Upcoming theater festival to inspire southern Taiwan

Lee Tsung-hsi, head of local theater troupe Taiwan Drama Performance, which is organizing the festival, said at a promotional press conference in Taipei that the festival, launched for the first time last year, will benefit not only the Kaohsiung people and theater groups in southern Taiwan, but could serve as a source for creativity in the south. The festival, to run Oct. 21-Nov. 20, will feature theater groups from Taiwan and China that will present a variety of performances ranging from sand painting, pantomime, improvisational theater and comedy skits to classical drama, at the city's Pier-2 Art Center. Among the performing groups is Shinehouse Theatre, which will perform its popular 2007 piece titled "Ten Years Old." The piece is a reflection on a modern world plagued by population problems and a shortage of resources. In "Ten Years Old," a society is created in which nobody is allowed to live past age 10. Everyone has 10 years to live and to accomplish what they want to do within that decade. "We want people to reflect on the meaning of life and what is worth living for," Zeke Lee, executive director of Shinehouse Theatre, told CNA. The group will perform in other Asian cities, including Bangkok and Macau, after its Kaohsiung show. Lee said that with no theaters specifically designed to stage small theater shows in Kaohsiung, people there in the past often had to travel many hours to Taipei just to see a performance. He called for the public to support the festival so that it can bring new inspiration to people in the south of the country. Liu Hsiu-mei, deputy director-general of the Kaohsiung City government's Bureau of Cultural Affairs, also expressed regret over the lack of a professional theater in Kaohsiung, but invited the public to visit the city and witness the efforts that the government has put into promoting the city's art and culture scene. Other groups scheduled to appear in the festival include Open Theater Group, Guts Improv Theatre, Yubon High School, Taiwan Drama Performance, Shanghai Drama Art Center, and Hong Kong's All Theatre Art Association.