吳興國版《蛻變》之閾限性

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(1)國立台灣師範大學英語學系碩士論文 Master Thesis Graduate Institute of English National Taiwan Normal University. 吳興國版《蛻變》之閾限性. Liminality in Wu Hsing-kuo’ s Metamorphosis. 指導教授: 蘇子中博士 Advisor: Dr. Tsu-Chung Su 研究生: 張彩鸞 Advisee: Tsailuan Chang. 中華民國一百零三年六月 June 2014.

(2) 吳興國版《蛻變》之閾限性中文摘要吳興國版《蛻變》是無數片段的拼貼，包含了多媒體技術的動畫投影，以及當代話劇，現代舞，和京劇崑曲的中國戲曲表演。演出搭配著數位化的背景音樂，以及現場樂隊的樂曲演奏和戲曲唱段伴奏。它依據卡夫卡的故事，加上吳興國的詮釋，結合東西方表演藝術，是一種混合的跨文化劇。此演出極具閾限性，詞彙源於維克多·特納(Victor Turner)重述阿諾德‧范‧杰內普(Arnord van Gennep)的通過儀式三階段中的「過渡」期。特納堅信此階段是「模糊的中間」狀態，具有無限的可能性。蘇珊·布羅德赫斯特(Susan Broadhurst)對閾限性表演多所著墨，認為此類演出有兩種最常見的特點，就是「混合性」與「互文性」。吳興國版《蛻變》結合東西文化，踰越邊界，重組片段，現場演出和數位錄製的配樂交錯，並運用了最新的多媒體技術。我從三個方面的寓意來看它的閾限性：多媒體影像，舞台場景，以及劇中劇。此外，也審慎探索此劇靈魂人物吳興國，個人的蛻變情境。《蛻變》一劇共有六幕，分別闡述世間不同的閾界。它強調，藉由死亡和輪迴，被孤立或迷失於夢境的今世人類，仍可懷著蛻變的希望。這數位化的演出，應用多媒體技術於講述故事的過程，進而觸及各樣神秘空間與敘述展延。吳興國描述著今世的人類，歷經宇宙的變幻莫測，等待著蛻變一刻的到來。閾界音樂配合著象徵意義濃厚的舞台設計，用以詮釋劇中主角被孤立、遺棄的痛苦記憶。在夢幻情愛的這一幕，吳興國藉由口白和崑曲唱段，來區隔不斷轉換的人物，並結合東方虛構的愛情故事《牡丹亭》與西方卡夫卡的真實羅曼史。觀眾在吳興國的劇中劇，看到了夢中夢。牡丹亭裡的杜麗娘走進葛里戈的舞台，糾結著卡夫卡與三位女性之間的戀情。他們等待著，從夢境中被喚醒。. i.

(3) 此劇寓意在於，人類要跨入另一世界，必須通過死亡或夢想的中介場域。以他個人經驗為例：被孤立、受譴責為邪門歪道的演出風格，在成功地得到世界肯定之後，終於解除了他心中那巨大的桎梏。吳興國擺脫了卡夫卡的框架，以獨特詮釋方式彰顯其《蛻變》之閾限性。關鍵詞: 拼貼、閾限性、舞台設計、劇中劇、蛻變. ii.

(4) Liminality in Wu Hsin-kuo’ s Metamorphosis Abstract Wu Hsing-kuo’ sMetamorphosis is a collage of numerous fragments, including animated pr oj e c t i onst hr oug hmul t i me di at e c hn o l ogy ,a ndWu’ spe r f or mi ngofmode r ns poke ndr a ma , contemporary dance, and Chinese opera, Jingju and Kunqu. A variety of music is presented with recorded soundtracks, and a live orchestra offering background music, and a c c ompa ny i ngWu’ ss i ngi ngofJingju and Kunqu arias. It is a hybrid play, and an i nt e r c ul t ur a lone ,ba s e donFr a nzKa f ka ’ ss t or y ,wi t hWu’ si nt e r pr e t a t i ona ndac ombi na t i o n of Eastern and Western performing art. This production is typical of a liminal performance, ba s e donVi c t orTur ne r ’ sr e s t a t i ngt hei nt e r ve ni ngpha s eof“ t r a ns i t i on”i nAr nol dVan Ge nne p’ sthree phases in a rite of passage. Turner confirms that the liminal phase is an i nt e r me di a t es t a t eofbe i ng“ be t wi xta ndbe t we e n,”as t a t ethat offers a storehouse of all possibilities. Susan Broadhurst states that a liminal performance possesses two most common t r a i t s :be i nghy br i di z e da ndi nt e r t e xt ua l .Wu’ sMetamorphosis is constituted by a hybridization of cultures, the transgression of borders, the synthetic fragments, the interweaving of live music and the digital sampler, and the utilization of the latest media technology. I have read its liminality from the implications in three aspects: the projected images, the mise en scene, and the mise en abyme,pl a y swi t hi npl a y s .AndWu’ spe r s ona l transformation is also seriously considered, since he is the soul of the performance. Hi s“ Metamorphosis”i sdivided into six scenes to show different liminal space respectively. It emphasizes that human beings in this life, existing in isolation, or lost in. iii.

(5) dreams, can still cherish a hope of transformation, through death and reincarnation. This digitized performance has reached mystical dimensions and augmented narratives with the application of multimedia technology into the storytelling process. Wu describes that human beings existing in this life are undergoing the phantasmagoria of the universe, waiting to be transformed. He applies liminal music, and symbolical mise en scene to imply a memory of being isolated, the liminal time when the protagonist onstage is trapped. In the dream scene of love, transforming per s ona ea r ef ou n di nWu’ ss pe e c he sa nda r i a s ,i ndi c a t i nga combination of Eastern fictional romance in The Peony Pavilion and Western real ones between Kafka and his lovers.Wu’ smise en abymen offers the spectators a dream within a dr e a m.I ti sDuLi ni a ng ’ sdr e a m puti ns i deGr e g or ’ s ,a ndKa f kai si nt hedr e a m wi t hhis three lovers, strongly suggesting a trapped dreamy state waiting to be awakened. He gives a moral that human beings will reach another world, through passing the thresholds of death or dream. His personal experience is an example to show that one, although trapped in the accusations of monstrous transgression, can be set free because of the final world-wide recognition. Through Wu’ s own interpretation free from t hef r a meofKa f ka ’ s , the liminality in his Metamorphosis is conspicuously displayed. Key words: collage, liminality, mise en scene, mise en abyme, transformation. iv.

(6) Acknowledgements I feel extremely grateful to those who help make this thesis possible. First of all, I feel thankful to the committee members, Prof. Frank Stevenson and Prof. Kunliang Chuang. Their encouragement and critical opinions have helped contribute to the accomplishment of my thesis. And of course I would like to show my utmost gratitude to my thesis supervisor Prof. Tsu-Chung Su for his unfaltering faith in my ability to fulfill the task. Without his insightful advice and guidance, I would never have finished this thesis. Prof. Su once said that my explications in this thesis had helped him better understand Wu Hsing-kuo’ sMetamorphosis, which I suppose is the nicest compliment on my work. I would like to express my great gratitude to my husband for his constant endurance of my attitude, during the graduate school days and, the struggling period of my writing. I want to say thank you to all my family, for without their s uppor t ,Iwon’ tha veac ha nc et oreach this goal. And, most important of all, I want to thank my dear Lord, for it is He who has made this joyful dream come true.. v.

(7) Table of Contents. Chinese Abstract. i. English Abstract. iii. Acknowledgements. v. Table of Contents. vi. Chapters Introduction. 1. Chapter One Multimedia Technology and the Transformations within the Gap. 20. 1.1. Projected Animations Conspiring with a Live Performer. 21. 1.2. Animated Images on the Screen. 22. 1.2.1. The Moving Train. 22. 1.2.2. The Flitting Clocks. 25. 1.2.3. The Flying Apples. 29. 1.3. The Virtual Presence. 32. 1.3.1. The Roars of the Giant and the Crying of a Baby. 32. 1.3.2. The Virtual Kafka and Wu-the-Man. 35. Chapter Two Music and Mise-en-Scène. 41. 2.1. Liminal Music. 41. 2.2. The Costume. 46. vi.

(8) 2.3. Stage Settings. 51. 2.3.1. The Writing-Desk. 52. 2.3.2. The Door. 55. Chapter Three. Mise en Abyme and Wu the Actor. 61. 3.1. Plays Within Plays. 61. 3.2. Personae Transforming in a Dream. 62. 3.2.1. Kafka and Du Liniang. 62. 3.2.2. Kafka and Felice Bauer. 66. 3.2.3. Kafka and Milena Jesenská. 70. 3.2.4. Kafka and Dora Diamant. 81. 3.3. Wu the Actor. 85. Conclusion. 90. Works Cited. 102. Appendix. 110. vii.

(9) Introduction You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. —Friedrich Nietzsche Ands o,onwa r ds . . .a l ongapa t hofwi s dom,wi t hahe a r t yt r e a d,ahe a r t yc onf i de nc e … however you may be, be your own source of experience. Throw off your discontent about your nature. Forgive yourself your own self. You have it in your power to merge everything you have lived through—false starts, errors, delusions, passions, your loves and your hopes—into your goal, with nothing left over. —Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human There has been an increasing number of artists immensely aware of the diverse cultural e l e me nt s ,a ndt hus“ i nt e r c ul t ur a lt he a t r e ”g r a dua l l ybe c ome snomor eoddt ot hee a r ,e s pe c i a l l yi n the 21st century. According to Patrice Pavi s ,i nt e r c ul t ur a lt he a t r e“ c r e a t e shy br i df or msdr a wi ng upon a more or less conscious and voluntary mixing of performance traditions traceable to distinct c ul t ur a la r e a s ”( Qt d.i nSc he c hne r309) .Onat he a t r es t a g e ,e ve r ye l e me ntoft hepr oduc t i on, animate a ndi na ni ma t e ,i sa f f e c t e dbyt hes pe c i f i c“ i nf l e c t i ons ”de r i ve df r om “ c ul t ur e , ”a si s r e ma r ke dbyPa vi s ,t hee l e me nt sa r e“ r e wor ke d,c i t e d,i ns c r i be di nt hes i g ni f y i nge ns e mbl eoft he pr oduc t i ona ndoft hepe r f or ma nc eoft hea c t or ”( 1996:3) .Thedr a ma t i c text of different languages and experiences might be re-f or me di nt oane wt e xt .Thea c t or s ’c ul t ur ea ndt r a di t i ona lpe r f or mi ng c odi f i c a t i onspe ne t r a t ea ndmol dt he i r“ c or por e a lt e c hni que s , ”wi t hc ul t ur a ldi f f e r e nc e sa nd 1.

(10) similarities inscribed. Such productions are always abundant in materials, enigmatic, exotic, and fascinating. The best-known player in Taiwan,Wu Hsing-kuo has long witnessed the predicament the traditional Chinese Opera is in. He then takes up the mission to find a way out for this art form, and tries to introduce it to the Western World through intercultural plays. He resorts to a disconnected, heterogeneous variety of substances and perspectives from many world-famous masterpieces and displays a combination of East and West. The codified gestures, movements, and vocal patterns of the Chinese opera are merged with Western performing expressions, exaggerated, wild, and capricious. The presentation of multifarious music, and the projected screen of cutting-edge technology in his hybrid theatre always invites the spectators to an exotic world he has created. Last year Wu and his troupe premiered a new multi-media solo stage version, Metamorphosis, from August 10 to 12 at the Edinburgh International Festival 2013. The show was put on again in Taiwan during November and December in the same year. The dramatic text of the performance is based on Fr a nzKa f ka ’ smost famous novella of the same title, and onstage, it is an intertexture of six scenes with six personae performed by Wu alone. Without any preparation or expectation, I went to Edinburg on August 10th, walked into the Ki ng ’ sThe a t r e ,a ndwa t c he dthis performance. After the show, I was extremely exhausted, overwhelmed with questions and disappointment. But the puzzles still had to be solved, and so I walked into the theatres in Taiwan again, watching the performance for three more times. Then I decided to t e mpor a r i l yputa wa ya l lmyi mpr e s s i onsofWu’ spr e vi ouspe r f or mi ngs t y l e ,t r y i ngt o 2.

(11) look squarely at this brand-new production. It is absolutely a collage of numerous fragments, including animated projections through multimedia technology, and the modern spoken drama, contemporary dance, and the Chinese opera, Jingju and Kunqu. A variety of music is matchlessly presented with recorded soundtracks, and a live orchestra offers background music, and also accompanies Wu’ sJingju and Kunqu arias. I ti sahy br i dpl a y ,a nda ni nt e r c ul t ur a lone ,wi t hWu’ s interpretation of Kafka’ s story, and a combination of Eastern and Western performing art. The recorded soundtrack, as well as live music in an Oriental style played by musicians of a Chinese music ensemble, creates an aura of a fantastic music carnival. The application of the cutting-edge multimedia technologies with soundscapes, lighting, and the displays of animated landscapes on the screen, successfully consummates a satisfactory narration about all the confusing background plots. The abundant modern elements, combined with his proficient skills in traditional Chinese opera, ma keWu’ sne wpr oduc t i onmos tc ha r a c t e r i s t i cof“ l i mi na l i t y , ”which Victor Turner t hi nksofa s“ at e mpor a li nt e r f a c ewhos epr ope r t i e spa r t i a l l yi nve r tt hos eoft hea l r e a dyc ons ol i da t e d or de r ”( 1982: 41). The intervening phase of transition i sa l s oc a l l e d“ ma r g i n”or“ l i me n, ”me a ni ng “ t hr e s hol d”i nLa t i n, and Turner confirms that the liminal phase is an intermediate state of being “ be t wi xta ndbe t we e n” (c1995: 95), and is also a state that offers a storehouse of all possibilities. There is always a striving after new forms and structures within the potential forms, structures, conjectures, and desires. Liminality is the ephemeral space in between, playing with the edge of the possible, and Wu’ sMetamorphosis does present all possibilities, transcendental and immanent.. 3.

(12) Contrary to the traditional performance, Wu’ sMetamorphosis possesses al os sof“ a ut hor i t y ” , s ha r i ngwi t hNi e t z s c he“ t hede l e g i t i ma t i o nofa ut hor i t y ”( Qt d.i nBr oa dhur s t 1999: 172). And that results in a liberation of traditional limitations, to the director, the actor, and also the spectators, free f r om t hes pe c i f i ct e xt ua li nt e r pr e t a t i on.Al i mi na lpe r f or ma nc ea l wa y s“ c ha l l e ng e ss pe c t a t or s ’ expectations, since there are no resolutions to be offered and its contradictions are not really r e s ol ve d”( Br o a dhur s t 1999: 173). Such lack of conclusion requires active identification and a high de gr e eofa udi e nc epa r t i c i pa t i on.Br oa dh ur s tr e ma r kst ha t“ De r r i da ’ snot i onof‘ unde c i da bl e s ’ ,s uc h a st he‘ ma r k’ha sa l s opr ove dpr oduc t i vei n the analysis of the liminal, since it shows the formation a ndde f or ma t i onpr oc e s s e sofpur ei de nt i t ya ndor i g i n. ”Thedi g i t i z e ds a mpl i ngi nWu’ spr oduc t i on is an example, when tiny part of performance has been stored on a computer disc, and what is recorded has nothing to do with the transcription of the original work,buti s“ r e pr oduc e da g a i n”a nd not“ r e pr e s e nt e d. ” Br oa dhur s tquot e sDe r r i da ’ sde c ons t r uc t i ngc onc e pt sofbot hl i vea ndr e c or de dpe r f or ma nc e t ha t“ [ e ] a c hs e a r c hf ora nor i g i nl e a dson l yt oe dge s ,s uc ha s ,“ di f f é r e nc e ” ,“ ma r g i n” ,“ s uppl e me nt ” , “ ma r k”a nd“ t r a c e ”( 1999: 174). Following Turner, Broadhurst asserts that liminal performance puts g r e a t e re mpha s i sont he“ t hec or por e a l ,t e c hnol og i c a la ndc ht honi c . ”Thequi nt e s s e nt i a la e s t he t i c features of a liminal performance are defined as, hybridization, indeterminacy, a lack of aura and the collapse of the hierarchical distinction between high and popular culture. The central c ha r a c t e r i s t i c soft he‘ g e nr e ’i na l la r e a sofpe r f or ming include utilization of the latest developments in media and digital technology which lead to increased creative possibilities (11-13). Since Wu’ s 4.

(13) production is a blending of the fictive and historically actual, it is a construction of the liminal, where barriers and boundaries are continually being stretched and transgressed. With his poetic arias of classical Chinese Opera, and modern dancing, he is like a juggler playing wi t hc ul t ur e s ,“ a s s e mbl i ngt he mi nr a ndom,g r ot e s que ,i mpr oba bl e ,s ur pr i s i ng ,s hoc ki ng , usually expe r i me nt a lc ombi na t i ons ”( Turner 1982: 40). Wu wears a mask to disguise himself as a monster onstage, which is quite related t oTur ne r ’ sr e ma r ksof “ he a p[ing] up disparate ritual symbols, invert or parody profane reality in myths and folk-t a l e s ” ( 40) .He presents this hybrid play in a complicated way of “ diversity as a principle”( 40) ,noti nt e ndi ngt oa nni hi l a t eorr e pl a c e something found in tradition, but just makes it f l oa t i ngi na“ l i mi na l ”s pa c e . I ti sl i keonei nTur ne r s ’“ liminal phases of tribal socie t y , ”“ i nve r tbutdonotus ua l l ys u b ve r t the status quo, the structural form, of society; reversal underlines that chaos is the alternative to c os mos ,s ot he yha dbe t t e rs t i c kt oc os mo s ,t ha ti s ,t het r a di t i ona lor de rofc ul t ur e ”( 1982:41) . The play, beinge nt e r t a i ni ng ,t houg hs ubve r s i vea ndbur l e s qui ng ,ke e pst he“ f unc t i on,s t y l e ,s c ope , a nd s y mbol ogyoft hel i mi na l ”whi c h, Turner asserts, a tribal ritual or a myth possesses. Wu has unde r g onec e r t a i nl i mi na lpr oc e s s e ss i mi l a rt ot hos eof“ g e s t a t i on,pa r t ur i t i on,a nds uc kl i ng , ”a nd t hepr e s e nt a t i onoft hepl a yi si nt hec our s eof“ [ u] ndoi ng ,di s s ol ut i on,de c ompos i t i on”a c c omp a ni e d by“ pr oc e s s e sofg r owt h,t r a ns f or ma t i on, a ndt her e f or mul a t i onofol de l e me nt si nne wpa t t e r ns ” (Turner 1967: 99). His performance is characteristic of the peculiar unity of the liminal, very much like Tur ne r ’ s statement “ t ha twhi c hi sne i t he rt hi snort ha t ,a ndy e ti sbot h”( 99) .Andt hi s pe r f or ma nc ei sobvi ous l ye s t a bl i s he dby“ apr omi s c uousi nt e r mi ng l i nga ndj uxt a pos i ngoft he 5.

(14) c a t e g or i e sofe ve nt ,e xpe r i e nc e ,a ndknowl e dg e ,wi t hape da g og i ci nt e nt i on, ”t ot a l l yi nvol ve di n l i mi na l i t y ,“ wh e r et he r ei sac e r t a i nf r e e do mt oj ugg l ewi t ht hef a c t or sofe xi s t e nc e ”( 106) . The performance i sa bs ol ut e l ydi f f e r e ntf r om St e ve nBe r kof f ’ si n1969, David Farr and Gísli Ör nGa r ða r s s on’ shi g hl yphy s i c a lve r s i oni n2006,ore ve n“ Ga r ða r s s on’ sownde s pe r a t ea t hl e t i c i s m i nt hel e a dr ol e ”i nJ a nua r y ,2013.Mos t l ybe c a us eoft hes i ng i nga ndda nc i ngbot hi nc l ude di nt he performance, such a production be c ome se xt r e me l yuni quet oWe s t e r na udi e nc e .I nKa f ka ’ s Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman and sole breadwinner for his family, wakes up one morning and finds himself transform into a giant insect. Unable to communicate to anyone who sees him in disgust, he is forced into a solitary existence and confined to his own room, and turns an insufferable burden to his family. Without love, Gregor has lost his will to live, and when death finally comes, it is a relief, freeing him from the anxieties of this physical world. Wu obviously ignores at r a di t i ona lWe s t e r nr e c og ni t i onof“ Ka f ka ”in his adaptation. However, his text can be “ a ppr oa c he d, ”“ e xpe r i e nc e d, ”a nd“ t hea c t i vi t yofa s s oc i a t i ons ,c ont i g ui t i e s ,c a r r y i ng s -over coincides with a liberation of symbolic energy,”in Roland Barthes’words (158). Barthes asserts that “ t heTe xti sradically symbolic: a work conceived, perceived and received in its integrally symbolic nature is a text”( 158-59), which I think is t y pi c a lofWu’ spr oduc t i on. His creation of a dance-singing presentation is very much like what Antonin Artaud has a dvoc a t e d:“ We shall stage, without regard for text”( Artaud 99) .Ar t a udwr i t e si nhi s“ Fi r s t Ma ni f e s t o”t h a t“ [ …]i ns t e a dofc ont i nui ngt or e l yupont e xt sc ons i de r e dde f i ni t i veand sacred, it is essential to put an end to the subjugation of the theater to the text, and to recover the notion of a 6.

(15) kind of unique language half-way-be t we e ng e s t ur ea ndt houg ht ”( 89) .Awe s t e r nf or m ofda nc i ng and gesturing is of great importance in Wu’ sMetamorphosis , which looks very Artaudian to me. The r ee xi s t sas ur r e a l i s tf or m,i nwhi c hhei nt e ndst or e ve a lt ous“ aphy s i c a la ndnon-verbal idea of t het he a t e r ”( 68) .Wuwears tights to perform with synchronized movements, presenting modern audience with a very familiar spectacle, absolutely a defiant episode on the traditional stage of Chinese Opera. However, Wu is extremely conscious of the fact that such an intercultural performance is an imperious trend to be keenly observed, and with his excellent skill in modern da nc e ,hema ke sus eofa l lt he“ pos s i bi l i t i e sf ore xt e ns i onbe y ondwor ds ”( 89) . As is mentioned in Ri c ha r dSc he c hn e r ’ sbook,“ i nt oda y ’ swor l d,c ul t ur e sa r ea l wa y s interacting — t he r ea r enot ot a l l yi s ol a t e dg r oups ” ( 2-3). The cultural interaction is inevitable under the overall globalization, and theatre is a very important means for intercultural transmission. Taking some ideas from Schechner, I think Wu’ sMetamorphosis is definitely a postmodern one, “ dy na mi c a l l yc onve c t i ve ”be t we e nEa s t e r na ndWe s t e r ne l e me nt s ,i n“ ade ns ewe bofc onne c t i ons ” (24). Hei sa wa r eoft hef unda me nt a l ,c ha ng i nga s pe c tofr e a l i t y ,whi c hi si nNi e t z s c he ’ s philosophy: Matter is always moving and changing, as are ideas, knowledge, truth, and everything else. Nietzsche asserts that “ c ha ngei saf unda me nt a la s pe c tofl i f e ”and that “ at r ul yl i f e -affirming philosophy embraces change and recognizes in the will to power that change is the only constant in 1 t hewor l d. ” Wui sc ons t a nt l ye mbr a c i ng“ c ha ng e ”a ndc r os s i ngthe boundaries to greet different. worlds of performing. He is certain that there should be no limit in border-crossing, saying, “ I ti s. 1. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/nietzsche/themes.html 7.

(16) my belief that the day will come when East and West, ancient and present, are no longer distinct but 2 interdependent,” which is quoted in Neil Cooper’ s review.. Being a real artist, Wu is like a playful child portrayed i nNi e t z s c he ’ sbook,working out an e xt r e mef a nt a s t i cpl a y ,ma ni pul a t i ngt he“ c omi ng-to-be and passing away, structuring and destroying, without any moral addi t i ve ,i nf or e ve re qua li nnoc e nc e .[ …]I tc ons t r uc t sa ndde s t r oy s , a l li ni nnoc e nc e ”( Nietzsche 1962:62) .Wus e i z e sa nur g e nt“ ne e d”t oc r e a t e ,l ooki nga he a d,a nd bravely confronting the changing world; he deconstructs his past experience and instills into it modern elements. He makes good use of his entire sensory repertoire to convey messages from different cultures he has absorbed, revealing his individual character, personal style, rhetorical skill, moral and aesthetic differences. He performs through his manual gesticulations, facial expressions, bodily postures, stylized gestures, dance patterns, and synchronized movements, all the restored behaviour gathered from his past training. He pr e s e nt s“ f l ui di t y ”a nd“ pl a y f ul ne s s ”i nt hi sne w hybrid play, singing Jingju, and Kunqu, moving to Taiwanese Beiguan in his heavy bug costume, and also performing modern dance to the Western music. This production shares some traits with different fields in liminal performance: a certain hybridization, heterogeneity, ec l e c t i c i s m,f r a g me nt a t i on,ac e r t a i n‘ s hi f t -s ha pes t y l e , ’a nd indeterminacy. Liminal theatre is usually about hybridized performances with synthetic fragments, and social sculptures. As to liminal film, it must apply a utilization of the latest media technology, to show its painterly aesthetics, transgressing borders, liminal politics or fragmentation. Liminal 2. Herald Scotland. http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-ents/stage/kafkas-beauty-and-the-beast-tale-gains-a-modern-message.21798668 8.

(17) music is always the digitized performance of sampled music in a theatrical performance, combining the utilization of diverse nontraditional sound instruments. In Wu’ s Metamorphosis,I ’ vef oun dt ha t there is a blurring and collapsing of the barriers between modern and traditional theatre, dance, music and art. The production is constituted by a hybridization of cultures, the transgression of borders, the synthetic fragments, the interweaving of live music and the digital sampler, and the utilization of the latest media technology. Being the creator of this play, Wu has intermingled a set of symbolic activities and forms, using contradictory elements, to show a perfect stage of transition. My thesis is to explore the liminal features of this production, concerning its escaping from tradition but paradoxically being tightly coherent to it, and its transition to and fro between Eastern and Western styles of performing. I have read its liminality from the implications in three aspects: the application of multimedia technology, the symbolism in music and mise en scene,a ndt het r a ns f or mi ngf i g ur e si nWu’ smise en abyme, plays within plays. And since Wu is the soul of this production, his personal transformation is also seriously considered. Wu presents a digitized performance by applying engineering, video and electronic arts, computer image design, and a plurality of media into the storytelling process. Through these new approaches, more mystical dimensions and augmented narratives can be explored. In the first scene, the phantasmagoria of animated ink-drawn landscapes shows mystical dimensions. Wu is strolling onstage, gazing at the screen, and then he sits down, listening to the agreeable sounds from nature and spirits, and meditating. There are also landscapes showing the change of nature in different 9.

(18) seasons, and the scene in a busy urban city, where people are scurrying to work, without noticing the changing world of nature around. This world is a liminal space for human beings to transit to their other life. No matter how reluctant they are to be trapped in this life, only death can set them free hoping that through “ reincarnation,”they will be better transformed. The animated images on stage are absolutely significant of connotations beyond the performance onstage. Thei ma geofamov i ngt r a i ni sc onne c t e dt oGr e g or ’ smi s e r a bl el i f e ,a nda l s o life of those pathetic human beings in a busy urban city, working and working day by day, like a none-stop train moving ahead. There are images of clocks on the screen, with hands pointing at di f f e r e ntnumbe r s .Thei ma ge sa r emovi n gonea f t e ra not he rs os wi f t l y ,whi c hi ndi c a t eGr e g or ’ s schedule of daily work in a suffocating urban life. Kafka writes that Gregor has to get up at 4 every morning to catch the train at 5. But ironically, time means nothing at all after his transformation, minutes and hours just ticking away. The swiftly-moving clocks allegorically show that time onstage is like time in a dream, contrary to a real clock in the fourth scene, with its hands staying still. The fourth scene is all about dreams, where time does not even exist at all. The images of flying apples in this scene symbolize the disillusion and the coming death of Gregor, who has painfully realized that he has already been abandoned by his family. The flying apples for Du Liniang onstage are like the flying petals in her dream, which awake her to face the fact that her romance is only an illusion and the fatal attack incurs her death. Multimedia technology makes possible the virtual presence through soundscapes. During the pe r f or ma nc e , t he r ea r ei nvi s i bl ec ha r a c t e r s ,i nc l udi ngGr e g or ’ spa r e nt s ,a ndhi ss i s t e r ,ma ki ngt he 10.

(19) noisy hammering ont hedoor ,a ndhi sf a t he r ’ sa nnoy i ngr oa r sout s i dehi sbe dr oom,a ndaba by , desperately crying outside. Such soundscapes imply a sharp contrast between a giant and a baby, t hef or me ri ss ugg e s t i veofKa f ka ’ sf a t he r ,a ndt hel a t t e r ,t hey oungKa f kaonc elocked outside at midnight. Thet e ns er e l a t i ons hi pbe t we e nKa f ka ’ sf a t he ra ndKa f kais the augmented reality behind the story and is manifested through this technology. And in the fifth scene, Wu as a man and the virtual reality of Ka f kawi t hWu’ si ma g ea r e arguing over the dying Gregor-the-bug, which enabling an enlarged narrative of a direct confrontation between Kafka the writer, and Wu the actor. On Wu’ s stage, music is exactly the soul of the production, closely connected to Wu’ smise en scene. It is music of a digital sampling of a hybrid style, and a marginalized, localized scene of experimentation. The digitized soundtrack of contemporary music is smoothly presented in the first and the last scene, and it serves as an intervening role in the other scenes, too. The Chinese music ensemble, Western cello included, plays live music of an Oriental style, including Taiwanese ritual music, Beiguan, and mostly, t heor c he s t r aa c c ompa ni e sWu’ ssinging of Jingju and Kunqu arias. As to Wu’ smise en scene, I ’ ll talk about the costume first, which is full of symbolic meanings, with its particular design signifying different roles in different scenes. Wu the actor as Wu Hsing-kuo appears onstage in the first scene, for only about 5 minutes, indicating his personal involvement of the play. In the second scene, Wu as Gregor-the-bug wears the sculpted grimace of a mask with luminous green eyes, two pink plumes with long curving feelers, and the metallic carapace on the back. Wu sings two touching pieces of Jingju arias in this scene, revealing lots of questions about. 11.

(20) the connotation of “ time”in human lives, which imply a connection of Buddhism in his interpretation. With this most magnificent costume, Gregor-the-bug signifies the authentic topic of this pe r f or ma nc e ,“ Me t a mor phos i s . ”Butund e rs uc ha ni nvul ne r a bl ea ppe a r a nc ei shi dde nami s e r a bl e soul, meek, weak and desperately helpless. In the third scene, Wu dressed in white tights of male modern dance costume reveals his almost naked body, which is to symbolize the bug’i nne r mos t demand for being loved and helplessness of being isolated. Wu’ s Jingju aria in this scene reveals a sense of disorientation and confusion of Gregor-the-bug, in the face of an apparently absurd world. In the fourth scene, Wu wears a traditional Chinese female costume playing Du Liniang, the heroine in a famous Kunqu ope r a ,“ The Peony Pavilion. ”Thec os t umei mpl i e st ha ti ti sa l li nadr e a m ofa n Oriental fictional world. Gregor is in the dream, going to take his disillusion. Kafka is in the dream too, with his three lovers disguised as Du Liniang. In the final scene, Wu becomes a black bird, wearing a black tuxedo, and a short black pants, dancing professionally. Moments later, he takes off the black tuxedo, indicating a spiritual freedom from fetters in this life. Among all the stage settings, I’ ll take two for further discussion, the writing desk, and the door, which are rich in memory and isolation. The desk is deeply impressed on Gr e g or ’ s memory of being a human, butonWu’ ss t a ge ,i ta l s oi mpl ies a connection between Kafka the writer, and his three lovers, Felice, Milena, and Dora. For their relationships are mostly established through correspondence. Onstage there is a rectangle-shaped passage through part of the ice-mountain setting, representing t hedoorofGr e g or ’ sbe dr oom, which is closed during certain parts of the 12.

(21) performance. Since Gregor is locked inside his room, the door becomes a barricade, isolating a lonely soul from the other people. It is also used to connect Ka f ka ’ sc hi l dhoodme mory, and also to i mpl yWu’ sbe i nga ba ndone da sade f i a n tvi ol a t ora ga i ns tt het r a di t i ona lChi ne s eOpera. As to Wu’ s application of mise en abyme in the fourth scene, it is a tremendous creation, with some other characters involved, besides Gregor and Kafka. The personae are incessantly transforming throughout the scene, interweaving a dream within a dream, and a play within a play. There is a combination between a fictional romance from the East and the real Western romances of Ka f ka ’ s. My personal observation of such a blending on Wu’ s stage is an interesting but rather subjective analysis. I ti sDuLi ni a ng’ sdr e a m puti ns i deGr e g or ’ s ,a ndKa f kai si nt hedr e a mtoo, wi t hFe l i c e ,Mi l e na ,a ndDor a .Wu’ smise en abyme helps the spectators to take a glimpse at Kafka t hewr i t e r ’ sl oves t or i e s ,a ndalso t os a vo rt hel i t e r a r i ne s soft hi spe r f or ma nc et hr oug hWu’ s speeches and the singing of the extremely poetic Kunqu arias. I have found out the transforming process among the characters, with only Wu as Du Liniang totally alone onstage. Subjectively, the easiest way to distinguish character from character is t hr oug hWu’ ss pe e c he sa ndhi ss i ng i ngofKunqu arias, the former will be of Gregor or Kafka, and the latter is, respectively, Du Liniang, Felice, Milena and Dora. This discovery is very exciting to me, and the supporting proofs can be found t hr oug ht hec a r e f ulr e a di ngoft hehi nt si nWu’ s speeches, and his lyrics of Kunqu arias, when they are compared with the informative passages gained from Kafka’ s diaries and letters to his lovers.. 13.

(22) In the beginning of the fourth scene, Wu appears in female disguise, speaking as Gregor-the-bug, showing his gratitude to his sister. And he points to the writing desk, remembering his human experience. Howe ve r ,Wu’ ss pe e c hs we r ve s ,s a y i ng“ unde ral a mp,a ndwi t hape n,I write to nurture and to defend myself. My writing contradicts my thoughts. My thoughts are not wha tIs houl db et hi nki ng.Al li se ni g ma t i c . ”This is Kafka the writer, and then, Wu begins to put on make-up onstage, which is exactly part of the performing of The Peony Pavilion. While Wu is putting on make-up, a recorded Kunqu aria sung by Wu himself is being played. That is quite different from the traditional Du Liniang singing onstage throughout the performance. I think the recorded music is helpful, since Wu has to focus on his makeup onstage. The whole scene becomes mor el i keadr e a m,a ndt he“ ma ke -up”s t r ong l yi mpl i e st het r a ns f or ma t i onofKa f kat oDuLi ni a ng . After the make-up, Wu picks up a traditional female costume and puts it on, which is originally hung high through the stage ceiling in the fourth scene, but has already slid down before then. Whe nWube g i nshi ss pe e c ha bout“ wome n”a nd“ wr i t i ng” ,hebe c ome sKa f kaa ga i n.Wu says: “ Il i key oung , pur e ,a ndpe r f ect women. If I see a young woman—even just brushing past—like a blooming flower, her fragrance enlightens my grey and gloomy life. My nearly exhausted and de s pa i r e dl i f e ,s udde nl ybe c ome sf r e s ha ndbr i g ht ,pur pl ea nds c a r l e t . ”Thi si sKa f kar e f e r r i ngt ohis own gloomy life enlightened by Felice Bauer, and the last few words of the passage here are exactly adopted from the stage version of The Peony Pavilion. After this speech, Wu as Felice Bauer, starts to sing and dance around, like Du Liniang strolling and enjoying the natural beauty in her garden. During the singing, there are petals falling down, indicating that Du Liniang’ s waking up from her 14.

(23) love dream, an important episode in The Peony Pavilion, “ The Interrupted Dream.”Subjectively, I think the falling petals imply the breakup between Kafka and Felice, the longest relationship among all, lasting from 1912 to 1917. They had engaged twice, but finally broke up with each other, mostly due to Ka f ka ’ sf e a rofma r r i a g ea nda l s ohi si l l ne s sg e t t i ngwor s ef r om 1917. Whe nWuf i ni s he st hea r i a ,hes t a r t st os a ys ome t hi ngqui t ec onf us i ng ,me nt i oni ng“ I ”a nd “ y ou”i nhi ss pe e c h.“ Ipa s s e dy ouami r r or ,i nwhi c hIs a wmy s e l f .Wee xc ha nge dbr e a t hsa nd he a r t be a t s .Yo uwe r eme ,a ndIwa sy ou. ”These words do remind me of Milena Jesenská, who shares a common childhood with Kafka, and she is a writer too. But she is a married woman, which ma ke st hi ng smor ec ompl i c a t i ng .I t ’ sve r yi nt e r e s t i ngt os e ehowWui nt e r pr e t st her oma nc e between Milena and Kafka. While Wu is singing, there are also red petals falling from above, which i st ode s c r i beDuLi ni a ng’ sr e c a l l i ngt ha th e rlove dream is interrupted by the swirling flowers f a l l i ngonhe r .Si nc et hef a l l i ngpe t a l si mp l ya ne ndofDuLi ni a ng ’ sl ovedr e a m,i ti salso to imply a t e r mi na t i onoft her e l a t i ons hi pbe t we e nKa f kaa ndMi l e na .Af t e rt hea r i a ,Wut a ke sof fhi s“ s t i l t s , ” implying the release from the pressure of their love. Wu climbs up and walks on a plank between two mountains, implying that Milena is challenging a status of a married woman being in an affair. The ice-mountains indicates their dangerous relationship, because Milena refused to leave her husband. After the aria, there is Wu’ ss pe e c ha g a i n:“ Youwe r eboundl e s s l yg oodt ome .Wi t hpa i ny ou loved me. And you loved your love for me. Yet, your love for me painfully made it impossible for met ol ovey ou….”According to Kafka’ s letters to Milena, he is the one who decides to break up 15.

(24) with Milena, and the passage here reveals quite clearly how Kafka thinks of their relationship. After the speech, the color of the stage lighting turns a little darker, and at that time, Wu starts his last Kunqu aria with: “ Whoc a nunde r s t a ndmyf e e l i ngs ?Al i t t l eba s hf ul ,Ic onc e a lmya f f e c t i on. ”This is not Milena, who never conceals her love. Subjectively, this is another transformation, and I think Wu now is Dora Diamant, who met Kafka one year before he died. Kafka enjoyed her company very much. She was much younger than Kafka, but stayed with him until the last moment of his life. Near the end of this aria, Wu sings, “ The dancing green grass extends endlessly on the other end” , which reminds me of Kafka joyful days in Berlin with Dora a few months before he died. It is Kafka’ s deteriorating illness that forced them to go back to sanitarium. The aria ends in “ Here, I suffer. I’ d rather bet r a ns f or me d” , which is clearly intended to take the spectators back to the original story onstage. It is really amazing to see how Wu ingeniously bl e ndst og e t he rGr e g or ’ sde a t ha ndKa f k a ’ s . Wu is walking scrupulously on the plank, moving toward the framed portrait, which signifies the coming death of Gregor-the-bug, and Kafka, as well. After the final Kunqu aria, Wu speaks again, implying some psychological traumas caused by Ka f ka ’ si l l ne s sa ndhi sdominant father. Then Wu bends over the framed portrait, originally suspended from the ceiling, and suddenly the frame carrying Wu are swiftly sliding down, with the images of flying apples thrown toward him. In this way, Kafka’ s death is blended into the coming death of Gregor-the-bug. The moment Wu falls down, the spectators wake up from Wu’ s dream onstage. They are taken back to the original story, only to find that Wu has already got away from the frame of Kafka’ s story, offering a very different ending. 16.

(25) In the fifth scene, Wu accompanies the dying bug (the bug’ s costume), consoles “ it”and then carries “ it”on the back, climbing up to the top of the ice mountains, and overlooking the beautiful world together. Moments later, Wu carries the bug down, sitting side by side in front of the door. He talks to the dying bug, from his own perspective about the bug’ s miserable life. After he finishes hi st a l ki ng ,hef i ndst hebugi sa l r e a dyde a d.Wu’ ss pe e c ha boutthe “ bug ”i sr e f e r r i ngt ot hes t r a i ne d relationship between Gregor-the-bug and his father, or Kafka and his father Hermann Kafka, too. He goes on singing his last Jingju aria to the dead bug. It is a very beautiful melody with profound perspectives of life, in which he is trying to say that even if it is a fragile life, man still owns a free will to face up to all the adversity, by staying calm, and unruffled. Wu says to the dead bug:“ Go ba c kt oy ourdr e a ma ndf i ndt hewa yout .You’ l lt he nbef r e e ! ”This is the moral Wu gives, obtained from his own personal experience. His training started at 12, learning acrobatic skills of wusheng (male martial roles) in Fuxing Drama School. During his military service, he joined Luguang Jingju Troupe, and started his learning of laosheng (middle-aged or old male roles) with Zhou Zhengrong. The tutoring proves to be absolutely significant in his later performances. However, the relationship ended in a renouncement in 1984, because of Wu’ s defiant creations against the tradition of the Chinese Opera. It resulted from a new sphere Wu had stepped into, which offered him more exuberant knowledge of the Western performing art. It is the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre that enlightens Wu to be involved in the modern world, and extremely helps him discover his great curiosity about the Western world of philosophy and performing art. 17.

(26) And it is Lin Hwai-min, the founder of Cloud Gate and pioneer of contemporary dance in Taiwan, who reveals to Wu the fundamental differences in the way the body is used in Jingju and in Western modern dance .“ Thef or me r ’ sc onve nt i onse na bl ea c t or st oc ommuni c a t et hec ha r a c t e r s ’ feelings without themselves experiencing any, whereas the latter believes that the body and limbs ‘ woul dne ve rl i e ’a ndt he r e f or ea r et heonl yve hi c l et oe xpr e s st hei nne rs e ns e sf r e e l ya ndhone s t l y ” (Qtd. in Li 250) .Wug r a dua l l yg a i ne dt he“ s t r a i ght f or wa r dne s s ”de ma nde dbyc ont e mpor a r yda nc e , which finally helped release him from his interior fetters imposed by the strict Jingju training. From the training at Cloud Gate, Wu gained much dynamics and energy different from what the old tradition has offered him, and he g r a dua l l ybui l tupt hec onc e ptof“ e c l e c t i c i s m, ”l e a vi ngbe hi ndt he “ pur i t y ”t ha tFuxi ngSc hoolha dt r a i ne dh i mt opur s ue . Wu and a group of young performers established The Contemporary Legend Theatre in 1986, cherishing a dream to introduce Chinese Opera to new generations here in Taiwan and overseas a udi e nc e .“ TheKi ng dom ofDe s i r e ”wa st he i rf i r s tr oa r i ngpr oduc t i on,whi c hke e psa l lt r a di t i ona l styles of Jingju, but breaks the limits of its dramatic forms to a certain extent. It interprets Sha ke s pe a r e ’ sf a moust r a g e dy“ Macbeth, ”pr e s e r vi ngJingju’ smove s ,s i ng i ng sa ndma ke up,but injecting a modern spirit into the mise-en-scene, in particular. The C LT gradually becomes a world-class performing group in Taiwan. Wu played a wide variety of roles, and was awarded the Military Golden award for best actor three times. He received a grant from the Council for Cultural Affairs and a Fulbright Scholarship to study in New York in1992.The2000pr oduc t i onofWu’ s One-Ma n“ Ki ngLe a r , ”be c ome sa not he rc l i ma xWuha sa c hi e ve d.I nt hewa keoft hee xt r a or di na r y 18.

(27) success of this performance, he got endless invitation of performance during the following 10 years, bringing him great reputation and even chances in dance performance, movies, and television.3 His hot2013“ Metamorphosis”i sobvi ous l yt hepe a kofpe r f e ction, absolutely combining all the traits revealed in his previous creations, an outstanding transformation of Wu himself, who struggles hard throughout his career, but always cherishes a dream and bravely fights for it. He is like the black bird in the final scene of this production, dancing freely down from the top of the mountains. The tuxedo implies the fetters imposed upon him, or Gregor-the-bug, or even Kafka. Death has set free the soul of the bug or Kafka, but Wu the actor is still here, taking on his own transformation. Wu fights bravely against the hegemony of Chinese opera, and ignores the accusations of his monstrous transgression. He strives to win the world-wide recognition, and the final success sets him free. Kafka’ s Metamorphosis is well adopted by Wu, and it shows the greatest transformation of all his intercultural productions, which contributes to a liminal performance, a most typical one of being in betwixt and between two different worlds of culture, time, and space.. 3. http://www.international.ucla.edu/china/events/printevent.asp?eventid=5837 19.

(28) Chapter One Multimedia Technology and the Transformations within the Gap Chr i s t i eCa r s onha ss t a t e dt ha t“ [ o] n l i net e c hnol o gyha sma dei tpos sible for audience r e l a t i ons hi pst ober e i nve nt e da ndr e put a t i onst ober e dr a wna c r os st het he a t r i c a ls pe c t r um”( 1 81) . Digital projects contribute to a more fundamental change to theatrical audience interaction by developing a two-way form of communication. More and more performing troupes have applied the ne wf or m,a nde ve nSha ke s pe a r e ’ sGl obeThe a t r e“ dr a wsi t sa udi e nc ei nt oa nong oi ngpr oc e s si na pa r t i c i pa t or ywa y ,i nvol vi ngt hea udi e nc ei nt heThe a t r e ’ sc r e a t i vepr oj e c t ”( 182) .Gl obeThe a t r ei s usually commercial and tourist-oriented, and the approach it has taken in the area of technology can act as a reminder to those mainstream theatres of their own internal prejudices. Nevertheless, such an approach can only create the illusion of participation rather than providing real interaction. Onstage, technology is playing an important role of assisting the text to provide an organizing as well as a functional element, and also to connect the online resource. It is always fascinating for the audience to see the animated projections moving temporarily through both space and time, transmitted through light and soundscapes. Images and the music help narratives to find their way in an illusionary world of apparitions, focused on dreams and hallucinations. The dreamlike spectacles construct an aura of uncertainty around a marginalized space located on the edge of what is possible, holding a possibility of potential forms, structures, conjectures, and desires. The images on screen elicit the mental representations, which get mixed with those of the external world, inviting the spectator to carry the fiction on the screen into the 20.

(29) enlargement of reality, distinct from a temporal and spatial one. The screen offers a liminal space projecting surreal images with ambiguous meaning, with an artistic expression to transcribe dreams, “ f r omt her e ve r i eofa wa ke ni ngorha l f -sleep to the nocturnal dream, passing through entoptic lights a ndhy pna g og i cvi s i ons ,f r omha l l uc i na t i o ns [ …]t ot hemos tc ompl e xa nddr a ma t i z e df or msoft he ma r ve l ousa ndt hef a nt a s t i c ”( Br uni us101) . 1. 1 Projected Animations Conspiring with a Live Performer Wu Hsing-kuope r s e ve r i ng l ybe l i e ve st ha tt he“ ne xtg e ne r a t i on’ sl i f ei sg ove r ne dbye l e c t r oni c 4 t e c hnol ogy ,i nt e r a c t i vega me sa ndt heI nt e r ne t . ” He is willing to get involved in the modern world,. brave enough to invite into his production varieties of the cutting-edge technology and image projections. I used to oppose the over-reliance upon projected images, for I thought it might deviate the essence of a play. Nevertheless, after seeing some modern performances, I find it a great idea to have multimedia involved in a hybrid play. There is a comment mentioned in the Times: “ Pr oj e c t i onso fa ni ma t e di nk-drawn landscapes bring a limitless depth to the stagi ng . ”Thea ni ma t e d displays do help fill in the narrative gaps of the plot, extend the fictional space, and create a surreal world onstage. Thes t a g ede s i g ne rofWu’ sMetamorphosis, Lin Keh-hua, with his astonishing multimedia displays, successfully interprets an inner world of alienation ofGr e g or ’ s , Kafka’ sa ndWu’ s ,a nd also presents an irresistible magic to establish a direct communication between the spectator and the spectacle. The form of projection always attracts the audience through a moving image in front of. 4. Quoted from the Programme of Metamorphosis, Edinburgh International Festival 2013. 21.

(30) them, and the projected displays represent characters and move the plot along. They are definitely part of a performance, a multidisciplinary one, which is supported by video and electronic arts, computer image design, engineering, and a plurality of media. The new approaches to expressing narratives offer a mystical exploration of dimensions carrying augmented reality and a transition of the virtual presence and actual absence, taking the audience beyond the threshold and out of normal theater expectations. From the first scene on, a shifting series of phantasms can be seen on the screen. With the flow of soundtrack music, there slowly ascends up a moveable transparent curtain inlaid with a huge white cocoon on the front stage. And then Wu Hsing-kuo steps onto the stage, looking at a big screen presenting projections of ink-drawn landscapes mixed with lots of moving objects, a black small dot, like tadpole, moving, growing and transforming. And a black flying bird are soaring here and there on the hills, the forest, and a row of trains moving ahead winding up the hills, crossing a bridge. After a while, Wu strolls away leisurely and quietly. The screen is still showing amazing phantasmagoria with music flowing and a stage setting of ice-mountains lurking. The play goes on, with the help of multimedia technology presenting the invisible characters, the virtual reality and all the stories behind the story onstage, intertwining with one another, gently, smoothly, and fiercely. In the meanwhile, Wu the player transforms from character to character, moving toward the end of the performance. 1. 2 Animated Images on the Screen 1. 2. 1. The Moving Train 22.

(31) In the first scene: A Dream, most of the significant moving figures and objects have been transmitted through the screen, while Wu is gazing and meditating. It is a world of nature, birds, be a s t s ,s hr ubs , t r e e s ,a ndt i nyhuma nsdr i f t i ng“ l i ght l yl i ket heg l i t t e rofaf i r e f l y . ”The r ea ppe a r sa n industrial city, with houses, small rooms and a moving train, foreshadowing Wu’ s singing of Jingju aria in the second scene,“ Iha vet r a ve l l e dt hous a ndsofmi l e s .Ye tIa ms t i l lc onf i ne dwi t hi nwa l l s . 5 Whos a y st ha tIa ma tonewi t ht hewor l d,f r e ef r om a l lc a r e ? ” Ka f ka ’ sGr e g orha st og e tupe a r l y. so as to catch the t r a i nl e a vi nga t5e ve r ymor ni ng,“ da ya f t e rda y , ”f or c e dt o“ t r a ve la ndt r a va i l . ” The projected image of the moving train is shuttling through, carrying different stories of city dwellers travelling and travailing. That is Gregor-the-bug ’ sme mor yofa na r duous human life, a shared experience for most humans living in an industrial city, and it is symbolized by a moving train, the most significant role of the transformation in the Industrial Revolution. It is moving on and on across the landscapes, up and down the hills, and into an industrial city. Thepr oj e c t i onoft hemovi ngt r a i ni nWu’ sMetamorphosis reminds me of Giorgio de Chi r i c o’ spa i n t i ng s ,wi t har a i l wa yt r a i nr unni ngbe hi ndt hewa l li nt heba c kg r ound.DeChi r i c o’ s paintings always show a world infused by a dream and feelings of melancholy or foreboding, in a single composition scenes of contemporary life and visions of antiquity, producing a highly troubling dream reality. For Futurists, or a Surrealist like Giorgio De Chirico, trains are fascinating objects, with an almost magical means of being removed rapidly from everyday reality to strange and exotic places. The transforming magic of new steel rail lines has indeed decomposed the. 5. Quoted from the appendix, the English version of the Script written by Bi-qi Beatrice Lei. 23.

(32) structure of an agricultural society, a real world of nature. Railroads powerfully concentrated populations in urban areas, and made possible the transportation of raw materials from remote areas. The train has super power to bring economic benefits to communities, carrying dreams of ordinary people, and to break down regional isolation, freeing the people from the constraints of geography. However, the train often evokes strong feelings of nostalgia, revealed in certain fields of art c r e a t i on.I naf e wofdeChi r i c o’ spa i nt i ng s ,t hehor i z oni sde f i ne dbyawa l lbe hi ndwhich rises the noise of a disappearing train, revealing a whole nostalgia of the infinite behind the geometrical precision of the square. The projected image of the moving train only appears in the first scene of Wu’ spe r f or ma nc e ,t r a ns pi r i nga na ur aofextreme sadness, the nostalgia of being human, and the painful memory of those miserable days that Gregor is undergoing. Ka f ka ’ sGr e g orSa ms a ,a c omme r c i a lt r a ve l e r ,t houg htt ohi ms e l f , e xc l a i mi ng ,“ OhLor d!Wha tas t r e nuousc a l l i ngI ’ ve chosen! Day in, dayoutont hemove .[ …]Ando nt opoft ha t ,I ’ m bur de ne dwi t ht hemi s e r yof t r a ve l l i ng ;t he r e ’ st hewor r ya boutt r a i nc onne c t i ons[ …] ”( 29) .Thet r a i ni sbur i e di nt hebug’ spa s t , and in the meantime, it becomes so fresh an object deep down inside his memory. Ka f ka ’ sb ugha dt og e tupe a r l ye no ug ht oc a t c hhi st r a i nl e a vi ng“ a tf i ve ”e ve r ymor ni ng ,but hef a i l e dt ot h a tmor ni ng .Ka f kawr i t e s ,“ Thene xtt r a i nwe nta ts e ve n;t oc a t c ht ha t ,hewoul dha ve t ohur r ya tf r a nt i cs pe e d,[ …] .Ande ve ni fhema na ge dt oc a t c ht het r a i n,hec oul dn’ te s c a pea dressing-downf r om t hebos s ,[ …] .Hewa st hebos s ’ sc r e a t ur e ,s t upi da nds pi ne l e s s ”( 30-31). The miserable Gregor is seen to be the very black figure on the screen now, a walking person, moving 24.

(33) swiftly near the top of the ice-mountain settings, who transforms into a moving train at a particular instant during the projection. The train keeps on moving like the one projected moments before. Thedi s a ppe a r i ngt r a i nc a r r i e sGr e g or ’ smi s e r ya ndphy s i c a lpa i nsa wa y ,a ndr ut hlessly his dreams, as well. There never appears the train again at any other moments of the performance, leaving this disastrous creature behind, isolated from the world, and stuck in a small space doomed to be his burial place. 1. 2. 2. The Flitting Clocks. Gregor wakes up from troubled dreams, and finds himself transformed into a giant bug. He is f e e l i ngpuz z l e da boutt hewor l da r ound,l y i ngi nbe dr e c a l l i ngt hea r duousda y s .Ka f ka ’ sGr e g or always set his alarm-c l oc kf orf ouro’ c l oc ke ve r ymor ni ngs oa st o catch the train at five. But it “ wa sha l f -past six, and the hands were moving steadily forwards. It was even later than half-past s i x;i twa sa l r e a dya ppr oa c hi ngaqua r t e rt os e ve n”( 2009: 30), Ka f kawr i t e s .I n“ a l lt hef i vey e a r s ” in employment, Gregor ha sne ve r“ onc ebe e ni l lunt i lnow, ”bute ve ni fhewor kss oha r d,hei s c l a s s i f i e da s“ o neki ndofhuma nbe i ng :he a l t hy ,butwor k-s hy , ”byhi spa r e nt s ,bos s ,a ndt he Insurance doctor (31). The bug proves to be clumsily sluggish, and although time moves slowly, it i ss t i l lmov i nga he a d.Ka f kawr i t e s ,“‘ Se ve no’ c l oc ka l r e a dy , ’hes a i dt ohi ms e l fa st hea l a r m-clock be ga nt or i nga g a i n,‘ s e ve no’ c l oc k,a nds t i l ls of oggy ’( 33) .Gr e g or -the-bug is expecting a visitor to c omef r omt heof f i c e ,f orhi sc ompa ny“ o p e nsbe f or es e ve no’ c l oc k, ”s ohede c i de st og e toutofbe d be f or ehi sa l a r mc l oc k“ r i ng saqua r t e r -pa s ts e ve n. ”Andt he r edoe sc omet hec hi e fc l e r khi ms e l f , when it is five minutes before a quarter-past seven. 25.

(34) For a while, the bug lies quietly, his breathi ngs ha l l ow,a si ft oe xpe c t“ t ha tpe r ha pst heu t t e r s t i l l ne s swoul dbr i ngar e t ur noft her e a l ,t r ue ,or di na r ys t a t eofa f f a i r s ”( 33) .Gr e g orha st ogr e e ta c ha l l e ng et owa kee a r l yve r y“ e a r l y ,”s a c r i f i c i nge ve n“ hi ss l e e p, ”whi c h, he thinks, is the reason for one ’ sbe i ng“ dul l -witted.”Thehe a vybur de nofl i fe forces him to make compromise until one day hee a r nse noug hmone yt opa yof fhi s“ pa r e nt s ’de bt ”( 30) .Hedoe s n’ tg i veuphi sdr e a mt obea normal young man, but only keeps it buried in the darkness, the only moment when he can ponder onhi sf ut ur e . Wuons t a ges howsGr e g or ’ sbe wi l de r me nt ,l a me nt i ngf ort hepa s tmi s e r y ,and he sings “ Eve r ys unr i s epr e s e nt sac ha l l e nge .Eve r yl i f ei sac ompr omi s e .Onl yt hes unr e ma i nsa wa ke . 6 Only the darkness is pondering.” The everlasting fatigue makes the transformed Wu-the-bug. pa i nf ul l ye xc l a i m“ Howdi s t r e s s i ng !Howe xha us t i ng ! ”Andt ha ti st hemome ntwhe nt hepr oj e c t e d moving clocks appear on screen, accompanied by the soundtrack of live music playing different Chinese instruments, among them, guzheng (zither). It is an atonal piece of music, the jaunty plucking on the strings heavy as a solid rock, and brief as a short breath, mixed with sounds made by some Chinese musical instruments, yuequin, sanxian, sheng, and even percussion instruments, creating an atmosphere, rather grotesque and enigmatic. The hands of those clocks point at di f f e r e ntnumbe r sont hef a c e soft hec l oc ks ,“ 4”be i ng among them. The enigmatic flying clocks draw the spectators into the world of Ka f ka ’ sGr e g or ,not quite real, but somehow recognizable. The clocks on the screen, similar to those in a dream world, are losing their power, like Salvador Da l i ’ swa t c he sme l t i nga ndl os i ngt he i rs t a bi l i t yove rt hewor l d. 6. Ibid. 26.

(35) around them. Wu’ smovi ngc l oc ksr e mind me of Da l í ’ smelting pocket watches in his surrealist painting, The Persistence of Memory. His soft watches are said to be inspired by the surrealist perception of a Camembert cheese me l t i ngi nt hes un,notbyEi ns t e i n’ st he or yofr e l a t i vi t y . Howe ve r ,hi spa i nt i ngi sa bs ol ut e l yr e c og n i z e da sas y mbolof“ t hepa s s i ngoft i mea sone 7 e xpe r i e nc e si ti ns l e e p. ” It reveals that imagery is more likely to be found in dreams than in. wa ki ngc ons c i ous ne s s .Ka f ka ’ sbus yGr e g ori sa l wa y sr us he dt og e ta l lofhi swor kdonebe f or ehi s t r a ns f or ma t i on,a ndonl yi ns uc ha nunr e a ldr e a mymome nt ,doe shebe c omea wa r eoft he“ t i me ” ticking away. His busy work hours become the past memory after his transformation, and he is stuck in a l i mi na ls pa c e , s t r a ddl i ngbot ht het i me“ be f or e ”a nd“ a f t e r ”t hee me r g e nc eofc e r t a i n“ ne w” phenomena. In this space, Gregor-the-bug sees no future and there is no return to the past, either. The hardship in the past keep emerging from those moving clocks with traces hidden in the numbe r sont hef a c e soft he m.Ti met i c ksa wa y ,me a ni ng l e s si nt hebug ’ sdr e a mys t a t ea ndit does not di s t ur bGr e g ora nymor e :“ I twa snotu nt i ldus kt ha tGr e g orwokef r om as l e e pa she a vy as if he ha df a i nt e d”( 2009: 43). A moving train hurries ahead, but the flying time never stops like a train that may stop intermittently to let passengers get on or off. The projections of the moving clocks imply so much meaning about different moments in-between, and human beings have to go through the moments and pass through the place traversing the boundaries between real life and the imaginary realm.. 7. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Persistence_of_Memory 27.

(36) I mme di a t e l ya f t e rt hea ni ma t e dpr oj e c t i onoft hec l oc ks ,t hepoe t i cl i ne sofWu’aria, questioning “ Ti me ”reveals that “ time”is ruthlessly in close connection with life and death of human beings: People fuss about he length of human life. But who cares for mayflies? I ask you, time. Without emotion, we would be free from care. How long can we linger? I ask you, time. All mortals lead a hard life in my eyes. Why do spring and fall come and go so hastily? I ask you, time. No life, no death. Is eternity just a long, deep sleep? I ask you, time. Acting decisively leads to weariness. Why not just slow down to end our weariness? For the moment, let this sigh conclude it all. I ask you, time.8. 8. Quoted from the appendix. 28.

(37) The lifespan of a mayfly, the so-called one-day fly, can vary from just 30 minutes to one day depending on the species. Thus, time means nothing to such tiny insects as it does much to human be i ng s .Wu’ sa r i ac a r r i e smuc hs y mpa t hyf oraha r dl i f e“ [ a ] l lmor t a l sl e a d, ”l a me nt ing the a wa r e ne s soft i mewi t h“ s pr i nga ndf a l l ”s wi f t l yc omi nga ndg oi ng .Onl yt hr oug hde a t hc a nl i f ef i nd i t se t e r ni t y ,whe r e“ t i me ”exists no more, and all weariness is thus ended. This is how Kafka describes the last moments in Gregor-the-bug ’ sl i f e :“ Her e ma i ne di nt hi ss t a t eofvacant and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three in the morning. He still lived to see the dark begin to grow generally lighter outside the window. Then his head sank down without his willing it, and from his nostrils his last breath f a i nt l yf l owe d”( 71myi t a l i c s ) .Be f or e“ hi slast breath faintly f l owe d, ”Gr e g orhe a r dt hes oundof“ t het owe rclock s t r uc kt hr e ei nt hemor ni ng , ”whi c hi shi sl a s t memory of being human, and being aware of the existence of time. The ticking of the clocks carries away worry, misery, and weariness, as is transcribed in Wu’ s aria singing: “ let this sigh conclude it all.”Finally the humans will f i nd“ e t e r ni t y ”i n“ al ongde e ps l e e p. ” 1. 2. 3. The Flying Apples. There is a vivid description of how Gregor is chased by the mad father who is throwing apples to him (58-9): [ …] —when something tossed lightly flew down and landed right next to him, and then rolled in front of him. It was an apple; at once a second flew after it; Gregor stood still in terror—running any further was useless, for his father had decided to bombard him. He had filled his pockets from the fruit-bowl on the sideboard and, without aiming very 29.

(38) exactly for the moment, threw apple after apple. These little red apples rolled about on the ground as if they were electrified, bouncing off one another. One badly thrown apple s ki mme dGr e g or ’ sba c k,buts l i doff without harming him. On the other hand, the one that f l e ws t r a i g hta f t e ri tl i t e r a l l ype ne t r a t e dGr e g or ’ sba c k;Gr e g ort r i e dt odr a ghi ms e l fon further, as if the surprising, unbelievable pain would pass with a change of place; but he felt as if he wore nailed fast, and collapsed in a total confusion of all his senses. Ka f ka ’ sGr e g ors e e mst obena i l e dt ot hec r os sl i keJ e s us ,wa i t i ngt odi e . On Wu’ s stage, near the end of the fourth scene, Wu disguised as Du Liniang is crouching on the suspended portrait and falling down from the ceiling, while lots of flying virtual apples are shooting at him. The animated projection of the f l y i nga ppl e st r a ns c r i be st hef a t a ls t r okeofKa f ka ’ s Gregor-the-bug, and transmits a message to the spectators through this visual representation. The message can be seen in Ka f ka ’ sna r r a t i ve :“ Gr e gor ’ swoundwa ss e r i ousa ndg a vehi m pa i nf orove r a month—t hea ppl er e ma i ne d,s i nc enooneda r e dr e movei ta savi s i bl eme mor i a li nhi sf l e s h” (2009: 59). It implies what is mentioned in the Bible: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is. 30.

(39) made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.9 “ Thor ni nt hef l e s h”most commonly used by Christians t oi ndi c a t e“ c hr oni ci nf i r mi t y ,a nnoy a n c e , ort r oubl ei no n e ’ sl i f e .Thes our c eoft hi se xpr e s s i oni sPaul the Apostle, in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians 12:7–9. Sa t a n’ sb u f f e ti mpl i e st her ut hl e s s ne s sofGr e g or ’ sf a t he rwhoha sl e f ta na ppl e“ pe ne t r a t e d Gr e g or ’ sba c k , ”a ndt hewound“ ha dma deGr e g orl os ehi smobi l i t yf ore ve r ”( Kafka 2009: 59). The virtual apples flying onstage, with the noisy roars and screams, awaken Gregor to face the reality of being abandoned, because his is “ nothing”to his family, even to his beloved sister: Sister:. Father, please stop.. Father:. You bastard! Piece of shit!. Sister:. I will never play music again!. Wu’ s swiftly falling down with the portrait implies Gregor’ s moving toward his “ nothingness,”the misery of the naught and vacant desolation. Without any title, or power, a king will certainly become “ nothing,”not to mention Gregor-the-bug. Take Shakespeare’ s King Lear for example. The Fool tells Lear he is “ nothing”without his crown and power: “ now thou art an 0 without a figure. I am better than thou art now; I’ m a fool, thou art nothing’(1.4.17). Gregor by all means becomes “ nothing”after his transformation, and such devastating disillusion implies the advent of his final death.. 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_in_the_flesh 31.

(40) 1. 3 The Virtual Presence Multi-media technology helps expand the aesthetic perspective of a stage performance so as to encompass the whole of actuality in the primary realm of human experience, but it is a realm distinct from the realms of morality and nature. Broadhurst quotes ideas from Lyotard that the unpresentable should be supplied with a presentation, if it is something that should be phrased. The i nnova t i vet e c hni c a le xpe r i me nt a t i onc a nof f e rt hepos s i bi l i t y“ t oe xc e e de ve r y thing that can be pr e s e nt e d”( Lyotard qtd. in Broadhurst 2007: 70), and also great liminal spaces for physical and virtual interface, allowing a physical performer to interact directly and, in real time, with a data projected image. 1. 3. 1. The Roars of the Giant and the Crying of a Baby. At the beginning of the third scene, there is a l ouds oundofaba by ’ sc r y i ngout s i det he bedroom, and there is an image of a toddler flashing on the screen.Wu’ sa r i ai she a r d:“ Al one l y baby is thrown outside on a freezing winter night. No matter how hard he cries, he has no chance of 10 be i ngpa r done d ,s i nc et hi sdoorwa sma d eonl yf orhi m” . The toddler’ s image reminds the. spectators of a rather disturbing incident which occurred when Kafka was about four years old. In his long letter to his father (Kafka 2009: 103), Kafka writes: I have a direct memory of only one event from my earliest years. Perhaps you remember it too. One night I kept whining for water, certainly not because I was thirsty, but partly to annoy you, I suppose, and partly to amuse myself. After several powerful threats had not. 10. Quoted from the appendix. 32.

(41) worked, you picked me up from my bed, carried me out on to the pawlatsche,11and left me standing there for a little while, outside the locked door, alone in my nightshirt. The imagei ss t r a i g ht f or wa r dl yc onne c t e dt ot het r a umaha unt i ngf or e ve ri nKa f ka ’ sme mor y . Hi s infancy was spent in the company of domestic servants, without much contact with his father, who be l i e ve si n“ t h r e a t s ,humi l i a t i ona ndf e a r ”t oke e pac hi l di nc he c k( Armstrong 3). In Kafka’ s Metamorphosis, he wr i t e st ha t“ s e ve r i t y ”( 58)i st heonl ys i g nt obes e e ni nt hef a t he r ’ se y e s . I nWu’ spr oduc t i on,t hes ounds c a peof aba by ’ sc r y i ngis applied, instead of a toddler, which I think, Wu is just trying to exaggerate the sharp contrast between a giant and a baby. The animated images, and soundscapes invite the s pe c t a t or st oKa f ka ’ si nne rwor l d, and his stories behind the s t or yons t a ge . Ther oa r i ngs oundsofGr e g or ’ sf a t he r ,a ndt het e nde rvoi c eofhi smot he ra ndhi s sister are heard from time to time, outside the door of his bedroom onstage: Mother: Mys on,ope nt hedoor .I t ’ st i met og e tup. Sister:. Br ot he r ,wha t ’ swr ongwi t hy out oda y ?Ar ey ous i c k?. Father:. Sick? Nonsense. Get up now, you idle worm.. The annoying sound implies the coming of a changed world, and foreshadows an economic collapse ofGr e g or ’ s family after his transformation. As is mentioned by Kafka, Gregor’ s sister will help support his family, playing music no more, his mother is still weak, and his father has to go back to wor k,a l lbe c a us et he“ i dl ewor m”c a nne ve rf unc t i ona sus ua l .And in this world, Gregor-the-bug is sure to be locked inside his room, forever isolated from his family’ s daily life.. 11. A wooden balcony at the back of the house (Kafka 2009: 144) 33.

(42) The annoying roars on Wu’ s stage ring loudly outside ,c a l l i ngGr e g ort e r r i f y i ng“ na me s ” :“ i dl e wor m” ,“ l a z ys wi ne ” ,or “ ba s t a r d. ”The soundscape of the father’ s roaring curse is heard: “ Gr e g or , y oul a z ys wi n e .Ge tup” , and Wu in white tights opens the door, with a blazing light irradiating directly to the dark hole behind the door. The light reveals the figure of the naked Gregor-the-bug, together with those invisible characters onstage, their frightful screams sent out from the soundscapes. The invisible door has been closed again, leaving the imaginable hole outside in the dark. The a by s sofGr e g or ’ sme mor yis flying with the blazing light, probing the truth of life, with Wu’ sme l a nc h o l yJingju a r i a :“ Whe r ea m If r om?Whe r ei smyor i g i n?Wh e r edoIc omef r om? Whe r ea m Ig oi ngt o?Iva g ue l yr e me mbe r . ”Andat the end of Scene three, the animated image of that same toddler transforms into an adult, gradually aging, and finally disappears. At that moment, through Wu’ sme di t a t i on:“ Some t i me sIs us pe c tt ha tIs ki ppe da dul t hooda ndwe nts t r a i g htf r om childhood to old age,”the illusionary scenery is presented on the screen, where the flowers are blooming and instantly fading, with falling snow, flashing lightning, and music of the guzheng (zither). Thedi s a p pe a r i ngf i g ur et r a ns mi t ss t r ongi mpl i c a t i onofKa f ka ’ sbe i ng“ t hemos ta l i e na t e da l i e n a mongt hes wa r msofa l i e na t i on,e s t r a nge de ve nf r omt he mbyt heuni quena t ur eofhi sg e ni us ” (Heller Intro. xiv). The childhood trauma never goes away from Kafka, whose isolated Gregor is undergoing all the torment he has been through, feeling extremely lonely, and being verminous, di s g us t i ng ,us e l e s s ,i nhi sf a t he r ’ se y e s .Thepa t e r na lpr e s s ur ea ppe a r se ve r y whe r ei nKa f ka ’ s na r r a t i ve se xpr e s s i nghi sbe i ngunde rt hes ur ve i l l a nc eofhi sf a t he r .I n“ The Judgement, ”Ge or ga nd 34.