Histories of Theatre: Keywords in the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan
Histories of Theatre: Keywords in the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan
Date/Time: Thursday, 29 August 2024, 16:00-17:30
Venue: 11F Studio 3, Taipei Performing Arts Center
Moderator: River Lin
Artist/Speaker: Ness Roque, Sasapin Siriwanij, Wang Chun-Yen (*Listed in alphabetical order of the last name.)
Language: In English with simultaneous interpretation in Mandarin
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There are histories of contemporary theatre in various countries and places in East Asia and we need to talk about it. This discussion invites Ness Roque, Sasapin Siriwanij, and Wang Chun-Yen to introduce histories/her-stories/their-stories in the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan. Through a few keywords as entry points, we will be rerthinking how the notion of theatre history has been formed; how the so-called modern or contemporary theatre making has been taken and translated; and how theatre practices in a specific place would intersect with other places in this region socially.
Ness Roque, the Philippines
Born in 1991, Angeles City, Philippines. Ness is an actor, dramaturg and educator. Her practice is anchored by inquiries into transdisciplinary, feminist, and decolonial practices in theatre, contemporary performance, and education. Ness is currently pursuing further studies in Arts Studies and Curatorial Practices at the Tokyo University of the Arts under the MEXT Scholarship Grant. She is part of Salikhain Kolektib, an interdisciplinary collective that integrates art, research, education, and community engagement to create collaborative artworks and initiatives throughout the Asia Pacific.
Photo (c) Ralph Lumbres
Sasapin Siriwanij, Thailand
With Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English from the Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Sasapin Siriwanij is a core member of B-Floor Theatre as a performer, director, and producer, a decade-long career which has rendered her well-versed in movement-based performance practices with interests in social critique and personal and social empowerment. Sasapin has taken the role of Artistic Director of Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM) since 2018, and has co-founded Producers of Thai Performing Arts Network (POTPAN), alongside being an independent theater artist and international touring producer.
Photo courtesy of the artist
Wang Chun-Yen, Taiwan
Wang Chun-Yen holds a BA in Chinese Literature and an MA in Drama and Theatre from National Taiwan University, and receives his PhD in Theatre Arts from Cornell University. As an assistant professor of Performance and Cultural Studies at National Taiwan University, Wang teaches various courses, including “Cultural Translation,” “Interdisciplinary Humanities and Contemporary Taiwan,” and “Transnational Chinese Theater and Cultural Criticism.” He is the recipient of the S-An Cultural Foundation Aesthetic Essay Award, Taiwan Merits Scholarships, Fulbright Scholarship, etc. Wang’s research interest lies in contemporary Taiwanese theatre and cultural translation, and has long focused on the relationship between epistemology and aesthetics. In recent years, he concentrates on the interdisciplinary performance of global Chinese. Wang is a regular contributor for Performing Arts Reviews (https://pareviews.ncafroc.org.tw/) sponsored by the National Culture and Arts Foundation.
Photo courtesy of the artist
River Lin, Taiwan
Working with Live Art, dance, and queer culture, Paris-based Taiwanese artist River Lin is Curator of the Taipei Arts Festival, ADAM, Camping Asia and Curatoké: Performance Curator Academy at the Taipei Performing Arts Center. He is also Co-Curator of the Indonesian Dance Festival, Guest-Curator of the 2025 Biennale de la Danse de Lyon, and Guest Co-Editor for the OnCurating's Special Issue. His artistic work has been presented internationally by Centre Pompidou, Centre National de la Danse, Live Art Prize, M+ Museum, and Taipei Fine Arts Museum among others.
Photo Credit by Taipei Performing Arts Center
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