[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] The National Theater Company will present two selected works from the COVID-19 recovery project "Theater Again Exists" at the small theater Pan for four weeks starting from the 6th.
"Theater Again Exists" is a project that provides performance opportunities to works whose performances were canceled in the first half of the year due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The National Theater Company supports production costs of 30 million won, venues, and promotional marketing, and also pays all ticket sales revenue to the selected teams. The performance works were selected through a public contest held in the first half of the year.
The selected works are two pieces: "Eighteen Adults" (original by Park Doryeong, adapted and directed by Yoo Na-young) by the theater company Tokki-ga Saneun Dal, and "Crocodile Poem" (written and directed by Shin Hae-yeon) by Project C. Each will meet audiences at the National Theater Company's small theater Pan for ten days.
"Eighteen Adults," performed from the 6th to the 15th, is a work about children aging out of care who must become independent after leaving the orphanage at 18, receiving a settlement fund of 3 million won. It is adapted from the play "Outside World," written by Park Doryeong, who actually grew up in an orphanage, based on his experiences. Produced by Tokki-ga Saneun Dal, based in Daejeon, it premiered last year at the small theater Curtain Call in Daejeon. Actors Lee Young-jung, who won the New Actor Award at the Daejeon Theater Festival, and Jung Seok-hee, who won the Excellent Acting Award at the National Youth Theater Festival, appear in the play.
"Eighteen Adults" was selected for the Daejeon Cultural Foundation's Creative Arts Support Project this year and was scheduled to be performed at Daejeon Eum Art Hall in April, but the performance was temporarily postponed due to the worsening COVID-19 situation. The performance scheduled for June at Seongnam Arts Center Ensemble Theater was replaced by a no-audience live broadcast performance.
"Crocodile Poem," performed from the 20th to the 29th, tells the story of a poet in an era that no longer needs poetry, who brings and raises a crocodile waiting to be sold at a health center. The story was conceived through the Seoul City Theater Company's Creative Platform project in 2018 and went through about two years of synopsis and script development. It was scheduled to premiere in April this year at Sejong Center S Theater, but could not meet audiences as all public theaters in Seoul were shut down due to COVID-19.
Tickets can be reserved on the National Theater Company's website and Interpark. After the "Eighteen Adults" performance ends on the 14th, a "Conversation with Artists" will be held with the director and actors.
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