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.
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