Schedule

In this course, we will explore a range of performing arts genres in current production and develop your skills in experiencing, describing, analysing, interpreting, evaluating and reflecting on performance. This course is taught in English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI). Students are required to attend productions and undertake homework between classes. 

The course content divides into two parts. In the first part, we will explore appreciation of performing arts from perspectives of programming and repertoire, venues and events, and a range of performance genres. In the second part, students working in groups present reports on a series of current productions, each followed by discussions in response to presentations.

Part One

Week 1 Introduction – definitions of performing arts, appreciation and approach – genres and pleasures.

Week 2 Programming and repertoire – people, places and performance – what's on in Taiwan – presence and liveness.

Week 3 Musicals and opera – The Magic Flute (dir. Romeo Castellucci, 2019), Oklahoma! (dir. Daniel Fish, 2019; 2023) – cultural values, social strata – aesthetics and audiences.

Week 4 Xiqu traditional opera – performing troupes, touring forms – nanguan, gezaixi – Passage to Lo-Jin (Gang-a Tsui Theater 2017), Zheng ZhiLong, The Pirate King of Formosa (Ming Hwa Yuan, 2020) – mobility and migration.

Week 5 Classic plays, modern drama – scripted, spoken-word – dramaturgy and adaptation –  Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare), A Doll's House (Ibsen) – dramaturgical analysis, directorial vision.

Week 6 No classes – National Day

Week 7 Dance theatre, contemporary performance – Pina Bausch, Café Müller and Kontakthof (1978) – intention and affect – choreographic analysis, material thinking.

Week 8 Indigenous dance – intercultural performance, international exchange – Bulareyaung Dance Company (Taiwan), Marrugeku (Australia) – encounter and diplomacy.

Week 9 Mid-term exam – first eight weeks.

Part Two

Week 10 Group 1 Presentation – Discussion.

Week 11 Group 2 Presentation – Discussion.

Week 12 Group 3 Presentation – Discussion.

Week 13 Group 4 Presentation – Discussion.

Week 14 Group 5 Presentation – Discussion.

Week 15 Group 6 Presentation – Discussion.

Week 16 Conclusions – Prospects and reflections.

Attendance and participation

Students are expected to attend all classes on time and to participate in learning activities. Students are also expected to attend performances and undertake homework between classes.

Students are encouraged to focus on learning during class. Using mobile phones and laptops for purposes other than learning is discouraged. Any absence should be explained in advance. It is the student's responsibilty to inform the teacher if they are absent prior to the class. Unexplained absences will reduce a student's grade for participation. Late attendence for more than twenty minutes on two occasions will be recorded as one unexecused absence. 

Assignments

Assignments are to be written in English. Please prepare a PDF file for A4 size paper, double line-spacing with a serif font (such as Baskerville, Cambria, Georgia, and Times New Roman) in size 12. Spell-checking and grammar tools are acceptable ways to improve the quality of your writing. Extensive use of automated translation (such as Google Translate) or text generated using artificial intelligence (such as ChatGP) are unacceptable as evidence of your learning. Be prepared to answer questions in interview about your assignments, if required, as part of the assessment process.  

Group presentations and written report

The group presentation is presented in weeks 10 to 15, with one group presenting each week. All students in each group are to present and take part in delivering the presentation and responding to questions in discussion. Other students are expected to attend each group presentation and to participate in questions, discussion and reflection.

The group presentation addresses the following five aspects of performing arts appreciation:

A. Description: observe and describe the production in detail, drawing on your experience as a spectator, including venue-space-setting, time-event-story, actors-characters-relations, costumes and scenery, lighting-sound-staging. 

B. Analysis: analyse the performance, focusing on the actions of the performers, their interactions on stage, the style of their performance, the major transitions and significant movements, and so on. 

C. Interpretations: Drawing on your description and analysis, develop an understanding of the meanings of the work, including artistic concepts, directorial intentions, dramaturgical interventions, and the attitudes, feelings or mood emerging for the audience before, during and after the performance. Differences in interpretation are valuable to share, since interpretations will reflect individual perspectives and personal experience.

D. Evaluation: As a group, evaluate the artistic achievement of the production, taking into account the intentions of the artist/company, and the range of interpretations you developed. Compare the achievement of this production with other works; what is similar, different, distinctive about this one?

E. Reflections. What else did you observe about the production? What are its prospects in future? Where else could it be performed? Who else could come to see it. What would you like to see the artists/company do next?

The written report from each group is due one week after the group presentation. The report should record in writing what the group presented in class. The report should also include some reflection on the analysis, emerging from the questions and discussion following the presentation. The word length of the report depends on the number of students in the group – each student should contribute around 1,000 words to the report.

Consultation

This course encourages independent study and you are welcome to discuss your learning with me. My regular office hours for student consultation are Wednesdays 10:00-12:00 and Fridays 13:00-15:00. Other times may be possible; please email jonathan.bollen@ntnu.edu.tw for appointment. Usually I will reply to your emails within 2 working days, and you are advised to do the same. A follow-up reply will be much appreciated, so that I know you've received my message. 

Required readings

A list of current performances and relevant readings will be provided during the course. 

Recommended references

• Allain, Paul and Jen Harvie. The Routledge Companion to Theatre and Performance, 2nd ed. (London & New York: Routledge, 2014).
• Badiou, Alain. In Praise of Theatre, with Nicholas Truong, trans. Andrew Bielski (Cambridge: Polity, 2015).
• Fischer-Lichte, Erika. The Transformative Power of Performance. A New Aesthetics, trans. Saskya Iris Jain (London: Routledge, 2008).
• Feng Wei. Intercultural Aesthetics in Traditional Chinese Theatre: From 1978 to the Present (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
• Ferrari, Rossella. Transnational Chinese Theatres. Intercultural Performance Networks in East Asia (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
• Kennedy, Dennis. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
• Pavis, Patrice and Joel Anderson. Contemporary Mise En Scène. Staging Theatre Today (London & New York: Routledge, 2013).