150072 SE Overcoming Challenges in Staging a Play in Chinese (M7 LK) (2020S)

The aim of this course is to enable students to approach a Chinese theatre play, specifically: "Jiang Qing and Her Husbands" by Sha Yexin, and evaluate how to present it to a mixed audience (with Chinese and non-Chinese cultural and language background) either as a staged theatre performance or as a video.

*** Due to the Coronavirus crisis, we will have to approach our work taking into consideration a new challenge: what does it mean to work on a play in Chinese when we don't know if the outcome will be a theatre performance or a film? Can we think of creative ways to make a film or video of the play even if we cannot be physically in the same place? What does it mean to present our interpretation of "Jiang Qing and her Husbands" during the time of the Coronavirus crisis?***

The students will be guided through the creative and investigation process and will be given specific tasks aimed at supporting the creation of the theatre or video production in an intercultural setting.
This course will not be a regular frontal class but is to be seen more as a theatre and video workshop with basic dramaturgy, interpretation, shooting, directing, and theatre exercises (breathing, voice projection and/or acting in front of a camera). Ideally, the final result will be a collective creation of the class with the supervision and direction of the lecturer, therefore active participation, teamwork and flexibility is expected.
Each student will not only be confronted with the language challenge of performing in Chinese (supported by Prof. Li Yan’s M3-B course), but also with the context and debates relating to the play "Jiang Qing and Her Husbands" (supported by Prof. Silvia Salino), and with using theatre and modern media and digital tools to convey the play to an audience based in a non-Chinese cultural context.
It is highly recommended that students participating to this course attend Prof. Li Yan’s course “Listening and speaking B (M3)” as well. Students who have attended Prof. Li Yan’s last semester “Listening and speaking A (M3)" course are welcome, as well as students who are new to the play “Jiang Qing and Her Husbands” but do have an advanced (or high-intermediate) knowledge of Chinese.