WhereArethePeople?
HowCouldthePeople’sBodiesVoiceThemselvesintheFormof
TheatricalAesthetics?
AtThatTime,theAudienceReallyStoodUp.
Inthisevening,theaterpractitionersinitiatedtheconversationwithphysicalaction.Theyengagewithcontemporaryissuesthroughtheiruniqueperformancestyles.Fromadiscursivecontext,theyenterthesceneofresistanceandundertakethelaborofperformance.Theirperformanceisnotjusttheprefacetoaseriesofdialogues,butalsoawitnesstothirtyyearsofPeople’sTheater.
“People’stheater”belongstothepeople.
Itisthetheatercreatedbythepeopleandspeaksforthepeopleasithasappearedinhistoryindiverseforms.
PeopletheaterinInter-AsianSocietiesbegantogrowinacross-region,whichincludedJakarta,Manila,Bangkok,KualaLumpur,HongKong,Tokyo,Busan,Maputo,Beijing,Shanghai,Hualien,Taichung,andTaipei.Throughthewritingsandimageswrittendownbytheatricalartistsfromthesespaces,wecanfigureoutthebodyaestheticsthatcarryhistoricalconflictsandtheexperiencetofindtheformandchannelofexpression,andcontinueforworkofthinkingandcreation.
“PeopleTheater”isnothingbutarehearsalforarevolution.
Thisbookhasreviewedandreflectedonthehalf-centurydevelopmentofpeople’stheaterininter-Asiansocieties,demonstrateshowthetheatricalpractitionersandartistsindifferentcommunitiesstrivedtoopenvariousspaces,dealtwiththecensorshipfromtheauthoritarianregimetotheneoliberalsocieties,andexperimentedwithdiverseaestheticsandlocalobjectstoaddresspoliticalissues.
▍Preface
“Itisacollectionwiththepremisethatcanmotivateourcriticalthinkingwithbodilyenergy.Itreflectshowwerealizethestatement—‘Viewingasparticipating;audienceasactors.’Itisalsoabookwheresomekeywordsconstantlyappear,likeresistance,politics,theoppressed,andconversation.Withitshummingbuzzandmurmuragainstthepresentsituation,itisacollectionofwordsrefusingtoremainsilent.”—LinHsinI（AssociateProfessorattheInstituteofAppliedArt,NationalYangMingChiaoTungUniversity）
▍People’sTheaterPractitioners
AsianPeople’sTheatreFestivalSociety(HongKong)／AssignmentTheatre(Taiwan)／CentreforAppliedTheatre,Taiwan(Taipei)／GrassStage(Shanghai)／LangasanTheatre(Hualien)／MakhampomTheatreGroup(ChingDao/Bangkok)／OzTheatreCompany(Taipei)／PhilippineEducationalTheaterAssociation,PETA(Manila)／ShigangMamaTheater(TaichungShigang)／TeaterKubur(Jakarta)／TeatroemCasa(Mozambique)／TheaterPlaygroundSHIIM(Busan)／Trans-AsiaSistersTheater(Taiwan)／WANGMo-lin(Taiwan)／WijiThukul(Solo)／YasennoTsuki(Tokyo)
▍Recommenders
LaiShu-Ya／Director,CentreforAppliedTheatre,Taiwan
ChenChieh-Jen／Artist
ChenHsin-Hsing／Professor,GraduateInstituteforSocialTransformationStudies,SHU
ChouHui-Ling／Professor,DepartmentofEnglish,NCU
HsuJen-hao／AssociateProfessor,DepartmentofTheaterArts,NSYSU
KuoLi-Hsin／Professor,DepartmentofRadio&Television,NCCU
ShihWan-Shun／AssociateProfessor,DepartmentofTaiwanLiterature,NTHU
YaoLee-Chun／ADirectorofBodyPhaseStudio–GulingStreetAvant-gardeTheatre(GLT)
▍Characteristicsofthisbook
1.BeyondthegeographicallimitationsofTaiwanandEastAsia,combinedthecontextofInter-AsiansocietiesandThird-Worldsociety,appreciatethetheaterworkmethodsthatareintertwinedwithfolkcultureandcommunitytraditions,andpromotethepracticeofpublictheater.
2.Thisbookfocusesondepictingnetworkrelationshipsinspecifichistoricalperiods,andexploreshowthecooperationandinteractionoftroupesintheseheterogeneousregionsoccurred.Andhowdotheseinteractionsaffectthecharacteristicsandformsofpopulartheaterorganizationsinthetransitionofdifferentpolicies?
3.Whatthisbooklooksbackonisnotonlythecontinuationanddevelopmentoftroupesbutalsothesuddenchangeorgapbetweennewpeopletheatersandoldpeopletheaters.
INTER HongKong TAIPEI Manila Audi TAIWAN JAKARTA TELEVISION KualaLumpur PEOPLE Taichung Hualien Tokyo
