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There are countless theater and film pieces on depression, but Every Brilliant Thing is a rarity in that it's gentle and humorous, even to the point of eliciting howls of laughter from the audience at times. Current society is by no means unfamiliar with depression, but mainstream media's bloodlust has overly stigmatized suicide and depression. This is part of the inspiration for Every Brilliant Thing: Macmillan wanted the piece to discuss these issues in the most ordinary tone, so instead of making it emotional and painted with tragedy, he chose comedy to discuss the influence depression and suicide have on people.
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More importantly, he wanted it to be something that everyone can relate to.
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So during the performance, audience participation is a must. The narrator talks about critical moments in life in detail, continually adding to the list, and when the narrator yells out a number, the vet, counselor, university professor, girlfriend, and father of the narrator invite the person in the audience with that number to perform with the protagonist.
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Before its debut, I had my doubts about such an interactive performance. I wondered, will members of the audience really participate? Can the performer really respond well to what will happen during the unrehearsed interaction? Is the audience participation just a stunt, or is it really necessary? I also wondered why I should produce a play done in a way that I'm not familiar with or even into. But performance after performance showed me that the audience's participation is both a structural aspect and an integral part of the narrator and the story. By saying items on the list and playing characters, the audience in fact takes part in what the characters have experienced.
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I'm a director, and this was the first time I couldn't mentally grasp a piece, because all the responses and interaction from the audience are completely unknown until they actually happen. Obviously, this is quite challenging and even horrifying for the performer.
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I often joke with the performers that the piece can't really be rehearsed. This is no exaggeration, because even though we may try to prepare for whatever responses, types of interaction, and behavior members of the audience might provide, every show is a surprise. What they do leads to improvised reactions by the performers, but with Macmillan's clever design, they end up completing the piece together, though not always smoothly – at times the participants are so shy or nervous that we hit blanks and moments of awkwardness. Nonetheless, the rest of the audience is always understanding.
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The unknown, uncertain, accidental, rough plainness, negligence-induced flaws, and resulting gentleness and interaction are actually the nature of theater and a precise metaphor for life. Every Brilliant Thing seems light but in fact carries an unbearable weight, though with the power of theater, it captures the characters and the emotions of the audience.
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For this year's production, besides CHU Ding-yi and LIN Chia-chi, WANG Shih-wei has joined the team as we hope to echo the diversity in terms of gender, age, race, and disposition seen in the play's performers around the world. Moreover, we look forward to Taiwanese performers from even more walks of life sharing this story in the future.
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\n',date:"2023.11.28",description:"I was actually not into interactive performances for a long time and frequently felt alienated by even those full of positive energy, but one such piece, Every Brilliant Thing, changed my view of why theater is still so important in contemporary society over the past few years. This plain, simple, yet strongly therapeutic one-man show seems to remind me (us) of why we need to sit with a bunch of strangers to watch performances and share our feelings.",image:"1e73fa66aa663fef2696fdede2809a94",title:"The Most Brilliant Thing: Being Captured by Theater",tags:["5af04be2beda2e0005bbb3f1"],programs:[]},recommendReadings:[{_id:"6539e2797550150008fd2eee",date:"2023.10.26",introduction:"Opera stands as a magnificent confluence of the arts, seamlessly integrating music, singing, drama, dance, lighting, costumes, and set design. In July and August, Art Talk welcomed the expertise of NTNU's Ph.D. candidate in vocal performance, soprano LAI Chueh-yu, and music lecturer LIN Ren-pin. Together, they navigated the multifaceted landscape of opera, shedding light on singing techniques, its historical trajectory, and more, granting attendees a vivid insight into opera's illustrious heritage and splendor.",image:"49dba7f3508bbc7eb0837abb0be62f6b",title:"Arts Talk | Lecture sidenotes for July and August"},{_id:"65d6c39717f9980007565cc6",date:"2024.02.22",introduction:"The Weiwuying International Music Festival, a major annual contemporary music event, is slated for its third edition, treating Taiwan’s music lovers to local and overseas world-class performers from all over the globe through the formats of concerts, forums, and videos. This year, several works by 80-year-old Hungarian composer Péter EÖTVÖS will be a focal point.",image:"070665495113d5daf6deda9a0241f5d8",title:"Deluge of Boundless Novelty – 2024 Weiwuying International Music Festival"}],relatedPrograms:[]},fetched:!0},shippingAreas:{rows:[],loaded:!1},userAuth:{logined:!1,status:"NORMAL",inited:!1,data:null,showNsoOverlay:!1},announce:{show:!0},youthOverlay:{show:!1,showed:!1},featureCategories:{rows:[],loaded:!1,loading:!1},features:{rows:[],loaded:!1,loading:!1},newsCatalogs:{rows:[],loaded:!1,loading:!1},chronologies:{rows:[],loaded:!1,loading:!1}},routing:{locationBeforeTransitions:null}}