Initially I was put off by the recurring arguments that inevitably turned into claustrophobic screaming matches. Whether in society, or in a play modeling society, the process by which discourse devolves into clamor seems evident of immaturity in thinking and writing respectively. Perhaps in some cases this interaction even bears fruit, however I would question its effectiveness as a literary device as the action became strenuous and in my opinion, the arguments provided little comic relief.

While certain narratives function by requiring an investment up front for a reward during the finale, I was consistently questioning the urgency of the narrative until the father’s death. This could be because the story devotes equal attention to the three children as well, in spite of the fact that their side stories are not particularly interesting. In these interactions the writing occasionally seemed forced and unnatural, especially when attempting to provide the audience with opportunities for laughter. While the stories were already quite minimalistic, I would suggest arranging their presentation to be even more concise, or else developing each character include more dimensionality than a linear change upon resolution.

In spite of the abovementioned flaws, the scenes devoted to resolving the father’s death we’re forceful and impressive. The use of the elongated performance space to show three locales at once was particularly suitable for showing the different dynamics of each child’s corresponding relationship vis-à-vis their reaction to the hospitalization of the father.

Even if I disagree with the presentation, the work itself was both coherent and complete. Leaving the play, one felt an understanding of the emotions of the director, and his underlying rationale for creation.

演出場地：蔡明亮咖啡走廊

Changee Secret Base is simply not suitable for musical performances. The seating arrangement was made awkward by the long tables, making it unnatural to face forward. Furthermore the sound coming out of the PA system simply did not compare to that provided by A House.

Nervous dialogue, coupled with occasional mistakes made it clear that these performers lacked the experience possessed by the other bands playing this year’s Fringe. This fact aside, inexperienced musicians can be enjoyable to watch if only they act like they are having fun and don’t worry too much about their own mistakes. The problem with the first performance was that it seemed any self-confidence that initially existed was erased by the first series of hiccups. Dialogue became more sporadic, and the lack of chemistry between band members became more apparent. Watching an artist at odds with himself and the visualization of their apprehensions is not an enjoyable performance; from this point on the event seemed like a struggle for both the musicians and the audience.

On the other hand, the second band, “Wonderful Band”, was able to break through the existing atmosphere by visibly enjoying themselves on stage. In spite of being self-admitted unprofessionals, within a few songs, everyone was nodding along to their interpretation of traditional Taiwanese folk music, and by the last song, which was the most vigorous and entertaining of the evening, everyone in the audience was happily rocking and singing along!

演出場地：Changee中山

Supported by a revolving cast of special guest musicians, impromptu bands, and solo performances, Lonely Grandmom performed for far longer than the planned 90 minutes, with final stage time breaking the 2 hour mark.

Each auteur differed not only in vocal timbre, but also in their assessment of the world around them. Although being conscious of time, the performers occasionally rushed their stories or otherwise stopped short in expressing their full meaning, these asides were as interesting as the songs themselves. Music is just another mode of storytelling, after all.

The sound stage was slightly peculiar, with a PA projecting from the rear of the audience towards the band. I understand that the benefit of this is that the speakers double as monitors for the performers, but unfortunately this meant anyone sitting in towards the back half of the room suffered from poorly balanced acoustics. Listening from from the right seat mitigated this issue, but its something that could be kept in mind for future performances.

Final thoughts: The stories were as entertaining and worthwhile to hear as the songs. As long as you have the audience’s ear, don’t be afraid to continue monologues for as long as is natural.

演出場地：A House

It felt more like an intimate gathering of friends and like-minded individuals than a musical performance. Instead of speaking down from the stage, the performers conversed with the audience, each song prefaced with an explanation of its motive.

The talented musicians, complemented by proficient sound engineering, provided a comfortable listening experience. As I later learned as a subsequent performance, frontal speaker placement at the expense of the artist’s having monitors was key to ensuring balanced sound.

The songs themselves were a celebration of times, places, and emotions, on the brink of their existence. Some were old folk standards, others drinking songs, yet others politically motivated satires. All songs instilled a sense of community, inspiring reflection concerning one’s sense of self, and how this identity is guided by the changes, pressures, and experiences of the surrounding society. To ease the pain of this mental effort, all sorts of beverages were provided free of charge (including alcohol), solidifying the already present sense of comfortable camaraderie. We were only one step away (free tickets) from leaving the construct of capitalism altogether, and perhaps we all wished for that to happen. Nevertheless, in conjunction with the night’s theme of cherishing the past and looking to the future, we must admit that as society evolves, so do the requirements for those living within it.

演出場地：A House

One way to view art is as a constant struggle between selflessness and narcissism. Coincidentally, that’s precisely the paradox by which W e at was plagued.

The first half was refined, concentrated, and powerful. Great use of contrast, both in musical dynamics, and restrained use of light made helped to highlight to choreography. Although I didn’t care much for the audience interaction segment, I’ll be the first to admit the selected guests integrated very well into the performance and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

The second half focused more on the performers themselves, with the performance’s coda consisting of each dancer confiding in the audience their dreams and aspirations (夢想).

Memories of the maturity, emotion, and aesthetic beauty from earlier dance segments were quickly nullified by contrived laughter, questionably sincere “confessions”, and the smell of brownies. I’m not sure as to the purpose of this. What was it expressing? Who was the audience? Perhaps if I were also a 20 something year-old girl I would be able to connect more.

演出場地：Elsewhere 那裏

It was clear these were well-trained musicians, devoted singers, and hardworking collaborators. Nevertheless, between the impressive harmonising, orderly soloing, and intermittent stage banter there was something missing: a sense of genuine emotion beyond the gaiety of on-stage performance.

While hardly ever a beat was missed, and the performance was more technical than other Fringe musical performances, I couldn’t understand the purpose of the music itself. Considering the effort put forth, and the complexity of each piece, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the alluring simplicity of minimalism and restraint as it applies to musical performance. I think I can only describe this performance by its antithesis, which can be viewed on youtube: search for Jacques Brel “No me quitte pas” and view the black and white live version. Each time I watch this rendition of his classic poem, I forget about the television camera in front of him, and the computer in front of me. At Passion on the other hand, I was consistently aware of being the "audience" in front of a performance that seemed to exist only for the sake of performance.

演出場地：雷克雅維克實驗室

Lacking familiarity with the source text: Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s “The Visit”, I’m spared the task of writing comparative criticism.

The action in this interpretation simplified, being driven by the tension between the father and his two younger offspring, who also double as the chorus. This meta-duplicity works to expound upon the already present tension between generations, as having first ignored their father, the children are then allowed to ridicule him without the possibility of being overheard. Watching the father, who already faces existential death through the oncoming of modernity and the wrath of capitalism also sit in silence and suffer his demonic children is really quick powerful.

Makeup, lighting and stage design are all equally simple and imposing, proving a production needs little more than dedicated actors, and an effective script to affect the audience.

演出場地：Changee中山

Two spaces, seven performers, a director but no script, scenery and props with purpose but uses that are open-ended.

The work occurs simultaneously and spontaneously in two unrelated narratives, each taking place within its own respective space.

As the piece favors self-interpretation of each performance by the actors, an element of randomness and novelty exists in each staging.

The guiding theme however is clear, the experience of womanhood.

Being of the opposite sex, I can't fairly speak to this expression of womenhood, or its completeleness of lack thereof, but I can question the completeness of the director's and performer's understanding of themselves, being at such a young age in respect to the entire arc of human life.

Furthermore, its important to point out meanings, roles, and identities are all concepts in a constant state of flux, and evolution. Perhaps at this point, their experience is just as it was displayed; It's impossible for the spectator to judge.

In the end, the only obstacle to this performance concept is be the ability to self-understand and self-analyse without being overly self-indulgent, but once again, this is something that can only be appraised by the performers themselves and does not lend itself well to criticism.

演出場地：國立臺北教育大學南海藝廊

Waiting In Silence is a cute whimsical journey where in the style of Disney, every scene, every exchange, even every line of dialogue seems like it could only exist in the fantastic of a child’s mind.

We are taken on a journey by characters much like us, blissfully ignorant of the significance of the actions and emotions existing in the world around them, around them only be educated in unison through their travels.

Compared to 我們這樣,做．愛 (what we Role in Love), the use of space was less inspiring and less dynamic. This however could be attributed to the fact that the staging required a more traditional theatrical setup than the narrow basement of Ecole Café allowed for. I couldn’t help but wondering what would be the effect of the audience being allowed to sit within the performance space? Would the fantastic voyage feel even more personal?

演出場地：學校咖啡館

Easily the most abstract and inspiring work I’ve seen to date, it’s really quite a shame there were only two performances. The performers: a troupe of young women from Southern Taiwan, many of whom relied on their own finances to make this Fringe experience come to fruition.

The choreography combined equal parts environmental theatre and interpretive dance with performers occasionally traveling through or embracing the audience between freeform dance segments. On the surface the concept seemed to thematically deconstruct the relationships we maintain with those primitive, guiltless, and weightless forms of existence from which we were born, vis-à-vis the evolved, weighty, and multidimensional lives we live now. However, as became evident during the 10 minute Q&A session after the performance, it was simultaneously a highly personal and genuinely honest expression of life for each performer.

It was communicated through glowing bottles, a conservatively lit stage, and unrestrained dance. This was the realisation of their dream, of this portion of their lives; and sitting in the audience was all that was required to participate and understand.

演出場地：松山文創園區巴洛克花園

Love is an ineffable, polymorphous, even extra-dimensional phenomenon; Simultaneously aesthetic and ethereal.

It does not give itself to dissection; there can be no analysis of it, no deconstruction.

All that is left is dialogue, and reflection. The former occurs when love is present, the latter after the fact.

In consideration of the above, the latter half of the piece is an attempt to interrogate the notion of love via scenario. In spite of the story devoting itself fully to the examination of our relationship with love, the characters do little to actually question love’s existence; rather they were appeared self-involved and unidirectional.

On the other hand, the interpretive dance portion brimmed with self-expression, self-reflection, and expressed a multi-dimensional dialogue on the notions of self, love, and the other.

Love is not solely expressed through any particular medium; it just is, much like the performers were when they were dancing with and around one another in the first segment.

演出場地：學校咖啡館

Having existed for 8 years, G.T.C.’s performance cannot be considered a nascent effort. While the performance suffered from several mishaps and coordination issues (nothing which could not be fixed with a little bit more practice), it still managed to project a festive, celebratory atmosphere not easily felt in Taipei.

The atmosphere I’m describing is one that is honest, unassuming, and unpretentious. While Taipei is a city brimming with creativity, design, innovation, and creation, in my experience I’ve rarely been able to say it’s equally cultivating of such open and carefree delight as that experienced on stage on Sunday.

Cross-generational gaiety, freedom of body, mind and expression were aesthetic themes present in the performance that, while perhaps not evident of traditional Capoeira, ultimately served as the ideal mechanism for enveloping the audience in the spirit of cross-cultural celebration and amalgamation. While the dance moves didn’t bring to mind the disciplined Brazilian capoeira dance that can be found on YouTube or elsewhere in Pop Culture, that wasn’t the point. The goal was cultural transfusion along with guiltless fun, and for both the audience and the performers this was a tangible success.

演出場地：松山文創園區巴洛克花園

Do you hear? is driven by dynamics naturally present in all human relationships: the influence of space and therefore distance, the inevitable passing of time, and the paradox of expressing yourself completely to another human being.

The placement of the audience is used to artificially divide the narrow performance space into two separate stages to great effect. While tangible effort can be seen in the writing and execution, the charisma of the actors and their familiarity with one another is what makes the play worth experiencing.

There is also a novel use of audience interaction in that you may pick your own resolution by vote. There are 4 scripted outcomes that upon being introduced, the audience must decide upon by democratic vote. Altogether a refreshing and worthwhile experience!

演出場地：Changee中山