Marionette Theatre YOUKIZA, a Japanese cultural property with 380 years of history, worked with actors and staff from Vietnam Youth Theatre to put on the collaborative work “WILD DUCK ADDICTION”. Following the first performance of the play in March 2016, in May the play was performed in three cities across Vietnam and Romania. The play fuses a variety of elements from both countries – tradition and modernity, marionettes and humans – to create a new form of expression, while also seeking to improve the abilities of both countries’ young artists and providing an opportunity for cultural exchange. Particular attention was paid to improving the skills of the Vietnamese theatre staff, who would be primarily responsible for conducting overseas performances. The Japanese staff were charged with teaching the necessary leadership skills, polishing their own leadership skills in the process. The training and research that went into seeing the play through to completion resulted in an even more valuable chance to develop the next generation. Furthermore, by performing the play at international festivals in Europe and elsewhere as a crystallization of Japanese/Vietnamese collaboration, the project promises to expand on a worldwide scale.
Achievements of FY 2015 https://grant-fellowship-db.jfac.jp/en/grant/cc1532/
- Related Countries
- Japan, Vietnam, Romania
- Co-organizer(s), Cooperator(s)
- Youth Theatre of Vietnam
From the Organizer
The result of the first performance of this collaborative Japanese/Vietnamese blend in Tokyo was furthered in Vietnam, also in a European international festival. In Vietnam, we were also able to perform not just in Youth Theatre of Vietnam’s home city of Hanoi, but in Hai Fong City Opera House. Attendants of the Hanoi and Hai Fong performances, mostly locals in their twenties, were able to learn Japanese marionette techniques, with professional performers from both YOUKIZA and Vietnam Youth Theatre’s taking the stage. It wasn’t just pros working together – the performances provided the perfect base for cultural exchange and mutual understanding, particularly with younger members of the audience. These three performances in Vietnam and Sibiu allowed staff members from Vietnam Youth Theatre and YOUKIZA to share their knowledge and examine the good points and bad points about their respective countries’ theatre systems, develop the technical skills of the Vietnamese staff, improve the leadership abilities of the Japanese staff, and nurture the next generation of theatre staff.
