Ever felt like yelling out in a theater performance, but were too afraid? Or felt that shouting out your opinion was inappropriate or rude? Well beginning tonight at The Mayor's Residence Art Salon prepare for a performance in which the audience can become the actor and passive spectators are frowned upon.
"I always emphasize [to the audience] that in this show we work together," said Taiwan's Guts Improv Theater (勇氣即興劇場) founder and this weekend's Theatersports' emcee Wu Hsiao-hsien (吳效賢), referring to the relationship between audience and actors.
It's a sentiment shared by Japan's Impro Works and Hong Kong's Champion Arts Association (青皮人藝術合作社), the other two companies that have come to Taiwan to compete in the Theatersports contest.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF GUTS IMPROV THEATER
"Competition is just the format," said Shirley Chan (陳明慧) of Champion Arts. "We are still working together and we are playing." Though it"s cloaked in competitiveness, the purpose of the performance is to suck the audience into the action on stage, turning them into creators as well as observers.
Let's rumble
Theatersports is a performance style that finds its origins in improvisational theater (improv or impro, depending on the dictionary you use) and stresses the importance of the audience's active participation. It involves two different formats: long and short. Short form is more competitive in the sense that two teams take the stage at the same time. The long form involves one team and lasts for 30 minutes. This weekend's performances will be held in English and Chinese.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GUTS IMPROV THEATER
Though each improv company approaches Theatersports in a slightly different manner, the basic format includes teams of actors - professional or otherwise - performing in front of judges while an emcee implores the audience to shout out their ideas, suggestions and criticisms, particularly to the judges.
"In Japan, the judges' status [in society] is very high, so it is seen as very rude to criticize them. So I explain before the performance begins that judges are supposed to encourage the audience to criticize them," said Yuri Kinugawa, art director of Japan's Improv Works.
Champion Arts Association uses a different format. "We ask the audience to be the judges. We will explain [the format] before the show and ask for suggestions because that will involve more [of the] audience. Though some audience members really don't want to get involved in the performance or even give any suggestions, they are always willing to give marks," said Chan.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF GUTS IMPROV THEATER
The Taipei competition will employ three judges and suggestions will come from the audience.
Communicating with the audience members and making it clear they are to be active participants, the three companies agree, remains the biggest obstacle confronting Theatersports in Asia.
Cultural obstacles?
"Because there are conceptual and cultural differences here, it is necessary for the audience to gain an understanding of what they are going to encounter on the stage and that, yes, they are going to be participants," Chan said.
She added that audiences in Hong Kong are so used to traditional theater they often remain silent in the theater, even though the emcee is imploring them to speak up. "It is very different from what we have seen ... in Canada and the US, where the audience members will shout and scream and get involved," Chan said.
Still, with an energetic emcee on the mic, even the most reticent of crowds may turn from speechless statues to raucous participants.
"You (the audience) make the show, it's not just us performing for you. We need your input to complete this show," Wu said.
It's an attitude that should keep the audience members on the edge of their seat.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
RSS