Puppet theater rivals engage in playful 'internal conflict' on awards red carpet

The 37th Taishir Golden Melody Awards ceremony is set to take place at the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center, with the red carpet event commencing amidst rain. The Taipei Puppet Theatre Company is a significant contender this year, with two of its productions, "Chi Tzu" and "Nao. NOW," receiving multiple nominations across categories including Best Annual Production, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Music Design.

A unique highlight of the ceremony is the "Best Puppetry Performance" category, which features an "internal conflict" within the Taipei Puppet Theatre Company. Nominees Liao Qun-wei and Wu Sheng-jie, both from the same troupe, are set to compete against each other. On the red carpet, they playfully engaged in a puppet-show duel, using traditional glove puppets to exchange humorous taunts.

Liao Qun-wei, manipulating a puppet, playfully questioned Wu Sheng-jie's prospects, asking, "Who will win this award?" Wu Sheng-jie responded with confidence, invoking a traditional saying: "As the saying goes, luck is strongest just before marrying a wife or after giving birth to a child." He added that with his wedding planned for next year, the award was surely his.

Wu Shanshan, director of "Chi Tzu," which is nominated for Best Director, watched the playful exchange with a smile. She expressed both nervousness and happiness about the nominations, stating her strong hope that the theater company would secure multiple awards.