Credits
Schechner, Richard producer ; Contemporary Legend Theatre, producer ; Wu Hising-Kuo, producer ; Lin Hsiu-Wei, producer ; Huang Tsuei-Chin, executive producer ; Schechner, Richard, director ; Wu Hsing-Kuo, artistic director ; Lin Hsiu-Wei, choreographer ; Aeschylus, based on classic text by ; Mingder, Chung, Chinese translation by ; Schechner, Richard, English adaptation by ; Li Guangbo, Jingju composer ; Chen, Young, modern composer ; Jyi Wu Jing, artistic adviser ; Mingder, Chung, artistic adviser ; Liao Jin-Lin, music coordinator ; Lee Hsiao-Pin, assistant director ; Chou Huling, director's assistant & interpreter ; Council for Cultural Affairs and City Government of Taipei, supported in part by ; Wang Kwan-Chiang, rehearsal master ; Xiah Yung-Chuan, lyric polishing ; Yung Shu-Wen, stage manager ; Muller, Chris, set designer ; Tin Yip Kan, costume designer ; Sung Ssu-Ying, costume production ; Hung Tzu-Ming, costume production ; Lee An-Jung, costume production ; Tsai Pei-Lun, costume production ; Lee Hung-Yao, costume production ; Lu Li-Chin, costume production ; Ma Shu-Chuan, wardrobe supervisor ; Lu Li-Chin, make-up ; Lin Shu-Ling, make-up ; Wong, Andy, hair & wig designer ; Chang Ho-Chin, props designer ; M. Chien Lee-Zen, lighting ; Ly Wen, sound equipment ; High-Tech Workshop, sound equipment ; Ly Wen, tech support ; High-Tech Workshop, tech support ; Hwang-Shan Landscape Design Co., set & props construction ; Wang, Cynthia, marketing associate ; Chen Hsiu-Chuan, public relations ; Hsie Chun-Te, photographer ; Tsai, David, photographer ; Amos C.H. Liu, graphic designer.
Wei Hai-Ming (Clytemnestra), performer ; Wu Hsing-Kuo (Agamemnon, Orestes), performer ; Ma Pao-Shan (Aegisthus), performer ; Wang Yueh-Hisin (Cassandra, Fury), performer ; Chin Shu-Shuan (Electra, Chorus), performer ; Lee Hsiao-Pin (Apollo, Western Boy), performer ; Liu Fu-Hseuh (Nurse, Watchman), performer ; Peng Hsiang-Shih (Athene), performer ; Wang Kwan-Chiang (Pylades, Chorus), performer ; Chen Chin-Ho (Herald, Guard, Fury), performer ; Liu Hsi-Jung (Herald, Guard, Fury), performer ; Lo Shen-Chen (Pythia, Chorus), performer ; Chang Chi-Ming (Chorus), performer ; Tan Kwan-Chi (Chorus), performer ; Tu Pei-Chun (Chorus, Fury), performer ; Chang Ching-Ping (Chorus, Guard, Fury), performer ; Chien Shen (Chorus), performer ; Chao Chia-Chi (Chorus), performer ; Wang I-Ciao (Guard), performer.
Notes
All three plays of 'The Oresteia' in one 3-hour performance were staged in a converted bandshell in the Da'An Forest Park at the center of Taipei. The bandshell was completely made over into a circular orchestra and skene. More than 2,500 spectators sat on the hillside. Some of the action took place among them - for example, Agamemnon makes his triumphal entry after the victory at Troy by being pulled in a chariot across the crest of the hill through the crowds of spectators. The doomed warrior-king, greeted by his regal wife Clytemnestra, steps onto a 75' long strip of purple cloth. As Agamemnon disappears into the palace, Cassandra, in the back of the chariot howls her despairing prophecy. In the second act, 'The Libation Bearers, ' Orestes arrives at his father's tomb, set far up on the hillside. During the third act, 'The Eumenides, ' the Furies pursue Orestes through the audience. The production is in jingju (classical 'Beijing Opera') with its distinct singing styles (accompanied by a full Chinese orchestra), costumes, and staging. But there are also surprising interruptions of post-modernity. The leading performers - Wu Hsing-kuo and Wei Hai-min are Taiwan's leading classical Chinese actors. The play is performed in Mandarin with portions in older kinds of Chinese particular to jingju. There are some lines in Taiwanese as a character in modern dress explains the story to the Taiwanese-speaking audience. Richard Schechner is a theater director, performance theorist and university professor known for being one of the founders of the academic discipline of Performance Studies at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Schechner combines his work in anthropology with innovative approaches to performance of all kinds including ritual, drama, environmental theater, political rallies, dance, music, etc. in order to consider how performance can be understood not just as an object of study, but also as an active intellectual-artistic practice. He is the editor of 'TDR: The Journal of Performance Studies.' His books include 'Environmental Theater, ' 'The Future of Ritual, ' 'Performance Theory, ' 'Between Theater and Anthropology' and 'Performance Studies: An Introduction.' As of 2007, his books have been translated into 14 languages. Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics
