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Theater guru Stan Lai to orchestrate Deaflympics event

The Taipei City Government said yesterday it had picked theater director Stan Lai (賴聲川) to orchestrate the opening ceremonies for next summer's Deaflympics.

Lai, who received international acclaim for his theater and film production of Secret Love in the Peach Blossom Land (暗戀桃花源) -- an adaptation of a Chinese story of a fisherman's adventures in an utopian land -- is the co-founder of the Performance Workshop (表演工作坊), one of the leaders in the nation's theater industry.

CONSULTANTS

The city government also hired four consultants, including veteran TV producer Wang Wei-chung (王偉忠), variety show host Chang Hsiao-yen (張小燕), Xue Xue Institute chairwoman Lilin Hsu (徐莉玲) and hotelier Stanley Yen (嚴長壽).

Lai, who used sign language at a press conference yesterday to say: "I will attend the Deaflympics in Taipei," remained tight-lipped after being asked what we could expect to see during the opening ceremony.

"We have signed a contract that stipulates that anything related to the performance will be kept confidential," Lai said.

Sources within the Deaflympics organizing committee said that details of the performance would not be unveiled until March next year.

PUBLICITY

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who attended the press conference at Taipei City Hall yesterday, said Lai was perfectly capable of infusing sports with art and staging a spectacular opening ceremony in a way that would showcase Taipei to the world.

To help with the event, the organizing committee has recruited about 2,000 volunteers since last year, have all received training in sign language -- both the Taiwanese version as well as its international counterpart.

BEGINNINGS

The Deaflympics, formerly known as the Deaf World Games, were first held in Paris in 1924.

The first Deaf World Games was attended by only 145 athletes from nine countries.

In 2005, as many as 3,660 deaf athletes from 97 countries participated in the Melbourne Deaflympics.

In 2003, Taipei won the bid to host the 2009 event, which is scheduled to be held in September next year.

During the 11-day sports event, more than 3,600 deaf athletes from 80 countries around the globe will compete in 18 sports categories, including track and field, badminton, basketball and bowling.
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