5th Taipei Fringe Festival Press Conference

Those who act on stage are fanatical, those who watch people act on stage are foolish.  ~ a Chinese saying~ 演戲的是瘋子，看戲的是傻子

It was an overwhelming experience to see the artists whirlwind the stage in 30 seconds at the dress rehearsal of the 2012 Taipei Fringe Festival before the press conference at the Hakka Culture Hall Sunday, July 15th.

I arrived at the Hakka Culture Hall at 10:30 Sunday morning to support Open Your Ears, the first production of Red Room Radio Redux (RRRR). It aims to present the spoken word to stimulate the audience imagination with a two-part event featuring Shakespeare's greatest hits. Part One is an original featuring scenes from Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo & Juliet, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Henry V, and As You Like It. Part Two is a one-act adaptation of The Tragedy of Macbeth in the style of a Radio Drama of the 1930's - 40's. It's Shakespeare to see but especially to hear.

Being a first timer to the Taipei Fringe Festival, I was full of curiosity and excitements. During the dress rehearsal, I sat next to Joyce Lin, a RRRR member. Seeing one stage time after another with 30 seconds each, we were instantly injected with energy and vitality watching talents on stage and sitting among them in the audience. The 5th Taipei Fringe Festival has a lot to offer, more than we could have imagined.

I told Joyce that I would organize a theater group  at 2020 Taipei Fringe Festival. By that time, I'll be 65 years old and I plan to charter a Baby Boomers theater troupe. Joyce replied, "why take so long?" "Yes, maybe sooner," I laughed, if I could get admitted to Graduate School of Theater, National Taiwan University in 2013! (My heart was chilled after I saw the past exams! I knew the answers to less than one tenth of questions! It would take a life time to know all answers. Look at me, I don't even know much about the theater in Taiwan, let alone those from ancient Greek to modern China. But at least I have a goal in mind!)

No doubt, it's exciting to see young people use the summer vacation to prepare for the fringe show in early September, but how about the seniors in Taiwan? Old generation can learn new tricks, if they are inspired to. They have plenty of time after their retirement. The years after the retirement aren't just a footnote or a pathology. Jane Fonda asks how we can think about the third act of our lives. I think we can go on stage to add colors and meanings to our golden third act in life!

During the lunch break, I met a lot of fanatical actors and actresses. It was a great gathering to exchange information about acting on stage. The press conference began at 2PM. I glanced 50 group (out of a total of 120) showcases in less than one hour. It's simply entertaining to watch artists play on stage and let our minds fly here and there at the same time, to compete the creative ideas under the same roof.

Open Your Ears by RRRR 2012

After the press conference, there were lots of actions, reactions, and interactions off stage among the talents. It's like a huge home party for all participants (Too pity, no food and drinks allowed inside the theater hall!) Every artist was eager to promote his or her group show! I wish I could see 10 shows at the 5th Taipei Fringe Festival in two weeks from September 1st till 16th!

If people are foolish to watch people act on stage, so are people fanatical to act on stage! All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. At one time, we are fanatical, at others, we are foolish. It is a pleasant life journey to enjoy a life both fanatical and foolish.