Interviewed by Steve Rowland

Kyu Choi a producer of Asia Now from Korea. With Yohangza Theater Company’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe. Part of The Globe to Globe International Shakespeare Festival.

Kyu Choi started his professional carrier as a festival manager with a focus on international programming and artist development. He founded AsiaNow productions in 2005 in order to develop, produce and present innovative and exciting Asian contemporary physical theatre, dance and interdisciplinary arts. He also aggressively undertakes international co-productions, and has led them to international acclaim. His activities primarily include the Chuncheon International Mime Festival (CIMF) and an annual performing arts festival for mime, physical theatre, street theatre, contemporary circus and site-specific theatre. Kyu has developed the Creative Producers’ Network in Asia since 2007 and organized the Creative Producers’ Network Forum in Seoul 2009 in association with PAMS (Performing Arts Market in Seoul). He has also worked as a consultant for Korean arts management and theatre development.

London, May 1, 2012

Steve:So tell me a little bit about your own background and how you got into this.

Choi:
I was a festival director for 15 years, Chuncheon International Mime Festival. So in my early work, I was very interested in physical, visual language and how it created theatrical experience. So, I programmed a lot of street theater, physical theater, and contemporary circus and as a mime. And I met Jung-Ung Yang in 1993 when I worked at the festival, so I saw for the first time, his works.

After that, I left festival and I studied in London at the Central School of Speech and Drama, I did a MA here. At that time, Jung-Ung contacted me, he would like to do some project. So in the theater company, I started to work in 2005. So, first thing I produced, Midsummer Night Dream in Edinburg. So that was kind of – we knew each other for a long time but that was the first project so I created my own company that’s called, Asia Now because I am interested in Asian contemporary theater dance work. Because, when I travel, when I go to the different festivals, people ask me, do you have any contemporary theater dance company in Korea?

So first, I was a little but annoyed but second thing is, I would like to share what I’m thinking; what I’m doing in Korea with a lot of different audiences. So I created Asia Now. Going back to your question, I met Jung-Ung – no, I met him for a long time so we started working together in 2005.

Steve:
I see. Its really interesting to me that you have placed yourself in the middle of a lot of streams of art and movements. So, on one hand, you are talking about the transition from traditional Korean culture and movement to modern and contemporary and then also cultural understanding, bringing Shakespeare into Korea, taking him away from Korea back to other places. Could you talk about your perspective on that and why all this is important?

Choi:
My BA, I studied History. I was always interested in History which means Korean and Asian culture. And also, when I worked as a feastival director, I was always interested in now rather than history. So as a producer or as a facilitator, who is in between an artist and an audience, one thing for me – a very important thing, is what my culture, what my identity should be as well as – I don’t want to talk about 10 years, 20 years, 100 years so I want to focus on now, what’s going on.

So my interest, first of all an important thing is how you create something contemporary based on your identity which means like Midsummer Night Dream. Its basic structure; basic format is Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream itself. But also, we use a lot of cultural background so this is the new interpretation and new adaptation.

So for us, the important thing is Shakespeare is great, as humanity, we like it but what does that mean to us? That’s more important. What is that to Korean audiences? That’s more important.
Some English critics say, maybe this is not Shakespeare’s original work but I don’t care because Shakespeare to me is more important, how I interpret it. Yes, I appreciate that, I studied the history of Shakespeare; as a dramaturge and as a producer. I studied what he want to tell and I want to tell with my language rather than Shakespeare’s itself. So the important thing is, contemporary works how you – based on your idea; based on your culture; based on your identity.

But also on the other hand, I am very interested in, I told you now, contemporary so you know a lot of social issues in terms of context-wise; also in terms of theatrical language which means technology, media or things. So for me, also an important thing is how you respond to the rapid changing of theatrical languages. I am interested in that kind of contemporary theatrical language. Both sides of how we develop. So, that’s kind of my interest as well as a producer.

Steve:
One of the things that I really appreciated, watching the rehearsal yesterday, was that it was so intensely beautiful and fun; as a reminder to the adults to remember fantasy. Could you talk a little but about that in the Asian culture and how you’re bringing that to the Asian countries? The concept of fantasy of having fun and also having dreams.

Choi:
In Korean traditional theater, we call them Madanggeuk. Madang means yard, geuk means theater. So, actually it’s a lot of mask ends and a lot of work in the yard, the artist is very interactive with the audience. Midsummer Night Dream based on Madanggeuk structure which means how you communicate with your audience, that’s kind of the important things. Going back to your question, how we use cultural background in making fantasy things?

Steve:
Yeah.

Choi:
In Midsummer Night Dream, there are a lot of interesting elements to make a fantasy. For example, I’m a knight in the dream, so for example, a knight and dream, a dokkaebi which is a goblin in English and in the Midsummer Night Dream, we use the two Paks, the twins. So in our culture the goblin is always played with people – also like dancing, singing and things like that, those are very important cultural elements to make a fantasy.

Because before 4, 5 o’clock, when the sun is rising, dokkaebi, the goblin should go back to the forest. That kind of things you can make a fantasy. Also, love triangle in Korea, many things happen which are also kind of cultural. I mean in fantasy, we can make it.

Steve:
So one of the things that I was thinking is that very frequently, people treat Shakespeare’s plays with this great reverence. They don’t change any words, they try to find out exactly how they were spoken but in this festival, companies are coming from many places and reinterpreting the words as your ensemble.

You said before that you were a little concerned that if you didn’t do this well here, you would not be invited back to England but you still took a big risk, right? So, could you talk about the idea to take the risk and to come with a reinterpretation?

Choi:
Yes, I worked Artist-in-residence program called, The Sound. Plus, Pansori in Korea which is two weeks based on our traditional singing, Pansori is our traditional singing. I found a very interesting thing; I invited an artist who is a traditional Pansori singer. Some of Pansori singer are willing to experiment in different ways. So, the important thing is traditional singers really afraid about changing because they learned “how my master taught me.” So, I appreciate how they really make a great work. And technique; in the same lyrics, same tones, same rhythms, I appreciate it. They are really great singers. For me, I was interesting to see – one way I appreciate it but in a theater way, it was very interesting things like Australian and French artist, they’re just responding to what they hear eventhough they don’t understand it clearly. With their artistic tools, just want to respond. They want to create. So, two ways when you create something, based on your idea, it doesn’t matter, if there is a traditional form, the important thing is, are you recreating? Are you going to recreate? Or are you going to respond?
For me, I am much more interested in responding. Responding a original one; responding with my idea; responding what’s going on in the contemporary text; responding to my audience right now here. I am not thinking about in Shakespeare’s time. So, in many ways, I am interested in responding.
Going back to your question, when I produced this work first time here in the UK in 2005, I really worried in a way, why? I studied here in London so some of my English friends told me, if your Shakespeare work really good, you can be very successful but if your Shakespeare work is very bad, I don’t know. Which is bad I mean by creating it, or by the scholars or by audience.

You know, some ways, when your work is appreciated, one way Shakespeare scholars, one way critics, one way from the audience. So that was a risk to bring Shakespeare’s work to homeland. But on the other hand, we really wanted to share what we have done because we thought, this is great work. If they like it, that’s great. So whether they like it or not, which is basic idea, we want to share what we have done with the English audience. But risky things which is the competitiveness around a lot of Shakespeare’s work.

In terms of money side is risk, many, many risky things but I think the most important thing is how we share what we have done so far with the English audience. But actually, the final outcome was great I mean the director went to the Barbican from the fringe. And I’m interested in always doing challenging things.

Steve:
That’s an interesting path going from Edinburg to the Barbican to the Globe, right?

Choi:
Yeah, so this is the 4th time here in the UK. This production, we actually toured a lot I mean from South America, three different cities in Australia, Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong and yeah, toured a lot but we’re very happy we came back to Globe. I mean last night, I had a drink with the general director and some other company members, half of the cast. Same as 5, 6 years ago; they dream. I mean when you have a Shakespeare world, you want to perform at the Globe and so we did it and they’re really happy to be here.

Steve:
So what was the experience like to be at the Globe?

Choi:
It was very, very challenging because we cannot use our stage set and especially lighting because lighting for us is very important. And also basically, we performed in a Proscenium, in a black box in theater. We did it in Malta outside once but that was at night I mean we can use different lighting and many things. So a lot of things, in technical terms, was challenging. And also – very close to the audience, the actors, so really, we had to purely rely on actors rather than other lighting in the set and whatever.

The second challenging one is how you really communicate, interact with the audience, your pure body, and your pure acting. So, last night, we talked about it. So for them, it was really also an interesting experience because of how close – for example, Oberon, when he see audience here and we see here, everywhere the audience. So he couldn’t focus on – things like that. For them, also it’s a very difference experience because the format.

Steve:
That brings up something else that’s pretty interesting which is that you’re talking earlier about wanting to be in the present moment, in the now and not in the old days, not in the past, not in the old Korea, not the old England. But at the same time, just in terms of the theater, the Globe theater, it has this presence of the audience and the closeness of the stage, so we think that there was a lot of that kind of interaction originally when Shakespeare wrote the play. So it’s kind of interesting to come here and have that experience, don’t you think?

Choi:
I totally agree, I mean eventhough for us, it’s the now and the contemporary, present time is important but we really appreciate tradition. I talked about theatrical language. Now we do use a lot of technology media. But also, when you go back to tradition, you can find something different, your pure body and as an actor. Also, the Globe theater structure, you can find why an actor is trained well and how you communicate with your audience, so, things like that. You can learn in something different things so I found – why acting, why we work with the audience is important.

It’s not something new but it reminds you where you are. I mean eventhough you are interested in something different in the future, different languages, you can learn something. Your tradition, what are the basic things in our life rather than just chasing all the dreams or something different. So, personally I can learn – always, when you go to traditional things, you can learn what basic things. I mean pure or something, how can I say that, something simple. That you know but you couldn’t recognize. But when you go to traditional, if you really appreciate it, if you really look carefully, you understand why make things simple. Make clear rather than put a lot of accessories and many things. So personally, for me, there, I learned what most important and pure things is, something like that.

Steve:So what were some of the things you learned last night?

Choi:
Important things is, now, I’m in my residence program. We do a lot of technology development. I worked with New York City University of Technology, we had a residence program working with them in technology development and things like that. But last night I found about what is your really interactiveness with audience.
Many ways, we are interactive. For example, if I give a very conceptual idea, my brain as an audience, you can interact with. So many different ways, interactive but actor human body, how you interactive with your audience – where is the boundary acting space and performance space, things like that. So, like interactiveness in that space, because I’m interested in the space itself. So that kind of things for me, as an audience – because actors also other things, how they react and many things, for me that’s interesting findings.

Steve:
What’s the difference between doing something that’s modern Korean or a Shakespeare piece in another country?

Choi:
Shakespeare’s work is – I mean, a lot of Korean directors are interested in having Shakespeare’s work in their own interpretation. So, for me, I think the great point in Shakespeare’s work is humanity which is still essential, still say something to us. So, based on that and as I said before, how we interpret with our own way of thinking, our own identity, our own culture. So the first important thing is create with our own adaptation or with our own way of thinking so thats the kind of things that are important.

But also when we create, how we will be appreciated by Koreans. So that’s why we do a lot of adaptations rather than Shakespeare works itself. But the most important thing is, we really try to be careful what Shakespeare wants to tell in each production like in Macbeth, what is the essence that he wants to tell us, he wants to share with the audience and now and many things.

So now, that’s important. So, in many ways like when we perform in England or in any European country, like last night, without English subtitles so people cannot understand the kind of real meaning of culture and background and things. So, yes in some ways, we can lose some important meaning of text, but on the other hand, also audience can interpret it in their way to see just my movement also with their imagination so they can create their own way. The challenging thing is still we lose kind if meaning of text but on the other hand, people can enjoy it in different ways.

0000