With 37 venues, 159 performers and 582 shows between Saturday last week and Aug. 28 at this year’s Taipei Fringe Festival, it is often difficult to decide where to start.
Curator Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡) offers an unconventional suggestion: try choosing by venue — which includes a yacht, hostels, a hospital and even a walking tour.
“Performers are often inspired creatively by the space they have to work with,” Lin says, citing a group that is putting on a “theatrical Buddhist ceremony” at Miculture Foundation (微遠虎山), an abandoned temple-turned-cultural center on Tiger Mountain.
Photo courtesy of Lin Yu-chuan
“Through looking at venues and their unique properties, you might discover a performance that usually would not be your first choice,” Lin adds.
This year, the shows in general still lean toward the theatrical, but Lin says there has been a boost in musical performances due to new collaborator Forum Music (十方樂集), which is providing 19 modern and classical chamber music concerts during the festival.
“Before, the musical shows mostly consisted of light rock and folk,” Lin says.
This is also the first year the festivities are moving into Wenshan District (文山). Two new area venues will host a number of shows, including reprise performances from the winners of the Yong Zhen Fringe Award (永真藝穗獎, the festival’s highest honor), Taiwan’s Wing Troupe in 2014 and the Hong Kong-based Cinematic Theater last year.
Lin says the curating process does not focus on specific programming or themes, but instead entails working closely with the performers and encouraging collaboration. There’s not really a pedigree required to perform, as sharing and opportunities to experiment are more important than finding accomplished performers.
“We don’t just provide a platform and gather hundreds of performers and simply tell them to perform,” she says. “Our curating staff has enough knowledge of the artists. With some younger artists, we’ve been working with them in marketing, budgeting and promotion for their show, and we also use the performance space as a medium for discussion and collaboration.”
A big part of the festival is getting the performers to share their art and hopefully inspire each other or even collaborate. Like the audience, Lin is hoping that performers would step out of their usual circles and explore different art forms.
Some unique performances this weekend include a travel-themed environmental theater piece by Extreme Art Space (極光藝術空間創作舞團) that is held in three hostels where attendees are encouraged to buy a bed for the night. Another program will take attendees on a walking tour of the Dadaocheng area (大稻埕), during which they will encounter three performances.
In addition, the Fringe Club, located at 2F, 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei City (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號2樓), provides refreshments and a variety of free events.
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