NEW TEXT, NEW STAGE II - Session 2

NEW TEXT, NEW STAGE II – Session 2

1. A WEEK OF TEXTS & STAGE IN SHANGHAI

The program of the second session was an exciting, week-long program of events spread over four different venues: Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (SDAC), Ming Contemporary Arts Museum (McaM), the ngo RSDBT and the book store Jifeng. The program was opened at McaM with a speech by Øyvind Stokke, Consule General in Shanghai, and a lecture by Yngvar Julin on staging classic texts in a contemporary fashion. Throughout the week, our group of writers and dramaturges continued the work on text-development, while choreographer-director Liu Zheng led a workshop on physical theatre and text. The week was close with the staging of “Night Shift” and an open presentation about the current state of the 8 new scripts.

2. FROM INSPIRATION TO CREATION: Eight authors in search of a play

After the first session dedicated to define the workshop’s framework (Migration and its several aspects), the second session focused on text-development. In the previous 2 months, the 8 writers started writing their individual plays under the supervision of 2 dramaturges each. During the 5-days’ long session in Shanghai, writers and dramaturges worked in sessions (both group- and individual), discussing the drafts, the relation to Migration, and their possible development. Actors joined in to provide feedback, and then performed excerpts from the drafts to an audience at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, our long-time partner in Shanghai. The results were beyond our expectations, and opened up eight intriguing scenarios, each one investigating very crucial questions. How far can one go to give their children a better future? How do we define “home”, after we left our “motherland” in our childhood? How does capital migrates across continents, disrupting family relationships in its wake? The authors will proceed their writing process and produce drafts of complete scripts for the third session in Guangzhou.

3. WORDS THAT MOVE: Workshop at McaM Museum

For the “stage” part of “New text, new stage”, talented choreographer-turned-director Liu Zheng joined for a 3-days’ workshop at the brand-new McaM (Ming Contemporary Art Museum). Adopting his unique method based on contemporary dance, butoh and physical theatre, Liu Zheng focused on the connection between Text & Body, demonstrating the numerous possibilities to interpret a written text through the body.

4. FROM PAGE TO STAGE: Performance of “Night Shift”

At the end of the week, after performing in Guangzhou, Liu’s company Me-Theatre
performed “Night Shift” at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center. The script of “Night Shift” by Norwegian playwright Marco D. Vitanza was one of the texts developed during NTNS I, and its production and tour throughout China and Norway is a demonstration of our NTNS approach: how to develop contemporary writing, and how to accompany it from the page to the stage.

PARTICIPANTS:

Artsistic and Managing Director:
Inger Buresund

Dramaturges:
Hege Randi Tørressen
Fabrizio Massini
Vilma Štritof
Yngvar Julin

Project coordinator:
Jennifer Zhang

Interpreters:
Bai Jia’en
Yang Guang

Playwrights:
Kim Davies (United States)
Sombel Gaffarova (Tartarstan/Russia)
Liv Heløe (Norway)
Gu Lei (China)
Hanne Ørstavik (Norway)
Letizia Russo (Italy)
Zhu Yi (China)
Mike Van Graan( South Africa)