Alternative Theater in Taiwan: Feminist and Intercultural Approac ...

Chang Wen-cheng’s thesis (2002) explored Stan Lai’s production A Dream Like a Dream from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism, using the Mandala as a metaphor of religious life philosophy.Tsao Min’s book (2006), a documentation of the senior theater playwrights and directors in Taiwan, provides readers with a historical perspective of the early development of the theaters in Taiwan. Performing Arts Review, a monthly magazine in Taiwan, offers performance news, introductions and commentaries on the performance programs, which include drama, dance, musicals, and music. The contribution of this book is the discussion of different theater troupes and the interpretation of these seventeen performances from the 1990s to 2004 using different points of view.

In this book, the implications of performance signs are explored in the productions of the four avant-garde female directors (Chou Hui-Ling, Wei Ying-chuan, Dai Chun-fang, and Wu Xin-chou), three representative intercultural productions (Oresteia by the American director Richard Schechner in Taiwan, Tsou Oedipus by the Taiwanese director Wang Mo-lin, and Peach Blossom Fan by the Asian-American director Chen Shi-Zheng), and Stan Lai’s four productions (Journey to The West, Turn Back to the Other Shore, Pining … In Peach Blossom Land, and A Dream Like a Dream ).

Unlike Chapter Three and Chapter Four, in which I discuss the work of several directors, in Chapter Five, I focus on Stan Lai’s four works because he is currently the most influential director in Taiwan Theater. Other researchers have also focused on Lai. For instance, Chang Wen-cheng discusses Lai’s A Dream Like a Dream.⁴ I will apply Western theories to these case studies to introduce Western readers to a number of interesting Taiwanese productions, and importing Western theories for the readers in Taiwan.

In Chapter Two “The Historical Overview of Alternative Theaters in Taiwan,” I trace the history of Taiwan Theater from the Spoken Drama to the Little Theater Movement in the 1980s until present day.