In this workshop students will work with, Stan Lai to develop his play, Stories for the Dead. It is a story about the Bardo in Tibetan Buddism, the state of "in-between" death and rebirth. Lai's work involves playmaking through improvisational techniques. Actors of all levels are welcome to participate. Students of production design and management interested in being involved in a dynamic and organic playmaking process are also encouraged to enroll.
The workshop will result in a staged work-in-progress production of Stories for the Dead on March 15-16, 2006.
Teaching Assistants: Will Gutierrez
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Stan Lai
Stan Lai (Lai Sheng-chuan) is one of the most influential playwright/directors in Asia, Stan Lai (Chinese name Lai Sheng-chuan) is also known for his award-winning films. Based in Taiwan, Lai's plays (24 original works to date) have been performed throughout the Chinese world, and he is widely regarded as one of the most important voices in contemporary Chinese-language theatre. His Taiwan theatre group Performance Workshop, of which he is Artistic Director, is a collective of some of the finest performers in the Chinese language. Lai's most famous work The Peach Blossom Land (1986) has toured worldwide, been made into an award-winning film (1992), and has had no less than 50 different productions in Beijing alone. His famous "crosstalk" (xiangsheng) series, starting with the ground-breaking work That Evening, We Performed Xiangsheng (1985) has helped created the large, popular audience base for his critically acclaimed plays. His epic 7 hour A Dream Like A Dream (2000), in part developed at U.C. Berkeley while Lai was a Regent's Lecturer in 2000, received top awards at the 2003 Drama Awards, and has drawn comparisons to Peter Brook's Mahabharata.
Relevant Links: http://www.pwshop.com/html/stan_lai.html |
