As one of the theatre workers in Macao, I’ve been sharing with our readers in this column how to make a tentative exploration of the industrialisation of dramas in practice. I am a director and, in the meantime, the head of a group, for which, when I am creating dramas, I have to consider a bunch of problems concerning the market, packaging, positioning and consumption with my team. Maybe some of the readers would feel that I am unbearable for such vulgar routines. In fact, I am not upset about it. There should be some gaps between the real way of thinking by creators and the imaginary understanding of any art lovers on the way by which creators think. The public easily tends to associate some romantic images like poetry after wine or pastoral sketches with the image of artists.

The conception of going into the society, as I am referring to, is the influence laid by the environment on us. Specifically, it means that people tend to care more than ever about the others’ views or opinions upon how their own occupation would make a difference in the society, resulting in the changing of the way they work. However, as a theatre worker, we are not allowed to forget the original aspiration while maintaining a career, just as we can’t forget to live while we are pursuing the ideal destination of arts. Our experience could be so different that we have some different opinions, and the paths where we come out are various by our separated opinions. In this article, for staying true to my original aspiration, I will write down a memorandum of my own, hoping to share some recorded feelings with readers whoever I have seen or have never met on this platform. 

What kind of a role is a theatre worker playing in this society?

I have often been asked on the Internet that why the government should fund the local artists. The answer is simple to me, because the contribution and value made by an artist to the society should not be smaller than that of a local taxi driver, which I assume that you should know, if you are a local Macao resident. The working time by the theatre workers every day is also day in and day out. We serve the audience, so we charge tickets from them; we also serve the community, so we could get the investment of resources and space to develop arts from the government. The content of our work varies depending on the personality of each creator. Some of us devote in quality entertainment projects for the public, some observe the neglected people and subjects in the society from a sober angle, and some use art to improve the cultural environment of the community, and some have been paving the way for the newcomers by overthrowing outmoded dross in the mediocre time. Like doctors, teachers, journalists, construction workers, and historians, theatre workers are enriching people’s life, and at the same time, are helping people build a stronger spiritual foundation, pushing more sensitively critical minds into all walks of life, and helping people keep curiosity and empathy towards everything happening in this modern world.

What kind of vision is a theatre worker looking for?

During the semester I studied drama in Shanghai, my tutor Zhou Ke once asked the whole class, “What is the way out for studying drama? What are your wishes in the future?” I remember that my answer at the time was very simple, “I want to create a global theatre, which could take me around the world through a global tour.” There is a deeper meaning of my vision, which is that I wish drama could financially support me, and at the same time, provide me freer working environments and time to learn and absorb new knowledge in different places. This vision later became the motivation for my work. From 2006 to 2011, I performed as an actor and music designer in various places like Taiwan, Mainland China, Korea and Poland. Drama had broadened my life, which is no longer limited to seeing art magazines in the university library, but is to explore different nations, and to verify stories of different cultures and lives. In 2013, I began to create my own work as a director. This work was performed in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, and I realised my wish that I had made in that class.

Why would theatre workers develop the industrialisation?

When we regard the theatre as a business rather than a hobby, the meaning of industrialisation of it in every aspect must be taken into account. Whose industrialisation? Whether the individual or the city where you are based in should be the main body of the blueprint for the development? Concerning this point, I will share it with our readers in the next issue.

(Memorandum of going into society by a theatre worker - part 1)