New Buds on a Fertile Island: New Play Development in Taiwan, Part 2
- Kuan-Ting Lin
- Apr 11
- 2 min read
Having worked as a dramaturg, theatre critic, and educator for over ten years, Cheng-Han Wu noticed that in recent years, the theatre in Taiwan has been increasingly market-oriented. As a result, playwriting has become dominated by realism, sentimentalism, and linear storytelling, which restrains playwrights from being imaginative and exploring more possibilities in narrative forms. What’s worse, content deemed unfit for mainstream taste or lacking obvious market value may be considered unproducible. Some playwrights choose to pander to the audience, while others suffer from self-censorship. When playwriting becomes something undaring, the topics, forms, and tones that plays deal with are limited, thus making the theatre in Taiwan appear monotonous and stagnant. Feeling frustrated with such a phenomenon, Wu applied for a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council (ACC) and embarked on a research trip to New York City, interviewing artistic directors, dramaturgs, and playwrights from over 50 theatres and organizations regarding their new play programs. In 2024, he founded the first independent new play development institution in Taiwan: the Prologue Center for New Plays.
In his interview with ACC, Wu shared his vision clearly. “My ultimate goal is to have a new play development center in Taiwan. At this center, I hope to help playwrights create something they really like and foster a way to perceive the world through their own eyes: that is, not bound by financial concerns, strictly linear storytelling, or audience-pleasing constraints. A mission like this is also why I find the arts to be so important, because even though we exist in a confined, man-made societal structure, the arts can be a place where we can break that reality to perceive new possibilities.” This vision became the foundation of the Prologue Center.
In order to build an environment that encourages playwrights to discover their own voices, tones, and styles, the development center launched an array of programs that equip playwrights with various writing skills as well as dramaturgical thinking. Besides typical programming and support, such as writers’ groups, playwriting residencies, developmental workshops, dramaturgical conversations, staged readings, and opportunities for networking, the Prologue Center also provides playwrights with a variety of resources that can stimulate artistic energies and facilitate cultural exchange. It is a laboratory for new voices and new ideas as well as a home for artists.
(Read the full article here.)
