Author: Luiz Moura 莫浩洋,

First-Year Student of the MA Program in Studies of Arts and Creative Industries, TNUA

Collaborative creative processes can be fascinating. Making connections, exchanging possibilities, experiences and crafting projects along with other artists is a very interesting way to think and create art and develop a community. As students of the MA Program in Studies of Arts and Creative Industries (SAC), we often have the chance to meet a wide range of professionals and artists, connecting with and learning from their experiences in Taiwan.

Recently, we had the unique opportunity of attending a workshop of Taiwanese Opera, also named Gezaixi (or 歌仔戲), hosted by renowned performer, director and producer 米雪 and her team, from the company 新協興歌劇團. The experience was part of the course Performing Arts in Taiwan and Beyond, in which the students get introduced to a panorama of the history of performing arts through the years, with an emphasis on the Taiwanese art development, discussions of theories and corporeality, traditions and a look into what’s yet to come in terms of performing arts. The course, part of the SAC Program, also includes field trips and guest lectures from relevant professionals that helped shape the scenario of performing arts in Taiwan – and that’s how the art of Taiwanese Opera was brought to SAC.

 
Figure 1:  米雪 and her team teaching some of the Gezaixi moves. (Photo credit: Nora Hsu 許賀雅)

Through the experience, we learned a bit of the history of Gezaixi, the values behind it and even some of the techniques. It was a closer look into this very traditional Taiwanese art form, passed down from generation to generation over the decades. I was able to understand that Gezaixi is a reflection of the local culture and a symbol of national history; there was even a time when it was broadcasted through the radio and on national television here in Taiwan! It has so many interesting aspects, from the traditional costumes and the use of Taiwanese for the lyrics, to the portrayal of male characters by female performers and flexible narrative structure, that made it feel very current and relevant, even though it started many years ago.

We also learned about the political aspects of Gezaixi’s history. At some point in Taiwan, the government established policies to promote the use of Mandarin Chinese by the population; because the opera is performed in Taiwanese, it was eventually removed from broadcast programming. For this reason, the preservation of Gezaixi can also be seen as a symbol to keep the Taiwanese language alive.

When it comes to creative development, one of the key aspects of Taiwanese Opera is improvisation. The performers follow a structure of movements, compositions, formats and study their characters and plotlines, but the actual duration, lyrics and even overall story can evolve and change on the go, while it is being performed. It reminds me a bit of jazz, in which the musicians often join efforts in a jam session to play freely and improvise, giving each other cues and rhythms to shape the sound without the need of following a specific music sheet. From the brief experience that we had during the workshop, we were able to understand that Gezaixi has a lot of that – the performers work with the so-called “yes, and” improv mentality not only between each other, but also between the actors and the musicians, who are playing live according to what is being portrayed on stage. There are certain verbal or visual cues, like hand gestures, words and movements that the actors use to signal to the musicians and other performers what they are intending to do next, like following a certain path on the scene or exiting the stage, for instance.

The workshop also had a very special moment. Two of the class students were selected to try the full experience of a Gezaixi performer. Me and my classmate Greys Compuesto were chosen to spend some time being transformed in Opera characters through the craft of 米雪老師’s team. A full makeup beat and several layers of traditional costumes later, and we became the characters Xue Ping-gui and Wang Bao-chuan (薛平貴與王寶釧), feeling what’s it like to perform in a Taiwanese Opera production and all the hard work that goes into it. More than just hearing about Gezaixi, this hands-on experience allowed us to have a great moment of exchange with the artists and see their creative process in action. 米雪 even taught us some moves and words in Taiwanese to perform along with the rest of the class! I hope we were able to treat Taiwanese Opera with the respect it deserves and honor the traditions by learning with them.

Figure 2: Me and Greys after being transformed in Xue Ping-gui and Wang Bao-chuan. (Photo credit: Luiz Moura 莫浩洋)

Looking back and reflecting on this experience, what comes to my mind is something that I’ve been noticing ever since I started this journey at Taipei National University of the Arts: studying abroad is not just about attending classes and getting a degree, but also immersing yourself in a new environment and being open to a lot of moments of cultural exchange. It’s about absorbing new ideas, learning new ways of thinking, observing customs, connecting with the locals and others from all over the world, and introducing some of your own culture as well. This workshop was a great example of that, and it was an honor and a privilege to experience it with my classmates and the artists who shared their passion and experience with us. 謝謝!
 

Figure 3: The class of Performing Arts in Taiwan and Beyond with 米雪 and team! (Photo credit: Nora Hsu 許賀雅)