Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist 

This production revolves around a male director’s power-based sexual assaults on female actors and relentlessly exposes the ecosystem of the theater circle, along with its hidden accomplice structure. The first and the second acts are respectively staged in a dark rehearsal room and a bright, cozy apartment, showing the happening of the assaults and the life after the crimes. The piece layers multiple realities: the characters and plots in the rehearsed text are woven with the real power and desire of the actors; whereas the reality of the audience is also drawn into the performance by the proscenium stage. The double structure of the stage shows the struggle between the realistic self and the idealistic self in a synchronous way, revealing the complicated life situations of the survivors while referencing the issue of women’s self-identity in a world of male dominance. (Commentator: CHANG Yun-Ting)

Artwork Introduction

Man of the Theatre was developed by HUANG Yu-Ching during her residency at the National Theater & Concert Hall (NTCH). Inspired by LIN Yi-Han’s depiction of her novel Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise and revolving around the Me Too movement, the work was completed after three years of research and study. At a rehearsal site, an inconclusive sexual assault occurs. As individuals gradually become detached and broken due to sexual violence, all the audiences become the witnesses of this incident, collectively reflecting on the truths of those involved in the incident by juxtaposing their different identities and positions in the work. When more and more people are finally able to tell their concealed experiences, the entire mechanism to support sexual abuse is exposed. Theater practitioners, in this case, must also reflect on the working ethics in the power game of the performing arts industry informed by unequal labor treatments and an inherent inequity of the gender gap.

About the Artist

Huang Yu-Ching (b. 1985, Keelung) began her theatre career in 2000 as a performer. She is now a theatre director, translator of plays, theatre educator, and curator. Huang holds an BFA and an MFA in Theatre Arts from Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA), and is currently an assistant professor at the Department of Theatre Arts, TNUA. She was the National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH) artist-in-residency from 2021 to 2022. As an independent director, Huang expands her horizons and grows her aesthetic experiences by cooperating with different artists and teams. Huang’s work is known for unraveling human relationships, especially for its multifaceted interpretation and the complexity of her female characters.

Myan Myan Studio was founded by LAI Wen-Chun in 2014, with LIN Tang-Yu serving as the art director. Incorporated with the observations made on current issues about women, Myan Myan Studio is dedicated to exploring and revealing the nitty-gritty of women, with an intention to understand, analyze, reposition, complicate, and embody the ambiguities and combinations of women’s hysteria and rationality embedded in women’s cells.

Production Team

Playwright & Director｜ Huang Yu-ching
Producer｜ Fang Tzu-yi
Dramaturg｜ Yang Kai-chun
Performer｜ Lin Fang-fang、 Lin Tang-yu、 Kao Yung-chieh、 Kang Hao-chu、 Yang Tsung-sheng、Yang Ying-ying、 Lai Wen-chun、 Chen Kuan-yen
Stage Design｜ Lim Xing-yee
Lighting Design｜Joanne Shyue
Costume Design｜ Chen Wen-liang
Projection Design｜ Lee Kuo-han
Music & Sound Design｜ Li Tzi-mei
Choreography｜ Lee Yin-ying

Stage Manager｜ Teng Hsiang-ting
Documentary｜ Lee Ying-hsien、 Luc Chen
Performance Documentary｜ Chen Ming-chieh、 Huang Huang-chih、 Ou Chia-cheng、 Hou Ru-kuan
Photographer｜ Tang Chien-che
Sign Language Consultant｜ Cheng Yu-lan
CC (Closed Captioning)｜Chuang Ya-chu
Script Translation｜ Cheryl Robbins

Director’s Assistant｜ Lin Yu-wen、 Lin Te-chia
Executive Producer｜ Huang Hsuan-hsuan
Head of Stage｜ Lee Po-han
Head of Lighting｜ Tsai Chia-ching
Wardrobe｜ Chao Tian-cheng
Hair & Make-up｜ Lin Hsin
Stylist｜ Lin Chiao-wei、吳宗祐 Angus Wu、 Hsu Fu-yi
Sound Field Designer｜ Lai Wei-yu
Stage Crew｜ Ding Yann-ming、 Lee Hung-chan、 Du Guan-lin、Lin Xin-xuan、 Lin Che-wei、 Lin Chih-sheng、 Lin Sheng-po、 Kao Tang-chieh、 Chen Guan-yu、 Yang Jun-wei、 Chan Chun-ju、 Cheng Pei-yuan、 Xie Ming-ting、 Hsieh Ping-lin
Lighting Crew｜ Wang Wei-chieh、Wu Yi-ju、 Wang Yung-ju、 Chen Pin-hsuan
Sound Operator｜ Ho Kai-quan

Co-Production｜ Myan Myan Studio
Supported by｜ Lostwayjunjun
Special Thanks｜ Lin Wen-yin

NTCH Working Team
Program Coordinator｜ Mu Chin
Marketing｜ Lin Yu-wei
Public Relations Communication during Residency｜ Hung Hsueh-fang
Parcipating Projects Organizer｜ Ruan Yi-fei、 Kacha Yeh