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Tuesday 9 October 2007
 Archives: 2nd Mekong Performing Arts Laboratory (Hanoi, Vietnam) - Artistic Director's Reports

The Second Mekong Performing Arts Laboratory held in Hanoi, Vietnam produced seven short performances that explored the issues of People with Aids, body politics, male and female sexuality and stereotyping as well as gender equity.

The performances began with “An Island of Solitude” by Zhang Yinzhong from Ruili, China. A solo modern ballet piece, that portrayed the struggles of a person living with aids. The victim struggles along the line of life and death. He feels his soul exists in an island of solitude. He experiences the full range of emotions from fear to enduring love for life. But his external senses resonate inwards toward self knowing and he struggles to carry on.

Tran H’uu Trang Cai Lung Theater from Vietnam created a two woman show that mixed poetry, dramatic narrative and Cai Lung singing to tell the story of Hanh a young woman in a drug rehabilitation center. She is making progress until she learns that she is HIV positive. One night she decides to leave the center and take revenge on those who caused her drug addiction. Lost in the forest, she meets the ghosts of her past who haunt and taunt her into exhaustion. She awakens with an old woman beside her who sings to her of her own son who died of aids and left a diary about his journey. This strengthens hanh and she decides to go back to the rehabilitation center to go on with her life.

Another performance from Vietnam explored the modern dance genre. Youth Theater Hanoi together with Philippine choreographer Agnes Locsin created “Stereo Man” through movement and dance four male dancers captured images of men as society has shaped them to be. But to be human is made of two parts – the yin and the yang, masculine and feminine. But only one side is allowed to be shown and therefore the unbalance exists.

The young people of Circus and Awareness Theater Troupe Phare Ponleu Selpak of Cambodia once again, utilize circus as well as narrative as a form of storytelling for their performance “Hope”. The simple narrative of 2 orphaned sisters working in a construction site with the eldest developing a good relationship with a co-worker while the youngest sister is molested by the boss is interspersed with circus, juggling, contortion and balancing acts which gives this group it’s colorful appeal. The story is concluded by the sisters running away together with the co-worker and their starting a life in the Circus.

The puppet theater group Kabong Lao of Lao PDR experimented with its t’s puppetry form by using dialogue and narrative as it tells the story of a young woman who must pay for her father’s debts. She attempts suicide in desperation but is foiled when a man saves her. She eventually marries this man and soon after they have a child. They conflict over the child’s gender as the wife wants a boy since for her a girl has no freedom or equality in their society. While waiting for the birth of their child the doctor advices the man on how to nurture their child wither it is a boy or a girl.

Thailand brought together four theater groups that produced two contemporary works.

Saosoong Theater and Art Addicted created “Sinderella” a comedic piece utilizing multimedia arts that tells the story of Sindy a full figured woman lacking in self confidence who joins a contest to win a chance to sing with a Korean Superstar, Rain. She makes it to the final round and in her fervent desire to win consults a fashion genie on the internet at www.fairyGodMother.com for a beauty makeover. On the night of the contest, she is humiliated and realizes she does not have to be anybody else other than who she is.

Crescent Moon B-Floor and Bang Play Educational Theater Group created a dark comedy entitled “Purgatory” that took off on the premise: what if three women after their deaths come to meet in purgatory endlessly doing laundry and relieving their desperate lives on earth. They ask what is gods plan for them? Later, they are surprised to discover that God is a woman. She/God tells them their situation can only change if they take command of their lives. Purgatory is a place they have created for themselves.

Reflections

The 2nd Mekong Performing Arts Laboratory brought together a different blend of Artist and art practitioners. There were more art managers like the representatives of Saosoong Theatre Company as well as the participant from art addicted. The group was also composed of younger artists whose experience primarily centered on performance. I take note of this aspect because this I feel has a significant impact on the level of artistry that the performances attained. The strongest pieces came from the presence of more senior artist whose experience in creating storytelling or structuring dance and imagery were quite evident. Stereo Man benefited from the presence of Philippine Choreographer Agnes Locsin who created a short but powerful piece on the male images that was both clear and aesthetic. Then there was the “Purgatory” performance of Crescent Moon, B-Floor and Bangplay that choose a sophisticated and comedic premise to explore the discourse on women creating their own purgatories by not releasing themselves from their pain, guilt and societal roles. Both performances managed to achieve an effective interplay of artistic form and content as well as translating itself clearly to the audience. The solo dance performance of Zhang Yinzhong is also commendable as he tried to capture the emotions of an isolated individual. The dance captures this universal theme which maybe assigned to other situations beyond sexuality, reproductive health or HIV Aids but never the less we can enjoy his sincere performance within the context of our theme.

The challenges of developing text or story structures has always been present in the Laboratory experience. Obviously we recognize that the artist come from different disciplines, not only theater but dance and the visual arts, but this year I felt this in a more evident manner. The simplistic storyline in the Cailung theater of Vietnam, Cambodia’s Phare Ponleu Selpak Circus Troupe and Saosoong Theater of Thailand were very much wanting in terms of structure, action and plot and a nuanced understanding of the issue. The challenge of introducing these so called “western” concepts does not escape me or that we must find a more organic manner to introduce tools of dramatic structure while respecting the organic manner of storytelling that lies within their own cultural and aesthetic practice. I will not comment on our participants Artistic forms for they are what they are. But for me the workshop challenge is to lead in their better understanding of storytelling and grow into producing more Literary expressions of their advocacy’s.

I think I said this in my first report and I will reiterate that creation of successful advocacy art is very much grounded in the understanding of the issue and its translation into a fine aesthetic expression, keeping this in mind I can only hope that every lab gives us the insight we need to finally formulate a precise process in which we can teach the fine art of story making and performnce if that is at all possible. Nevertheless working with this years batch was still an enjoyable and educational process because they will always bring with them varying forms of expressions and experiences which at the end of the day is one thing that really matters.


PETA SEA Group
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