[中] [ENG]思考劇場構作的關鍵 －記舞蹈劇場構作工作坊 Contemplating Dramaturgy – Dramaturgy and Beyond

Arco Renz工作坊 Arco Renz’s workshop; 攝Photo: 張志偉Cheung Chi-wai; 圖片由西九文化區管理局提供 Photo provided by West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

「劇場指導」（Dramaturg）這一個崗位的出現，其實並非新鮮事，早於十八世紀，德國戲劇家及評論人戈特霍爾德．埃夫萊姆．萊辛（Gotthold Ephraim Lessing）便已經透過撰寫及出版《漢堡劇評》，提出這個獨立於編劇、導演或舞台設計以外的專業範疇之重要性。不過，對於「劇場指導」的角色與「劇場構作」（Dramaturgy）的運用，即使於歐洲的表演藝術工業中應用多年，業界對其職能也沒有一個劃一的看法跟標準；而隨著近二十年當代舞蹈的多元發展，劇場指導一職也漸見於舞蹈製作，但當中這個專業的角色，究竟如何可以有效地跟編舞或創作人協作，達到完善作品的效果呢？

The emergence of the position “dramaturg” is nothing new. Back in the 18th century, German dramatist and critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s published written work Hamburg dramaturgy already stressed the importance of dramaturg as a profession, which is independent from playwright, director, or stage designer. However, regarding the use of ‘dramaturg’ and ‘dramaturgy’, the industry has not arrived at a unanimous definition and view on its function, despite its application in the European performing arts industry. Along with the diverse development of contemporary dance in the past 20 years, the dramaturg started to appear in dance productions. How can this professional role cooperate with choreographers or artists effectively with a view to enhance the artwork?

西九文化區表演藝術團隊繼2015年與前進進戲劇工作坊合作，邀請來自德國的克里斯托夫．萊普奇教授（Prof. Christoph Lepschy）來港闡述他的劇場構作經驗後，今年起就與香港演藝學院戲劇學院合辦一個為期三年的「超越劇場構作」計劃。計劃每年各有不同主題，首年會先聚焦在製作中的劇場構作，邀請來自亞洲及歐洲的著名劇場指導，來港引領參加者拆解劇場構作的概念和方法。打頭陣的，有來自比利時的Kobalt Works 藝術總監Arco Renz，以及臺北藝術節藝術總監鄧富權。二人皆有豐富的策劃與出任劇場指導的經驗，特別是在當代舞蹈製作的範疇，因此除了一節公開的圓桌討論環節，兩人也各自主持了一連六天、每日半晝題為「舞蹈劇場構作」的工作坊，與參與者分享他們的經驗與看法。

Collaborating with On and On Theatre Workshop in 2015, the West Kowloon Cultural District’s performing arts team invited Prof. Christoph Lepschy from Germany, who gave a workshop about his experience in dramaturgy. This year, the team has partnered with Drama School of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to host a three-year scheme Dramaturgy and Beyond. It features different themes each year, with the first zooming in on dramaturgy in production. The team has invited celebrated dramaturgs from Asia and Europe to Hong Kong to lead participants to deconstruct the concepts and practices of dramaturgy. The first invited were Arco Renz, Artistic Director of Kobalt Works in Belgium, and Tang Fu-kuen, the Artistic Director of the Taipei Arts Festival. Both possess abundant experience in curating and acting as dramaturg, especially in contemporary dance productions. On top of a session of open round-table discussion, each hosted six half-day workshops entitled Dance Dramaturgy, sharing their experience and insights with participants.

「超越劇場構作」圓桌討論 Dramaturgy and Beyond – Roundtable: “Unpacking dramaturgy”; 圖片由西九文化區管理局提供 Photo provided by West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

上午進行的Arco Renz工作坊，以實踐的方向、編舞的角度，去探討及了解不同舞蹈劇場構作之概念，參與者主要為編舞、舞者、導演及設計師等創作人；而下午一節則以製作人、學者及藝術節／節目策劃人為中心，鄧富權嘗試從理論與哲學的方向，以製作人的角度去分享舞蹈劇場構作的概念，思考劇場構作如何體現在不同製作崗位之上。由於報名者眾多，最後兩位講者根據各人的經驗及背景，各挑選了二十人，而當中就只有兩位演藝學院學生及兩位來自澳門的參與者有幸同時參與上、下午兩節工作坊。

The morning workshop by Arco Renz discussed and went into the concepts of dance dramaturgy from the perspective of choreography and its practical application; participants included artists such as choreographers, dancers, directors, and designers. Tang Fu-kuen’s afternoon workshop revolved around producers, scholars, program and festival curators. He delineated the concepts of dance dramaturgy as a producer with theories and philosophy, allowing participants to conceive how dramaturgy could be embodied in different production roles. Due to the high number of applicants, the two speakers selected 20 participants for their respective workshops based on the applicants’ experience and background, in which only two students of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and another two from Macau were chosen to join both of the workshops.

由於篇幅所限，接下來我就集中分享一下，我親身參與由鄧富權主持的工作坊之體驗。我們工作坊上的廿位參與者，除了西九文化區的員工及本地製作人以外，也有差不多一半參與者，是從東南亞各地專程來港參與，包括有韓國、台灣、新加坡及澳門，有獨立的製作人，也有在藝術節或藝團中工作的研究員，亦有於大學任教的學者及評論人。雖然大家的背景與經驗不同，但正好讓我們在過程中可以互相了解與學習不同地方與機構的文化與藝術發展面貌。

In the limited length of the article, I will focus on my experience in Tang’s workshop. Among the 20 participants, there were staff of the West Kowloon Cultural District and local producers; half were independent producers, researchers of arts festivals or arts groups, university scholars, and critics from Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Macau. Despite our different backgrounds and experiences, we learnt from each other about culture and the landscape of art development in different places and organizations.

鄧富權工作坊 Tang Fu Kuen’s workshop; 攝Photo: 張志偉Cheung Chi-wai; 圖片由西九文化區管理局提供 Photo provided by West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

三月十九至二十四日連續六天的工作坊，鄧富權預先準備了一些討論文章與書評，談及在歐洲舞蹈劇場構作中的一些早期實踐經驗，讓大家嘗試從不同個案去認識劇場構作於當代舞作中的角色，不過整個工作坊卻並非只在解讀這些觀點，而是透過不同活動，帶出參與者的自身經驗與看法，去互相啟發及思考如何在製作過程中引入劇場構作的思維（Dramaturgical Thinking）。

In the six-day workshop from 19 to 24 March, Tang prepared a few articles and book reviews, to discuss the early practice of dance dramaturgy in Europe, and case studies, so everyone could understand the role of dramaturgy in contemporary dance. In addition to interpretation of the cases, the workshop also brought out participants’ experiences and insights via different activities to inspire each other so they could envision how to apply ‘dramaturgical thinking’ in a production process.

例如工作坊首天，鄧就以英文單詞Critical作為起點，要求我們進行分組交流討論，從每人的自身背景與經驗出發，分享Critical一詞所引申出來的不同意思（關鍵、危急、批判、評論……），討論在我們身處的社會與藝術社群中到底有甚麼是Critical，從而強調劇場構作／指導往往需要對社會作出回應。而在最後一天，每位參與者也須以組成Critical的8個字母C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L，分享8個以這些字母作字首的英文詞語，談談對劇場構作／指導的看法與失敗經驗。透過這些相互討論與交流，的確擴闊了視野，對不同地域及機構的製作經驗有了更多認識。然而，真正針對劇場構作／指導而具啟發性的活動，還是要數在週中的兩次集體觀演／展的經驗與分享。

On the first day of the workshop, with the word ‘critical’ as the starting point, Tang asked us to discuss in groups what meaning the word can extend to, based on everyone’s background and experience. (e.g. critic, urgent, critical, critique…) We talked about what critical is in the current society and to the art community. Tang emphasized that dramaturg/dramaturgy has to respond to the society. On the last day, each participant presented eight words using C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L, sequentially, as the initial letters of the words to illustrate their insights into, and experiences and failures of dramaturg/dramaturgy. The discussions and exchanges broadened my horizon and gave me a better glimpse of the production experience in different regions and organizations. Yet, the activities that were truly inspiring and focused on dramaturg/dramaturgy were laid on the discussions after the group attended a performance and an exhibitions during the week.

我們分別在第二天及第四天，一起觀看了香港話劇團的最新劇作《好日子》，以及去到西九文化區M+展亭，參觀「楊嘉輝的賑災專輯世界巡迴演」展覽。透過這兩次共同的觀賞經驗，讓大家能夠有共通的個案話題。鄧引導我們代入前者製作中的不同身份角色，為劇中的一些選擇作出辯解，讓我們從製作方的角度深入思考背後的決定；而透過與後者的策展人對話，也讓我們進一步了解當中的佈展策略，跟在表演藝術中的劇場指導實在是異曲同工。鄧也分別跟我們分享他作為一個資深劇場指導與製作人，他是如何拆解舞台上的元素與符號，以及怎樣去細讀一個展覽的空間佈局，去建構出一種開放的觀眾體驗。

On the second and the fourth day, we watched the latest play of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Auspicious Day, and paid a visit to the West Kowloon Cultural District’s M+ Pavilion that hosted an exhibition: Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief World Tour. We were able to develop common topics on the cases after these two activities. Tang led us to stand in the shoes of different production roles of the former, to justify some of the artistic choices made in the play, to understand decisions made from the perspective of the presenter; while conversation with the curator of the latter allowed us to understand the strategy of the layout of the art works, which resembled dramaturgy in the performing arts. Tang also shared with us how he became an experienced dramaturg and producer, how he deconstructed the elements and symbols on the stage, and how he read the spatial arrangement of exhibitions in a bid to building an open experience for the audience.

鄧富權與其工作坊參與者到M+展亭參觀「楊嘉輝的賑災專輯世界巡迴演」展覽；Tang Fu-kuen and his workshop participants’ visit the exhibition Samson Young: Songs for Disaster Relief World Tour at M+ Pavilion; 攝Photo: 張志偉Cheung Chi-wai; 圖片由西九文化區管理局提供 Photo provided by West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

誠然，即使我參與了圓桌討論和整整六天的工作坊，再加上跟兩位導師的私下聊天分享，也難以為當下的劇場構作／指導下一個定論，因為不同的製作也一定會有不同的形式實驗與合作模式，總不能一本通書讀到底。不過可以肯定的是，各位參與過此工作坊的朋友，都應該對這個仍然帶點陌生的崗位多了一份認識，但實際上怎樣將這些思維應用到創作中，甚至正式引入劇場指導這個崗位，看來仍然需要更多的討論跟實驗，且看未來兩年多，「超越劇場構作」計劃的其他活動還會帶來甚麼衝擊。

Truthfully, even after going through the round-table discussions and the six-day workshop as well as conversations with the two workshop leaders, I find it difficult to define contemporary dramaturg/dramaturgy. This is because different productions come with different formats of application and cooperation, and they cannot be tied to one single definition. But what’s for sure is that participants got to know some more about this unfamiliar role . Yet, more discussions and experiments are necessary for applying the concepts into creations or even considering to introduce the position of dramaturg in a production. It also depends on what other activities the Dramaturg and Beyond project will bring us.

最後，為了刺激大家進一步思考劇場指導這個崗位的職能與可能，容我舉一個鄧在工作坊與我們分享過的實際製作例子作結（其實是另一個討論的開端）。在菲律賓編舞與舞者Eisa Jocson的近作《Princess》中，廣義來說，共有四位劇場指導參與其中，包括為創作人提供參考資料與駐場資訊、身為製作人的鄧富權，也有以Creative Presence的名義作創作指導的Arco Renz，還有在創作過程中常會主動提出意見、多年來跟編舞合作無間的身體訓練導師，再加上共同製作方的駐院劇場指導。如此「劇場指導」陣容可以說是各師其職，但也當然引伸出誰才是左右創作的主力的討論，不過說到底，最後為演出作決定的始終都是創作人本身，這是無容置疑的。

Last but not least, to stimulate the consideration of the functions and possibility of a dramaturg, I’ll conclude with a production case Tang shared with us in the workshop (which is, in fact, the opening of another discussion). In the recent production Princess by Filipino choreographer and dancer Eisa Jocson, four dramaturgs were involved – Tang as producer provided reference materials and residency information for the creator, Renz gave artistic advice and had the title “Creative Presence”, a body trainer who has cooperated with the choreographer for years spoke a lot of his insights throughout the creative process, and a resident dramaturg of the venue co-presenter. The dramaturg combination divided duties for different people, as well as sparked the discussion on which was the critical force affecting the artwork the most. Of course, at the end of the day, the final decision maker is undoubtedly the creator.

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陳瑋鑫 William Chan

資深藝評人，媒體及劇場製作人，近年主要從事表演藝術研究。