Travel de Theater Space designer Chen Chengting, the most sincere woman, everyone went abroad to support the face, she ventured to talk about how to teach her to put down self-esteem, in the desperate to grow comfortable and unique shape.
We all want to be a kind of people, that in order to expand their experience boundaries, put down the fear, to mention the courage, nothing to go out. Even if there is no plan in the bosom, even the language of destination can not speak.
Two finalists WSD World Theater Design exhibition space architect Chen Chengting, is such a woman.
Seven years ago, she said a German is not complete, with a vision of the German theater predecessors, by the work saved enough 200,000 to fly to Germany. It's seven years to stay.
Cheng Ting in a white shirt, titanium germanium necklace circle on the neck, wrist wearing black collar, arm muscles faint visible, like a pure but gentle leopard. Outside for many years, she naturally outlines the outline of the rivers and lakes, brave, loyal, calm but lightweight.
Traveling home from abroad, some people from inferior small fish to arrogant white shark, someone in the vast world of collision and exchange their shape, bright and sparkling, Cheng Ting is rare in the latter. It's hard not to be attracted to her, to talk to her, to ask what she's been through.
The door is open don't be afraid, want to go inside!
Cheng Ting At the outset essay said that becoming a theatre space architect was an accident. "When I was a child, I was learning to dance, no art background, no drawing!" "She was six years old with the Taiwan arts Dance Department teacher to learn Barry, dance to the national dance and Tap, because the dance, the time to enter the theater very early."
A dancer, will not draw but turned to behind the scenes, do theater space designer I said far-fetched, she said if people know how to listen to their voice, will find a lot of things have no reason.
"I like to walk through the curtain to the stage, but it's always stressful," he said. "When I was a kid, there was a big dance show at the Taipei County Arts Center Performing Arts Hall, and her body remembers the air conditioning and dust in the theater backstage, the moment when the stage lights hit and burned to the dust, running around in the background was the happiest thing ever."
So she regardless of their turn and all back, people desperately want to go from behind the scenes to the front, she chose to reverse forward, from the stage to the behind-the-scenes.
"When I was a kid, I liked those backstage things. Later saw the northern arts major drama design Department of the cloth screen, lighting photos, be attracted to think to the test to see it. I realized that I was more capable of mastering the technology than dancing. She said there was light in her eyes, as if she could see the 17-year-old Cheng Ting.
However, do not like to paint this matter, did bring her a lot of struggle and pain.
"People really can't lie to themselves. I do not have the art base, hand-painted watercolor perspective is often pretended to die, beating the heart to resist their own things. Then the teacher told her, "Don't worry, you should be the person who do something, you will go to which path." 」
This sentence affects her life, "at every moment of hesitation, I will try to remind myself to put it down, when you do not persist must become what, naturally will find you are what kind of person, will get the corresponding opportunity to embark on the corresponding road." 」
She was a part-time lecturer at the Renaissance High school drama class, and the students asked her how she got to this day. "I said I didn't have a plan, which door opened and walked in." What is the use of this, plan to keep up with change. She opened her arms and smiled, "That's bad, right, but it's true." 」
I have no plan, the plan is not up to change, which door opened and walked in.
In Germany, she came to understand that the most necessary ability for a person is not to plan for the future, but to recognize the present. Like rock climbing must grasp the immediate stone, stable itself only margin judge the next step.
In Taiwan's context, life must be planned, "to step by step, a few years old to get married, along the way must always prove themselves, brush the sense of existence, according to work and income to define who they are, and so on, after going abroad to change the context, all things take off again." 」
She was too interested in Germany to experience Bina Baushu (Philippine Pina Bausch), Sashavaz (Sasha) and other people how to live, how to walk. She looked at Thomas Ostermeier, a theater space designer. Pappelbaum The structure of the glass material and cold metal on the stage, contrasted with the flying column and scenery dominated Taiwan theater design, greatly stimulated.
"But on my first day in Berlin, cold to die, cold to a little angry, take the subway across the street, see the building of the office building and the Pappelbaum of the stage design is the same, only to find that it is their life, he just took life out as a creative element for a play service scene. "Life and ideals are not on their side, they must be placed in the present, which is the first cultural shock."
Cheng Ting speaking voice is low but contagious, can loosen the listener tight bones. But she said she was a prim person and took a long time to open up.
Go abroad is not goofy, is lower face weakness
"First week in Germany, I zhen ri hide in the student dormitory, even go to the supermarket to buy things to take a deep breath several times before they go out." 」
Talking about the early arrival of life in Germany, into Ting more than the unexpected frankly scared me jump. International students are often very good or face-saving, generous to strangers talk about a different distance frustration, I thought that this may be a few people without fear.
She didn't hear my little theater, go on.
"Pay attention to the number of the cash register, he told you, you may not understand and react to not come." If he asks you if you want a bag, you're going to be so nervous. She imitated the state of her stuttering, and spoke to herself in a pit scar, and the man was lovely.
"In Taiwan, I have a glib tongue, in Germany, the Institute completely into the Aphasia state, so after three years." "Cheng Ting is not the worst foreign student in German, but it is better to hide her self-esteem and perfectionism than to make a mistake."
Description of the situation, her body slightly curled up, "do not understand when I try to remember the key words, then the professor must turn his head to ask," into a ting you think? "I couldn't say a word, and the Professor sighed and went on with his speech. Then I went back to the corner. 」
Before preparing for the master's Entrance examination, "sometimes in the morning to sit on the bed do not want to move, or sit up, think of going to school, tears began to fall, half an hour to decide to go or not, both of the circumstances have occurred." "Cheng Ting generous paraded students the most unbearable inner drama, connect me in the UK reading memory: sometimes also hope that the open eyes will be dark.
I asked her if she had any racial problems, and she soon confessed that "Germany is wary of racial issues because of Nazi history, but careful does not mean patience." Berlin University of technology like smart words of the designer, I have no way, I read very skeptical of myself, I am not sure what to read this book to do, there is no competitiveness to speak of. I know more than them at the theatre, but I'm not competitive on campus. 」
She has a solid school training in Taiwan, she ran outside the small theater to connect design work grounding gas, in the music café to learn to set the stereo, before arriving in Germany has skills everything proficient, Germany seems to have nothing to teach her, only to teach her life and self-esteem frustration, teach her to face her incompetence and weakness.
But because face oneself, but gradually hand over a group of good friends, she described them as treasures Nonesuch, with a sharp silhouette and a very vivid shape, and she also taught the Taiwanese a solid kung fu, "and then these friends helped me loosen the stiff side, we could improvise on the street, and give each other a lot of help and opportunity at work." "This experience for her to verify that the theater is ultimately to communicate with people, so that their own life experience and physical memory collision or blending, expand the imagination and body boundaries."
To understand who you are, there is a moment of inspiration.
In the final year of the Institute in Berlin, she participated in a two-year workshop at the Baohaus School of Design, where she met a number of space design students and young choreographers, as well as a Mexican partner Karina Suárez Bosche, who later formed the p_a_r_a_r__ Shen-style theatre (note i).
"Before coming to Germany, she has been a very experienced choreographer in Mexico, I have experience in Taiwan, after the workshop, she invited me to do the work of graduation, to the professional self-request as the premise, the work this year in WSD finalists, and later went to Mexico, Norway tour." 」
Photo Credit:raphael Hünerfauth
Chen Chengting Theatre Space Design works: in/the/back/no/words/hearing
Photo Credit:andréwunstorf
Chen Chengting Theatre Space Design works: in/the/back/no/words/hearing
After graduation, she spent the night running through the entire German city theatre to maintain her life and stay in Germany. Cast nearly hundreds of resumes to apply for theater design assistant, but also in the Berlin subway station in the McDonald's stall to work, with the scars of the burns, she said, "we each have a McDonald's mark, but my relatively large." 」
To the lowest material life, the time space and spirit left to create and friends.
In 2015, she and Karina were invited by the Shanghai Arts Center International Art Festival to arrange lectures for her, Cheng Ting 8 words to converge the core of creation: space deduction, body memory.
"For me, space has to be connected to body and memory. The body is not a grand narrative, is the body of life, how do you become a person like now, your body memory is what, this memory will stack you in space to make action. 」
This year, with the women's Day "mother-put me in your shoes", and strive not to make the family atmosphere, the actor came out and began to cut the mango, said: "Yu mother bought 36 Mango put in the fridge." The audience smiled as soon as they heard it. "Because almost everyone has a mother, will be broken in the summer of the country so-and-so person's mango is very fragrant, must eat quickly." The image of the mother immediately appeared in front of her. 」
Once the audience memory, the body has its own echoes, the theater at first sight.
"Is this about dancing?" Not necessarily, it is related to the common memory. This is my challenge to myself at work and I have to understand who my audience is and who I am. 」
"Space deduction" is translated from German, "the original text is similar to the" paraded situation. The stage designer in German is the scene designer, creates the scene, the deduction space person, ponders wants him to let the space say what kind of words. 」
A good design doesn't have to be noisy, and you don't have to be eager to show design traces.
"I can do a design to later completely look at the design, as long as it conforms to the theater concept, true, honest, with people link, no impossible." She smiled as if to say, "You see I'm so loose, it's hopeless." "But it's so cool.
Cooperation with the Paris Theatre European workshop, we are all floating island
Participating in the European workshop, she said that she was actually grateful to Shu Yiwei.
"When the teacher was young in the Czech Republic to study, life, he knows the anguish of living, see I said," I know you very hard, but you hold on, do not rush back, where resources are good, nutrients very good, to get the essence of this country at least six years. "Four years he asked me to hold on, it's been seven years." 」
Seven years, her body is still Taiwan-style, and finally saturated Germany.
Under Teacher Geng, she was with another Taiwanese theater director Hongyi, and the Portuguese writer Ricardo. Neves participated in the "European Workshop Festival" created by the Paris Theatre.
Photo:2017 Taipei Arts Festival European Workshop
"The European Workshop Festival supports the European artists in the village, and each year together through the arts, discuss what is the biggest issue in Europe today." "Into Ting patiently explained.
"For example, in the French election this year, the far right and the left are wrestling with tension, and the French theater people want to re-examine Europe's self-centered worldview and balance the arguments and theories through a pluralistic view of foreigners." 」
The three artists, each of whom stood in different cultural positions, looked to Europe. Hongyi Court is good at cooking French literature, French rhythm and conflict of beauty; Cheng Ting's body is very Taiwan, she once in the river Cui South Tube theater to learn South tube posture, also accustomed to from the body and vision; Portuguese writer Ricardo is an optimistic and cheerful comrade, "We gathered together to clarify their cultural context, cooperation before we chatted for a whole week, Bring to each other a shock and creative spark. 」
Later, they decided to abandon the "one writer, one director, one person stage design" of the professional division of labor, three people together to create.
"France has a dessert called the Floating Island, the bubble ball floating in the middle of the sugar juice." Like the three of us, we are all born on the island, and living in Europe is an island. 」
Although Portugal is in Europe but is in the border, never entered the center, "they also feel that they are the island, sometimes near the shore, and sometimes drift back." The three of us have to find our own position, to have an opinion, to take the audience to experience what Europe may be. 」
Paris shows, they get very well resounds. Back in Taiwan, a new challenge has begun.
"Back in the context of Taipei, a lot of things to be changed, the performance of Paris has reached a lot of knowing a smile of the moment and the sense of completion is very high." The size of the Taipei audience is five times times that of Paris, and the ticket sales, must let the audience see a more complete state, but our things will not be spectacle-style, floating. 」
Cheng Ting said she hopes to see the show and you will feel that your life is tied to Europe.
"Nothing is distant, no matter where, life is very plain," she believes that every corner of the world's individual survival struggle, will have a butterfly effect, born in our experience. "Either the refugees or ISIS are, not because of what happened in Europe that we have nothing to do with." "Cheng Ting in a tone of eagerness, I can feel her desire to reach out to each other."
"I'm not a leftist social activist, not to shake everyone awake, I do not have the ability, but to tell you some very honest experience, such as in Germany, the most serious experience of racial discrimination, or the professor in the Fokker gave me a rejection letter, although the refusal is full of respect for people. 」
In order to create the link, she was too able to surrender herself, the interview she had no reservations, I stopped to ask her what to do theater.
She says the theater can be anything.
"A theater person wants to be present," he said. For me, the present sex means a person's temperature, energy moment. What we expect in the theater is the constant energy moment. A work has no energy bright spots, the performer knows, the audience knows, because it happens at the same time in the relationship between view and look. 」
To be a theater is to be present. The present sex means the person's temperature and energy.
In the Mexican nursing home to see more than half paralyzed, the eyes hollow old man, in order to participate in the drama performance of the present, from the dry body efforts to squeeze the scene cloth, see the moment, her tears straight.
"I know very well that creating the present is what I am going to do in my life." 」
Don't forget to give yourself space and time to live well
Theater people create the present, but the audience of the theatre should have margin and ability to feel the present. Finally, I asked her, Taiwan's physical and emotional education is scarce, how to do?
She thought about it, but we were so emotionally rich that we needed to get emotional stimulation from the outside. I say that the Taiwanese are very promiscuous, and she speaks for the Taiwanese, "because they are not too shy to share them, so they can express their emotions in a way that is more socially acceptable." "I say these expressions come from the drama of the tablet, and then pressed her some more, how to do?"
She said, "move. 」
"The most vulgar of the FA, is out of the comfort zone, to eat a little ordinary not to eat, not so convenient, no network of life." Own water, with a bucket bath, or three days do not change clothes, whether or not to go abroad, you can practice 3C break food, leave every day must watch TV dramas and Web pages. 」
Or, to see a stage play, I would like to add for her. Try not to use media intermediaries, feel the actors, see the lights, props, sets, so that life and the density of the current resonance.
She still has a lot of friends in Europe who use traditional dumb phones, there is no face book, "A lot of Germans boycott Facebook because they don't want to lose the present and the reality of life, and of course he knows that they will lose a lot of information, but prefer the traditional way of reading newspapers, making phone calls, texting and interacting with people, and not absorbing information on social sites, Because of the important message, it was forced to carry more than 10 spam messages. 」
Cheng Ting says we're too used to dealing with a lot of information at the same time, easily losing the ability to distinguish between important and unimportant. "We do not give ourselves space for this matter, a little too serious." 」
In Taiwan, we are too greedy, want, live too fast, too want to go to the future, so we miss the present, so that nothing can be felt.
Cheng Ting said that theater is the creation of the present, in this world is pushing you to live in the future of the Times, live in the present is how difficult but how simple, how small but how great, how humble but also many proud of the thing.