The torrential rain dumped by Typhoon Krosa in 2007 forced Chang Wei-lai (張偉來) to put a halt on his directorial debut The Passage (祕徑). One year later, another deluge inundated the Bamboo Curtain Studio (竹圍工作室) theater in Tamsui where he works. This time Chang bailed out the theater with a bucket.
“A memory ... welled up. It felt ancient and yet so familiar. I decided to create a work about the flood right away,” the Malaysian-Chinese theater veteran said.
The result is Into the Flood (在大水之中), a theatrical performance that opens the two-weekend Sun Son Music and Physical Theater Festival 2009 (身聲2009小劇場藝術節) at the studio.
The narrative has a mythological feel. A young man embarks on a journey to seek help from a crab, as according to a wise toad the crustacean is the only one who knows how to chase away a snake eel that is causing the flooding by blocking water from draining away. The young man experiences a few adventures, some transformations and finally saves the day.
The idea comes from a Bunun (布農) story that Chang came across when he was investigating deluge myths.
“What I like about the Bunun myth is that, unlike others, the flood is not a form of punishment for wrong-doing. It one of life’s inevitabilities that you have to go through,” Chang said.
In Into the Flood, traditional arts are fused with contemporary theatrical elements.
The traditional lion and dragon performances at temple celebrations provided inspiration for the play’s lively snake eel dance. The performers act both as musicians and puppeteers, an arrangement that was inspired by Senegalese dance.
While maintaining the troupe’s distinctive style of performance art that combines music, dance and theater infused with tribal inspirations, Chang invited his childhood friend and theater director Lin Yao-hua (林耀華) on board to inject a little humor.
Known for their freestyle technique and spontaneity, the play’s performers take on the roles of storytellers, actors, dancers and musicians playing a variety of instruments including didgeridoos, drums, Southeast Asian gongs, guitars and a rubber flute made for elementary school students.
Next weekend’s lineup includes solo performances by two female artists from Sun Son. The Panay Monlogue (第一百零八個巴奈) by Panay is a personal journey through which the Amis (阿美) dancer reconnects with her late grandmother and Aboriginal roots. In Engulfed (吞噬), which employs animation, Liu Wan-chun (劉婉君) plays an ugly mermaid who is lost in her search for love on Earth.
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