Taipei American School | 800 Zhongshan N. Rd., Section 6, Taipei, Taiwan | blueandgoldonline.org | VOLUME XXX, ISS. 01 | November 6, 2024
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Freedom to Love Beyond the Oxford Study
Puffs: Introducing the Upper School drama department By Colin Kuo (‘28)
ILLUSTRATION BY XUN C. (‘27) Hosting the inaugural Taiwan Speech and Debate Invitational By Bryce Yao (‘28) The three-day inaugural Taiwan Speech and Debate Invitational (TSDI) began on Oct. 11 at Taipei American School (TAS). The tournament included eight events: Impromptu Speaking, Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, World Schools Debate, Novice Public Forum, Public Forum and Policy Debate. Hosting 21 different schools from around the world, TSDI was a collection of intellectual growth throughout the speech and debate space. “This was a great tournament to host, being one of the first times we’ve invited international teams to come to TAS to debate. And, it
was a really enjoyable experience overall,” debater Jordan Y. (‘26) said. Having to adjust his sleeping schedule to cater to American tournaments for the past few years, Jordan was happy to not do so at this tournament. “As a team debating in Taiwan, being able to debate on our normal timezone was something that was very relieving and a great experience to have.” When the students weren’t having educational discussions about various political and economic topics, they were taking in Taiwanese culture. After arriving on the morning of Oct. 9, two days before the tournament, Rowland Hall High School from
Utah and Notre Dame High School from California spent their first day sightseeing at Shifen Waterfall. The remaining schools landed in Taiwan on Oct. 10, celebrating the national holiday at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the National Palace Museum and enjoying their lunch at the American Club Taipei (ACC). Once the tournament began, competitors spent their days debating and their nights exploring the city. They ventured to the Shilin Night Market for street food, the world famous Taipei 101 and ended their journey in the Ximen district on Sunday night, leaving with a piece of Taiwan in their hearts.
This year, the Upper School production was Puffs — a 2015 original comedy written by Matt Cox. Puffs is a hilarious and heartwarming comedy that takes a behind-the-scenes look at life at Hogwarts, specifically following the stories of the overlooked students in Hufflepuff house. It is a tale of friendship, magic and the unexpected adventures that can happen when one is not the main character. The cast of this show performed over the span of four days, allowing the Taipei American School (TAS) community to enjoy this epic and fun moment together. With all of the cast and crew’s hard work, these four days went extremely well, with the auditoriums full as all tickets sold out. TAS drama production has been around for quite a while. Students in Lower School starting from fifth grade get the opportunity to participate in shows, and most continue on their journey of drama as they move up to Middle School, and eventually, Upper School. Fortunately for students that signed up for Puffs, there were no cuts. Roman K. (‘28), a freshman, took this chance and joined Puffs, taking on the role of Blondo Malfoy —- a selfish and rude student in Slytherin house. As a new student, Roman got to meet other students beyond his grade level and made new friends along the way. “I think Puffs was really fun,” said Roman. “For a new student like me, it was a really good opportunity to meet new people, and just get introduced to how things work in this school.” Kaiya C. (‘26), a junior, performed in Puffs as Hannah —- a shy Puff that gets made fun of by other houses. “I was most excited about seeing my friends in the audience and having them come watch my show,” said Kaiya. “Something I also enjoyed was acting with the seniors, because since I grew up with them, it’s like seeing their progress, and like watching them grow, so it was really interesting to act alongside them on their last year.” As a returning student who is very familiar with TAS drama production, Kaiya decided to participate once again, continuing her journey that started way back in fifth grade. The wonderful supporting TAS community came together to support everyone that participated in the show. Without the hard work of the cast and crew, and the tidal wave of support from the TAS community, the four days of performances would not have been possible. The TAS community looks forward to more shows like Puffs, that can bring the entire community together and showcase the talents of our brilliant TAS students.