How Grotowski Became Taiwanese: The Dissemination and Remaking of Grotowski in The Project of Tracing Back
2014; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 24; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/10486801.2013.858325
ISSN1477-2264
Autores Tópico(s)Balkans: History, Politics, Society
ResumoAbstractNo Western theatre practitioner has had a greater impact on the Little Theatre in Taiwan than Polish director Jerzy Grotowski. The introduction of Grotowski to Taiwan during the late 1980s coincided with its vibrant Little Theatre Movement and provided much-needed actor training. With Grotowski’s influence growing throughout the 1990s, the Taiwanese cult of Grotowski was born. After briefly mapping out the transmission path of Grotowski in Taiwan, this article examines the Grotowski that Jing-min Liu, founder of U Theatre, constructed and presented in The Project of Tracing Back, through which Grotowski was widely disseminated. Situating this project in the larger context of post-martial law nativization movement, I argue that Grotowski’s popularity also arose from the fact that his emphasis on searching for roots was well suited to Taiwan’s burgeoning interest in native cultures at the time. Most importantly, I demonstrate how the appropriation and misinterpretation of Grotowski in this project accidentally revolutionized modern Taiwanese theatre in three aspects. First, by drawing parallels between certain activities in Grotowski’s Objective Drama and Chinese martial arts or Taiwanese folk rituals, Jing-min Liu helped make taiji daoyin and the Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage popular pedagogical practices in performing arts circles. Secondly, ‘body’ emerged, for the first time, as important critical vocabulary in theatrical practice and theory. Thirdly, by incorporating long-despised native ritual and performance elements, the project engendered fresh theatrical aesthetics. To varying degrees, these three effects of the project could be considered the indirect legacies of Grotowski that helped shape modern theatre in Taiwan. Notes1. This article derives from my paper presented at The British Grotowski Conference, held at the University of Kent in June 2009. It is also part of my research project, funded by the National Science Council (NSC 100-2410-H-024-030) in Taiwan, on the reconstruction of Grotowski in Taiwanese theatre circle and scholarship.2. ‘Little Theatre’, a term widely used at that time, bears the connotation of being subversive and anti-establishment. It signifies more than ‘small’.3. As for the Romanization of Mandarin Chinese, I use Hanyu Pinyin, but retain the established spellings for names known internationally or in their own fields, followed by spellings in Pinyin system put in parentheses when they appear for the first time, such as Kai-shek Chiang (Jie-shi Jiang). I also maintain the practice of using a dash between the two characters of the given name, which is followed in Taiwan but not in this system.4. For a detailed discussion of the dissemination of Grotowski’s training in Taiwan, see Wan-yi Yang, ‘Dashi bozhong, xiuzhe gezi jieguo: Grotowski tixi zai Taiwan xiajuchang de kehen yu yanbian’ (The Practitioners Reaped What the Master Sowed: On the Trace and Transformation of the Grotowskian System in Taiwan’s Little Theatre), Biaoyan Yishu (Performing Arts Review), 111 (March 2002), 14–17; Su-ling Ye, ‘Taiwan xiao juchang yundong zhong de Grotowski’ (Grotowski as Applied in the Taiwanese Little Theatre Movement) (unpublished master’s thesis, Taipei National University of the Arts, 2004).5. Such a global dissemination of Grotowski is vividly described as ‘Grotowski (re)presented and (re)constructed’ by Seth Baumrin and ‘the Grotowskian’ by Richard Schechner. See, respectively, ‘Where Is my Grotowski? The Masquerade Plays On’, New Theatre Quarterly, 25 (November 2009), 360–62 (p. 360) and ‘Comment: Grotowski and Grotowskian’, TDR: The Drama Review 52 (Summer 2008), 7–12 (p. 10).6. My discussion of this project draws heavily on Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang ‘sujihua’ de lilun yu shijian zhi yanjiu (A Research on the Theory and Practice of ‘The Project of Tracing Back’ of U Theatre) (Taipei: Taipei National University of the Arts, 2007).7. Modern theatre or drama (xiandaixiju) in Taiwan refers to spoken drama imported from the West as opposed to traditional performing genres (xiqu), such as Peking Opera and Taiwanese Opera.8. After the two-week workshop in the summer of 1984, Jing-min Liu gained permission from Grotowski to stay ‘for another year’, a generalized time period mentioned several times in Liu’s latest book and other sources as well. The exact date is rarely specified. I find that only Chang-rang Liu points out that the training actually started in October and Liu came back to Taiwan in July 1985. Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang ‘sujihua’ de lilun yu shijian zhi yanjiu (A Research on the Theory and Practice of ‘The Project of Tracing Back’ of U Theatre), pp. 9, 13. Interestingly, Jing-min Liu used the verb jianxi (witness and learn) rather than canjia (participate) to describe her year as a member on the ‘performance team’ at Irvine.9. For a detailed discussion of the Renzi Theatre Troupe, see Chia-fen Chang (Jia-fen Zhang), ‘Zenzi jutuan: gudu de biaoyanzhe’ (Zen-Tze Theatre Laboratory: The Work of the Actor on Himself), Xiju Xuekan (Taipei Theatre Journal), 9 (January 2009), 21–38. In this article, although Chang also mentions the transformation from ‘Grotowski’s training’ to ‘Grotowskian training’, she has not yet explored this topic further.10. These activities generally combined what was similar to Grotowski’s paratheatrical activities with some training exercises from the Objective Drama Program. Medea on the Mountain was held on January 24 from sunset to sunrise on the northern point of the Jilong Harbor. The participants went through a repetitious energy-consuming movement of rolling down on the tarpaulin and leaping back, and a ritual of throwing the cherished items they brought with them as well as their white shirts into the fire. This was followed by a symbolic rebirth of dancing and singing, and the event concluded with Grotowski’s training exercise, called Watching. The First Action of Body, lasting for seven hours, consisted of four parts: narrating the epic story of the Babylonian hero, Gilgamesh; ritual-like body movements and singing; a series of short pieces relevant to the story of Gilgamesh developed by the performers; and a ritual of vigil. For a detailed discussion Zhong of these activities, see Ming-der Chung (Ming-der), ‘The Little Theatre Movement in Taiwan: In Search of Alternative Aesthetics and Politics’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, New York University, 1992), pp. 196–209.11. Both Liu and Chen, students of MA program in Educational Theatre and Dance Education respectively, attended the audition for Grotowski’s project. Chung was a doctoral student and advisee of Richard Schechner. Yet, the plan of realizing this project at NYU was aborted for lack of funding, so Grotowski accepted the invitation of the University of California, Irvine. Lisa Wolford, ‘Introduction’, in The Grotowski Sourcebook, ed. by Richard Schechner and Lisa Wolford (London: Routledge, 2001), pp. 283–93 (p. 284).12. This project, running from 17 to 28 April, could be considered an imitation, or derivative, of Grotowski’s Mountain Project. It had two major parts: participating in the Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage and Vigil: for the Beloved Ones on 27 April. The latter combined several activities from Grotowski’s Theatre of Participation, Theatre of Sources, and Objective Drama. For a detailed discussion, see Ming-der Chung, Cong pingqong juchang dao yicheng: xinchuan Grotowski (From Poor Theatre to Art as Vehicle: Tell It Forward with Jerzy Grotowski) (Taipei: Shulin, 2007), pp. 69–101.13. Ibid., p. 178.14. Ming-der Chung, Shensheng de yishu:Grotowski de chuangzuo fengfa yanjiu (The Art of Sacredness: Tell It Forward with Jerzy Grotowski) (Taipei: Yanzhi, 2001).15. It is beyond the scope of this article to analyze the Grotowski that Ming-der Chung has disseminated through this book. It is remarkable for its unusual writing style, characterized by a mythic tone and passionate respect for Grotowski. The constant use of such words as ‘guru’, ‘master’, and ‘giant’ and the parallels Chung frequently draws with Buddha’s teachings reflect how Grotowski is perceived, or ‘worshipped’, as a great spiritual leader. The three theses Chung supervised are: Fu-ping Lee, ‘Grotowski de juchang shijian zhi yanjiu’ (On the Theatrical Practice of Grotowski) (1998); Hui-wen Xiao, ‘Xiyinren de shenti – cong Maurice Merleau-Ponty to Grotowski tan biaoyan shenti de zhutixing’ (The Appealing Body – On the Subjectivity of the Body through Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Grotowski) (2002); Su-ling Ye, ‘Grotowski as Applied in Taiwanese Little Theatre Movement’ (2004). There is a further thesis which Chung was not involved in: Shu-ping Huang, ‘Grotowski juchan shiqi zongjiao yu yishi shijian zhi yanjiu’ (Research on Religion and Ritual Practices in Grotowski’s Production Period) (2004).16. Two examples are Fu-ping Lee and Chia-fen Chang. Lee earned his PhD from the University of London in 2007 and his dissertation, ‘Transcending the Individual Sphere: The Work of Jerzy Grotowski’, can be located in EThOS (Electronic Theses Online Service) ). Chang, a doctoral candidate at New York University, has been working on her dissertation, ‘Grotowski’s Illegitimate Child: Art as Vehicle Theatre in Taiwan’, since her project was awarded one-year Dissertation Fellowships for ROC Students Abroad in 2010 by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. See .17. Richard Schechner, ‘Introduction to Part II’, in The Grotowski Sourcebook, pp. 207–14 (p. 213).18. Having consulted all the English and Chinese materials available, I am aware that the period when Jing-min Liu and Wei-cheng Chen were at Irvine coincided more with that of Thomas Richards and I Wayan Lendra, than with Lisa Wolford. Wolford came to Irvine in 1989 when Grotowski, starting a new phase in Italy, was not there on a full-time basis; the work session was then guided mostly by James Slowiak. For English materials, see Thomas Richards, At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions (London: Routledge, 1995), pp. 19–70; Lisa Wolford, Grotowski’s Objective Drama Research (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996), pp. 35–52, and ‘Introduction to Part III Objective Drama, 1983–86’, in The Grotowski Sourcebook, pp. 283–93 (p. 287). For a detailed description of ‘Motions’ alone, see I Wayan Lendra, ‘Bali and Grotowski: Some Parallels in the Training Process’, in The Grotowski Sourcebook, pp. 312–27 (pp. 324–26).19. Richards, At Work with Grotowski on Physical Actions, pp. 33–34.20. For the translated text, see ‘Tu es le fils de quelqu’un’, TDR: The Drama Review, 31 (Autumn 1987), 30–41.21. Jing-min Liu, ‘Caizai zhekuai tudishan: Youjuchang Shanyueji nanxia xuenhuei yanchu’ (Stepping on This Land: The Chronicle of Mountains and Moon by U Theatre Touring Southern Taiwan), Taiwan Daily, 23 May 1992 [accessed 4 January 2014]. In an interview with the author of this article, Rong-yu Wang, a former U Theatre member, used the same phrase, ‘a Westernized Chinese’, 23 December 2008.22. Wen-cui Wu, ‘Grotowski de yanyuan xunlian zai Taiwan’ (Grotowski’s Training in Taiwan) (unpublished essay), p. 3, quoted in Shu-yuan Huang, ‘Tan banyan zhizong, zhiwai, yu zhihou, yi Cuendie zuowei banyan luenshu de jichu yu dueixiang’ (On Performing before, in, and after Butterflies) (unpublished master’s thesis, Taipei National University of Arts, 2002), p. 18.23. In an interview with Craig Quintero, Liu used this phrase instead. Craig Anthony Quintero, ‘Performing Culture/Cultural Performances: The Little Theatre Movement in Taiwan’ (unpublished PhD dissertation, Northwestern University, 2000), p. 121.24. In one essay in 1989, Liu stated that the comment meant that she did not demonstrate the ‘form’ of Chinese traditional arts and neither was she equipped with western performers’ improvisation ability. Both in their perfection can elicit an organic response. In her latest book, Liu gives a slightly different account of Grotowski’s comment: ‘Your work derived from your thinking, not from your doing. You are already a Westernized Chinese person.’ According to Liu, Grotowski considered that the Chinese learned from the teachers that passed on their crafts by ‘doing’, while the westerners learn from ‘thinking first’. See respectively Jing-min Liu, ‘Youjuchang, weihe er you? Fangyoujuchang fuzeren Liu Jing-min’ (U Theatre, Why Worry? An Interview with its Artistic Director, Jing-min Liu), Xinwenhua (New Culture) (May 1989), 32–39 (p. 36); Liu Rou-yu de sanshiliutan biaoyanke (Rou-yu Liu’s Thirty-six Performing Classes) (Taipei: Tainxia, 2011), pp. 166–67.25. For example, Ying-tai Lung, a renowned cultural critic and writer, complained in her newspaper columns that the total number of pages on Taiwan in the 12 volumes of elementary and secondary school textbooks was 30 out of 1,200, or less than 3 per cent. Ying-tai Lung, The Wildfire Collection, Volume II (Taipei: Yuanshen, 1987), p. 44.26. In an interview, Antonio Chiang vividly recalled the education he received under the KMT totalitarian regime: ‘Under KMT indoctrination […] we not only don’t know much about Taiwan […] we learn[ed] to despise Taiwaneseness, Taiwan language. They said Taiwan has no language, no culture. Taiwanese history started from the day the KMT arrived in Taiwan. Taiwan has no purpose in itself. The purpose of Taiwan is to be a stepping stone to go back to China. It is a transition.’ Alan M. Watchman, ‘Competing Identities in Taiwan’, in The Other Taiwan: 1945 to the Present, ed. by Murray A. Rubinstein (New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1994), pp. 17–80 (p. 56). I also remember learning about China not only in great detail but repeatedly throughout my education, and being almost completely ignorant of Taiwan.27. After Teng-hui Lee (Deng-hui Li), the first Taiwanese handpicked by Ching-kuo Chiang (Jing-guo Jiang) as his successor in 1987, was officially elected president by the National Assembly in 1992, he started to position more Taiwanese in the government and continued the liberalization of the government, culminating in the first direct popular presidential election in 1996 and the election of the first non-Chinese Nationalist president, Shui-bian Chen in 2000.28. A talk between Jing-min Liu and Mo-lin Wang, ‘Taiwan juchang youmeiyou shenti?’ (Is There Body in Taiwanese Theatre?), Biaoyan Yishu (Performing Arts Reviews), 43 (May 1996), 61–64.29. My understanding of taiji daoyin is based on the following sources. Wei Xiong, ‘Taiji daoyin jianjie’ (A Brief Introduction to Taiji Daoyin), The Chinese Culture Society of Taichi-Dowing [taiji daoyin] [accessed 10 August 2009]; Li-hui Cao, ‘Xinding yangxin taiji daoyin’ (Calming the Mind, Cultivating the Mind: Taiji Daoyin), Chan Tianxia (The World of Zen), 85 (June 2009) [accessed 14 October 2013]; Shu Xu, ‘Dang taiji daoyin yushang biaoyanyishu’ (When Taiji Daoyin Meets Performing Art), Biaoyan Yishu (Performing Arts Reviews), 86 (February 2000), 21–23.30. I Wayan Lendra, ‘Bali and Grotowski’, p. 324.31. From an interview quoted in Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), pp. 55–56.32. Ming-der Chung, Shensheng de yishu (The Art of Sacredness), p. 183.33. Young-shu Xu, ‘Dang taiji daoyin yushan baoyanyishu’ (When Taiji Daoyin Meets Performing Art), p. 22.34. Jing-min Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), p. 33.35. For a detailed description of this project, see Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), pp. 42–49 and Quintero, ‘Performing Culture’, pp. 125–27.36. Jing-min Liu, ‘Mingshansi zhixing’ (Journey to the Mingshan Temple), Dandao Wenhua, 2 (1989), 18–21.37. Valerie Doran, ‘U Theatre: Waking up the Dreamer and the Butterfly’ (unpublished article, 1991), quoted in Quintero, ‘Performing Culture’, p. 126.38. Mazu, one of the most important and widely worshipped deities in Taiwan, is nowadays considered not only the guardian of fishermen, but of all people. Of the five major Mazu festivals in which various statues of the goddess are annually carried from temple to temple, the Baishaun Mazu Pilgrimage is not the biggest, but is unique for the lack of a set route and schedule. This English article ‘Sea Goddess Mazu’ by Chia-ying Lu with vivid photos on the Taiwan Culture Portal Website offers concise and accessible information regarding the legend of Mazu, its worship, and cultural phenomenon in Taiwan. See [accessed 1 December 2011].39. Jing-min Liu, ‘Maixiang chaoyue shenyuyi biaoyanzhe:baishatun Beigang Mazu beigang tubu jinxiang yu Youjuchang biaoyan xunlian zhi jiechu’ (Towards a Performer Transcending Body and Mind: The Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage and Performing Training in U Theatre) (unpublished essay, 1991) pp. 2–3, quoted in Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), pp. 124–28.40. Ibid., pp. 3, 128.41. Jing-min Liu, ‘Banian zhihou de chaoyue: tubu jingxiang yu Youjuchang biaoyan xunnian zhi jiechu’ (Excelling Eight Years Later: Pilgrimage and Training in U Theatre), Xiongshi Meishu, 245 (July 1991), 143–46 (p. 144).42. Liu used ‘Action’ with a capital A without explaining its meaning and the Chinese translation is literal. According to Lisa Wolford, ‘Action’ indicates ‘a developed structure with a repeatable score’, while ‘action’ refers to ‘component elements within a larger structure or to renderings that have not arrived to a developed form’. See Wolford, Grotowski’s Objective Drama Research, p. 195, endnote 2.43. It might be interesting to mention that in 2001, the Mazu sedan unprecedentedly and impressively led the pilgrims across the Zhuoshui River safe and sound. For pictures of the Bashatun Mazu Pilgrimage both in 2001 and in further years, see Baishatun Matzu (Mazu) website [accessed 1 December 2011].44. Jing-min Liu, ‘Banian zhihou de chaoyue’ (Excelling Eight Years Later), p. 146.45. Nan-wen Lin, ‘Wu Wen-cui: Jiyi congshenti yongxian’ (Wu Wen-cui: Memories Surge from the Body), Xinguannian (New Idea), 223 (May/June 2007), 26–27.46. Yuen-fang Liu, ‘Dang qianwei yushan caogen – U Theatre’ (Avant-Garde in a Chinese Tradition –Unique Theatre), Guanghua (Sinorama), 16 (February 1991), 36–43 (p. 40).47. Craig Quintero, ‘Pilgrimage As a Pedagogical Practice in Contemporary Taiwanese Theatre: U Theatre and the Baishatun Ma-tsu Pilgrimage’, TDR: The Drama Review, 46 (Spring 2002), 131–48 (p. 144). Both Craig Quintero’s essay on the Baishatun Mazu pilgrimage and his dissertation are insightful studies on cultural performances in Taiwan. However, I find it troubling that in this essay Quintero, who I believe understood the political situation in Taiwan at that time, would argue that U Theatre promoted a Taiwanese identity and a Taiwanese body, completely ignoring the fact that Jing-min Liu used the phrase ‘a Chinese body’. Consequently, his essay does not address the ensuing controversy over a Chinese body versus a Taiwanese body. While adopting an in-depth anthropological and cultural analysis, it does not tackle the relations between Grotowski and the pilgrimage, either.48. Ibid., p. 145.49. Ibid., p. 131.50. Soon after the Chinese Nationalist government relocated to Taiwan, all policies were to ‘oppose communism and resist the Soviet Union’. Anti-communist spoken drama thrived with lucrative rewards from the government but soon lost its audience. In the 1970s, there were few theatre troupes of spoken drama, excluding those affiliated with the government and the military. The playwriting, acting, and directing of spoken drama followed the tradition of psycho-realism, or what scholar Sen Ma called ‘semi-realism’. Not until 1978 did Dr Jing-ji Wu, an educational psychologist who used to be a member of The La Mama E. T. C. for several years, bring back his off-off-Broadway experience. He was invited to train what would become the first important theatre troupe, Lang-Ling Theatre Workshop, in Taiwan. His training methods, including theatre games, body and sound exercises, and mainly collective improvisation, were innovative in Taiwan. After Stan Lai (Shen-chuan Lai) earned his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley and came back to Taiwan in 1983, the next year he founded one of the most popular and important theatre troupes, the Performance Workshop. Since then, he has used collective improvisation to create most works.51. Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), pp. 40–41; Craig Quintero, ‘Pilgrimage’, p. 134.52. For a detailed discussion of his works, see Xong-zhi Wu, ‘Narrating Body in Taiwan’s Little Theatre: 1986–1999’ (unpublished master’s thesis, Zhongyang University, 2008), pp. 45–59.53. In the late 1980s, Wang drew attention to the use of the body in some little theatre troupes, by giving a social-political reading of the body or highlighting its aesthetic value. The debates provoked by U Theatre’s pursuit of a Taiwanese body brought a cultural dimension to the discourse.54. Ming-cai Chen, a theatre and film artist, and an avid environmentalist, committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea in 2003. For an introduction of Chen’s short life, see Jing-jie Lin, ‘Chen Ming-cai yong shengming shuxie’ (Ming-cai Chen Writes with His Life), Lianhe Wenxue (United Literature), 243 (2005), [accessed 2 March 2009]. The title of this production, Qicai xishui luodisao (A Seven-Colored River Luodisao), reflects its form and content. Luodisao, referring to an early folk performing genre without using a stage, serves as a pun on cleaning up the polluted river colored by chemicals, with luodi, literally meaning falling onto the ground and sao, sweeping.55. Although typically categorized as a second-generation Mainlander, with a Mainlander veteran father and a Taiwanese mother, Ming-cai Chen, growing up in the village of his Taiwanese grandmother, could speak fluent Taiwanese and identified himself completely as native Taiwanese, while Liu grew up in an isolated military housing compound and did not start to learn Taiwanese until this project.56. Jing-min Liu, ‘Zhongquoren de shenti yu xiju xienxingtai de tansuo – fang Liu Jing-min tan U Theatre’ (A Chinese Body and Exploring New Drama – Interviewing Liu Jing-min on U Theatre), an interview with Bao-yuan Lin, Mingzhong Daily News, 30 November 1992 (section 23).57. For a description of the workshop, see Catherine Diamond, ‘The Masking and Unmasking of the Yu Theatre Ensemble’, Asian Theatre Journal, 10 (Spring 1993), 101–14 (pp. 103–06).58. A talk between Jing-min Liu and Mo-lin Wang, p. 62.59. Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), pp. 34–37.60. Jing-min Liu, ‘Mingshansi zhixing’ (Walking towards the Mingshan Temple), p. 21.61. Rong-yu Wang’s mother was a famous gezaixi performer, but in his school days, he was careful not to reveal the profession of his mother, embarrassingly aware of the contempt that the society held for gezaixi performers in general.62. Jing-min Liu, ‘Ganxienin, Grotowski xianshen’ (Thank You, Mr. Grotowski), Biaoyan Yishu (Performing Arts Reviews) 75 (March 1999), 82–83 (p. 83).63. Liu quoted in Chang-rang Liu, Youjuchang (U Theatre), p. 163.64. Interview with Rong-yu Wang, 23 December 2008.65. Ibid.66. Yong-shu Xu, ‘Dang taiji daoyin yushang biaoyanyishu’ (When Taiji Daoyin Meets Performing Art), p. 21.67. Wei-cheng Chen, ‘Jijing de benpao: yu Grotowski gongzuo de guocheng’ (Running Silently: Working with Grotowski), an interview with Fu-ping Lee, Biaoyan Yishu (Performing Arts Reviews), 75 (April 1999), 86–89 (p. 87).68. Wolford, Grotowski’s Objective Drama Research, p. 24; Zbigniew Osinski, ‘Grotowski Blazes the Trails’, TDR: The Drama Review, 35 (Spring 1991), 95–112 (p. 108).
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