Since appointing himself the literary messiah of expatriate Taiwan, Sean Scanlan has contrived to produce three sumo wrestling tournaments, two poetry readings and at least three nights of some of the more unconventional theater to be found in the country. Perhaps the single thread running through his diverse endeavors is that all events were poorly planned and seemed destined for miserable failure, yet Scanlan went ahead and did them anyway, usually achieving totally unanticipated success.
This weekend's Three Chairs, a 90-minute production including original short dramatic skits and ending in a press conference, will certainly carry the same ill-used torch. After weeks of fairly inane workshop-style ehearsals and dysfunctional bickering with his collaborators, one of whom quit about a week and a half ago, Scanlan is once again prepared to ride the line between crap and genius. He will not be going it alone, however. He teams up with other Taipei amateur theater crowd misfits and rejects (epithets, by the way, that should be considered to their credit): actors David Chen and Jacques van Wersch and director Olwen Bedford.
Bedford and van Wersch last teamed up with Scanlan in July for the Taichung production of the 24 Hour Playwriting Project, at which they conspired on The Red Door, while Scanlan and his Expo Extra theater team came up with a one-act play called Death Orgy at the Skyline Motel. Chen has performed as both a schizophrenic chicken and a lounge inger. As a group, the four have evolved a number of short, comedic skits involving self mockery and reflecting everyday scenes from Taiwan. As with all of Scanlan's past output, the content will be completely original, never
seen before and, likely, never to be seen again.
Three Chairs will go on at 8pm tomorrow and Sunday in the theater of Taipei's Whashang Arts District (華山藝文特區), 1 Pateh Rd., Sec. 1 (八德路1段1號). Tickets cost NT$200 at the door, and refreshments will be available from a gin bar. Scanlan's grandmother will reportedly also be in attendance on Saturday night.
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