Theater creating dialogue
Aside from exploring identity issues, Lo hopes that this coproduction with Germany can provide Taiwan with a useful model and that the more advanced professional practices of German performing arts will rub off on Taiwan’s performing arts circles.
In Germany’s numerous theaters, small and medium-sized troupes are constantly innovating. Seeking out independent artists and troupes to perform in coproductions and supporting them from creation to production has become a trend in theater circles.
This approach, which is similar to many of Taiwan’s artist-in-residence programs, can effectively encourage creativity and ensure that artistic creations are closely connected to local culture. In the past Taiwan’s National Theater and Concert Hall often booked foreign productions that were presented just as they had been in their home countries, leaving both the performers and the audience wondering about the relevance to local culture. “Now that more artists live abroad, they have begun to understand how creative work is informed by different cultural backgrounds,” Chen says. “As we explore the themes and context of our own creative endeavors and the conversations we want to have, coproductions help create that dialogue.”
Stefan Hilterhaus, artistic director at Pact Zollverein, is particularly fond of Lo’s ability to synthesize elements of Taiwanese and European culture. “Lo Fang-yun’s work is essentially inspired by both Western and Asian cultures. Her work fuses and unfolds different backgrounds, narratives and concepts on many levels,” Hilterhaus says. “She combines different materials and mediums in her artistic works with an originality that appeals to me.”
Pact Zollverein has therefore been working on coproductions with Lo since 2017.
Pact Zollverein is a performing arts space and a platform for artistic exchange and creative exploration. (photo by Dirk Rose, courtesy of Pact Zollverein)