PRODUCTION The Tempest
Data Type：program
Author：Wang, Anita Ying-Jeng
Title：National Taiwan University: The Tempest
Source：Program of the 8th Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival
Place：Hong Kong
Publisher：Chinese University of Hong Kong [Xianggang zhongwen daxue]
Date：2012/5/28
Language：English
Abstract：The document contains an introduction to National Taiwan University, the participants, the production, and acknowledgements. The adapter and director talks about the theme of the play and her motivation to centralize the play on Prospero's interaction with Caliban and Ariel.
National Taiwan University
The Tempest
Act 1 To Act 5
About the University
National Taiwan University is a prestigious public research university located in Taipei. With over 33,000 students, NTU is the largest university in Taiwan and has been ranked as one of the top 100 universities around the world. The director and three actors of this play all come from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, College of Liberal Arts.
About the Scene
The play opens with a tempestuous storm, yet Prospero’s internal tempest is much stronger than the external one. Interested in Prospero’s spiritual journey, I thus decided to put the entire focus on his transformation, through which he lets go of the old grudges, comes to terms with the imperfections of the world, reconciles with those who had wronged him, and makes peace with himself.
This arduous journey is made difficult by those dearest to him: Ariel the spirit and Caliban the hag-born. For me, the relationship among them is the most intriguing part of the play, for they are three neither-good-nor-evil distinctive characters who want conflicting things and who will go to extreme lengths to achieve them. Nevertheless, their interactions, especially the one between Prospero and Caliban, and Caliban and Ariel, are somehow “distanced” and limited in the original text, making it possible for them to have direct contacts and confrontations. Thus, I put together their lines and created Act 3, 4, and 5, in hopes of giving each character a chance to voice to one another their innermost feelings.
Though this production centers most on Prospero’s transformation, I do hope Caliban and Ariel as well can go through some kind of metamorphosis and arriving at different spiritual states towards the end of the play. And I wish all of us the same: finding the magic of life, that is, true inner peace with ourselves.
Director
Wang Ying-Jeng
Cast
Caliban – Chuang Ya-Wen
Ariel – Liu Hang-Yu
Prospero – Chang Yun-Chen
Crew
Kao Wei-Chung – Light Designer
Hans Tsai – Music Designer
Tsai Chiao-Ning, Chang Chi-I, Kao Yu-Han – Costume Designer/ Costumier/ Make-up Designer
Special thanks to
Prof. Liang Xin-Rong (Dean of DFLL), Prof. Hsieh Chun-Pai, Prof. Lei Bi-qi, Prof. Chu Jing-Mei, Prof. Lu Po-Shan, Prof. Fan Chao-Wei, Mrs. Alper, Miss Wang Chun-Ling, Brian Ting
The Tempest
Act 1 To Act 5
About the University
National Taiwan University is a prestigious public research university located in Taipei. With over 33,000 students, NTU is the largest university in Taiwan and has been ranked as one of the top 100 universities around the world. The director and three actors of this play all come from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, College of Liberal Arts.
About the Scene
The play opens with a tempestuous storm, yet Prospero’s internal tempest is much stronger than the external one. Interested in Prospero’s spiritual journey, I thus decided to put the entire focus on his transformation, through which he lets go of the old grudges, comes to terms with the imperfections of the world, reconciles with those who had wronged him, and makes peace with himself.
This arduous journey is made difficult by those dearest to him: Ariel the spirit and Caliban the hag-born. For me, the relationship among them is the most intriguing part of the play, for they are three neither-good-nor-evil distinctive characters who want conflicting things and who will go to extreme lengths to achieve them. Nevertheless, their interactions, especially the one between Prospero and Caliban, and Caliban and Ariel, are somehow “distanced” and limited in the original text, making it possible for them to have direct contacts and confrontations. Thus, I put together their lines and created Act 3, 4, and 5, in hopes of giving each character a chance to voice to one another their innermost feelings.
Though this production centers most on Prospero’s transformation, I do hope Caliban and Ariel as well can go through some kind of metamorphosis and arriving at different spiritual states towards the end of the play. And I wish all of us the same: finding the magic of life, that is, true inner peace with ourselves.
Director
Wang Ying-Jeng
Cast
Caliban – Chuang Ya-Wen
Ariel – Liu Hang-Yu
Prospero – Chang Yun-Chen
Crew
Kao Wei-Chung – Light Designer
Hans Tsai – Music Designer
Tsai Chiao-Ning, Chang Chi-I, Kao Yu-Han – Costume Designer/ Costumier/ Make-up Designer
Special thanks to
Prof. Liang Xin-Rong (Dean of DFLL), Prof. Hsieh Chun-Pai, Prof. Lei Bi-qi, Prof. Chu Jing-Mei, Prof. Lu Po-Shan, Prof. Fan Chao-Wei, Mrs. Alper, Miss Wang Chun-Ling, Brian Ting
