Since 1999, Huwei (虎尾) has been home to the Yunlin International Puppet Theater Festival (雲林國際偶戲節), the only event in the county listed in the Time for Taiwan calendar (台灣觀光年曆) for national tourism events.
Highlights of this year’s festival, which opens tonight, include industry celebrities as well as new puppeteers to the trade.
The program lists stars like Chen Han-chung (陳漢忠) of Ah-Chung Glove Puppetry (阿忠布袋戲), Wang Ying-chieh (王英潔) of the Taichung Puppet Theater (台中木偶劇團) and folk singer Lee E-jun (李翊君).
Photo Courtesy of Yunlin County Cultural Affairs Department
Four newly licensed puppeteers from Yunlin Second Prison’s (雲林第二監獄) are also expected to make their debut.
Taught by the Ming-Shi-Jie Hand Puppet Troupe (明世界掌中劇團) of Changhua County, the four prison inmates obtained their street-performing licenses earlier this year in a new rehabilitation project by the Agency of Corrections.
“These are the first licensed performers and it’s their first time performing outside the prison,” said festival coordinator Chang Chia-hao (張佳皓) of the Yunlin County Cultural Affairs Department.
Photo Courtesy of Yunlin County Cultural Affairs Department
Their one-hour drama, titled The New Three Kingdoms — Cross the Barriers (新三國─過五關), will blend traditional puppetry with lion dance and drumming, Chang said.
Other scene newcomers are brought to the festival by a national apprenticeship program aimed at preserving the craft and developing talent. This year, 20 master artists trained fledgling puppeteers at 51 locations across Taiwan.
Throughout the festival, school and community clubs will stage 65 shows based on classics, fables and local stories. They are eligible for prizes at the Golden Palm Awards (偶戲金掌獎), which recognizes productions for best narration, teamwork, original script, puppetry technique, sound, visuals and other categories.
Shows by Taiwanese troupes are free and shows by international companies are NT$100 per performance, Chang said.
The festival program includes 32 shows by troupes from the US, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and other countries.
From Japan, Takenoko-kai brings an ancient form of marionette that uses the teita, a wooden board, to control the expressions and movements of puppets.
Roppets Edutainment Productions, winner of the Outstanding Educational Entertainment award by Who’s Who in the Philippines, offers colorful child-friendly programs with innovative special effects.
The Yunlin International Puppet Theater Festival opens tonight and runs to Oct. 12 with puppet productions, exhibitions, cosplay shows, workshops and other activities. Shows are in Chinese, Hakka, Hokkien, English, Japanese or other languages, with no subtitles. For a full list of events, visit www.2014yunlin-puppet.tw.
Just after 6am, I walked up to the ticket gate at Taipei Main Station and entered the Taiwan Railway platform without scanning any ticket; instead, I flashed the Sanrio Fun Rail pass on my phone to the gate worker and was admitted. I found my train and prepared to board. My destination? This very same station. I was embarking on a 13-hour journey on one of two round-the-island trains operated by ezTravel. They run each day, one counterclockwise around the island and one clockwise. They differ in a number of ways from an ordinary Taiwan Railway train and can make for
Jason Han says that the e-arrival card spat between South Korea and Taiwan shows that Seoul is signaling adherence to its “one-China” policy, while Taiwan’s response reflects a reciprocal approach. “Attempts to alter the diplomatic status quo often lead to tit-for-tat responses,” the analyst on international affairs tells the Taipei Times, adding that Taiwan may become more cautious in its dealings with South Korea going forward. Taipei has called on Seoul to correct its electronic entry system, which currently lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan),” warning that reciprocal measures may follow if the wording is not changed before March 31. As of yesterday,
The Portuguese never established a presence on Taiwan, but they must have traded with the indigenous people because later traders reported that the locals referred to parts of deer using Portuguese words. What goods might the Portuguese have offered their indigenous trade partners? Among them must have been slaves, for the Portuguese dealt slaves across Asia. Though we often speak of “Portuguese” ships, imagining them as picturesque vessels manned by pointy-bearded Iberians, in Asia Portuguese shipping between local destinations was crewed by Asian seamen, with a handful of white or Eurasian officers. “Even the great carracks of 1,000-2,000 tons which plied
On Thursday, former Taipei mayor and founder of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Seven others related to the case were also handed prison sentences, while two were found not guilty. It has been a bad week for the TPP. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) with suspicion of taking part in Beijing-directed election interference. Xu has strong links to the TPP, which once offered her a party list legislator nomination. Tuesday also
RSS