlookers," says Wang. Movements on stage are generally acrobatic in nature and many performers are trained in martial arts. Sometimes knives and swords are used as props to help depict the scene. "People are always e-mailing my web site and asking how to perform centain actions. The other day someone asked me to describe how to open a door."

"Chinese opera is not performed with a stage background so the body movements and gestures of the actors are essential for the audience to understand the story."

"It may seem simple, but it's actually a very complex series of movements," Wang explained as she outlined the frame of a door with her fingers and then acted out grabbing a door handle, turning it, opening the door, and then closing it. How does she prepare for a show? "Practice, practice, practice!" she exclaims. Before each performance Wang painstakingly executes each movement in full makeup and dress. Since the silk costumes, high platform wooden-heeled shoes, layers of makeup, wigs, and heavy head-pieces can throw your body off-balance, Wang must ensure she can sing and move with all of her "equipment" on. Before each performance it takes Wang about two hours to get into her costume.

Forgotten Art

Sadly, according to Wang, Chinese opera is a "forgotten art," seen as traditional and old-fashioned by the younger generation in China and by Chinese-American teenagers in the United States. Her productions involve actors of all ages to help bridge the generation gap and peak their interest in opera. In last year's opera performance, The Proud Fisherman, actors ranged in age from 17 to 89. Wang actively involves her entire family in her productions. Her husband photographs the operas, her son videotapes them, and her daughter acts as a stage manager of sorts. Growing up, music was a significant part of her childhood. As a young girl in Taiwan she attended operas with her parents and a family friend taught her to sing. Wang started singing in local opera productions while in college in Taiwan. "When I was young I liked the action on stage and later learned to appreciate the music and the story," she reminisces.

Coming to America

While Wang was performing an opera in college, the director of the East Asian Department of New York's St. John's University was in the audience. He enjoyed her performance and met with her after the show, encouraging Wang to apply for a scholarship at St. John's. She did and graduated a few years later with a literature degree in Asian studies. "In a round about way, opera is the reason I came to the United States. I am very appreciative that it changed my life," she smiles. After earning a literature degree in East Asian studies, Wang began studying public accounting at St. John's, and then worked as a bookkeeper at a department store. Over time she realized that her interests did not lie in accounting. A friend at the time was studying computer programming at New York University and encouraged Wang to take some courses. "I found the classes difficult at first. I was a literature major and computer language was foreign to me," she laughs. But she pursued her studies and ended up enjoying the courses. Today Wang uses the knowledge gained in those classes at Deutsche Bank as a vice president in Global Institutional Services' (GIS) Common Data Base Engineering Group. The Group was established in January 1999 and is staffed by database technologists in GIS. By deploying the best technological solutions, the Group has helped the Bank reduce production costs and bring more revenue to its marketable products.

One goal of the Group is to create high-level availability and efficient application to support the business lines.

Custody, Common Services, Cash & Trade, and RSG Accounting & Ritirement Services all use this Group for their applications. One goal of the Group is to create high-level availability and efficient application to support the business lines. Their services include research and development, database product evaluation, application architecture, system architecture, and operations management. This summer Wang traveled to Deutsche's offices in Edinburgh to meet with users of the systems she and her group support. "It's important to meet in person with colleagues you normally speak with on the telephone," says Wang. Both she and her husband, who also joined her on this trip, got along very well with employees. In fact, Wang notes, some of her new contacts (users) are looking into how NYJPW can produce an opera at the first-ever International Arts Festival next August in Edinburgh. Wang is used to taking her show on the road. She has performed operas in China, Maryland, Washington D.C., and at schools all over New York City.

Stress Reduction

"Practicing opera is a great stress release," commented Wang. "After working all week, sometimes until late in the evening, I really look forward to my Sunday rehearsals. They clear my mind and give me a fresh start for work on Monday," she sighs. She also works on her website weeknights after work. There, visitors can find information on up-and-coming artists whose talents include painting, calligraphy, and fashion. The site, the first on Chinese-American culture in the United States, contains information on community development, social services, education, and arts and culture. While Wang and her husband are devoted to helping these artists garner more recognition in the art world, they also help them obtain proper U.S. work status. Currently, Wang and her husband are documenting the work of a makeup artist who works on their opera productions. Wang is a firm believer in helping the people she works with any way she can. Sometimes on weekends she tutors the performers in her show in "useful English" - phrases and words that can be used at their jobs. Looking ahead, Wang would like to start an Asian Club at Deutsche Bank, where employees can meet and learn about opera, cooking, herbal medicine and remedies, and fashion. Never idle and constantly busy with new projects at Deutsche Bank and in the Chinese-American arts community, Wang puts incredible effort into everything she does.