Seoul Theater Creation Center Opens Near Hansung University Station
Opening Festival Runs Until April 26
The Seoul Theater Creation Center, which will complete the Daehakro-based performing arts support belt, is set to open on the 20th.
The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture announced on the 9th that the Seoul Theater Creation Center will open in front of Exit 6 of Hansung University Station in Seongbuk-gu and that it will be directly operated by the foundation. With the opening of the Seoul Theater Creation Center, the performing arts support cluster in Daehakro, consisting of three locations including the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture Daehakro Center and the Seoul Theater Center located in the heart of Daehakro, has been completed, marking a significant milestone.
Daehakro is a theater-centered performing arts ecosystem where more than 45% of Seoul’s small theaters with fewer than 300 seats?141 in total?are concentrated. The Seoul Theater Creation Center is expected to become a hub for public support of theater creation. The Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture plans to further expand the Daehakro-based performing arts cluster to include arts education in the theater genre. Previously, in November last year, the Seoul Arts Education Center Gangbuk was opened in Mia-dong, Gangbuk-gu.
Exterior view of Seoul Theater Creation Center [Photo courtesy of Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, (c)Studio Kenn]
The Seoul Theater Creation Center is equipped with the black box theater Seoul Theater Zero (150 seats) and the proscenium theater Seoul Theater 202 (202 seats). It also provides rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, and other facilities to support the entire process from the initial stages of theater production to stage performances. For theater arts groups, it offers 12 affordable office spaces called the 'Theater Artists Office' and a 'Theater Artists Lounge' for networking, supporting the activities of theater artists based in Daehakro in various ways.
On the 6th floor of the building, there is a performance goods sharing platform called 'ReStage Seoul,' where props and costumes used in performances can be easily recycled. This is expected to reduce production costs for performing arts groups and contribute to carbon neutrality efforts in the performing arts community. Additionally, some spaces, including the rooftop garden, will be open to the public, providing a place where citizens can easily access theater-related materials and relax.
From March 20 to April 26, an opening festival titled "Illuminating Tomorrow with the Language of Infinity" will be held. The festival will embody the value that theater is an infinite language. It will highlight various expressive methods of theater that can be infinitely expanded by combining language, gestures, sounds, and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The festival will consist of five plays, readings, forums, fringe performances, workshops, and other diverse side programs.
During the opening festival, five plays will be presented to audiences every Thursday through Saturday. ▲ "What’s Wrong with Popular Novels?!" (March 20?22) by Theater Company Susupabori, adapted from three representative works of the genius female playwright Kim Malbong, who established her own artistic world in a male-dominated cultural and artistic history ▲ "Artistic Art" (March 27?29) by Creative Group Oneuldo Bom, which questions the essence and artistry of theater ▲ "The Person Who Paints Time" (April 3?5) by Theater Company Hatangse, an object theater illuminating individual lives beyond time and space ▲ "This Is a Story About Existence and Survival" (April 17?19) by Geulgwa Mudae, exploring the essence of relationships through ultra-surrealistic direction ▲ "Maeng" (April 24?26) by Theater Company Cornerstone, a modern version of the story of Maengjinsadaek’s celebration that embodies the sounds of all living and non-living things, maximizing instinctive and sensory appeal. Weekday performances start at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday performances start at 3 p.m.
Seoul Theater Creation Center 1st Floor Lobby Photo provided by Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, (c)Studio Kenn
A special week (April 10?12, weekdays at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m.) will be held to spotlight the works of the late playwright Yoon Daesung, an important figure in Korean playwriting history. The event will include readings of his representative works "Chulsegi," "Myth 1900," and "Wandering Stars," as well as an open talk on themes that connect the cultural era in his works with the present, honoring the playwright’s cultural legacy. Alongside this, the 2nd-floor Theater Artists Lounge, which houses various theater-related materials and books, will host an archive of play collections and related exhibitions.
On the opening day, the 20th, at 4 p.m., a forum titled "Seoul Theater Creation Center, Illuminating the Future of Theater" will be held to explore the future direction of theater through the opening of the Seoul Theater Creation Center. The forum will discuss regional and international exchanges in theater, the impact of AI technology on creation, and listen to voices from the theater field.
Additionally, a variety of events will be available, including ▲ space tours where visitors move through all floors guided by a guide while watching performances (every Saturday at 1 p.m.) ▲ fringe performances held in the outdoor spaces of the Seoul Theater Creation Center (every Saturday and Sunday) ▲ physical training workshops for theater artists (every Tuesday and Wednesday at 3 p.m.).
Detailed information about the opening festival can be found on the Seoul Theater Creation Center’s website and Instagram.
Song Hyungjong, CEO of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, expressed, "The Seoul Theater Creation Center will support theater artists active in Daehakro to create freely. Through the three key spaces of the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture?the Daehakro Center, the Seoul Theater Center, and the Seoul Theater Creation Center?Daehakro, a region specialized in performing arts, will be reborn as a true mecca for performing arts creation, and Seoul will rise as an attractive global cultural city."
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