Weekender Summer theater fests beckon

By Chung Ah-young

Staff reporter

Every summer, Avignon in France turns into a city-theater sizzling with tens of thousands of theater-goers, often on vacation and far from home, staying for several days to experience outdoor performances. So why not have the same in Korea?

Two international performing arts festivals in South Gyeongsang Province, held every summer, are inviting theater-lovers to attend open-air attractions.

Both are held on outdoor stages but have distinct characters, offering a variety of shows, plays, dances and musicals to celebrate contemporary living culture.

Keochang International Festival of Theater (KIFT)

The Keochang (Geochang) International Festival of Theater (KIFT) makes a good use of the beautiful natural backdrops of the region blessed with picturesque mountains and valleys as part of its outdoor stages.

The festival began as a small event to promote friendship among theater groups in the region in 1989 and remained running as a local event until 1997. However, thanks to the efforts of Lee Jong-il, chairman of the executive committee of KIFT, the event has grown into an international festival with more than 150,000 visitors every year over the last three consecutive years.

KIFT began utilizing its natural scenery in the Suseungdae resort area surrounded by Mt. Deokyu and Mt. Jiri as the main venues. Actually, the region is renowned for its famous tourist spots such as a turtle-shaped giant rock alongside a valley, a 500-year-old ginkgo tree and a stone-walled theater.

Visitors can cool themselves off in the natural surroundings, and also take in diverse performing arts from different countries.

“It has turned from a theater-only festival into a comprehensive performing arts festival combining the resort with cultural events and entertainment,” the organizers said in a statement.

For this year’s festival, about 45 troupes from 10 countries will participate under the theme “Nature, Human and Play” from July 30 to Aug. 15 at various venues in Geochang.

The organizers said that the event will feature non-verbal performances such as visual and sound shows _ “God of All As Please” by Japanese theater group Collol, “Story in Fluffy Pillow” by Serbian theater company Dusko Radovic, “Hungarian Rhythm” by the Hungarian Presidance Company, “Puppets” by the Guatemala National Theater and “Strange Story” by the Slovakian Chamber Theater.

“God of All As Please” (Aug. 4-5) profoundly yet cheerfully depicts the solitude of working men and women through passionate emotions, while “Story in Fluffy Pillow” (Aug. 4-5) delves into the search for something meaningful that people attempt to find in their lives, through a combination of play and dance.

“Hungarian Rhythm” (Aug. 7-8) touches upon ordinary people's emotions melted into the beautiful and orderly sacred soul of art, expressed in a magnificent dance combined with a traditional acoustic rhythm. The Hungarian rhythm in the forest shows the joy of life. It will lead every sense in the body to appreciate the musical rhythms.

“Puppets” (Aug. 9-10) is a bold dramatic piece. Each character has a symbol of its own _ the woman represents love; the young man, work; the artist, the act of dreaming; and the only named character, Yuda, symbolizes silence. An old man is making dolls and his daughter has a skull-shaped head, which symbolizes evil, mischief and death.

“Strange Story” (Aug. 11-12) unfolds a strange plot in a children's story that depicts a wide range of natural phenomena through eyes full of love, compassion and warmth, while showing astonishing and strange real life situations.

But the cream of the crop at the festival is to watch the outdoor shows “Chica-Chicos” (July 30-Aug. 15) and “Dixieland” (July 30-Aug. 15) that will take place in the valley where spectators can also have fun in water.

For more information, call (055) 943-4152-3 or visit www.kift.or.kr.

Miryang Summer Performing Arts Festival

Miryang is known as one of the hottest cities in the nation and is easily associated with the location of the Cannes award-winning film “Secret Sunshine.”

However, the city is also home to theater, hosting the annual Miryang Summer Performing Arts Festival. This year marks the 10th anniversary since it began as a small village festival in 2001.

The organizers will make the occasion a chance to develop local theaters under the title “Theater is Still Theater,” as it looks back at the basic raison d’etre for the art-form.

Last year, the festival, which will take place from July 22 to Aug. 1, was given top marks among all the nationwide performing arts festivals supported by the government.

The event is designed to connect local thespians to international theatrical experts and professionals through contemporary theater and networking.

A total of 31 works by 30 theater troupes from three countries _ England, Germany and Japan _ will take part in the festival.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary, the city will open the Castle Wall Theater, the first of its kind equipped with a round outdoor stage.

“The Castle Wall Theater will be a symbolic image of the festival for the next 10 years as it ushers in a new era of outdoor performances here,” the organizers said in a press release. The theater is shaped like a castle wall with a mega-sized seating area around the round stage.

The opening performance at the theater will be the musical “Yi Sun-shin” from July 22 to 24. Also, “Ogu” starring veteran actress Kang Bu-ja will be performed from July 25 to 27, while “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will go on stage from July 29 to 31 and the fantasy musical “The Empire of the Sun” will hit the stage on Aug. 1.

Verbal and non-verbal performances include a dance performance “Soul Play” by Kate Flatt from Britain, “Hitlerine” by Folksbuhne from Germany and “Robinson and Crusoe” by Japanese SPAC. Also “Looking for Daddy, Round, Round, Round the World” by the Players from Korea will be shown.

Renowned for choreography of the musical “Les Miserable” last year, Flatt attempts a new choreographic work casting British dancers and Korean actors together in “Soul Play.”

German director Alexis Bug, who also participated in the 2007 festival, will present “Hitlerine” in which actress Anne Tismer wrote the script and will perform a dual role. The actress performed the role of Nora in “A Doll’s House” in 2005 in Korea.

“Robinson and Crusoe” is a humanistic story between a Japanese solider and a Korean prisoner even though they cannot communicate with each other.

“Looking for Daddy, Round, Round, Round the World” is an entertaining play combining drama and street performance, revolving around the story of a boy looking for his father along with mask dances and humor.

Veteran directors _ Lee Yun-taek, Park Geun-hyung and Nam Mi-jeong _ will also put their pieces on stage. “Hamlet” directed by Lee will be staged from July 25 to 26, while “Oedipus” by Park will be performed from July 29 to 30 and “Blue Sky Milkyway” by Nam will be on offer on July 22.

In an effort to nurture young directors, the festival offers a special program of ten works by rising artists.

The festival is hosted by the Street Theater Troupe led by Lee Yun-taek at the Theater Village in Miryang. For more information, call (055) 355-2308 or visit www.stt1986.com.