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In January 2006 we sent our artisitic director to Taipei at the invitation of the Hsiao Hsi Yuan Puppet Theater. We met Hsiao Hsi Yuan in 2004 in Vancouver B.C. where they performed under the leadership of Hsu Kuo-liang. When we made contact with the troupe one month later we were informed that Hsu Kuo-liang had died while on a trip to mainland China. Hsu Kuo-liang was a third generation puppeteer and with his untimely death the direct lineage of father to son transmission of the Hsiao Hsi Yuan Puppet Theater is broken. He is survived by his wife and three children. We spent time with the troupe in Los Angeles in 2005 and renewed our committment to vist them in Taipei to pay our respects to the family. Hsiao Hsi Yuan is one of the last traditional Taiwanese puppet troupes still performing in Taiwan and the only troupe to maintain a traditional orchestra for muscial accompaniment. Taiwan has one of the most rich and diverse puppet traditions in the world. We had the good fortune of meeting puppeteers from various troupes and traditons while we were there as well as training with the puppeteers of Hsiao Hsi Yuan.
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