The economic downturn has hurt many industries and the arts are no exception. Recent performances by local and international artists, including Klaus Obermaier’s Apparition II at the National Theater and Novel Hall Dance 2009 series, have been noticeably emptier than they would have been last year. Discounts are hard to come by unless you are a student, in the military, a senior citizen or have at least 19 friends who all want to see the same show.
The folks putting together the 11th annual Taipei Arts Festival, which opens Aug. 12 and runs through Sept. 9, are hoping to avoid empty seats by offering an “Early Bird Special” through June 7 of 25 percent off regular tickets, except for the lowest-priced seats for each show.
For those who can plan ahead, this is a great deal because the lineup for the festival includes both local and international theater companies, dance troupes and musicians such as LAFA & Artists, Teatr Biuro Podrozy from Poland, Schauspielhaus Zurich and a joint production by the Taipei Chinese Orchestra and Cloud Gate 2. There will also be several free lectures (in Chinese) and shows as well, plus pre- or after-show discussions. The shows will be held at venues around Taipei, including Metropolitan Hall, Novel Hall and Zhongshan Hall.
After June 8, Taipei Arts Festival is offering 20-percent discounts on ticket packages to members of Friends of the Taipei Arts Festival and 10-percent discounts will also be offered to those who are members of Friends of the Taipei Culture Foundation, Friends of the National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH), students or senior citizens or those paying for tickets with a Visa credit card.
More information about the festival and the various ticket offers can be found on the festival’s Web site (www.taipeifestival.org), which has information in Chinese and English. As of press time, however, the English-language page for joining the Friends of the Taipei Arts Festival was not available.
For fans of Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) and Cloud Gate Dance Theatre (雲門舞集), September will offer a rare chance to see all three works in Lin’s Cursive series at the National Theater over three weeks beginning Sept. 6. If you act fast — the offer expires on tomorrow — there is a 20-percent discount on a package of either NT$1,600 or NT$2,000 tickets for all three productions for members of Friends of Cloud Gate or Friends of NTCH. Details can be found (in Chinese only) on the Web sites of the organizations: www.cloudgate.org.tw or www.artsticket.com.tw (for NTCH).
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