The CKS Cultural Center has always been a strong supporter of experimental theater, holding the annual Formosa Experimental Theater Festival event in which works are commissioned from some of the country's best fringe theater groups.
Normally, four groups are selected to present new works at this annual event, but this year, as part of the CKS Cultural Center's 15th anniversary celebrations, a total of eight groups have been invited to perform. Normally, theater groups are selected on the basis of proposals submitted to the cultural center. This year, in a departure from the usual procedure, selection has been based on an invitation. The eight groups represent some of the most dynamic forces in Taiwan's fringe theater, and on this occasion, they will be performing works that are regarded as "representative."
Of the eight works to be presented, only two will be new, the other six being "classics" of each individual group's repertoire. "We selected the groups in the hope of presenting an overview of Taiwan's experimental theater," a spokesperson for CKS said. "Each of the groups selected is very different from the others, has something special about it."
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CKS CULTURAL CENTER
The groups participating are: Shakespeare's Wild Sister Group, OFF PW, the Taitung Theater, Golden Bough Theater, Uhan Shii Theater, Oh My Darling Theater, Stalker Theater and the Taiwan Walker Theater. Of these groups, only OFF PW and Stalker Theater will be presenting new works, titled 11/3 and A European Supper respectively. Other works to be performed are Zodiac (Shakespeare), The Moving Pacific Plate (Taitung), She is So Lovely (Golden Bough), Salt & MSGII (Uhan Shii), Best Wishes to You (Oh My Darling) and My Goodness Head (Taiwan Walker). This year's event is subtitled "Formosa Earthquake," an expression of the dynamic force that comes from deep within and that breaks through the surface, disrupting conventions of the external world.
The selection of works and groups in this year's event make it something of a look back over the development of fringe theater during the 1990s in Taiwan. The shows will run from early October through to the end of November every weekend. "It provides an opportunity for people to catch up on some really excellent shows that they may have missed when they first came out," said Tsou Feng-chih
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