19 New Works Selected by the Arts Council... Performances Starting from the 7th

'Marie Curie' and 'Hope' Followed by Theater, Dance, Traditional Arts, Musical, Opera
From Melancholy Dance's 'Mobility' to Papa Production's 'PIP-Great Legacy'

The Korea Arts & Culture Education Service announced on the 3rd that it will present nineteen selected "New Works of the Year" from last year at venues including the Arko Arts Theater and Daehakro Arts Theater in Seoul's Daehakro district from the 7th through May 8th. The "New Works of the Year" is a flagship support project of the Arts Council that discovers outstanding creative repertoires through phased support across all genres of performing arts. It has previously discovered famous works such as 'Marie Curie' and 'Hope'.

The selected works this time include six plays, six dances, three traditional arts, three original musicals, and one original opera. The opening act is dance. On the 7th and 8th at the Arko Arts Theater, Melancholy Dance Company's "Mobility" will be performed. It expresses how various means of transportation have been interpreted in human life and how the concept of mobility is expanding through diverse objects. Daart's original musical "Dad in Wonderland" will be staged from the 8th to the 30th at CJ Azit. It is a coming-of-age story passing through family illness and death, bringing reinterpretation of life and reconciliation between generations.

Dance Theater Changui's "Good" will be performed on the 14th and 15th at the Arko Arts Theater. Through the strained father-son relationship between King Yeongjo and Crown Prince Sado, it points to family issues in our society such as child abuse. Using stage techniques that traverse past and present and moving three-dimensional methods, it realizes a cinematic time-leap effect. Chorokso's dance "28 Joton" will be held on the 15th and 16th at the Daehakro Arts Theater. The subject is glaciers, a symbol of the climate crisis. It expresses this through artistic aesthetics and urges practical behavioral change.

The classic play "Made in Sewoon Sangga" by Oksoosubat will be performed from the 21st to the 30th at the Daehakro Arts Theater. The setting is 1986, when there was a threat of North Korean sabotage. It depicts the people of Sewoon Sangga who embarked on submarine manufacturing in an era of contradictions where abundance and oppression coexisted. It examines the lives of ordinary citizens in a fantastical way and attempts sharp social satire. Seoul Opera Ensemble's "Jangchong" will be performed on the 22nd and 23rd at the Arko Arts Theater. It is an original opera showing the process of the Nammae Opera Troupe preparing a stage to comfort villagers suffering from the wounds of war. The appearance of the opera troupe and a small commotion soothe the wounds of an era where suspicion and hostility were inevitable.

Jeonggaakhoe's "Homage to Talchum" will be held on the 28th and 29th at the Arko Arts Theater. It is a traditional art that psychologically interprets the reasons for Talchum (mask dance) and seeks the essence and self of modern people. It presents the intense energy of Talchum in a modern and sensory way. Theater Company Y's play "Talpi" will be performed from the 28th through the 13th of next month at the Arko Arts Theater. It tells the story of a woman trapped without a name who breaks the cycle of repeated violence and regains her name.

Kim Seonghun Dance Project's "Jodong" will be held on the 5th and 6th of next month at the Arko Arts Theater. "Jodong" means to move hastily. It is a dance that tells through the body the current state of our lives, repeatedly running busily in place while colliding with obstacles in reality. At the same time, at the Daehakro Arts Theater, Yoo Jangil's "Senseless Violence" will be performed. It is an original ballet that expresses the social problems of the 1970s Bronx, New York, in contemporary terms. It questions through the language of dance what we must do in a world where social systems collapse and basic human conscience breaks down.

Baum Communication's original musical "#Hashtag" will be performed from the 8th to the 20th of next month at Art One Theater 2. It shows the resistance, deviation, and desires of high school seniors stuck in the reality of entrance exams through repetitive beats and explosive group choreography. Yeonhui Ensemble Bidan's "TIMER" will be held on the 11th and 12th of next month at the Arko Arts Theater. It is a traditional art that asks what we are living for now. It highlights moments of struggling to survive in any way and makes us reflect on whether the subject has been reversed at some point. At the same time, at the Daehakro Arts Theater, Music Collective Gomul's "Kkokdugaksi" will be presented. It is a traditional art experimenting with the fantasy genre, inspired by the difference between kkokdu and kkokdugaksi (traditional Korean puppets). It offers both an expansion of performing arts methods and alternative interpretations of existing materials.

Theater Company Silhan's "Sinshinbang" will be held from the 12th to the 20th of next month at the Daehakro Arts Theater. It is a play that looks into a gap in history through the struggles of pro-Japanese capitalists trying to survive. It realistically depicts the facets of ordinary citizens' lives and straightforwardly unfolds conflicts between characters. Team Dol's play "Low Cold Wind" will be performed from the 18th to the 27th of next month at the Arko Arts Theater. Set in 1930 Manchuria, it reflects the transformation of common people living only to survive. It is inspired by the 1931 Nakamura Shintaro incident. It portrays the sacrifice of political ideology in an ultra-realistic way and conveys the sublimity of "living through it."

At the same time, the Arko Arts Theater and Daehakro Arts Theater will respectively present the plays "Hwaro (Theater Company Mermaid)" and "Call Time (Horangi Giun)." The former depicts the twists and turns of a middle-aged man and woman who participate in each other's death to complete their last love. It fiercely deals with the social phenomenon called "100-year shock" and pursues what dignity makes human life most human. The latter tells the story of the inner turmoil of two women becoming seeds of change. It simultaneously contemplates the reasons for needing to find answers about oneself and the life of enduring an unchanging society.

Kim Yumi's "Yunhoemaesipjeon" will be performed on the 25th and 26th of next month at the Daehakro Arts Theater. It is a dance that reinterprets traditional arts and Korean philosophy from a modern perspective through movement and music. Through traditional family video and dance, it realizes concepts that exist only in imagination and induces audience immersion. Papa Production's "PIP - The Great Legacy" will be held from March 12th to May 8th at TOM Hall 1. It is an original musical depicting the process of Pip, a simple rural boy, realizing love more precious and great than wealth and fame. Unlike Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations," which focuses on social satire and criticism, it focuses on Pip's growth. It emphasizes inner deficiency and psychological changes, broadening empathy and offering small comfort and rest.