Born of the America of 1960s, performance art comes along as a celebration of presentation rather than re-presentation, as a display form of art, and an art form that does not admit of duplication. This paper presents...Born of the America of 1960s, performance art comes along as a celebration of presentation rather than re-presentation, as a display form of art, and an art form that does not admit of duplication. This paper presents a reading of the seductive power of performance art as rooted in our theatrical nature. I will address performance art as an emancipated form of the theatrical, where by ＂theatrical＂ I mean a specific mode of presentation and a specific mode of perception： the mode of presentation of the self to the social and the mode of perception of the self through the social. Performance art, I will argue, is hardly an anomaly of our time. Rather, its source of disturbance and fascination lies in the natural, though excessive manifestation of our theatrical nature. By its appeal to the shocking, the perilous, or the mundane even, this form of art confirms what Paul Woodruff has addressed as ＂the necessity of watching and being watched.＂ Performance art shows us the danger of self-presentation, the recognition of the other gaze as the self＇s greatest need and greatest fear. It needs no words. Mere action is more seductive than speech and does not accept speech in return. Once it has been performed, it is no longer. In Nietzsche＇s words, it celebrates the fleeting moment＇s ＂greatest weight.＂ As Samuel Beckett used to tell his actors, performance artists seem to tell their spectators： ＂Go on failing. Go on. Only next time, try to fail better.＂展开更多
Storytelling is an important performing art. Attracting theater practitioners and audiences are the main targets. Successful narrator communication is one of the biggest challenges even when theatres facilitate commun...Storytelling is an important performing art. Attracting theater practitioners and audiences are the main targets. Successful narrator communication is one of the biggest challenges even when theatres facilitate communication with scenery, lighting and costumes etc., as the performance depends primarily on the text and narrator for successful expression. This study views the most important techniques to create a well-made story at both text and performance levels. The researcher begins differentiating storytelling, imitation and characterization, as this understanding assists the objective of this study, which is to determine specific techniques to achieve successful communication with an audience. This research highlights elements which distort story structure; including immersion in narrative without incident description, identified as the most dangerous element due to description being essential to create suspense.1 Text condensation is also crucial. A good writer uses his pen more for deletion than addition. Repeated reading and deletion to condense the story to its optimal is vital. Also included are techniques for good text rhythm in addition to production of captivating beginnings. Further techniques to raise audience attention in text and event building, as well as to determine conflict and types, narrator language use and the structure of the diagnostic viewer, finally, mastering story ending techniques are provided. At performance level, this research provides techniques in creativity prologue, good story rhythm, body language and eye contact together with prop （object） use; all of which enable the narrator to capture and retain audience attention throughout. This research concludes with recommendations on how to achieve a good storytelling performance.展开更多
Holo Taiwan Residents Opera Troupe has produced a series of intercultural performances in Taiwan Residents Opera since the troupe adapted Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol＇s （1809-1852） The Government Inspector in 1996. In...Holo Taiwan Residents Opera Troupe has produced a series of intercultural performances in Taiwan Residents Opera since the troupe adapted Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol＇s （1809-1852） The Government Inspector in 1996. In fact, there is a huge controversy over these intercultural performances which fuse western drama with traditional Taiwan Residents performing art because such a kind of theatrical hybridity lacks the spirit of the original and damages the aesthetics of native performing art practice. In 2002, Holo adapted William Shakespeare＇s Hamlet into a six-hour-long performance, Tai Tzu Fu Chou （The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan）, which the troupe tried to explore new source for traditional Taiwan Residents Opera and expected to bring something new to Taiwan Residents audience. However, The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan is considered ＂cultural collage＂ as well as an unsuccessful intercultural performance. Besides, The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan is accused to blaspheme Shakespeare because the performance merely maintains the frame of the original and distorts the spirit of the original. According to Rustom Bharucha, the most problematic aspect of intercultural performance is ＂de-historicizing tendency＂, and such a condition explains why Holo＇s The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan cannot transcend the original. In order to detect the problems of intercultural adaptation in Holo＇s The Prince Vengeful Plan, we cover the related issues in three aspects： （1） to discuss the development of Taiwan Residents Opera in Taiwan; （2） to explore the cultural conflicts when the text of the source culture is adapted into the performance of the target culture; and （3） to see how and why the spirit and aesthetics of Shakespeare＇s verses in Hamlet are distorted in Holo＇s theatrical adaptation. After that, we expect to conclude the impossibility of adapting Shakespeare＇s play into traditional Taiwan Residents Opera in the case of Holo＇s The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan.展开更多
文摘Born of the America of 1960s, performance art comes along as a celebration of presentation rather than re-presentation, as a display form of art, and an art form that does not admit of duplication. This paper presents a reading of the seductive power of performance art as rooted in our theatrical nature. I will address performance art as an emancipated form of the theatrical, where by ＂theatrical＂ I mean a specific mode of presentation and a specific mode of perception： the mode of presentation of the self to the social and the mode of perception of the self through the social. Performance art, I will argue, is hardly an anomaly of our time. Rather, its source of disturbance and fascination lies in the natural, though excessive manifestation of our theatrical nature. By its appeal to the shocking, the perilous, or the mundane even, this form of art confirms what Paul Woodruff has addressed as ＂the necessity of watching and being watched.＂ Performance art shows us the danger of self-presentation, the recognition of the other gaze as the self＇s greatest need and greatest fear. It needs no words. Mere action is more seductive than speech and does not accept speech in return. Once it has been performed, it is no longer. In Nietzsche＇s words, it celebrates the fleeting moment＇s ＂greatest weight.＂ As Samuel Beckett used to tell his actors, performance artists seem to tell their spectators： ＂Go on failing. Go on. Only next time, try to fail better.＂
文摘Storytelling is an important performing art. Attracting theater practitioners and audiences are the main targets. Successful narrator communication is one of the biggest challenges even when theatres facilitate communication with scenery, lighting and costumes etc., as the performance depends primarily on the text and narrator for successful expression. This study views the most important techniques to create a well-made story at both text and performance levels. The researcher begins differentiating storytelling, imitation and characterization, as this understanding assists the objective of this study, which is to determine specific techniques to achieve successful communication with an audience. This research highlights elements which distort story structure; including immersion in narrative without incident description, identified as the most dangerous element due to description being essential to create suspense.1 Text condensation is also crucial. A good writer uses his pen more for deletion than addition. Repeated reading and deletion to condense the story to its optimal is vital. Also included are techniques for good text rhythm in addition to production of captivating beginnings. Further techniques to raise audience attention in text and event building, as well as to determine conflict and types, narrator language use and the structure of the diagnostic viewer, finally, mastering story ending techniques are provided. At performance level, this research provides techniques in creativity prologue, good story rhythm, body language and eye contact together with prop （object） use; all of which enable the narrator to capture and retain audience attention throughout. This research concludes with recommendations on how to achieve a good storytelling performance.
文摘Holo Taiwan Residents Opera Troupe has produced a series of intercultural performances in Taiwan Residents Opera since the troupe adapted Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol＇s （1809-1852） The Government Inspector in 1996. In fact, there is a huge controversy over these intercultural performances which fuse western drama with traditional Taiwan Residents performing art because such a kind of theatrical hybridity lacks the spirit of the original and damages the aesthetics of native performing art practice. In 2002, Holo adapted William Shakespeare＇s Hamlet into a six-hour-long performance, Tai Tzu Fu Chou （The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan）, which the troupe tried to explore new source for traditional Taiwan Residents Opera and expected to bring something new to Taiwan Residents audience. However, The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan is considered ＂cultural collage＂ as well as an unsuccessful intercultural performance. Besides, The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan is accused to blaspheme Shakespeare because the performance merely maintains the frame of the original and distorts the spirit of the original. According to Rustom Bharucha, the most problematic aspect of intercultural performance is ＂de-historicizing tendency＂, and such a condition explains why Holo＇s The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan cannot transcend the original. In order to detect the problems of intercultural adaptation in Holo＇s The Prince Vengeful Plan, we cover the related issues in three aspects： （1） to discuss the development of Taiwan Residents Opera in Taiwan; （2） to explore the cultural conflicts when the text of the source culture is adapted into the performance of the target culture; and （3） to see how and why the spirit and aesthetics of Shakespeare＇s verses in Hamlet are distorted in Holo＇s theatrical adaptation. After that, we expect to conclude the impossibility of adapting Shakespeare＇s play into traditional Taiwan Residents Opera in the case of Holo＇s The Prince＇s Vengeful Plan.
