Busan is good

Busan performing arts festival kicks off in May

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Aspiring to become Asia's center for theatrical dramas, Busan holds its annual international performing arts festival from May 3 to 15 at the Busan Cultural Center and four other venues in the southeastern port city.

 

Under the title "Music, the Essence of the Theater," this year's festival will focus on music theater, a form of theater works combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance.

"Music theater is one of the innovative theater genres that has drawn attention around the world. And it is easy for the audience to understand the theater work without suffering from a language barrier," Kim Dong-kyu, president of the organizing committee of the festival, said yesterday during a press meeting in Seoul.

 

The festival, in its fifth year, is scheduled to hold a total of 20 productions from eight countries including Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

 

The organizing committee expects more than 70,000 people to visit the 13-day festival.

The festival starts with "The Opera," a multimedia show by Squonk Opera from the United States. Squonk Opera is a Pittsburgh-based troupe of visual artists and musicians that presents shows consisting of music, visual art and acting elements.

 

Their current project adapts the character, atmosphere and history of each city it visits and incorporates them into the show. And the troupe will present its new version of "The Opera" created from stories of Busan people and beautiful city scenery.

 

Musical "Sonagi (Rain Shower)" by the Seoul Metropolitan Musical Company will close the last two days of the festival at the Busan Cultural Center. Based on a Korean novel by Hwang Soon-won, the musical tells a painful and pure love story between a boy and a girl caught in a summer rain shower.

 

The festival will also feature Spanish non-verbal performer "M3" (on May 8-9 at Multimedia Theater of Kyungsung University), Russian cabaret show "Naphthalen" (on May 8-10 at the Busan Cultural Center) and Chinese puppet show "Once Upon A Time" (on May 5-15 at the Busan Cultural Center). "M3" is Chapline-style mine production that takes place inside a one-meter-cubed-box. A man is forced to move to a cubical box due to the skyrocketing city rent but tries to decorate the room and to find peace of mind in his own place.

 

The festival also holds a number of special events to encourage visitors' participation. Events include "10 Minute Plays," a stage for amateur actors, "The World Famous Music Director's Workshop," an exchange program for music directors from all over the world. Daniel Williams, sound designer for the acclaimed Russian physical theater company Derevo, will participate in the workshop.

 

The organizing committee said it will help promote exchanges between foreign and local artists. The committee added that it will also envision the future role of the festival as a market place for the country's performing arts.

 

For more information and ticket reservation, call (051) 611-3703 or visit www.bipaf.org

 

The source of news : The Korea Herald  April 16, 2008