The Ministry of Culture has launched three subsidy programs to encourage the creation of Taiwanese operas and designated the National Center for Traditional Arts’ Kaohsiung Precinct as the hub for the art form.
The first program, submissions for which are being accepted online until June 16, encourages the recreation of classic plays by adapting, rearranging or incorporating music and visual designs, the ministry said.
Traditional performing arts groups that have registered with the government are eligible to apply for the program to gain a subsidy of up to NT$2 million (US$61,707), it said.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
Chosen submissions must be performed at Chungshan Hall Theater (中山堂劇場) in the National Center for Traditional Arts’ Kaohsiung Precinct later this year, followed by a tour of at least three shows within a year of the opera’s debut, the ministry said.
The subsidy would be provided in three stages: before and after the show at Chungshan Hall Theater, and after the tour, it said.
The second program focuses on productions created by young people, and would require at least one screenwriter or director and two main actors to be under the age of 40, the ministry said.
Submissions would be open online from tomorrow to July 1, it said.
Those selected for the program would receive a subsidy of up to NT$3 million and would be required to perform the submitted play at Chungshan Hall Theater next year, the ministry said.
The final program is dedicated to larger-scale productions that would be suitable for the National Theater and Concert Hall (國家兩廳院) in Taipei, the National Taichung Theater (台中國家歌劇院) and the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (衛武營國家藝術文化中心), the ministry said.
The submitted play should be a new creation and can incorporate other art forms as long as its core is Taiwanese opera, it said.
The program is open for online submissions from tomorrow to July 31, and would offer up to NT$7 million to each selected entry, it said.
The ministry said it has designated the National Center for Traditional Arts’ Kaohsiung Precinct as the hub for Taiwanese opera, as the city is home to the largest number of Taiwanese opera troupes in the country.
The precinct, which began its soft opening last month, consists of the newly renovated Chungshan Hall Theater and a new complex for exhibitions, events and rehearsals, the ministry said.
The hall was opened in 1950 as a gathering place for the navy and was later converted into a movie theater, which was open from the 1960s to 2009, it said.
The Kaohsiung City Government registered the hall as a historical building in 2013, the ministry said, adding that it began renovating it in 2017.
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