FEB. 2015 IN. Notes ISSUE N o 3 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上) 走跳世界 國際組織的共同挑戰 表演藝術Showcase的台灣經驗 張宏維 表演藝術市集的互惠 陳汗青 一個幾乎沒有門檻的表演藝術展演平台—臺北藝穗節 許愛咪 e Taiwan Experience of Performing Arts Showcase A Reciprocal Showcase System Taipei Fringe Festival—a Performing Arts Platform for All 花 南海藝廊
Performing Arts Platforms in Taiwan Part 1| For Artists: Showcase & Taipei Fringe in.notes is the first digital publication for Arts Professionals in Taiwan. Published quarterly. Feedback is welcomed at [email protected]
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FEB.
201
5
IN.Notes
ISSU
E N
o 3 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
走跳世界 國際組織的共同挑戰
表演藝術Showcase的台灣經驗 張宏維表演藝術市集的互惠 陳汗青
一個幾乎沒有門檻的表演藝術展演平台—臺北藝穗節 許愛咪
The Taiwan Experience of Performing Arts ShowcaseA Reciprocal Showcase System
Taipei Fringe Festival—a Performing Arts Platform for All花 南海藝廊
Florian Klauer
2014年4月12日,我們在台灣的 Flying V 平台開了一個IN.Notes 堅持雙語出版的贊助專案,IN.Notes 不僅達到了
原先設定的第二期專業翻譯費用,甚至可將此筆費用沿用至第三期專刊上,先前因為稿件截止原由,未能將所有
支持我們的朋友一一列上,故在第三期出刊的此時,我們把所有參與此次募資活動者的朋友們,列於以下的致謝
名單內,非常感謝實際捐款支持這個專案的你和妳。
因為有你們,IN.Notes 得以持續下去,在這裡深切的致上我們的謝意!
謝謝你們
Angela Pai Ariel Lien Cecilia Mu Claire Chen
陳怡吟 Kay Wang Liting Liu Lydia Chang
張雯娟 PANDA表演藝術網絡發展協會
Suie Lo Volare Huang Wen-chieh Wang
三缺一劇團 六藝劇團 王如萍 王惠娟
宋建璋 李慧珍 金崇慧 狠主流多媒體
孫洪梅 徐仲驊 高端禾 張正宜 張貽萱
莊增榮 許銘文 陳紹元 曾瑞蘭 黃蘭貴
詹慧君 端木芸珊 潘克定 蔡如歆 鄭景純
謝竺晉 以及 28位無名氏
Many Thanks!
(以筆劃排序)
Phot
o Fl
orian
Klau
er
ISSUE 3IN.Notes
第三期來晚了!對許多殷殷期盼的朋友們感到十分抱
歉。我們將於本期與第四期的焦點放在「平台」的專題
上。這期選定「表演藝術聯盟」與「臺北藝穗節」討論
表演藝術匯演的主題。前者每年的國際Showcase針對
國際策展人,為國內表演團隊搭建演出平台;後者則每
年夏天開放給任何想要表演的專業或業餘團隊或個人,
利用藝穗節的合作空間上演夢想。下一期,我們將以
「Vocal Asia」、「PANDA表演藝術網絡發展協會」與
「TATT台灣技術劇場協會」,續談平台組織的功能與相
關社群。
想做「平台」專題將近一年,主要在於台灣的我們對於
平台概念薄弱,或許因為平台蓬勃發展是近幾年的事,
或過往平台多是社交聯誼或無聲無息的存在;絕對也跟
台灣人民習慣自己獨立打拼,往往忽略彼此努力的目標
相同,應發揮串連力量。「平台」服務族群與項目鮮少
單一,因此難以如團隊品牌發展能見度。因此我們希望
透過平台的專題,觀察劇場人的我們對自己的平台認知
有多少。
IN.Notes這份刊物原本便希望開放大家討論議題,也做
經驗的分享與傳承。兩期以來,引起很多討論,國內
外的矚目,超過400人的訂閱,轉發分享與下載不計其
數。於此再次向大家招手,歡迎有想法,想要執起第五
期、第六期、第七期…任何一期未來IN.Notes的劇場朋
友認領。期待不同的發想者,用不同的角度,不同的視
覺呈現,完成屬於所有藝術行政的刊物。
平台什麼服務, 服務了誰?
歡迎大家認領 IN.Notes
凱西IN.Notes#3發想
想想: 劇場平台的發展 (上)
4
表演藝術Showcase的台灣經驗 張宏維
The Taiwan Experience of Performing Arts Showcase
15表演藝術市集的互惠 陳汗青
A Reciprocal Showcase System21
一個幾乎沒有門檻的表演藝術展演平台—
臺北藝穗節 許愛咪
Taipei Fringe Festival— a Performing Arts Platform for All
IN.NotesISSUE 3
CONTENTS
01
發想
平台什麼服務, 服務了誰?
30
我們 Arts People
沒有不做的事, 事事與人有關的藝術行政
問獨立製作人Yukio Nitta
48
走跳世界
國際組織的共同挑戰 洪凱西
44
好用小辭典IN.Notes Dictionary
「從藍色裡出來」、 「死掉的貨運」又是什麼?
探察員Researcher 田珈伃
* IN.Notes is an independent digital publication for arts professionals in Taiwan. All views are only of the author’s.
For more information or to get involved, please email [email protected]
In.Notes#3 Team撰稿 張宏維 陳汗青 許愛咪 田珈伃 洪凱西
英文翻譯 劉海宇 吳杰儒 賴瀅如 馮怡蓁 視覺設計 林巧若 發想 洪凱西
平台專題顧問 陳汗青 田珈伃 黃曉薇 王序平特別感謝 PANDA表演藝術網絡發展協會 行政協力
Contributors Hung-Wei Chang Yukio Nitta Amy Hsu Maggie Tien Kathy HongEnglish Translation Janice Lau Lulu Wu Ying-Ju Lai I-Chen Feng
Visual Design Kaka Lin Initiator Kathy HongFeatures Consulting Team Yukio Nitta Maggie Tien Hsiao-Wei Huang Hsu-Ping Wang
Special thanks to Performing Arts Network Development Association for administrative assistance.
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劇場平台的 發展 (上)
想想
FEATUREIN.Notes show·case
noun \shō-kās\
1. a box that has a glass top or sides and that is used for
displaying objects in a store, museum, etc.
2. an event, occasion, etc., that shows the abilities or good qualities of
someone or something in an attractive or favorable way
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
FEATUREIN.Notes
表演藝術Showcase的 臺灣經驗 文 張宏維表演藝術聯盟專案經理
01
Phot
o Jo
sefa
Hol
land
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
show·case noun \shō-kās\
1. a box that has a glass top or sides and that is used for
displaying objects in a store, museum, etc.
2. an event, occasion, etc., that shows the abilities or good qualities of
someone or something in an attractive or favorable way
(Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centres, AAP-
PAC),來臺參加年會的九十七位場館負責人也抽空參
加,2013年文化部交流司與表盟分頭邀約策展人,共有
五十三位策展人與會,為歷年最多。
環顧世界各國的同類型活動,也都秉持著此三原則進
行。世界規模最大,兩年一次的加拿大CINARS,自
1984年迄今已舉辦至第十六屆,日本橫濱的TPAM即將
於2015年邁入第二十屆,韓國首爾的PAMS自2005年開
始舉辦。以舞蹈為主,於德國杜塞道夫舉辦的Interna-
tionale Tanzmessse始於1994年,加泰隆尼亞的FiraTarrega
更自1981年就開始舉行。
由此可見,「經營」與「永續」將是未來臺灣辦理此類
活動的首要議題。連續舉辦五年,並不能將台灣放上藝
術市集的世界版圖,但若不長線思考,則永無機會。以
標案方式,將Showcase放進藝術節活動共同辦理,由規
劃開始到執行,通常只有四至五個月的準備時間,即使
辦理單位再有經驗,都很難對抗無情的deadline。
而國際上大多數演出場館的節目至少都在一年前就排
定,重要的藝術節或場館甚至在二至三年前就已大致確
定,且大多數策展人的時程表都很繁忙,臨時邀約除了
不易邀請外,還有點不禮貌,要求辦理當年度就要有邀
約成果更是天方夜譚。或許仿效出版界辦理「台北國際
書展」,或者電影「金馬獎」的機制,是表演藝術界可
以借鏡的。責成常設單位,固定給予資金補助,長期規
劃,持續經營,才有可能看到未來的希望。
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
8
過去五年表盟辦理Showcase的經驗,受限於活動均包含
於藝術節中,且均由政府以標案方式「採購」,活動天
數短,加上演出空間不足的先天限制,每年可至Show-
case演出的團隊都在二十團上下。在第一及第二年,表
盟採公開徵件方式邀請團隊,再由業界專家學者、場
館或藝術節總監組成評審委員會,選出團隊參加Show-
case。第三年至第五年則採用推薦制,由評審委員會推
薦團隊參加。
由於活動時間都在十月,適逢國內外演出旺季,許多想
參與的團隊無法分身,加上非專業場地的限制,讓舞
臺技術難度高的作品難以呈現,也因策展人來自世界各
地,故「非語言節目優先」、「中、小型團隊優先」的
原則就成為評審共識。另外的原因是,主動報名參加的
團隊並不踴躍。而2011年的Showcase曾想仿效國外藝術
市集設置攤位,供表演團隊使用,向國內外策展人推銷
自己。但由於參加者過少,而未能成事。
由於能夠參加Showcase的團隊有限,自2010至2013年,
我們每年製作、印行國內表演團隊名錄,致贈所有來臺
的國際策展人以及國內策展單位及圖書館。也舉辦交流
茶會、策展人交流講座、工作坊,讓國內表演團隊有不
同接觸與參與機會。
五年下來,偶見團隊以相同作品參加,或者準備給策展
人的資料不夠完備,我們很想知道:表演團隊準備好了
嗎?臺灣有沒有這麼多節目?而表演團隊也該自問:為
什麼要出國演出?先回答了Why,接著才有其他W開頭
的問題。Showcase活動,只能協助「How」,其他的,
團隊都該問自己。
即使是國際巡演不斷的雲門舞集,在當年還沒有網際網
路的時代,也得翻著電話簿、準備資料跟照片,在紐約
沿街敲一家家經紀公司的門,穩紮穩打,苦心經營才有
今天。而想出國演出的團隊也該再次思考「為什麼要出
國演出?」
雖然Showcase活動的起源是為了「交易」。但這幾年表
盟自行辦理,也觀摩各國Showcase活動發現,表演藝術
跟書籍的版權交易不同,在許多藝術市集活動裡,當場
談成交易的例子不多。先認識,交朋友,是大家的默
契。認識朋友、了解對方、理解差異,其他的事情自會
水到渠成。不管是合作、交換、邀演、共同製作,通常
從朋友身上開始。
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
FEATUREIN.Notes01
The Taiwan Experience of Performing Arts ShowcaseBy Hung-Wei ChangProject Manager, Performing Arts Alliance
Performing arts showcases, as the name suggests, are the boutique showcases of performances, or the expositions of performing groups. One can perhaps also call it the “art marketplace”. As there are more and more demands for international programs, showcases, being trade fairs of performing arts by nature, are timely emergences providing opportunities for theatres and festivals, which have the need to purchase programs, and performing groups, who would like to expand their touring opportunities, to meet with each other.
As of 2014, Taiwan has held seven performing arts showcases in total. The most recent one was held in Taipei and Kaohsiung, from October 13 to October 18 in 2014. The activities were a part of the Wei Wu Ying Arts Festival, hosted by the Ministry of Culture. There were in total twenty local performing groups in six sessions. Forty-two international curators from fifteen countries and thirty organizations attended the showcase.
All seven showcases to date were hosted by the Ministry of Culture (formerly the Council for
Cultural Affairs). The first showcase, known as the Taiwan Performing Arts Fair 2005, was held in Wei Wu Ying in Kaohsiung, and was co-organized by the Paper Windmill Arts and Educational Foundation and the Taipei Arts International Association. The second showcase in 2006, “A Novel Breeze of Performing Arts Series: A Taiwan Showcase,” was co-hosted by the Council for Cultural Affairs and the National Theater and Concert Hall. The Performing Arts Alliance had provided some administrative support at the time.
The 2005 showcase was in the form of gala performances, most of which were outdoors. All activities were open to the general public. The 2006 showcase took place in the National Theater and Concert Hall, and some of the seats were open to the general public. There were three years of quiescence after that. It was not until 2010 that showcase activities were again revived and incorporated into the Huashan Living Arts Festival, which was held for four consecutive years. For 2014, the Ministry of Culture decided to move activities southward to Kaohsiung, in the hope of enlivening the
10
market down south of the island, and expected to lay down a bet-ter foundation for the Wei Wu Ying Center for the Arts by setting up the Wei Wu Ying Arts Festival.
All showcase activities between 2010 and 2014 were organized by the Performing Arts Alliance, and were held regularly in October. The recent five showcases since 2010 were not open to the general public. Besides international curators, all other invited audience were local curating organizations, such as municipal and county-level culture centers, college art centers and other local curators.
In addition to organizing performances and inviting international curators, showcase activities also include planning cultural tours for guests. Upon curators’ requests, performances by local groups, or visits to their companies or rehearsals might also be arranged. In addition to the above-mentioned activities, international cura-tors are also invited to act as forum speakers to share experiences or lead workshops for producers, programmers and such.
The goals of the showcase in the first Huashan Living Arts Festival were to be held at a fixed time, at a fixed location, and with a focused theme. After several years of experiences, these three points still remain to be the core principles in organizing showcase activities. The 2010 showcase had received only six Asian curators; in 2011, there were 22 international curators, and in 2012, 26 curators. 2012 was also the year when the National Theater and Concert Hall hosted the annual meeting of the Association of Asia Pacific Performing Arts Centers (AAPPAC), and 97 additional venue managers also participated in the show-case activities that year. In 2013, the Ministry of Culture and the Performing Arts Alliance collaborated in inviting curators, and succeeded in inviting 53 curators, which was the highest attending number so far.
Similar activities around the world are also organized based on these three principles. The largest showcase is the biennial CINARS in Canada since 1984, which has already held 16 gatherings to date. The annual TPAM in Yokohama, Japan is also celebrating its 20th year in 2015. PAMS in Seoul, Korea started in 2005, and focused mainly on dancing. The Internationale Tanzmessse in Düsseldorf, Germany began in 1994, while the FiraTarrega in Catalonia started as early as 1981.
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
12
It is clear that sustainability and development will be prime issues for holding similar activi-ties in Taiwan in the future. Holding showcase activities for five consecutive years does not automatically put us on the world map of art marketplaces. We need to think long-term to develop opportunities. Including showcase planning into a festival and subject it to an open bidding process rule out long-term planning and pressures whoever, even with experienced organizers, to work with a very tight four to five months timeframe.
Most international programs are booked in advance by at least one year. Large venues and festivals are advanced by three years. Curators or festival directors hold full schedules that are pre-booked months ahead. On the one hand, showcase organizers working with such short lead-time face challenges of not being able to book prominent curators or often looked upon as rude in short-notice invitations. While on the other hand, government expects to see star-studded lineups and successful results on the spot.
Perhaps performing arts showcases can draw experiences from the Taipei International Book Exhibition for publishers, or the Golden Horse Award for films, in which a single constant unit is established for the annual showcase planning, and the government channels funds into this constant unit for the purpose. Only through mechanisms like this can one see the hope for the future.
For the past five years, showcases generally included about 20 performance groups. Several reasons attributed to this result. The fact that showcase planning is included into a festival open for public tender restricts the planning
timeframe, the dates and the venues. In the first two years, Performing Arts Alliance issued an open call for performing groups. A panel of professionals, academics and local curators selected the participating groups. In the latter years, the selection was by recommendations from the panel and not by open call.
The activities were all held in October, which happens to be high season for performing arts locally and internationally. Many groups want to participate but passed up the opportunity due to other commitments. The venue factor also discouraged the selection and participation of those with more complex stage setting and designs. Then, there was the language factor, when international curators are involved, “non-verbal” performances or mid-to-smaller scale groups seem to be first to be considered. Inspired by art marketplaces found in other countries, the 2011 Showcase had wanted to set up booths for performing teams to promote themselves to international and local curators. However, the attempt was not successful due to few participants.
Occasionally, there had been teams perform-ing the same work throughout the five years. However, we would also have to ask ourselves: Are the performance groups ready? Do we have enough programs? Performing groups should ask themselves: Why do we want to tour in-ternationally? When you have the answer to the “Why”, then comes the other questions of “what, when, where.” Showcases can only provide insight into the “how,” everything else is the group’s responsibility.
Even the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, which now enjoys continuous invitations for international tours, had to flip through the
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
yellow pages, prepare portfolios and press packages, and knock on the doors of every management company along the streets of New York during those days when no one had ever heard of the internet, in order to slowly and steadily arrive at the current success. So for those teams that would like to go abroad to perform, they should also ask themselves,“Am I ready?”
Although showcase activities started with the goal of doing business, after learning from similar activities in other countries and experi-ences of holding showcases throughout the years, the Performing Arts Alliance has also realized that business in performing arts is different from that in book copyrights, in which few deals were sealed on the spot. One gets to know each other first, be friends, and build up a relationship. Other things, be it collaboration, exchange, invitation, or co-coproduction, all start from being friends first.
14守夜者 (2012) 莫比斯圓環創作公社Ritual of the Night Möbius Strip Theatre
男孩 (2010) 三缺一劇團The Little Child Short One PLayer Group
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FEATUREIN.Notes02
A Reciprocal Showcase SystemBy Yukio NittaIndependent Producer
Recently, performing arts groups in Taiwan attempt to grasp atten-tion of the international art mar-ket via “Performing Arts Market”, or so called “Showcase” held in Taiwan. They invite international curators, directors and produc-ers to the showcase to exhibit the diversity of Taiwanese performing arts, therefore to increase possibili-ties of abroad performance tours. In recent showcases, the 20-min-ute excerpted performances share one stage over two afternoons. The small break each afternoon allows further discussion between per-forming groups and international curators. This report was written based on my interviews with per-forming groups and producers who have participated in showcases, including Mr. Wing Theatre Company, Les Petites Choses Production, 4 Chairs Theatre, RePresentation Theatre, Shakespeare’s Wild Sisters Group, Möbius Strip Theatre and other individual producers.
show·case noun \shō-kās\
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
The showcase of the Huashan Living Arts Festival acts as a platform for both Taiwanese performing groups and international curators in recent years. This platform does not only offer a place for Taiwanese performing groups acquaint themselves with the marketplace module, but also provide a possibility to explore the international market. For international curators, it is a place to discover the diversity and creativity of Taiwanese performing arts.
To most performing groups, the term “show-case” is somehow associated with art trading. Some may doubt whether artwork or in our case, creative works can be traded as our arts environment and market are underdeveloped. The question of “who the traders are” inevitably pops into mind. Many performing groups may want to know other than the exotic eastern mystique, what is deemed invaluable in Taiwanese theatre works in foreign markets? This being still a doubt, one begins to wonder the success rates of these showcases. While how to be seen globally is one of the main challenges that Taiwanese performing groups are facing, the showcase offers a place to increase their visibility on the international stage.
No doubt, the main reason performing groups participate in showcase is to increase visibility. Participating in the showcase does not guarantee immediate touring opportunities, performing groups still view the group tactic of the showcase persuasive, since difficulty of entry to market alone is monumental.
Some artists join the showcase initially for the sake of the performance opportunity at the showcase, and knew very little about the
bigger goal of the showcase. They gradually learned how to market themselves in the process, and realized how unfamiliar they are of the foreign markets. Artists also start to develop a better understanding and put emphasis on the importance of art administrators.
To most of artists, a positive response towards their work during the showcase is gratifying, yet some admit that looking back at the works, they themselves would not pick up any if they were curators or programmers. That became another reason to join showcases: have international professional curators feedback on their works. Feedback may include the scale of the work, language usage, the marketability and whether the work is marketable besides Chinese-speaking areas. That is to say, what performing groups can anticipate during showcase is more than just a simple purchase and sale possibility, but a new perspective and future opportunities.
Some performing groups would only join showcase when they have appropriate works. On the contrary, some believe in joining the showcase at least consecutively for 2+ years to demonstrate to the curators their style and ambition. Through showcase, artists can review their work again from different angles and audience of professionals instead of general public. Besides that, how to minimize and extract the performance to only 20 minutes sometimes can also be a re-creation for the work.
The organizer’s execution of the showcase is now more mature and well-rounded through several years’ experience. The performing groups are catching up. Aside from reviewing their works and strategies, should the organizer provide
20
detailed information on curators, advanced meetings or coaching sessions, more opportunities to engage, even matchmaking suitable curators to artists, the effects and learnings can be greater.
Another problem is the short timeframe of calling for performances. The short notice either often overlooked or not enough time to prepare. The showcase should be regularly held in the future so artists and performing groups can include the event in their annual schedules. Even if they do not have the chance to join in showcase, they can schedule performances around the same week and invite curators to their shows.
Generally speaking, most theatre works in Taiwan are director-oriented, not producer-oriented, which may result in lack of market observation. Works tend to cater to the artist’s personal likings or needs, which sometimes can be challenging to kinder reevaluation of the works and less market-friendly. The other question is, how to maintain artistic value and increase the business value of the platform at the same time? Drawing from international showcases, some boast an eclectic mix of independent artists, although the quality of works may vary, the freedom of limitless creative expression is alluring. While our showcases lack a collective goal and theme, selected artists are often mistaken for the jury panel’s pocket list. How to establish a reciprocal mechanism to increase the credibility of showcase is what the organizers should think about.
《都市漫遊 Urban Explorations》 The Landscape Theatrics Troupe@2014台北藝穗節
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每年藝穗節狀況不斷,同樣問題亦不斷重演,簡述之:票券超賣,場地塞滿
觀眾;燈亂掛線亂走、燈都快垂到觀眾頭上了;不在乎公共安全;不熟讀遊
戲規則,進場還嫌場地寒酸、嫌器材設備不足、嫌場地規矩多;罵藝穗節
全是些不專業,根本不懂藝術行政的人;首演票券只賣五張,還全部自己買
下來當成彩排場;酒醉大鬧,還亂嗆是藝穗節有豁免權;使用售票系統服
務,到頭來卻沒有付款就落跑;報名時動作很快,搶下好場地與時段,便人
間蒸發,突然出現時卻說要放棄退出;票房不好,就怪藝穗節;認為評論都
亂寫,看戲的人不懂我的藝術;場地負責人歇斯底里,讓團隊受盡委屈;自
我解讀遊戲規則,硬ㄠ成自己要的內容;不在乎保證金不退還,因為已有準
備錢來超時;參加說明會、協調會都不同人,進場拗說三不:不知道、不清
楚、不算數。藝穗節的確無法可罰,最嚴重的頂多只能扣扣保證金與道德勸
說,還擋不了難免的下一次。
英國奶奶已經66歲了 臺北藝穗節可以活多久
臺北藝穗節提供了一個幾乎沒有門檻的表演藝術展演平台,因此造就了一些
美好過程的發生,不論是資深團隊以此平台做為實驗性創作的演出或是新作
品的試水溫,或年輕團隊以此平台做為練功之處,若仔細研究這七年的節目
手冊,不難歸納出一些顯而易見的狀態,許多年輕參與者之所以參加臺北藝
穗節的理由很單純,不外乎是:為了要完成一些事、為了挑戰自我、為了與
夥伴一起做一些事、畢業前留下紀念、分離多年已各奔東西在職場奮鬥的多
年好友相約來藝穗節重聚創作、為了獲得評論;此外經常可見到的字句為:
夢想、理想、熱情、挑戰、分享、實驗、好玩、一起、當代、跨界、天馬行
空、火花。而有趣的是,每年的節目超過五成與愛情有關,直到2013年才比
較明顯的有反核、都更等與時事較相關的作品出現。臺北藝穗節將於2015年
邁入第八屆,目前累積的團隊資料、節目資料、看戲大隊評論,似乎已成熟
到適合研究生進行研究討論,若用大數據的概念來思考,說不定還能推測出
市場的敏感度、評論的走向,甚或建議藝穗節執行團隊下一步應該要推出什
麼改變與服務。
臺灣在政策推動的窘境就是首長一換,通常政策也跟著改變。英國愛丁堡藝
穗節已經66年了,雖無法預估臺北藝穗節的未來,但衷心企盼臺北藝穗節能
堅守其核心價值:不審核計畫書、不設限、任何人都可以報名參與。臺北藝
穗節做為一個表演藝術展演平台,七年來已從一開始量的衝刺,逐漸轉為質
的發展,表演藝術理當無法脫離時代、社會與政治,更應進一步相互串聯、
發揮力量,期待踏入此平台之參與者能掌握資源、善用平台優勢,以表演藝
術做為向社會、向時代溝通與發聲的媒介,人人都可以是改變的開始。
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
A Performing Arts Festival Where Everyone is Welcome
Among all the government-sponsored cultural events in Taiwan – or perhaps in the world – Taipei Fringe Festival probably imposes the fewest requirement on participating artists. The only rule is that from setup, performance to striking the set, all must be completed within four hours. Other than that, the Fringe doesn’t charge a fee for venue rental, ticket revenues go to the artists, and no screening proposals. Any artists over the age of eighteen, regardless of nationalities, genders, and ethnicity, are eligible to show-case their works. All they have to do is register online
FEATUREIN.Notes03
Taipei Fringe Festival – a Performing Arts Platform for AllBy Amy HsuIndependent Arts Administrator
and pick a venue within the designated time, and off to the stage they go.
Founded in 2008, the Fringe has been somewhat under-whelming despite a steady number of standout shows each year. However, in 2014, there are many more shows that were able to excite au-diences, and consequently receiving recognition among the general public. New art-ists have also realized that it’s an effective platform for those in need of a stage but has little resources. Most importantly, participating in the Fringe boosts artist confidence and increases stage experience so that they could aspire to bigger goals and explore their creativity fully. In recent
years, new performing arts groups would often state their participation in the Fringe in their promotional material. After showing their works at the Fringe, some amateur groups have even registered legally as theatre companies in order to receive more profes-sional opportunities.
The Rules of the Game: Art Belongs to All
Due to its no-screening nature, Taipei Fringe Festival attracts many amateur art enthusiasts. While a traditional dance troupe comprised of middle-aged homemakers might not put a heavy emphasis on its artistic integrity, the performers always have a blast during their shows, and
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being in the Fringe was undoubtedly a memorable experience for them.
The Fringe’s four-hour policy – each 4 hour session should include setup, performance, and the removal of all equipment and set – takes after the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It encourages artists to create works that are short and simple enough to be taken on tours and flexible enough to be adapted to different venues. Over 80% of the Fringe venues are not professional theaters. Spaces are small and naturally do not meet the electricity requirement for stage lighting or any advanced theater technology. At the same time, such challenges force artists to simplify their technicalities and tease out the essence of their works. Each year, the Fringe tries to bring the artists and the audience to unique venues and encourage the artists to rethink about relationships with spaces. The theatre director Peter Brook once said, “I can take any empty space and call it a bare stage. A man walks across this empty space whilst someone else is watching him, and this is all that is needed for an act of theatre to be engaged.” When an artist can manage to create small-scale, fine-tuned works – or works with some rough-edges but are full of creativity – he’ll be able to go on to make something bigger.
Enjoy Yourself, but Don’t Forget the Audience
Another requirement of Taipei Fringe Festival is that all shows must be ticketed. The reason is to encourage artists to be responsible for their own works and feel a sense of obligation toward the audience. Taking a closer look at the process, we can conclude that the Fringe is a perfect opportunity to train young artists on arts administration and production, elements no less crucial and challenging than the actual creative process. Each year, of the 200 groups that registered for the event, usually only about 120 could complete the process and meet the require-ments, and often about ten of those would have to withdraw right before the ticket sale begins.
Once an artist registers for the Fringe, they are faced with incessant administrative chores: how to draft effective description for the show? How to make sure their photos stand out among over a hundred participating shows? How to find a perfect title for the show? Ticket sales and mar-keting strategies are also unfamiliar territory for many young artists: how can they promote the show through word-of-mouth or turn Inter-net fame into actual ticket sales? Then there are
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
issues of front-of-house personnel, taking criticism, and many, many more. These are not drudgeries but rather crucial steps all young organizations go through in order to become a professional group. At the same time, an unrealized production does not equal failure. There have been many cases of artists whose projects have fizzled out several years in a row but persevered and ended up producing hits. The most important thing is for them to learn from their mistakes and approach their projects with a positive attitude.
In an Imperfect World, Not Everyone is Trustworthy
That Taipei Fringe Festival is a government-sponsored event should not be its original sin; however, since its founding, one of the big-gest obstacles the organizers face is the artists’ suspicion. In Taiwan, the general public tends to be distrustful of the government, and the same attitude extends toward the Fringe. Many artists see the Fringe’s organizers as inflexible, dull bureaucrats who are at the service of the government and care more about numbers and politics than arts. That couldn’t be further from the truth! The organizers all have background
in performing arts and often find such baseless criticism dispiriting. Their only goal is to do their best to help advance the cultural sector in Taiwan, and the availability of the government resources only motivate them to work even harder.
In their attempt to change the performing arts community’s misperception, the Fringe team has tried to make the process transparent with clear instructions and respond to inquiries promptly. They also ran informational sessions and workshops on marketing strategies and arts administration. In the past seven years, the arts community has slowly come around and recog-nized that the Fringe is on their side.
At the same time, the Fringe team also has to resist the government bureaucracy and prevent it from interfering with the Fringe’s operation. BDSM Company, an advocacy group for the BDSM community and a frequent participant of the Fringe, is a good example. The organiza-tion could not be registered as an official club at National Taiwan University, which prides itself in academic freedom, but they were able to stage performances at the Fringe every year. Of course, there were times when the organizers
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had to succumb to bureau-cracy, such as when they had to give up performance venues in the neighborhood near Taiwan Normal University at the height of urban renewal controversy.
Even though the Fringe is supported by public funding, the Fringe team still has to negotiate with government agencies and struggle to find sympathetic partners among them. Since there is little communication between different agencies, the team often encounter contradic-tory rules as they go from one agency to another, and try to explain their needs repeatedly, present report after report, and request cross-agency meetings. Several lost battles are particularly notable: the Fringe’s failed attempt to acquire permit to use temporary performance spaces; the types of perfor-mance venue also indirectly affected non-Taiwanese nationals attempts to receive
work permits; another issue that the team worked on for many years is the National Taxation Bureau’s audit on participating artists.
While over 90% of the artists enter the Fringe with a spirit of mutual respect and take their work seriously, every year there are those who simply misuse the available resources. The Fringe asks very little from the artists because the they don’t want to deter any from participating. There is no charge for venue rental, but some participants have caused damage during their performances, then disappeared promptly and leaving a wreck for the team to clean up. There are more than twenty partnering venues each year, all have a long history of collaboration and allow the organizers to use the venues out of their love for art. Yet it takes only one inconsiderate participant to destroy years of goodwill.
Similar problems with participating artists came up repeatedly each year. Some of them oversold the house, and crammed too many people into a small venue. Some didn’t follow the rules and had little regard for public safety, endangering the audience with risky stage setup. Some had trouble selling tickets and de-cided to turn a show into a rehearsal. There have also been cases when artists picked the most popular venues and time slots but then no-showed. Too many of them also blame everyone else but themselves for things that went wrong. They blamed the Fringe for poor ticket sales and the critics for bad reviews, or they complained incessantly about the venues and the lack of equipment, calling the Fringe team amateurs. Some artists did not respect the four-hour rule and came in prepared to pay penalty for over time, having no regard that they were delaying the entire day’s schedule. Every year, the Fringe team had to deal with disorganized artists who either didn’t bother to understand
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FEATURE 想想:劇場平台的發展 (上)
the rules or simply chose to flout them. Yet when problems arose, the only thing the organizers could do was recoup part of their loss through the deposit or negotiation with the artists, but often they would have to deal with the same people the next year!
The Future of Taipei Fringe Festival
The Fringe provides a platform for performing arts with very few requirements, and great art has happened here: experienced artists used the event as an opportunity to try out their more experimental works, and neophytes could test their mettle. When we take a closer look at the festival programs from the last seven years, we see a few common threads. Many younger participants enter their shows to the Fringe as challenges for themselves, often seeing the event as a milestone in their lives – a last hurrah before graduation or a chance to reunite with old pals – or they needed feedback on works on which they’ve labored for years. Keywords that appear in the program include dream, ideal, passion, challenge, share, experiment, fun, together, contemporary, cross-genre, fireworks, imagination. Over fifty percent of the shows are related to romantic relationships, but starting in 2013, we began to see more artists engage in current affairs, such as anti-nuclear power campaigns and urban renewal. As the Fringe embarks on its eighth year in 2015, there is already an abundance of records that are available for academic research. Participating artists’ information and their programs, as well as comments from critics, could be analyzed using the concept of big data, and the Fringe could be an indicator of market and critical trends. A more systematic study could also shed light on the future of the festival.
While the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is still thriving after sixty-six
years, we are not as confident about the future of its counterpart in Taipei. A major problem in Taiwan’s arts and cultural policy is that it changes constantly whenever there’s a new political leader. We cannot predict the future, but we hope that the Fringe would not lose sight of its core values: no proposals necessary, minimal requirements, and open to all. In the beginning, the Fringe aimed to attract as many artists as possible, but now the organizers are making a conscious effort in curating a high-quality program. A work of art cannot be separated from the society in which it is created, and in turn, a performance also leaves its footprint on the society once it is staged. We look forward to seeing more artists use the Fringe as an opportunity to explore the connection between art and society and consequently find their unique voice to bring about changes.
千萬不要直接翻成「從藍色裡出來」絕對會貽笑大方,但是這句話看起來是不是也很像我們中文說「青出於藍」的意思呢?其實這句話和青出於藍可是一點關係都沒有,這裡的BLUE指的是天氣,如果原本是好好的天氣,但是突然間變了天,就很出乎意料之外了。所以out of the blue(sky)就被引申為「突然之間」或是「毫無預警」了。
I will bargain no more, I withdraw.我不再討價還價了,我自願放棄。
The whole thing was a bolt out of the blue. 這整件事情,簡直就是晴天霹靂。
★ 同義詞就是”all of a sudden” , 反義詞就是”cut-and-dried” (預先安排好的;或乏味老套的)
Within the time as notified by the buyer , after its arrival at the port of shipment the seller shall be fully liable to the buyer and responsible for all losses and expenses such as dead freight and demurrage.在買方通知的時限之內,並抵達裝運港之後,賣方應該對於買方承擔全部責任並負責空艙費、延滯費等損失。