In James Chiao’s imaginative world, mannequins come to life. And if given the chance, they’d surely use their fiberglass and polyurethane hands to applaud their dedicated creator and his latest pursuit.
Chiao is the co-owner of CNL, a successful Buena Park-based business that manufactures mannequins in his native China to ship to retailers and apparel companies around the world.
But that’s only Chiao’s day job, the one he left to his wife Lily’s stewardship during the past two years so he could pursue a master of fine arts degree from California Institute of the Arts — at the age of 67.
His pursuit at CalArts is a reflection of his other preoccupation, the one he calls “Tenor By Night” and hopes to turn into a Broadway musical or theatrical movie.
Register readers might remember his backstory from an article published in 2013.
The son of an accomplished composer and younger brother to a trained classical singer, Chiao survived banishment in 1968 to a remote island during the upheaval of China’s Cultural Revolution. Freed from the stooped labor of 12-hour days in a rice field nine years later, Chiao continued his education and eventually immigrated to the United States where he earned a degree in information systems.
He married Lily Chiao back home in China’s Guangzhou province and the two launched their business here in 1989, first making clothing hangers and then the kind of stylish mannequins on display in places like Bloomingdale’s at South Coast Plaza. They raised two college-educated children, Brian and Amy.
But Chiao always longed to express himself with the same musicality of his father, a tenor whose compositions embodied Chinese folksongs, his mother, a soprano, and his brother, also a tenor.
So Chiao began to sing at home and in the factory – and everywhere else – developing his voice well enough to be able to perform with father and brother in Southern California’s Chinese immigrant community as The 3 Chiao Tenors. They also put on three concerts in China before patriarch Fei Chiao died in 2011.
In 2013, James Chiao produced a “Tenor By Night” concert – a mix of Broadway tunes, Chinese folk songs, and classical numbers woven around his personal story at Luckman Fine Arts Complex on the campus of Cal State Los Angeles. Not one to stop pursuing his dreams, Chiao wanted to compose – and make his music accessible beyond the local Chinese community.
“In America, people sing their own songs,” he says. “They perform their own songs. I thought it would be wonderful if I did that.”
Ever supportive, Lily Chiao was still a bit flabbergasted at her husband’s latest desire: “At first I’m thinking, are you serious? I’m saying, are you sure? Who’s going to take care of the company?”
Chiao pointed at her, she recalls. “You are.”
Lily Chiao had been an IT project manager for an insurance company before coming to work alongside her husband seven years ago at CNL, which stands for Creative New Leader. She was OK with handling stateside business, but worried about the overseas manufacturing and design of the mannequins.
The couple’s son helped out, as did CNL production manager Harry Feng and other staff. James Chiao still oversaw the planning and development of new products for trade shows and squeezed in phone calls to his wife during breaks between classes and at lunchtime.
Chiao had initially considered USC, where his son earned a degree in psychology, but the university would require him to go through its undergrad music studies before applying for the master’s program. Too much time away from the mannequins and his family, he thought.
So, he tried CalArts in Valencia, a school renowned for encouraging experimentation and development of the kind of creative genius that defined its founder, Walt Disney.
“I thought, ‘Oh, I should do that!’ I was thinking about turning the concert into a musical.”
Chiao showed up to his audition before a three-judge panel in January 2015, dressed in a tuxedo and accompanied by a pianist wearing a floor-length gown. He was more than twice the age of the average CalArts student. His wife came along. Then he sang.
“He was in quite remarkable vocal shape for someone his age,” says Jacqueline Bobak, co-director of the CalArts voice arts program. “But it didn’t seem at first he fit in at CalArts.”
Told that the school emphasizes creativity and exploration, Chiao had something else to show them: He sang an Italian aria choreographed to tai chi movements. He also talked about his business and his ideas for telling his story in a way that could involve the mannequins.
“We were like, well, this guy is actually quite interesting,” Bobak says. “We chatted with him and Lily for quite a long time.”
When Chiao didn’t hear back for more than a month, he sent a heartfelt email to Bobak explaining how he was someone who had been creative and experimental for his entire life and could tinker with his “Tenor By Night” concept. Except he used an incorrect email address.
At the same time, Bobak was trying to get back to Chiao and finally reached him through his company’s email address.
“I felt this is like fate and meant to be,” Chiao recalls. “In a way, the mannequins helped.”
He carried a full schedule of classes and made the drive to campus – at best an hour, at worst three – from his home in Cerritos four days a week, often not returning until close to midnight. When he wasn’t on campus, lugging a backpack like other students, Chiao was studying and doing school-related work.
He might not have caught on as quickly as younger classmates, but he worked hard and shared his wisdom.
“My advantage is my experience, my stories,” Chiao says. “For them, it’s black and white; I know the gray areas.”
Both he and Lily Chiao began attending student performances and other projects at CalArts.
“I’m sure a lot of it was rather unusual for them at first,” Bobak says. “They kept coming and James got a lot of ideas. He really became part of the community. He seems fearless that way and doesn’t let anything daunt him or get in his way.”
Chiao finished enough of his credits to walk in the graduation ceremony earlier this month. True to the CalArts mission, students were encouraged to display creative flair as they accepted their diplomas.
With the help of Feng, Chiao devised something that perfectly captures his story and personality: They took the torso of a fiberglass male mannequin with a muscled bare chest and cut it so that the 5-foot-4-inch-tall Chiao could strap it to his back and walk on stage backwards, giving the illusion of the mannequin striding toward the audience.
When Chiao turned around, he threw out his arms and burst into the aria “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s “Turandot.” Lily Chiao ran out on stage with a bouquet of flowers to plant a kiss on her husband and slip around to do the same for the mannequin.
It lasted about 20 seconds. His son Brian, who helped Chiao with his musical studies and has stepped in to replace his grandfather in The 3 Chiao Tenors, says he won’t forget it: “I thought that was really cool. It was the best costume in the whole graduation. Everyone went wild.”
Chiao will finish his credits next fall at CalArts, along with performing a recital. He plans to spend the summer focusing on business at CNL and crafting songs for his expanded concept of “Tenor By Night” that incorporates digital media and more sophisticated dramaturgy.
He’s added an evil magician, Chinese acrobats, and a finale featuring a chorus of dancing mannequins. He’s written numbers with titles like “Rice is Life.”
“He has a different story now, highs and lows, and obstacles and how to get through the obstacles,” says Paul Berkolds, Bobak’s counterpart in the vocal arts department at CalArts and a mentor to Chiao.
What will ultimately happen with that story is uncertain, Berkolds says, but he’s not underestimating Chiao and his can-do attitude.
“I marvel at him every day. He seems simplistic, but there’s something deeper inside.”
