Teri Nguyen’s family did not know much about autism when her brother started acting aloof.
They did not even know the word for autism in Vietnamese, their first language.
“We never asked further – ‘why?’”said Nguyen, the director for this year’s 34th annual Vietnamese Culture Night and a third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student.
Now, her two siblings and several cousins are diagnosed with autism. Nguyen and her family talk about autism, but she said they still have trouble understanding the issue, in part because of language barriers.
When she had to pick the theme for the theater piece in this year’s Vietnamese Culture Night, she decided to write about what she knew.
The annual student-run production, which took place Monday night in Royce Hall, not only showcased traditional Vietnamese culture, but also addressed issues such as mental health, autism and domestic abuse.
Around 1,800 students from UCLA and other universities, alumni, friends and family members attended the event.
“In the show, we (wanted) to address what happens when children call for help and parents don’t know how to address it,” she said.
Nguyen borrowed from her family’s experiences to write the show’s theater piece, which focuses on a young Vietnamese boy, Andrew, trying to understand and hold his family together. One character has autism. Another has post-traumatic stress disorder, something her grandparents experienced after living in Vietnam during the war, Nguyen said.
In one scene, the autistic brother made a mess at the kitchen table, which infuriated his mother. The younger brother, Andrew, tenderly reassured and defended his brother.
Players dressed in traditional clothing performed a piece a traditional Vietnamese string instrument called the zither as an introduction. An a capella group called AweChords sang the Vietnamese and the United States’ national anthem and interspersed the show with a selection of songs meant to complement the storyline.
Traditional Vietnamese dancers and members of the Vietnamese Student Union Modern Dance group performed contrasted dance numbers. Members of both groups performed together in a piece meant to highlight intergenerational communication, said Tony Nguyen, co-producer of the show and a third-year sociology student.
The educational and cultural aspects of the show cater to both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese audiences, Teri Nguyen said.
The Vietnamese Student Union, which typically addresses different social justice issues in the annual Vietnamese Culture Night, relied on sponsorships from local and family businesses to overcome some funding problems this year.
The UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services and other campus health organizations sponsored the event and provided informational resources about mental illness at the show.
Some members of the almost 200 student staff also said they had personal connections to the themes explored in the show.
Jenny Bao Ngoc Nguyen, a third-year political science student, played the mother in the performance. In one scene, her character is hit by the character of the grandfather, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jenny Bao Ngoc Nguyen said she knows exactly how that feels. When playing the scene, she always remembers her fear of her father when he got into a similar emotional state and would start hitting her.
She believes her family’s Vietnamese culture influenced them to consider hitting a form of parenting. She chose her character to help spark conversations about domestic violence, which she said her family does not talk about.
Johnny Tran, a third-year molecular, cell and development biology student, played the autistic brother . He related to the theme of the show because of his experiences with having anxiety and bipolar disorder.
“(Mental illness is) not seen as legitimate,” Tran said. “You have to put on a brave face because you can’t share what you are feeling. (Vietnamese family members) will tell you to get over it.”
While organizing this year’s production, students ran into some financial problems.
Students struggle each year to find enough funds to pull off the about $30,000 production, most of which is used to rent out Royce Hall, said Hoang Vuong, a fiscal coordinator for the Vietnamese Culture Night and a fourth-year molecular, cellular and development biology student.
The Vietnamese Culture Night received $4,700 from Undergraduate Students Association Council, which is $2,000 less than other years. Extra business sponsorships, originally meant as a comfortable cushion fund, covered the decrease of funds from USAC.
The student participants expected the audience to take away various messages at the end of the show.
Jenny Bao Ngoc Nguyen, who embraced her culture after struggling with an identity crisis as a recent immigrant from Vietnam, said she wanted to encourage Vietnamese-American peers to take pride in their country’s rich history.
Tran hoped all families would reassess the importance of caring for children despite their differences.
“At the end of the day, we all want to be a loving family and we all play the roles we need to be a successful, good family,” Tran said. “But there are times when we forget each other, we forget to love each other.”
For Teri Nguyen, the whole show was a message from her to her family.