The National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) is Asia’s only theater organization to join a new EU-sponsored initiative that seeks to promote sustainability and environmental protection in theater performances.
The Sustainable Theatre Alliance for a Green Environmental Shift (STAGES), launched on Friday at the Avignon Festival in France, features 14 theaters, 13 of which are in Europe. It is led by the Theatre Vidy-Lausanne in Switzerland and Theatre de Liege in Belgium.
The project, funded by the EU with 2 million euros (US$2.02 million), is seeking to explore ways for theater productions to not harm the environment, and to change the way people put sustainability into practice in the cultural sphere, the alliance said.
Photo: CNA
NTCH deputy artistic director Shih Hsin-yuan (施馨媛) said at the launch event that under the project, her organization hopes to transform itself into a “sustainable theater” that operates in harmony with society and the environment.
A news release issued yesterday by the NTCH cited her as saying that as the global performing arts industry gradually recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, her organization would continue to work with its partners worldwide, and strive to connect Asia and Europe through cultural exchanges.
As part of STAGES, the NTCH would in 2025 host an annual forum in Taipei, seeking to bring together artists, scientists and audiences to engage in a dialogue about promoting a sustainable future, the organization said.
STAGES would see the 14 partner theaters “spend the next four years testing radical solutions to the biggest challenges posed by the climate crisis,” the alliance said in a news release on Friday.
These include having each theater conduct a holistic analysis to identify key areas for change in terms of their buildings, audience, staff, transportation access, food and services, and work-life balance among staff, it said.
The 14 organizations would each put on two shows based on works about the climate crisis, using local casts, local sets and even electricity generated on stage, the alliance said.
The launch of STAGES came as theaters urgently need new ways to become resilient and inclusive after two years of the global pandemic, it said.
“STAGES has a focus on social and environmental sustainability, which is especially relevant for theaters in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, as institutions across the [European] continent seek new ways to be resilient and to re-establish a relationship with audiences that have lived through immense social challenges,” Theatre de Liege artistic director and general manager Serge Rangoni is quoted as saying in Friday’s news release.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS