Memos for the Next Wave of Theatre Criticism
Seeing reinforces our presence in this world. We use language to understand and interpret it. Unfortunately, it cannot fully articulate the extent to which the world has surrounded us. The world we see it versus the world as we understand it – we haven’t fully understood their relationships (Berger, 2014).
From seeing to understanding to reading, and how reading opens the world for us – our knowledge and beliefs affect our way of seeing things. In the ever changing and rapid internet driven world, cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary practices are part and parcel of daily life. It has also altered the way theatre is being presented/staged. As artistic boundaries diminishes, how do we go about defining our positions? Over the years, many diligent theatre practitioners and theatre reviewers have put in efforts to promote discourse. Through this forum, Angkatan Seni Lakon Interaksi, Kuala Lumpur Dan Selangor has invited theatre reviwer FENMO GOULAN, cultural critic Leong Yew Sen, theatre director Koh Choon Eiow, theatre writer Tan Yan Tee and performer Cheng Yin Chen as respondent. Chua Lian Choon (Richard) will moderate the forum. In the practice of writing to reviewing theatre, the society tries to converse with future theatre practices and encourage imagination.
Event Details:
Date: 15 January 2017 (Sunday)
Time: 7pm to 10pm (180 minutes)
Venue: The Play Haus
https://www.facebook.com/ThePlayHausMalaysia/
Conducted mainly in Chinese Language
Objectives:
1. To creative a platform among theatre practice, discourse and audience interaction.
2. To strengthen the base of theatre criticism in Malaysia through promoting theatre appreciation and criticism, so as to improve of level of performing arts appreciation.
3. To develop critical and independent thinking in discursivity. Through it, the quality of criticism and discourse could be improved.
Speakers:
1. FENMO GOULAN, Theatre Critic
2. Koh Choon Eiow. Theatre Practitioner
3. Tan Yan Tee, Theatre Writer
4. Leong Yew Sen, Cultural Critic
Respondent: Cheng Yin Chen , Theatre Practitioner
Moderator: Chua Lian Choon (Richard), Theatre Writer and Academic
Format:
Moderator will make an introduction for 5 minutes.
Every speaker will speak for 20 minutes.
Question and Answer Session: 60 minutes
Speaker Notes:
1. Departing from one’s own writings, the speaker will discuss how theatre productions are being reviewed. The relationship between the reviewer and the audience will also be discussed. How does theatre review fit into the Malaysian performing arts ecology? What are some of the expectations from reviews? What is difference between English and Chinese theatres in Malaysia?
2. Looking at the history of Chinese theatre in Malaysia since the Japanese occupation, changes in media coverage of the arts over the years are tracked, in relation to nationalistic sentiments to identification of races to the building of the capitalistic society. Changes in the topics discussed in Chinese theatre as well as the processes of staging and watching theatre will also be covered.
3. Analysing Chinese theatres in Asia, e.g. Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and China, speakers will share relevant areas of interest with each other.