Chung Chiao's Assignment Theater Company 30 Years: "Southern Journey" Records the Journey of the Heart
The launch of "Southern Journey," a new book documenting the journey of Chung Chiao, a poet, writer, and theater artist who founded the "Assignment Theater Company" 30 years ago to engage with society through performances, was held in Taipei. Chung Chiao discussed the company's founding, social contributions, and his creative process.
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Central News Agency
(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 2, Reporter Chiu Tsu-yin) Chung Chiao, a multi-talented individual who is a poet, writer, and theater artist, founded the "Assignment Theater Company" 30 years ago to care for society through performance art. He recently published "Southern Journey," a book that records his journey, and held a book launch today at Taipei Minle Bookstore.
The event invited theater critic and Associate Professor Hsu Jen-hao of the Department of Theater Arts at National Sun Yat-sen University, and Li Che-yu, director of the Assignment Theater Company, for a discussion. Chung Chiao opened by reciting his poem "I Am 70 Years Old," emotionally expressing his confession and self-reflection on the land, accompanied by the singing of Golden Melody Award winner Lo Sze-rong and guitar.
Chung Chiao shared that "Southern Journey" not only records his past journey but also the origin story of the Assignment Theater Company from scratch. The company's beginnings were around 1993 or 1994, after he resigned from his job at the Film Archive (the predecessor of the National Film and Audiovisual Culture Center). He temporarily borrowed an old Japanese-style house on Tongan Street in Taipei from a friend for rehearsals, where conditions were very difficult. Not only did the roof leak when it rained, but during rehearsals, they could also hear the sounds of cooking from the neighbor's kitchen. Sometimes, when the rehearsals were too noisy, the neighbors would yell at them to be quieter.
Chung Chiao stated that the book includes his earliest article, "Tracing the Bell of Sayon in Wushe," which originated in 1993 when he worked at the Film Archive during the period when Jing Ying-jui was in charge. At that time, the archive launched a project to rescue old films, and the most significant discovery was the original film shot in 1943. To coincide with the re-screening after the film's restoration, he specifically went to the original filming location, Chunyang Village, for interviews and watched this film, which had been sealed for 50 years, with the tribal elders.
Chung Chiao said that when those 70 and 80-year-old elders saw images of themselves as children, they teased each other as if time had flowed backward. That moment made him deeply feel that for these elders, images meant time, and also the weight of an entire era.
Chung Chiao mentioned in the book that his creative life has two wings: "one is theater, the other is poetry." Today, he also mentioned the two wings of the "Assignment Theater Company": one is a professional theater company, and the other is a grassroots theater company. The latter was formed after the 921 earthquake when he went deep into the disaster area and established the "Shigang Mama Theater Company" to find an outlet for the local people, allowing them to empower themselves through learning drama. This also represents his practice of caring for society through literature and art.
Chung Chiao said that he hopes to do well in aesthetics while promoting theater, and at the same time establish an attitude towards the world: "When we face tragedies in distant places, wars in distant places, and then put them into our creations for thought, it is because we care about this world. I am 70 years old, and I care about the lives being killed in this world, and all injustices." (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150502
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(Central News Agency, Taipei, May 2, Reporter Chiu Tsu-yin) Chung Chiao, a multi-talented individual who is a poet, writer, and theater artist, founded the "Assignment Theater Company" 30 years ago to care for society through performance art. He recently published "Southern Journey," a book that records his journey, and held a book launch today at Taipei Minle Bookstore.
The event invited theater critic and Associate Professor Hsu Jen-hao of the Department of Theater Arts at National Sun Yat-sen University, and Li Che-yu, director of the Assignment Theater Company, for a discussion. Chung Chiao opened by reciting his poem "I Am 70 Years Old," emotionally expressing his confession and self-reflection on the land, accompanied by the singing of Golden Melody Award winner Lo Sze-rong and guitar.
Chung Chiao shared that "Southern Journey" not only records his past journey but also the origin story of the Assignment Theater Company from scratch. The company's beginnings were around 1993 or 1994, after he resigned from his job at the Film Archive (the predecessor of the National Film and Audiovisual Culture Center). He temporarily borrowed an old Japanese-style house on Tongan Street in Taipei from a friend for rehearsals, where conditions were very difficult. Not only did the roof leak when it rained, but during rehearsals, they could also hear the sounds of cooking from the neighbor's kitchen. Sometimes, when the rehearsals were too noisy, the neighbors would yell at them to be quieter.
Chung Chiao stated that the book includes his earliest article, "Tracing the Bell of Sayon in Wushe," which originated in 1993 when he worked at the Film Archive during the period when Jing Ying-jui was in charge. At that time, the archive launched a project to rescue old films, and the most significant discovery was the original film shot in 1943. To coincide with the re-screening after the film's restoration, he specifically went to the original filming location, Chunyang Village, for interviews and watched this film, which had been sealed for 50 years, with the tribal elders.
Chung Chiao said that when those 70 and 80-year-old elders saw images of themselves as children, they teased each other as if time had flowed backward. That moment made him deeply feel that for these elders, images meant time, and also the weight of an entire era.
Chung Chiao mentioned in the book that his creative life has two wings: "one is theater, the other is poetry." Today, he also mentioned the two wings of the "Assignment Theater Company": one is a professional theater company, and the other is a grassroots theater company. The latter was formed after the 921 earthquake when he went deep into the disaster area and established the "Shigang Mama Theater Company" to find an outlet for the local people, allowing them to empower themselves through learning drama. This also represents his practice of caring for society through literature and art.
Chung Chiao said that he hopes to do well in aesthetics while promoting theater, and at the same time establish an attitude towards the world: "When we face tragedies in distant places, wars in distant places, and then put them into our creations for thought, it is because we care about this world. I am 70 years old, and I care about the lives being killed in this world, and all injustices." (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150502
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you provide is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to get the latest news in real-time.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.