An Extraordinary Journey in Everyday Spaces: A Close to You Festival Sharing Session
日常空間的非常旅行-超親密小戲節分享講座
By Shih Pei-Yu (Flying Group Theatre) (Taiwan)
Date & Time | 23 July 8:00pm |
Duration | 1.5 hours |
Venue | Mano Plus Mini Cube Indoor |
Language | This sharing session will be conducted in Mandarin with an English interpreter. |
Description
Many years ago, puppeteer Shih Pei-Yu visited Dordrecht in the south of Netherlands, where puppet master Damiët van Dalsum hosted the annual International Puppet Festival. There, she witnessed unprecedented forms of puppetry, using seemingly ordinary spaces as extraordinary performance venues —the corner of a library, the living rooms of local residents, and even a backyard.
Inspired by these bold ideas, the first Close to You Festival began in Taipei in 2010. It shattered audiences’ perceptions of what a puppet theatre space can be and bridged the distance between viewers and puppeteers. Accompanied by a guide, audiences tour the streets and experience puppetry performances that turn regular living spaces into not only stages, but characters and texts.
Close to You Festival founder Shih Pei-Yu will share her experiences, offering insights into the ups and downs of organising and curating such a festival.
Endorsed by
SPEAKER
Shih Pei-Yu
After graduating from Ming Chuan University in 1995, Shih Pei-Yu worked as an administrator in theatre arts before working as a puppet designer from 2002 to 2004. In 2004 she founded Flying Group Theatre, specialising in shadow theatre and often incorporating space, objects and puppets in productions. Notable directorial credits include works such as The Mice War with David Chesky and Journey to the Colourful Bubbles with Hong Kong-based Little Smudges Theatre. Since 2010, she has curated the Close to You Festival.