The Rising Stars of Asia: The Good Person of Szechwan - Korea meets Hong Kong
VIEW EVENT DETAILSThe 'Rising Stars of Asia' Series, presented by Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Miller and Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Miller Theater (Former Magazine B) Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Registration at 2.45pm
Performance Part 1 at 3pm
Drinks Reception at 3.30pm
Performance Part 2 & Discussion at 4pm
Close at 5.15pm
Seeking to present up-and-coming Asian artists at the state-of-the-art Miller Theater (Former Magazine B), The Rising Stars of Asia Series provides a platform in Hong Kong to showcase the talent of emerging Asian artists in collaborative artistic presentations. The 2014 performance features Pansori artist Jaram Lee and team from Korea and the Hong Kong artistic team Leon Ko, Chris Shum, Victor Pang, and Actors’ Family on their contemporary adaptations of Bertolt Brecht’s Der gute Mensch von Sezuan (The Good Person of Szechwan).
Pansori Sacheon-ga is an attempt of modernizing the musical storytelling genre of Pansori (판소리), a traditional Korean art form originated in the 17th century, usually performed by a vocalist and a drummer. The author and singer of the work, Jaram Lee, highlighted the theme of social criticism this epic drama by translating Brecht’s world into contemporary times and made the mood even more satirical and humorous. Now set in the City of Sacheon, Korea, with characters bearing Korean names, the Pansori version of the play is infused with contemporary musical and dramatic elements. Sacheon-ga delves into issues of contemporary society where injustice, selfishness, and materialism run rampant. Lee’s heart-wrenching voice and satirical cries against such social absurdities have won her critical acclaims and awards, including the Award for Best Actress at the 2010 Kontakt International Theatre Festival in Poland. The production has toured substantially since its debut in 2007 including to the Chicago World Music Festival, Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, Theatre National Populaire and Festival d’Avignon Off in France and Kontakt International Theatre Festival in Poland.
Composer Leon Ko, librettist Chris Shum and director Victor Pang met for the first time in 2003 to come up with a new musical production in Hong Kong. Shum used to consider writing libretto for musicals a lifelong goal, but Ko, who was educated in New York inspired him to seek an even greater achievement by finding an original way to connect the Cantonese language with music . Joining forces with Pang who co-founded one of the few Hong Kong theatre companies in 1991 with a keen interest in musical theatre (Actors’ Family), the creative “iron triangle” began an exploration for an identity for “Hong Kong musical”. Not an attempt to translate western musical, nor the contemporization of Chinese classics, 四川好人(The Good Person of Szechwan), first of Ko, Shum and Pang’s co-produced musicals, uses western theatre as a reference, inherits traditional Chinese theatrical characteristics, and infuses traditional Chinese music such as nanyin. Ittells Bretch’s story through Cantonese lyrics carrying the feelings of contemporary Hong Kong people. The musical has been staged three times in Hong Kong - in 2003, 2004, and 2011- and it received six titles in the Hong Kong Drama Awards.
Jaram LEE started to learn Pansori since her debut with a very famous song Yesol (My Name), at the age of 4. Her name was registered in the Guinness World Records for completing an 8-hour performance of Choonhyang-ga in 1999. Since the age of 22, she has devoted herself to making audience familiar of Pansori by creating new versions of Pansori. Very talented and intellectual, she is also the lead vocalist of ‘Amado LEEJaram Band’, formerly a DJ of FM radio, she is also a guitarist, composer, writer, and music director as well as sorikkun of Pansori. She is currently artistic director of the theatre company Pansori Project ZA.
Leon KO holds a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University. His musical, Heading East, won the Richard Rodgers Development Award in the US, and his Cantonese musicals — The Good Person of Szechwan, Field of Dreams, and The Passage Beyond — won him five awards at the Hong Kong Drama Awards. Ko has won notable awards in film music —for Perhaps Love, he received a Best Original Film Music Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Asia-Pacific Film Festival; and Best Original Film Song at the Golden Horse Film Awards in Taiwan, and his title song for The Last Tycoon won Best Original Song at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2013. Other film scores include The Warlords, Mr. Cinema, The Great Magician and Dearest. Ko was the Music Director of Jacky Cheung’s 2004 world tour of Snow, Wolf, Lake. He wrote new music for the Cantonese Opera classics Princess Changping and The Reincarnation of the Red Plum Blossom, and music for two major Hong Kong drama productions, The Liaisons, and Tonnochy. In 2011, his musical Takeaway premiered in London.
Chris SHUM has an oeuvre that covers musical, drama, film, television and advertising media. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese Language and Literature from the Hong Kong Baptist University, and a Master degree from the University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Education. Shum has received many awards throughout his career of more than 20 years. They include: Best Original Film Song at the Golden Horse Film Awards in Taiwan and the Hong Kong Film Awards, Best Original Score at the Hong Kong Drama Awards twice, and also CASH Golden Sail Music Awards twice. He has also written a book on his lyrics writing career, which was published by Schoolmates CC Limited, and hosted a series on the musical scene in Hong Kong for the website Dynamix in 2013.
Victor PANG is the Artistic Director of Actors’ Family and guest lecturer at the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong. Pang often takes on acting roles in the productions of different theatre groups. He was awarded Best Supporting Actor (Tragedy/Drama) at the Hong Kong Drama Awards for his role in Prelude to a Kiss. In recent years, he has focused on directing and his important musicals include The Border Town, The Good Person of Szechwan and The Passage Beyond, all of which won Best Production Awards at the Hong Kong Drama Awards. His most recent productions include Black Swan (commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival), Bloody Hell and The Love Story of Sam and Sally.