ASIA Pacific Little Theatre Festival

主辦

Performance

Zero
presented by Teater Mandiri

Sun 2 & Mon 3 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Outdoor Tent Theatre

In this piece, Putu Wijaya creates a terrifying portrait of the world today – a world in which war is abhorred yet continues to be fought, a world in which blood, death and violence exist cheek-by-jowl with twisted notions of truth and justice, a world inhabited by a breed of Man who is jaded, conquered and dying, not knowing in what direction they are heading. Perhaps outside of all this chaos can be found the beginning, nothingness – in a word, ZERO. Perhaps this is a solid point to start all over again?

Impro on Inner Stories
presented by Clash Theatre Group

Mon 3 & Tue 4 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Fruit Wine Building-2F

The inner core of Impro on Inner Stories is built around the ebb and flow of the actors’ daily lives. The actors begin by expressing their inner thoughts through a dazzling concoction of movement, soliloquies and on-stage sound. The dramatic action then overlaps, with actors responding to one another’s points of view and improvising on each other’s story. Sometimes they portray a character, sometimes they convey an emotion. The audience is privy to a multi-view stage set-up, which is both dynamic and beguiling

Urubhangam
presented by Centre for Asian Theatre

Wed 5 & Thu 6 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Outdoor Tent Theatre

A spectacular sequence, in which the chorus sounds conch shells and sings a hymn to the play’s heroes, heralds the beginning of the war between the Pandavas and the Kauvaras, two mythological warrior sects. The Pandavas, led by the warrior king Bhima Sen, has returned from long exile to reclaim his throne - but his claim is rejected by the ruling Kauvaras and as a result war breaks out. War turns out to be a disaster for the Kauravas as all of Bhima’s men and the sons of the elderly King Dhritarashtra are killed - except for one, Duryodhana, who is now set on revenge.

The Mute Who Was Dreamed
presented by Theatre Bazi Group

Wed 5 & Thu 6 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Fruit Wine Building-2F

Set within the confines of a cage constructed of chicken wire mesh, The Mute Who Was Dreamed tells the heavily symbolic tale of a deaf-mute child and her relationship with her carer, which is sometimes friendly, sometimes abusive and sometimes co-dependent. All of this is played out in a series of heady images of women playing with their children in the snow against a backdrop of video footage showing images of war. Hardly a word is uttered between the two protagonists, but if a dialogue between the west and the world of Islam is needed in these politically fraught times, this show is the springboard.

Unbearable Dreams 2
A Collaboration Project

Fri 7 & Sat 8 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Outdoor Tent Theatre

This collaborative piece is the second phase in a performance that has already been given root in Japan by Tokyo’s DA.M. theatre group and the Clash of Hong Kong. In this second incarnation, three members of Taiwan’s Shin Bau Daw theatre group and a Vietnamese artist will add to the collaboration. Their vision is to create a truly cross-cultural performance that blends diverse socio-cultural codes of theatrical lexicon and transcends language barriers while at the same time striving to create new forms of theatrical codes in this as yet untested sea of creativity.

The Forgotten World
presented by Sun Son Theatre Group

Sun 9 & Mon 10 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Outdoor Tent Theatre

Sun Son Theatre Group have established an international reputation, using their bodies, voices and various concussion instruments to reenact ancient ceremonies and spectacles. But the audience is always reminded that these spectacles taking place on stage are fake. What is important is their reflection on the audience, creating a spiritual experience that stirs the heart – a form of social therapy if you like. At one point during the performance, the loud beating of drums and tribal humming – almost reaching fever-pitch- takes the audience to the point of spiritual cleansing, reaching a new self-awareness and feeling of liberation.

Here Is the Toilet
presented by Chen Hui-wen

Sun 9 & Mon 10 Nov 7: 30pm　
Huashan Arts District Outdoor Tent Theatre

‘To be or not to be’ - the Bard’s immortal words become the impetus for this absurdist drama in which a man arrives in a park with the intent of committing suicide. In the park, he meets another person who ekes out a living directing people to the toilet. The suicidal man is unable to go though with his intentions – not because he is stopped by his new acquaintance but because he is ignored by him. His real incentive is not suicide itself but the ritual and artistry of its act. This piece, heavily influenced by the work of Beckett, is based on the work of Japanese playwrite Betsuyaku Minoru. His plays, often taking place in ordinary situations, compel the audience to reevaluate their sense of the normal.

Press Release

　The Asia Pacific Little Theatre Festival, which will take place in the Huashan Arts District of Taipei from Nov 2 to Nov 11, will be the biggest gathering of Asian Theatre groups ever seen in Taipei. The theme of the festival – Asia meets Asia – is carried over from Japan’s Asia Meets Asia Festival, which is already well established in its homeland.

　The co-ordinators of the Asia Pacific Little Theatre Festival are The Cross Board Educational and Cultural Foundation - and Taiwanese artist Mo-ling Wang, who is also acting as Festival Director. The whole project will be overseen and sponsored by the Department of Cultural Affairs.

　 The Festival’s programme draws together a diverse range of theatre groups and styles from all corners of Asian – Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan, Iran, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. Born out of the fringe theatre scene and the socio-historical and cultural conditions of their homeland, each theatre company will offer a new and dynamic approach to theatre performance that incorporates music, dance, movement and narrative drive, thus freeing theatre from the often obligatory shackles of language.

　 The centerpiece of the festival will be the staging of a collaborative performance between members of Japan’s DA.M Theatre, Taiwan’s New Bodo Troupe of the Visually Impaired – that consists of three visually impaired performers – Hong Kong’s Clash Theatre Group and an artist from Vietnam. The directorship role in this creative collection will be shared by three directors from Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan – Hiroshi Ohashi, Tom Tong Sze Hong and Mo-lin Wang respectively. It will create an interesting space for the exchange of ideas – both artistically and culturally – that it is hoped will create new codes of theatre language. The result will be a truly cross-cultural performance that transcends language barriers.

　In total, there will be seven performances – each performance receiving two stages - throughout the nine-day event in Taipei’s Huashan Arts District. Two venues will accommodate the event. The first of which will be the ceremonial hall in the historic Fruit Wine Building and the second will be an out door tent that will be specially erected for the event. The latter has been designed and executed by the architect Hsieh Ying-chun who was central to the reconstruction of homes in an area of central Taiwan ravaged by the infamous 921 earthquake.

　　The Asia Pacific Little Theatre Festival will hopefully become established as a vital meeting place for theatre groups of diverse cultural backgrounds from around Asia, bringing contemporary and often daring forms of theatre, which merge a rich blend of music, movement, dance and socio-cultural codes of theatrical lexicon, to the masses Its overall vision is to create a space whereby Asia’s foremost theatre groups can come together and participate and hopefully collaborate to create new theatrical codes and meanings.

Venues, Tickets & Schedule

[Performance]
Venue　Huashan Arts District
No. 1, Sec. 1, Pa-Teh Rd., Taipei City, Taiwan

Tickets：NT$200

．Purchase tickets at http:// ticket.acer.com
．Taipei: (02)2784-1011．Taizhong: (04)2255-1975
．Tainan: (06)298-2337．Kaohsiung: (07)238-3998

Sun 2 7: 30 pm	Zero by Teater Mandiri(Indonesia)
Mon 3 7: 30 pm	Zero by Teater Mandiri(Indonesia)
	Impro On Inner Stories by Clash Theatre Group(Hong Kong)
Tue 4 7: 30 pm	Impro On Inner Stories by Clash Theatre Group(Hong Kong)
Wed 5 7: 30 pm	Urubhangam by Centre for Asian Theatre(Bangladesh)
	The Mute Who Was Dreamed by Theatre Bazi Group (Iran)
Thu 6 7: 30 pm	Urubhangam by Centre for Asian Theatre(Bangladesh)
	The Mute Who Was Dreamed by Theatre Bazi Group (Iran)
Fri 7 7: 30 pm	Unbearable Dream 2: A Collaboration Projection (Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Vietnam)
Sat 8 7: 30 pm	Unbearable Dream 2: A Collaboration Projection (Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Vietnam)
Sun 9 7: 30 pm	The Forgotten World by Sun Son Theatre(Taiwan)
	Here is the Toilet by Chen Hui-wen (Taiwan)
Mon 10 7: 30 pm	The Forgotten World by Sun Son Theatre(Taiwan)
	Here is the Toilet by Chen Hui-wen (Taiwan)

[Forum]
Venue　Taipei Artist Village
No.7 Beiping E. Rd., Taipei City
Free Admission

Sun 2 2: 30pm	Forum Ⅰ：Heritage Gets Attitude
Tue 4 7: 30 pm	Forum Ⅱ：Out of the Exotic
Sat 8 2: 30 pm	Forum Ⅲ：Across the Border

For further information please contact:
Lee-Chun Yao, Publicist
02 2364 5164
0929 616 873
tassign.theatre@msa.hinet.net

Asia Meets Asia Forum for the Development of Little Theatre in Asian Cities
The Asia Meets Asia Forum constitutes three symposia: Asia in the Neighborhood, Asia in the Distance and Asia in Dreams. The theme of the festival - Asia Meets Asia – embraces the artistic realization of cross-border transaction while also exploring the clashes inherent in post-colonial Asian culture. The Forum can be expected to help in the understanding of this theme while at the same time exploring the differences that seem to exist in the political, economic and cultural conditions of the Asia-Pacific area. The outcomes reached by the forum are highly anticipated and their effects will contribute greatly to cross-cultural communication and understanding in the Asia pacific theatre community. A publication or transcript of the forum will be made public and distributed throughout Asia. Theatre experts, producers and directors of the invited Asian theatre groups, as well as theatre people at home, etc. will gather for the three part symposia.
ForumⅠ Neighboring Asia – Heritage Gets Attitude Host：Hsien-hao Liao Participants：Putu Wijaya vs. 　　　　　 Chun-ming Huang ．Sun Nov 2, 2:30pm ．Taipei Artist Village	ForumⅡ Asia in the Distance – Out of the Exotic Host：Chu-Joe Hsia Participant：Attila Pessyani 　　　　　Kamaluddin Nilu 　　　　　Mingder Chung ．Tue Nov 4 7:30pm ．Taipei Artist Village	ForumⅢ Asia in Dreams – Across the Border Host：Chung Chiao Participant：Hiroshi Ohashi, 　　　　　Setsu Hanasaki 　　　　　Mo-lin Wang 　　　　　Tom Tong Sze Hong, 　　　　　K. C. Lok ．Sat Nov 8 2:30pm ．Taipei Artist Village
Putu Wijaya, who works in the modernist vein, was born and raised in Bali. He grew up under the influence of the theatre traditions established in his country under various periods of colonial rule, which provided the inspiration for his work. Huang Chun-Ming, who is a pre-eminent fiction writer and chronicler of rural and small town life in Taiwan, has worked in traditional Taiwanese opera. The aim of this first symposium is to create a dialogue between these two artists, who have been inspired by the rich theatrical traditions of the past but have gone on to take them to a new plain of expression, and exchange ideas on how they have achieved this.	In this second symposium, a director from Southwest Asia and the Middle East will exchange views in a discourse about their theatre – a style of theatre born out of the exotic imagination - and its relationship to the socio-political conditions of their homelands and the world at large. The symposium will provide a window on the world of Islam, a rare chance to demystify its culture, people and folk arts. It will also hopefully provide an insight into and make clearer the Islamic people’s current position in the international scene, providing a launching pad for a discourse between for the Middle East and the West.	This third symposium, which will consist of six guest speakers, including the four director’s of the festivals collaborative performance offering, will explore the hopes, fears and dreams facing Asia as it enters a new socio-political-economic phase. The four directors of The Dream will explain how they came together and approached collaborating on this piece, raising questions of what the term ‘international’, which is bounded freely around, actually means and offering suggestions on what Asia’s position is in the international scene. They will create a discourse around the Little Theatre movement in Asia.