Invitation to theater for boys and girls
‘The Stones,’ ‘Good Morning School’ portray youth’s struggle
By Kwon Mee-yoo
There are fun, educational plays and musicals for children and more glamorous or serious ones for adults. However, teenagers are somewhat excluded from the theater scene, as adults tend to guide them instead of thinking from a juvenile perspective.
This winter, two theatrical works — “The Stones” and “Good Morning School” — bring teenagers’ growing pains to the stage
‘The Stones'
The Korean rendition of “The Stones” is being staged through Dec. 4 at the Baik Soung-hee and Chang Min-ho Theater in Seogye-dong, central Seoul.
The National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) opened a subsidiary Research Institute of Theater for Young Audiences in May and adapting “The Stones” for Korean audience is its first project.
It is a two-man show written and directed by Stefo Nantsou and Tom Lycos from Zeal Theatre of Australia and has received critical acclaim in some 20 countries since its premiere in 1996.
The play, inspired by the 1994 trial of two teenagers who killed a passing motorist, deals with juvenile delinquents and an act that can lead to criminal irresponsibility for those under 13, and which cannot be judged in a dichotomous way.
The two actors — Kim Moon-sung and Kim Jeong-hun — play two middle school students who threw stones from a overpass for a lark, but their lives are shaken by the consequences of their mischief. They also perform as two police investigators questioning the students, rapidly going back and forth between the two characters.
The stage of the Baik-Chang Theater is turned into an abandoned construction site and seats are aligned along the longer sides of the rectangle-shaped stage. The actors dash up and down and even rush through the audience.
The two students do mischievous things without thinking, as if they are playing computer games with familiar electronic sounds.
To keep the adaptation lively, the creative team surveyed some 200 teenagers and tried to portray actual juvenile life in Korea. Some of the slang used in the show was actually suggested by students.
After the premiere in Seoul, “The Stones” will travel to local middle and high schools next year.
Tickets cost from 10,000 to 30,000 won. For more information, visit www.ntck.or.kr or call (02) 3279-2226.
‘‘Good Morning School’
“Good Morning School” is part of the repertoire of Hakchon Theater, founded and led by Kim Min-gi, who is also known for directing the Korean adaptation of “Line 1.”
The musical premiered as “Moskito” in 1997 and the storyline was revamped completely in 2009 to “Good Morning School” to focus on teenagers.
Choo Min-ju, director of homegrown musical “Laundry,” joined the seventh production of “Good Morning School.” This version deals with the voting rights of teenagers.
The characters are lively as if they just came from a Korean high school. They include Uk-jin, a transfer student who advocates the expansion of voting rights through the Internet with the nickname “Minke Whale”; In-gwon, the top student in the class; Jin-u, a second-generation Chinese pupil in Korea; Jae-eun, who leads a music club; and Se-na, the class president who has big secrets. Most of the actors are new to theater, making their debut in “Good Morning School.”
The music, combining rock, hip-hop and rap, describes the reality of youths in Korea from worries about grades to friendship. “Good Morning School” runs through Dec. 25 at Hakchon Blue Theater in Daehangno, Seoul.
The show opens at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday and a 7:30 p.m. performance is added on Fridays. Weekend performances are at 4 p.m. Tickets cost 20,000 won for students and 30,000 for adults. For more information, visit www.hakchon.co.kr or call (02) 763-8233.