Subvert the theater with a comic attitude! Shu Yiwei, Director of the Taipei Arts Festival: "Life is looking for, creating who you are"

The theater is fascinating, walking into the theater is often like walking into a new world, like opening the page of life, playing a happy window. Theater is not like TV movies can chew repeatedly, the theater can only aftertaste, each performance is the last time, each time and space only condensation in the moment. This day I felt the "move with the body" theater in a woman's paradise, the theater itself is a person. No one in the theater world knows the name, he is Shu Yiwei, art Director of the Taipei Arts Festival.

Sometimes we look at the theater and wonder if they have the gift of art, and even the "art man" of the exclusive temperament and distance, Shu Yiwei teachers do not feel any difficult to close the height, he went to today's art director this step after many twists and turns, from the great Civil Engineering Department to the Department of Philosophy, later in the Czech Republic to read comedy. Not so high, so that people and Shu Yiwei teachers to create a link more like "depth", he walked through the stars of many cities in his life, bring one another rich stories to share with us.

Negative writing: Writing Your own history

Shu Yiwei first visited a woman's space before the visit, listening to Wei Xuan guide The new Space brick sex story, he also tried to figure out the link between performing arts and gender. Wei teacher to this a special feeling, a sit down first chat up "negative writing", the teacher thinks gender is also a kind of performances, theater can also do for negative writing.

He said: "The performance to face the body, so we are often very sensitive to gender, performance and the body can not be separated from." All traditional operas, performances have "costume" ingredients, the former opera is a male disguised as a female, Shakespeare time actors are all men, the early ballet only male dancers. 」

The negative writing in the theater is "write yourself, let people hear your body" is also to fight for women's right to publish: "In accordance with their own will, in all the symbolic system and political process, when their own voice." (On feminine writing:"sexual violence is not a female issue, but a human rights issue" "vagina monologue" the only one of the feminist fighters Eve's speech excerpts )

Talking about the "sex play" in the performance, the teacher went on to say: "Watch is a desire, this is why ballet are male dancers, in 17, 18th century, the dress is almost nude, so at that time to avoid the desire to watch will produce the limitations of gender performance." "Let alone 17, 18th century, even now we also will avoid the" desire "and not talk about, a Wei teachers think we can use the performing arts to understand the core of the problem, the gender issues and life experience is closely related.

Art and pornography: Desire is pure.

He shared his past experience in the Czech Republic, when a well-known photographer from the Czech Republic Saudek often photographed some grotesque bodies. At that time he signed for everyone in the book fair, many children are holding his posters lined up.

(Photographer:Saudek)

"It's an art for them and they don't think there's pornography in them," said a teacher. I take back to Taiwan to my more than 10-year-old friend to see, his first reaction is the vision of men's desires, this matter and culture-related, the less touch, imagine the more vision. "(same field Gayon: Why can't I show you two points?" Written after #freethenipple was "given death" by his Facebook book.

The teacher also talked about the performing arts class in Czech, there is no difference between men and women, he has an example of a practice that everyone must jump and step on the other side of the chest, when he had to trample on the chest of the sister, the sister naturally said no problem, to be assured that he stepped up. Later, after a teacher in Taiwan's curriculum to try to find more cultural differences, Taiwan students on the "gender" of the boundary is clear, so in class, a teacher to deal with the issue of physical touch must be more careful.

The teacher said, "If you don't want to, you just see pornography, and if you want, you can see art." The problem of gender is very much like hungry, you always have to face it, constantly to change it. 」

He felt that performance, dance is to change the view of people watching. Women naked, in our culture will become the object of the desire to consume, physical contact, always let us can not help but defined as sexual cross-border. It is not "desire" is a bad thing, the teacher thought that simple desire should be "emotional, stop the ritual", we can not eliminate the desire, but should try to understand it.

He went on to ask me: "Do you like to see the novels of Murakami?" Why so many people like to see, is because in the village of Spring Tree's pen, sex is very pure and simple, do not have to hide. 」

Let us flow: a pluralistic body image in a theater

Mr. Wei also thinks that the boundaries of the body are not just about gender, but about age. He watched the "Spring Festival" of Vietnamese French choreographers four years ago, with a group of old people jumping tribal celebrations and interpreting the beginning of life.

Shu Yiwei: "It's not just about sex, it's about age." We advocate youth, is not the old body can not be beautiful? I see them dance, the makeup on the face followed by sweat, the tired body and the tension of life, that moment is very happy. 」

People will be old, Taiwan is often the subject of dancers, actors, the teacher for example, the Japanese dance-the Big wild bear, more than 80-year-old still play as a girl, he was at the age of more than 70 years of international fame, and continued to perform until more than 90 years old, he showed the body is not youth, but slender soul. (Recommended reading: Japanese Dance tread Butoh Aesthetics: From the dance to see the dark inside, collapse and beauty )

Speaking back to Taiwan, the teacher said that the Taiwan Dance department's body is very standard, reflecting the Taiwanese people a single aesthetic, foreign is a preference for "a personality of the body", they will show the diversity of the body.

Therefore, during his five years as the art director of the Taipei Arts Festival, he has moved overseas theaters and performances to Taiwan, hoping for more cultural mobility and the possibility of allowing viewers to read multiple stories. The teacher also plans to bring the performance of a foreign-handicapped dancer to Taiwan, and he wants the show to show everyone's physical characteristics, rather than imitate a standard of beauty. (Extended reading: single Barbie Image: Breast enhancement, slender waist, long legs is the only condition of beauty?) )

I think not only bring all kinds of theater to Taiwan, teachers will is a performance of many possible theaters, carrying a storyteller of the day, often visited a paragraph, Shu Yiwei teacher will be a person to perform a two-corner show a story, and sometimes get up with the body to deepen the story he tells.

Life is looking for, "creating" who you are

Shu Yiwei Teacher's life story is full of surprises, originally read Taiwan Big civil engineering, he turned to philosophy, after going abroad Yincuoyangcha met the Czech Prague Conservatory of Music "comedy department." Comedy is independent of a department, this is not easy in Taiwan, the teacher talked about their transition only said: "A lot of things in life, like feelings ah, not you like him, know him, just with him, sometimes together, only to discover how deep you love it." 」

"Life is looking for, creating who you are," says a teacher. 」

He used the word "creation", and I found it particularly interesting that we were not going to "become" ourselves, but to "create" ourselves. The teacher said that philosophy has always been a good balance in his experience of performing, because philosophy is lonely and performance is always in touch with people. It happened to be the two great balances in his life.

When talking about a lot of serious topics, the teacher's gestures are easy gestures, but deep in my heart left a lot of suspense. He used comedy mentality to solve many of the crux of life, I wonder how the teacher's view of comedy this thing? He said: "The essence of comedy is to revolt." 」

We read a lot of stories, but we don't have our own version.

The teacher said: "It has always been so, the most pregnant feeling of weakness." From ancient times, comedies were usually related to the worship of the penis, which was related to body consumption. such as yellow jokes, consumer politics, men disguised as women, comedy characters are low, anti-class. The essence of comedy is to reverse our view of reality. 」

We look at comedy with a light eye, but the teacher says, "comedy is harder than tragedy, comedy requires body reaction, and wit and sense of humour." It is the order that subverts the world. 」

I think the comedy The teacher talked about, as he is the essence of the people, is to subvert the world's rigid values, to see the soft pulse negative. He also talked about using comedy to tell stories to have a "meaning exists", the teacher said: "Life, is to become a story." We watch too many people's stories, but we don't have our own version. 」

Therefore, the teacher said "story" is a particularly important industry, no matter what the media is conveyed, we must have "tell their own story" of sovereignty. The teacher thinks the story is to let people have a deeper understanding of good and evil. Take Taiwan's book market for example, the lack of "speculative fiction", a part of Taiwan no one is dealing with social contemporary issues, many from Japan's speculative novels to discuss "evil", we try to avoid this topic, do not touch similar issues.

The topic of love is not the most important

Teachers think we are too accustomed to only talk about love, to love as the selling point of the story, which comes from the human insecurity of the normal.

Shu Yiwei: "The advent of science has cut us and the natural umbilical cord, the function of religion has become weak, people go to the city livable, everyone is a stranger, everyone is too lonely, love becomes the only value." We look forward to finding him in the crowd, spending a lot of time reciting love, but the topic of love is not necessarily the most important. 」

Because we do not have a heart in the "City", so we set up a relationship, constant thirst, but only to build life in love, more likely to create loss, displacement.

During his five years as director of the Taipei Arts Festival, Mr. Wei trying to bring more "issues" into Taiwan, apart from love, he shared this year's "heart" from Lin to the show dance troupe to discuss women's position in finding themselves "women" in the movement of things and cultures, discussing body and life. The traditional love story is always the man moves, the woman waits for the man at home, the woman's freedom can let the man fear. But in this play the woman can face the world she wants to see, face the feeling of her body need, talk about her desire. (Extended reading:"woman fan Salon" Coffee, tea, Or Me: Life does not have to be a series of multiple-choice questions, create your own options! )

People and play, behind a city

Except for a woman's physical consciousness, this year, the Taipei Arts Festival also shares the cultural stories of many cities, with the theme of "Human being's existence", through the various forms of drama, dance, music and so on, and explores the various aspects and states of human being's pursuit of the meaning of existence. A teacher sharing " stolen Time" to "fan-shaped stage" to break the stage limit, "Chiang face" metaphor of contemporary political ideology , "Starlight Moment" performance of the new French Circus, "song map" long Australian Aboriginal and Taiwanese aboriginal songs, " Metamorphosis-humanoid robot version" Also invited the "Double-sided Wei Veronica Card" heroine Elaine Jacob and robot opponents play.

The events in the Taipei Arts Festival are both moist and angular, and not only the story of Taiwan, but also the spread of the tentacles to cross-cultural. I wonder how the teacher sees the dividing line and the intersection of internationalization and localization.

He said: "People and play are like this, behind is a city, the state is false, it is only representative of cultural views, it is important to start from their own." 」

Starting from their own, is the Shu Yiwei teacher planning this year "the State of human existence" proposition, we will feel that France is very international, but the French themselves will not feel that they are international, because they are themselves. Wei teacher said: "Look at that, the eyes will feel that it is international, international and in the land itself is a power relationship, how do you see yourself, to" adapt "more culture, in order to go out. 」

Anxious to change before, we should miss "ourselves", Taiwan theater to go out is not a way? The teacher also thought to start from the development of Taiwan theater masses. More people watching the theatre will continue to go on in Taiwan. He also expected himself to build an intimate structure of people and theaters based on a "small, lower audience entry threshold". (same field Gayon: Zhang Yujia Director: Turn melancholy into strength, give the world a good Experience )

Listen to Wei teacher talk about the plight of Taiwan theater and the way to go, but I like to watch a fascinating unknown story, he is a charming storyteller, from the theater director to the festival director, a teacher in many ways said " People "story, but also for their own write a very exciting distance, I like his talk about gender and the seriousness of the crime is also leisurely, like he said the theater story when the eyes of the hot. It is expected that his men will create the new elegance of the Taiwan Theatre and make art a kinder and more amiable thing.

Shu Yiwei Teacher with a comic attitude to constantly soften the social order, but also try to change the pattern of art, he imagined the theater can be in the National theater, also can be in the café, he expects art to walk into everyone's heart, life. Finally, the teacher said such a curious words to us: "You want to see Tsai, also want to see Stephen Chow." 」

See Tsai, also see Stephen Chow, art as, life is.