The Theater Groups in Those Eras
Limited by imaging technology and material cultural constraints, we can no longer directly witness actual performances of the new drama play during the Japanese colonial period. Furthermore, with its deeply political overtones, much relevant information has either voluntarily or been forcibly lost with the changing of power, leaving behind a history of theatrical performances without visibility. This makes it difficult to conduct a comprehensive study of the stage effects, actor performances, or the playwright's textual scholarship.
However, the New Drama Movement did not exist in isolation. Theater groups were composed of like-minded individuals. Approaching this from a social network perspective allows us to identify the position of new drama members within the overall structure, the connections between them, and the dynamics of interaction between subgroups.
Therefore, this exhibition uses "light" as a metaphor. These theater groups are like stars in the night sky, shining briefly but leaving their mark on the long river of history. We use a variety of vintage lamps to demonstrate the concept of "collecting starlight," allowing viewers to experience the researchers' efforts and significance in reconstructing history through light and shadow.
New and old dramas attract fans
Advocates of New Drama continually strived to expand its reach, dispelling social superstitions and disseminating new knowledge and cultural ideas. However, during the Japanese colonial period, traditional opera retained a strong appeal to the public and remained largely visible.
This interactive installation features two small, guerrilla-style stages representing modern opera. Participants are asked to try to attract steel balls, representing the audience, to see how many they can attract. As they progress, they'll discover that no matter how many steel balls they attract, the traditional opera audience remains crowded with them. This is because traditional opera, with its accessible and entertaining appeal, is particularly popular with the public. However, modern opera represents the efforts of intellectuals to reform society. Their ideals and passion are worthy of our respect!
New Drama Stage – Surround Sound Immersive Scenes
During the Japanese colonial period, the performance of modern drama was often fraught with tension and contradictions. Taiwanese intellectuals, clinging to ideals, performed dark and bleak modern dramas on stage. Though their acting was occasionally stilted, they still strove to convey their ideas through drama, evoking audiences with moments of mockery and emotion.
Furthermore, whenever the plot touched upon Taiwanese consciousness or anti-colonial overtones, the police on duty would shout, "Stop the performance!"
This exhibition uses a surround sound immersive stage to invite the audience to sit down and enjoy the classic new play "The Golden Pagoda." As the plot progresses, they can hear the clamor of the surrounding audience and the shouting of the police in the distance, and experience firsthand the atmosphere of the new play during the Japanese colonial period.
New Era Grand Debut
The New Drama Movement during the Japanese colonial period
During the late colonial period of the 19th century, drama was influenced by Western thought and modern civilization. A group of socially concerned intellectuals began to experiment with a new form of drama, known as "New Drama." They hoped to replace the old with the new, replacing both the old drama and the old culture, and bringing new perspectives to the public.
However, due to the immaturity of theatrical conditions and the interference of the colonial government, new drama never developed into a mature form.
The people and events of Taiwan's New Drama Movement are like shooting stars, striving to shine in the darkness of the Japanese colonial period. From afar, we can only see their faint and fleeting glimmers.
This exhibition collects these stories, combining a surround sound situational theater with the unique context of a cultural drama performance. This exhibition is also complemented by a play-reading installation, a game about the life of a New Drama, and a re-enactment of scenes from the new play "The Rooster." This multifaceted experience depicts the historical trajectory of these shooting stars, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in the cultural wave of Taiwan's New Drama Movement during the Japanese colonial period, a movement steeped in idealism and romance.
Reading drama: new dramas, radio dramas, ticket booth
The soul of a new drama performance derives from the audience, the stage, the actors, and the script. During the Japanese colonial period, theater troupes were often composed of like-minded individuals, expressing their ideas through their choice of scripts. At a time when dramatic literature was still immature, early productions often borrowed from Chinese or Japanese scripts, such as "My Sweetheart" and "Social Class." Only later did local productions gradually emerge, such as "Whose Fault" and "The Crisis of Destruction," leaving behind a valuable publication record. These troupes and scripts, like fleeting meteors, shone brightly, illuminating the history of Taiwan's New Drama Movement.
Ticket prices were free for performances in public spaces like temples, but playing in theaters required financial support for the venue rent, thus the performing crew would charge a ticket ranging from 10 to 60 yuan. The cheapest ticket for a new play cost only one-tenth of a worker's daily wage. Ticket machines on set allowed audiences to experience the difference in ticket prices between new and old productions of the year.
Wide Games and the Rooster Herbal Store
Taiwan's new drama, brimming with ideals and hopes, proved fragile and ephemeral under colonial oppression. Despite the involvement of numerous young people, these works, like meteors, were fleeting, leaving behind only fragments that allow us to sketch the outlines of some characters and troupes.
This Wide Game uses the image of "stars" to present seven theater troupes and their representative figures, allowing the audience to experience and understand how young people in the new drama world a hundred years ago made choices in turbulent times, embarked on the path of reform and cultural enlightenment, and ignited the starlight of the new generation.
While new dramas matured in China and Japan, its development in Taiwan was interrupted by colonial rule. Even during the Imperialization era of 1937, some continued to create works with a nationalist consciousness. In 1943, the Kosei Drama Research Association released "The Rooster," an adaptation of Zhang Wen Huan's novel. Using the rise and fall of a herbal store and the awakening of women as metaphors, it reflected the sorrow and resilience of colonialism.
