Reads- 2023 NTT Summer Fun Time
Discovering each other's normality through intersecting visual thresholds
Harry Yi-jui WU | DPhil in modern history at the University of Oxford, Associate Professor., Cross College Elite Program, National Cheng Kung University
Although it's still rare to find stage works that focus on mental illness, we could trace the long and deep relationship between mental illness and drama since the beginning of theater. "Abnormal" is often a topic addressed in literature, television and film as well as on stage. As the goals, genres and presentation styles in the performing arts have become increasingly diverse, mental illness is no longer a topic playwrights select merely as a novelty or to elicit sympathy. What has taken precedence is a dialogue between mental health and the performing arts over how they influence each other.
In fact, the "performative" elements of mental illness have long appeared publicly in different guises: from witch hunts in the Middle Ages, parading the condemned in public, to the culture of mass incarceration. Crowds burned innocent "witches" at the stake, they accused homeless drifters of disturbing the peace, even paid to enter mental facilities. These are the ways "rational" people differentiate themselves from others deemed "abnormal," likened to visiting a zoo and laughing at those afflicted locked in chains. These ways and methods are a type of performance put on by civilized folks for themselves.
People in the theater are probably quite familiar with those suffering from mental disorder in Shakespeare's dramas. Most historians trace such influence to Shakespeare's son-in-law John Hall. From the hysterica passio of King Lear after losing his mandate to Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking and obsessive-compulsive disorder washing the imaginary blood from her hands, there are many confluences in the dramatic description of mental illness with Hall's posthumously published observations on the function of human bodily organs.
It is interesting to note that Shakespeare has become a tool for healing in the modern theater. Under the pen of Alan Bennett, when King George III suffered a mental breakdown after losing the American colonies, his royal doctors were at a loss over the King's erratic and irascible behavior—sometimes in a violent rage, at other times spewing nonsense. Only after meeting Dr. Francis Willis, an expert on the human nervous system, did the King's condition improve. Willis suggests the King convalesce in northern England and tries several unconventional treatments, including making the King read King Lear. This shrewd move may not be intended to accentuate the healing potential of drama, but a reminder to the prideful ruler that his power can indeed be challenged.
Today, there are innumerable productions on stage and screens large and small that touch on the topic of mental illness, but playwrights’ perspective has long evolved. Many works attempt to bring such real-life conditions as depression, hallucinations, social anxiety and suicidal inclinations to the fore. But contemporary theater focuses even more on the causes of mental disorder, including the 1990s Tony Award-winning classic Angels in America, in which (amidst the AIDS epidemic) a middle-class family, the church and political figures, trapped in such predicament, descend into depression. The script doesn't deliberately focus on mental conditions, but emphasizes the twisted societal prejudices and oppressions that shape them.
The offerings of 2023 NTT-FUN include some recent works tackling mental illness, as production teams shine a light on the subject as a way to advocate and seek equal rights for people afflicted by psychological challenges. NEXT TO NORMAL first appeared on stage some 15 years ago, depicting the life of a mother living in a relatively conservative American suburb struggling to live with bipolar disorder. Meet explores two lives that meet online: a boy with Asperger's syndrome and a girl suffering from physical disabilities, about how they discover the brilliance in the other and accept their mutual shortcomings. And i WEiRDO, adapted from a multi-award-winning film of the same name, uses a similar focus, centering on how two young lovers, both suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, learn to live with each other.
In recent years, quite a few theaters in Taiwan and abroad have started to present so-called "relaxed performances." This format is designed to extend the age range of theater audiences, at the same time providing access to those with mental and physical disabilities. Although the term includes the adjective "relaxed," its content and technical requirements can be quite exacting. Apart from carefully gauging the threshold of accepted behavior in the theater, producers must also consider whether the sense of shock or special effects such as strobe lights might provoke unwanted mental and physical response. In addition, they must also figure out how best to supplement information, ensuring audiences with different levels of comprehension can all appreciate the performance. For this year's NTT-FUN, Tiger Tale, a dance show designed for families, also offers special performances for autistic children and their caregivers entitled Playful Tiger, providing equal cultural rights to those with disabilities.
Surely, the concept of inclusion in the arts is not limited to any special audience group. The Greek word κάθαρσις normally translated as catharsis (a purification of emotions), first appeared in Aristotle's Poetics and has since been directly associated with the function of tragedy. Sigmund Freud, combining it with the subconscious, defined it as "the process of reducing or eliminating a complex by recalling it to conscious awareness and allowing it to be expressed." In the theater, through narrative or music or expressive bodily movement, the audience's emotions are uncovered until they finally attain peace. Taichung's locally-created and produced Half chronicles how a puppeteer, after losing his lover, learns to let go and bid farewell. Through this puppet theater work, audiences will also experience and learn about mourning.
When we gaze at the abnormal, we in fact ponder what is normal. The appearance of mental illness in playscripts bears testament to the strategies of those throughout history with a voice to differentiate "I" from others. By now, however, narrators' perspectives have long changed. On the stage, you see nuanced presentations of mental illness—from the perspectives of the afflicted, healers, caregivers, performers, audience and listeners sharing the human experience together. The female protagonist of NEXT TO NORMAL seems to be a projection of the psyche of each theatergoer. Everyone suffers from some pain because of mental pressure, all of us must tackle everyday vicissitudes, encountering setbacks large and small. In the end, we share similar experiences.
In these stories about different types of illness, we often discover that grief, anguish and frustration are not the main concerns in a patient's life. The oft-overlooked states of joy, hope, humor and mockery are all the more pronounced when transformed on stage. Perhaps that is a collateral, allowing us to see each other's normality through intersecting visual thresholds, and from there, to learn to appreciate and embrace each other.
Note: Organic mental disorder is any disorder involving decreased mental function, whether temporary or permanent, that causes a change in psyche and behavior, causing a disability in character, emotions, cognitive function and social or professional performance.
The Korean wave: An introduction to Korean musical theater
Hilda | Blogger
When people mention musical theater, most associate the genre with New York's Broadway and London's West End. Very few, myself included, would connect musicals with Korea, only two hours from Taiwan by flight. I have long been a musical fan. Yet before I learned about Korean musicals, my impression of that country was only limited to K-drama and K-pop, as well as its culinary offerings. I didn't know that Korea's performing arts industry is enjoying such a boom. It didn't occur to me to travel to Korea to watch musicals. However, between university graduation and entering the professional world, I stumbled upon Korean musical theater, and since then I've been deeply attracted to it.
The rise of Korean musical theater is a veritable miracle, but it didn't happen by chance. In 1961, Yegreen—the first Korean musical theater company—was founded, marking the beginning of the genre. During the 1970s and 1980s, Korean musicals entered into the popular mainstream, but mostly in the form of international imports translated into Korean. By the 1990s, the country began to focus on developing original works, and licensing the rights of musicals from abroad to create local productions. By the millennium, the Korean musical scene went through rapid growth, widely praised as the genre's renaissance.
The premiere of the Korean-language version of The Phantom of the Opera at Seoul's LG Arts Center in 2001 was a historical watershed. Despite the lack of large-scale theaters at that time, The Phantom of the Opera surmounted the usual two-week limit for production runs and graced the stage at the year-old venue for seven months. Its resounding success also catapulted the financial scope of the musical theater market, originally 14 billion won, setting record ticket sales totaling 19 billion won. The mounting of the Korean-language The Phantom of the Opera was planned after careful market search and a comprehensive promotional campaign, which in turn proved the feasibility of musical theater as an industry. When commercial conglomerates sniffed the genre's business potential, they invested heavily in the construction of theaters specifically designed to accommodate musical productions.
With the increase in the number of purpose-built venues, the genre grew in leaps and bounds. As of today, Korea can create original musicals—titles such as HERO, Frankenstein and The Man Who Laughs—that can match in scale and sophistication with those generated in Europe and America. Korean musicals have since been exported or adapted as musical films.
As I watch Korean musical productions, I also marvel at the dedication and hard work of the Korean people. In a highly competitive environment, Korean production companies do everything within their power to attract audiences to enter the theater, attracting fans by casting popular musical stars. These companies also devise discount schemes for returning customers or "point accumulation" schemes to retain them, thus creating such a phenomenon as the "Revolving Door Audience." These marketing tools—utilizing a star-studded cast to attract the public and then extending and expanding the audience base—are pretty commonly used.
In 2018, the National Taichung Theater presented both the Korean-licensed Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the Korean original musical Fanletter, so our audience didn't even have to leave the country to enjoy the allure of Korean musicals. Of the two, Hedwig broke the fourth wall, engaging directly with the audience. The title character used rock music to narrate his life, and as theatergoers follow Hedwig in finding himself, their souls were also soothed. Fanletter is portrayed in beautiful texts and moving music that communicate delicate emotions. Letters in the correspondence between the protagonists provide spiritual nurture as well as room for imagination, striking at everyone's heart.
After the NTT spent considerable resources in presenting these two Korean productions, the interest of Taiwanese theatergoers for Korean musical rose, and this year, the 2023 edition of NTT Summer Fun Time invites The Three Musketeers, one of the classic Korean musicals to date, to land on our stage.
The Three Musketeers is a collaboration between Czech producer Oldřich Lichtenberg and playwright Lou Fananek Hagen, adapting the classic novel of the same title by Alexandre Dumas. Set in 17th-century France, the young D'Artagnan wants to join the Musketeers of the Guard, so he sets off from Gascony to Paris. In the capital, by chance, he encounters the famous Three Musketeers—Athos, Aramis, Porthos—and they form a strong bond. Along the way, he also meets the angelic Constance. As the story develops, they are all embroiled in political intrigue… As to what follows, NTT audiences will discover for themselves!
The music for The Three Musketeers is composed by Michal David, and the musical premiered in the Czech Republic in 2004. The production landed in Korea in 2009 with a licensed Korean-language performing version, which has since been revived many times. The Korean version didn't just "translate" the original Czech musical, but adapted it according to Korean culture and contemporary tastes, thus gaining widespread popularity.
In 2013, The Three Musketeers toured Japan with a star-studded cast of K-pop icons: Jun.K from 2PM, Changmin from 2AM, Kyuhyun from Super Junior and Song Seung-hyun from F.T. Island, creating a huge fad for Korean musicals. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the original cast from 2009—Um Ki-joon, Yu Jun-sang, Min Young-ki and Kim Pub-lae—won such popular adulation that they became known as the collective "Um-Yu-Min-Pub" (UYMP). Their rapport and friendship also extended beyond the stage. Not only do they record and release albums together, but they often perform in concerts, becoming "true friends" in the Korean musical scene.
Throughout the past decade, The Three Musketeers is often revived starring popular idols. It is often the first musical any K-pop fan would encounter. In 2022, Vieshow Cinemas presented a livestream of the show, thus familiarizing Taiwan audiences with this classic. This time at the NTT, the Korean version of The Three Musketeers will appear live onstage, so Taiwanese fans can see the performers in real time, in the same space.
Note: "Revolving Door Audience" watch the same show multiple times, as if they were coming in and out of the theater.
A dialogue with Taiwan musical producers CHEN Wu-ming and Owen WANG: Let's rock with the new musical wave!
Text | CHEN Pin-shiou
Interviewees | CHEN Wu-ming (Founder and CEO of Activa Productions, Executive Officer of Vocal Asia), Owen WANG (Founder of Studio M)
In the past few years, musical theater chock-full of song and dance has become a new pick among Taiwanese audience's cultural entertainment choices. In July, two exciting musicals will exude their charm at the NTT: the iconic NEXT TO NORMAL that appeared on Broadway now licensed for Taiwan and i WEiRDO The Musical adapted from a local film.
In 2021, Taiwan's Activa Productions licensed the rights to produce the Off-Broadway I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (LPC) at the PLAYground in a sold-out run. In 2022, the production added 150 performances to full houses throughout, and LPC's Taichung appearances captured the hearts of NTT audiences. Presented as 20 romantic vignettes, LPC draws laughter and tears, making us momentarily forget the pressures of life, and transforming a little hidden urban theater into a small bar in New York City. In 2022, Studio M even created a localized Chinese version of LPC specific to Taiwan that ran for 45 performances.
In addition to LPC enjoying tremendous popular acclaim, inspiring revival after revival, Studio M also created Taiwan Hólíwood in 2019, using the heyday of 1960s Taiwanese film as a backdrop to portray the hopes and dreams of that era. The latter also enjoyed multiple revivals, entertaining more than 30,000 theatergoers. The lively song and dance of musical theater has become a new and viable option for Taiwanese audiences in search of culture and entertainment.
Since the 1990s, many Broadway and West End musicals toured abroad, but only such repertory as The Phantom of the Opera and Cats crossed the oceans to land in Taiwan. Recently, more and more Taiwanese artists participated in the creation of musicals, gradually enlivening the scene with further productions and performances covering more diverse styles. Such offerings include imported productions, original works, premieres, revivals and production revivals. Even the languages presented on stage span from Chinese, Taiwanese and English to Hakka.
Owen WANG—Studio M founder and Golden Bell Award winner—draws an interesting analogy. "Comparing coffee culture to the current development of musicals in Taiwan, here's the scenario: a Broadway show that tours Taiwan can be likened to a foreigner opening a regular chain store of Starbucks. Productions licensed for performances in Taiwan are more like franchises that officially obtain the company's recipes to make specialty coffees, while original musicals can be equated to independent shops that sell their own handcrafted drinks. Each of these categories is essential and justified in the bigger picture.”
Collaborative efforts engendering those touching moments
Although musicals appeal to and resonate easily with audiences, their creation requires very high standards, including a book that compels audiences, music that strikes at people's hearts and lyrics that are impeccable and memorable. You also need performers who can act, sing and dance, as well as a director who craftily handles the mise en scène, adept at finetuning dramatic tension. Each ingredient is indispensable. Unfortunately, productions that commanded huge financial investment but fail to gain market support can wind up with great losses. Activa Productions founder CHEN Wu-ming exclaims: "It's super hard! The stakes are very high, and the level of difficulty really tough!"
So what is the appeal of musical theater that artists throw themselves into it so enthusiastically?
"Perhaps you sinned in your past life, now you find yourself involved in musical theater!" Owen WANG says, self-deprecatingly. No matter the hardships, he is still infatuated with the genre: "The production of original musicals is very challenging. Compared with film, where music takes shape only at the end, in musical theater the songs always stay ahead of other elements, evolving constantly while workshopping with directors, choreographers and technical teams before arriving at their final form. That process is truly enthralling."
CHEN Wu-ming adds, "Musical theater is an amalgamation that conjoins artists from different realms in production and allocation of human resources. When the visuals, music, plot and other elements appear effectively at the same time and take over your senses, they break through to your heart and create resonance, and you get goosebumps at those special moments. Even when a work engenders only a few such moments, it can be so satisfying!"
An epitome of life striking deep at our hearts
In the face of difficult challenges, CHEN Wu-ming said, "There is much to learn from mature works that have already succeeded overseas, whether in production or marketing. In the end, the knowledge we acquire can be applied to our own creations." It is precisely such faith that spurs Activa Productions on to license another work that originated Off-Broadway, to produce the Taiwan version of NEXT TO NORMAL—Broadway Rock Musical in English.
In NEXT TO NORMAL, a mother's struggle with mental illness is cast against a superficially happy family. Its thrilling music received numerous Tony Award nominations (winning Best Original Score and Best Orchestration), and the book portrays the characters so beautifully that it won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Since its premiere more than a decade ago, the work has appeared in Europe, Asia and Australia in many local productions.
Perhaps the subject matter in NEXT TO NORMAL isn't as endearing as LPC. "It is a harder topic, but musicals shouldn't only portray happy tales of love. I want the audience to have a chance to encounter different types of works," said CHEN Wu-ming. He adds, "After watching NEXT TO NORMAL, you're going to be rattled. Even when most people are aware of mental illness, they avoid addressing it, considering it taboo to discuss openly among friends. But looking at how the West observes and handles psychological problems gives us food for thought in reconsidering what it means to be 'normal.' That is a very meaningful exercise."
Are you my fantastic adventure?
Compared with the licensing of NEXT TO NORMAL, Studio M's new musical I WEiRDO is a new work whose intellectual property rights are licensed from an original film.
Owen WANG states, "After watching the film i WEiRDO, we discovered its theatrical potential. In the film, the love story between the two weirdos features a lot of detailed analysis of their minds' inner workings, allowing the music to capture this imaginative and fanciful production. Whether it has to do with camera-work and editing, mise en scène or aesthetic tension, there is a lot of room for creativity on the theater stage."
To have secured the intellectual property rights of a film simply means the producers are granted permission to use the storyline and characters. The other 80 percent of what makes a musical must be imagined and created anew. Owen WANG explains, "Starting with subject matter, story and scriptwriter's style, the director's approach, as well as our collaboration with the math rock band Elephant Gym, we are determined to create a completely different sense of texture in this production.”
Elephant Gym, which has elevated math rock to new heights, is noted for songs filled with innovation and imagination. The band's album Dreams, released last year, impressed Owen WANG: "They're not just performing live music. This is a true collaboration: they will make musical arrangements of the numbers I completed, in their own instrumentation. Conversely, I will select appropriate tracks from their album and adapt them for human voices."
After all, i WEiRDO is a fantastic, dark-humored love story. Owen WANG looks forward to its premiere: "I'm very excited as to where I WEiRDO will take Studio M. For me, this is a very important creative adventure!"