The new director of the Singapore International Festival of Arts, Tze Chien Chong, wants the festival to reach more people. His plan is simple: take the works out of the venues and place them in everyday spaces like streets, shopping centers, and public buildings. The idea is for theater to cross paths with passersby without them having to buy a ticket or look for parking.
Stage logistics on asphalt and escalators 🎭
Integrating performances in unconventional spaces involves solving new technical problems. Chong will have to coordinate sound and lighting in open plazas, where ambient noise and natural light constantly change. He will also need to manage municipal permits, ensure the public does not block traffic, and adapt setups to surfaces like escalators or shopping mall corridors. Each performance will be an exercise in urban engineering rather than artistic direction.
Guerrilla theater, now with air conditioning 🎪
Chong's strategy promises to bring art closer to those who flee from uncomfortable seats. That said, seeing Hamlet improvise between a durian stall and a two-for-one t-shirt offer can be distracting. The local public, experts at queuing for everything, might confuse the performance with a mobile phone promotion. At least, if the play is a disaster, one can always pretend to be waiting for the bus.