Theater Company Dongguk Theater Lab Founded... Premiere of the Play 'Okcheon Inn'

From March 17 to April 2 at Dongguk University Lee Haerang Art Theater

The theater company Dongguk Theater Lab announced that it will premiere the play Okcheon Inn from March 17 to April 2 at the Dongguk University Lee Haerang Arts Theater as its inaugural production.

Dongguk Theater Lab is a newly established troupe created by Professor Jo Junhee of Dongguk University’s Department of Theater, inspired by the theater training system of Russian director Lev Dodin. It is characterized by combining practical training within the theater and research on acting methods.

Professor Jo Junhee explained, "Lev Dodin’s system is a field-oriented actor training system where actors undergo lifelong acting training in a theater that functions like a graduate school after completing their undergraduate studies. We have adapted this system into a graduate-level program, making it the first practical actor training project in Korea that combines in-theater practice and acting research."

The first production of Dongguk Theater Lab, the premiere of Okcheon Inn, is directed by Professor Jo himself, with graduates who majored in acting, directing, and arts management from the M.F.A. program in Performing Arts participating as actors and production staff. Veteran actor Han Roksu, who has long been active in Daehangno, and Seo Sangwan, the representative of the creative collective Alter, join as guest members.

Okcheon Inn tells the story of Hyeja (played by Han Roksu) and her spouse, who run an inn in Gunbuk-myeon, Okcheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, and their three children: Jaenam, Jaehan, and Jaekyung. The play explores the lives of the eldest son Jaenam, who desires stability; the second son Jaehan, who dreams of success; and the youngest Jaekyung, who struggles with the gap between dreams and reality, all through the setting of Okcheon Inn. The message the work conveys is one of "patience and reconciliation." Like the small cactus Hyeja tends to at the inn, it portrays family members who strive desperately to bloom amidst the recurring pains of life.