Local university helps Italian play flourish

“Panorama” is being staged at New York’s La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. It is a collaboration between the Seoul Institute of the Arts, Italian troupe Motus Theater Company and the Great Jones Repertory Company. [SEOUL INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS]

A play titled “Panorama” from the Italian troupe Motus premiered in New York, on Jan. 3, and received rave reviews from critics, many of whom commented on the show’s video projections successfully infusing technology into the production.

The creative team that worked on the video projection and stage design behind this experimental play is Korean, composed of professors and students of the Seoul Institute of the Arts.

According to the university, Prof. Jeong Seung-ho of the university worked on the stage design, while Prof. Kim Bo-sul worked on the video images. Two students, Chae Sang-min and Lim Young-seon, also got to participate in the creative design process, as the play was created through the school’s incubating center, Culture Hub.

“Culture Hub attempts to connect artists working in different cultures and supports them to create experimental and unique works in collaboration, especially works that fuse arts and technology,” said an official from the university.

“Panorama” is a joint production by the university, the Motus Theater Company and the Great Jones Repertory Company.

It is being staged at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York as part of the Under the Radar festival.

“‘Panorama’ is an example of one of the fruits of the Culture Hub,” says the university.

In September, the school said it invited the two directors - Enrico Gasagrande and Daniela Nicolo - to the Culture Hub where it conducted a workshop to develop the design aspects of “Panorama” together with Korean professors and students.

The play deals with the identities of immigrants living in the United States and the prejudice they’ve experienced. What audiences see on stage is an audition process, where each applicant is asked to answer a seemingly simple question.

In front of a camera, they are asked: “Who are you?”

Each applicant then talks about their experiences living as an alien in the United States. The stories are told through pre-shot video clips as well as by real actors on stage.

“We are grateful to have taken a role in creating this international collaboration project,” said Jeong.

The play will end its three-week run on Jan. 21 and plans on touring across Europe and Asia.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [sharon@joongang.co.kr]