Resetting the stage
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Creating an artistic scene where none exists is a difficult process anywhere in the world, not least in a city as multifarious and contradictory as Shanghai.
The development of expat theater over the last few years has been pleasant and not entirely predictable. The development parallels that seen in the literary, and, to a lesser extent, musical circles, in recent times.
This March the scene will hit another significant milestone – two expat theater productions will be competing for ticket sales as SRT's production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night will share dates with a version of ‘Art' by scene newcomers 3rd Culture, the latest project of Singaporean actress-producer Elena Yeo and Canadian director Jonathan Geenen.
With the current activity on the scene, the Global Times met Yeo to discuss her plans for 3rd Culture and her belief that Western-style theater companies need to connect more effectively with audiences in Shanghai.
3rd Culture is looking to take a different approach to the existing theater companies in Shanghai: "East West is very much a community-based organization that wants to provide access to theater to the largest number of people.
SRT was conceived as an attempt to commercialize the theater scene, to develop an international reputation as a professional company," said Yeo. "We are just interested in performing plays that are meaningful to us as artists."
3rd Culture does not, in fact, consider itself an expat theater company per se, although its artistic focus will certainly be rooted in the Western tradition. Yeo told the Global Times: "We are interested in pushing the boundaries.
Our big thing is that we want to bring the best attributes of Western-style plays into Chinese, and work with local actors." The company will look to work with Chinese and expat groups.
"When we see local productions, they are certainly performed competently but stylistically they don't typically hit all the marks when attempting Western-style plays, because people haven't seen Western drama in its native form," explained Yeo.
Yeo's impression of local productions of Western plays is that they tend to have overly theatrical elements. These melodramatic qualities can probably be traced to traditional Chinese theater, where strong physical, gesticular acting remains an important stylistic component.
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Director Jonathan Geenen and producer Elena Yeo. Photo: Cai Xianmin |
The choice of Western plays performed in Chinese in Shanghai is also typically "safe" options within the canon. The focus on classics or populist works is understandable to an extent, but if a city lacks provocative art it is impossible to create a scene in the long term – Shanghai will function more as a jukebox than a creative center in its own right.
"It is not clear whether these Chinese-style versions of Western plays are working for local audiences. It is also not clear how they will react to our approach, which is rooted more in American realism and naturalism," Yeo said.
3rd Culture will look to make links with Grass Stage and the Downstream Garage Festival, the strongest supporters of experimental Chinese-language theater in Shanghai. "They are interested in bringing less mainstream works to Chinese audiences and seeing what they can do to excite people.
We don't really understand the Chinese theater scene, because expat theater has historically been self-contained. It has reached the point where it's ridiculous that in this wonderful city, with all its rich talent, no one is trying to redress this situation."
The company's future goals include touring plays around Shanghai universities to connect with local students who are currently priced out of the market and often live too far from downtown to become regular playgoers.
"Cost has always been the issue for Chinese students – 150-200 yuan ($23-$30) per ticket is very expensive. Chinese universities contain a large number of English and literature students who want to see plays, but have no access.
We hope to put on productions in university auditoriums and sell tickets at 30 yuan. If we could sell out a 400-seat theater at this price, we could break even, which is all we really want," said Yeo.
3rd Culture's opening salvo will be to stage ‘Art,' an award-winning play by Yasmina Reza, at the Art Labor Gallery on Yongjia Road. The play will open on Wednesday, March 30 and run to April 3.
"We choose ‘Art' as our first play because it's easy to manage and something that we are both really passionate about," said Yeo.
The play, a witty discussion by three friends of the value of art after one of them buys an expensive abstract piece, will feature regulars Charlie Mayer and Phillip Knight (Blithe Spirit) alongside freshly arrived Jim Ambrose, who trained at the acclaimed Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
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