Ross in China: a few performances, a few thoughts on Canadian cultural diplomacy

Friday, October 18: Evening

Tonight is the official opening ceremony of the 15th China Shanghai International Performing Arts Festival. We are taken by bus to a miraculous downtown theatre: a marble and glass cultural palace with thrilling architecture and about 2000 seats. 

Shanghai Cultural Square (Photo: Kreun Ip)

The interior is a bit overdecorated, and the show starts with a hierarchy of speeches. Names are read of most distinguished guests (party members, politicians). The hosts are affable and fabulous. They introduce someone who introduces someone else who introduces someone else who declares the festival open. Each speaker speaks from a different part of the stage, with the final, most important speaker, finally using the podium. Each speaker is greeted by a loud fanfare of classical music over the sound system as they approach the stage. Once the formalities are over, the curtain falls, and what I imagine to be a small army of technicians installs a floor and set for the Ballet of Monte Carlo, who are about to dance Swan Lake. 

It's a terrific company. The dancers are exquisite. The choreography is new, blending modern movement with pointe work. After some initial worries I become captivated by the piece. 

As at every performance I attend, there are cameras in use throughout. People talk. People come and go. People read their smartphones. The Chinese audience norm is not something we from the West are used to - or perhaps we are used to it only in the context of a youth audience. Someone theorizes that during Mao, meetings of more than three people were prohibited, so the theatres became a place to talk. I'm not sure if this is true, or simply speculation. 

The one conspicuous missing component is an orchestra, and the absence of live music in such a sumptuous theatre at an opening ceremony seems strange.

Saturday, October 19

Today I skip the morning session and go to explore the former French Concession neighbourhood south of where I'm staying. I find there a web of little alleyways crammed with wonderful and eccentric shops, with cafes, and with many tourists (most of whom are Chinese). I get a latte and blog.

Back at the Festival base (the Hotel Intercontinental), I have lunch with an Australian, an Israeli and another Canadian. 

I think Canada has the largest contingent of foreigners here - buoyed entirely by the Quebec contingent, a group of about 10 from CINARS and various performing arts companies and agencies. Quebec has admirably rushed to fill the vacuum left by the Harper government's utter withdrawal from using culture as a diplomatic tool. Now, where Canadian embassies offer no support to visiting artists, Quebec consulates do. I think I am the sole representative of English Canadian theatre here.

The afternoon is filled with short musical showcases of Chinese artists (and a few foreign artists). I sit in on some wonderful music. There is one man who plays a traditional Chinese stringed instrument like Ry Cooder - a virtuosic blend of musical influences at play. Another group sounds incredibly Celtic in sound, although singing traditional songs in Mandarin. It's a great afternoon. 

Things go horribly amiss in the evening. We are all bused to RAW - a program of works from young, emerging Chinese artists. We see three pieces. They are dreadful. There is a collective instinct to escape. Afterward, I join the directors of the Sydney Theatre Company, the Melbourne Theatre Company, and a few other Aussies AD types at an Italian resto close by, where we marvel at what's just happened. We're joined shortly by the National Theatre of Scotland, and folks who run things in Chile and Denmark, and Latvia and Singapore. I wonder how all the adults involved in choosing and overseeing the work we've just seen could possibly have thought it was beneficial to China, or to these young artists, to showcase this work to artistic directors from around the world. I doubt anyone here will go to the RAW events tomorrow.

What I miss this evening across town is the big event: Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra is playing under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman. A fleet of VIPs has come with it, including the Governor General and Laureen Harper. So I guess our PM does still see culture as a tool, but only at the high end with the occasional big flashy event.

It's a bust of a night. But I adore the company of the Aussies!

Ross in China: a jet lagged morning, and a few words from the Festivals

Friday, October 18: Morning Session

A day of speeches begins. The theme is the importance of preserving cultural diversity the world over, as recently put forward in a UNESCO resolution - to which, I believe, China is a signatory.

The morning begins with an address from a visiting UNESCO official that, though in fluent English, is almost entirely incomprehensible. I suspect the speaker is whip smart, but she speaks in an unremitting monotone I suspect is fostered by the crushing bureaucracy of the United Nations. OH MY GOD it is a hellish slog through this speech: lots of multi-syllabic words and complex sentences delivered almost entirely without inflection. This is followed by a respected Chinese academic who is somewhat more animated, but unfortunately, a soporific speaker is hard to follow - especially when the audience is extremely jet lagged. I begin to understand what it might be like to work at the UN, and am strangely comforted in my career choice...

The Chinese scholar, TU Weiming (who teaches at both Harvard and Peking University) is an advocate of the new Confucianism. One of the many fascinating things he maintains is that in

the 21st century, technology has increased human capacity to learn and to relearn, but also to unlearn. This, coupled with the idea that while Heaven is ever present but not omnipotent, means that humans must take care of the direction their societies move in. Confucius, he says, felt a duty to not set himself apart and pray, but to rather live IN the world, in order to transform it. We ignore this at our peril.

Jonathan Mills follows. He is the Artistic Director of the Edinburgh festival. I have still not recovered from the first speaker, and Sir Jonathan's style is not exactly invigorating. But he is no slouch, and he makes a point that I am happy to hear made: when we use economic language to talk about art, we do both our societies and art a disservice. 

UNESCO ambassador TAN Dunn speaks next - he is about as famous and well-regarded a composer as China has ever produced. But I can absorb almost nothing at this point. We are hours in. Mr. Tann does speak of the duty he feels to use his privilege well, while at the same time he doesn't quite understand why he feels compelled to always experiment, reach further, do more. But this is the way it is. The final speaker is TIAN Qinxin, director of China's National Theatre. I have no idea what she says. The simultaneous translation is difficult to grasp, and the jet leg is full on. Which is too bad. She is another big deal here in Shanghai, but, again, something less than a magnetic speaker. The whole morning is an argument in support of the communication skill of actors - a skill that I ache for from this group of brilliant and distinguished commentators.

We break for lunch.

Friday, October 18: Afternoon

The afternoon sessions are back-to-back collections of international festival artistic directors. I've never seen so many of this breed gathered together in one place. 

The introduction is from TIAN Qing, who is the director of the China Academy of Art, and Institute of Music. I am quite smitten with him. 

Mr. Tian begins with an cooking analogy to describe the importance of diversity. If you add water to water, your soup won't be very good. He speaks about the importance in China of not simply copying Western forms, but of preserving / creating Chinese forms so that the soup tastes good. 

He goes on to talk about the massive mistakes that have been made during China's rush to industrial modernization. By not paying attention, there have been tremendous environmental losses. He warns of the same dangers in a rush to cultural modernization - that in not paying attention, China will experience massive cultural losses. He speaks of certain traditional forms that have already been lost, and how, once gone, they are forever gone. His speech is a plea to pay attention to what Chinese culture is. 

"If we throw the seeds away, there won't be trees and flowers in the future."

The next speakers are all engaging - thankfully! The director of Finland's consortium of festivals, Kai Amberla, is the first humorous speaker we've had, and so is most welcome. His speech is terrific: a strongly worded call to always remember that art is art, not a commodity. We must make room for the optimal conditions that allow art to function - we must welcome disasters, passion, and diversity. He talks of the relationship between public policy and culture, and that how, without an active cultural policy, diversity will quickly fade away. Diversity, he says, is a choice - a political choice. For him (and I agree), culture is all about passion, and without passion there is no diversity.

Andrew Bleby, from the Melbourne festival, is also a wise speaker. He speaks to the purpose of culturally diverse festivals in Australia: through art, we get to know ourselves.

Mary Lou Aleskie, from the Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, makes a point that fame is relative and becoming even more so in the globalized world. There are diminishing returns in star programming, since one sector of an audience may never have heard of any particular "star." This, paradoxically, gives her more freedom to program based on interest. The artwork has become more important than who is making it at her festival.

Piotr Turkiewicz, from the Festival Wratislavia in Poland, speaks to how he has carved out space for innovation in his programming. His audience has learned that the point of the festival is not to know the names of the artists, but to expect that the art will be thrilling. This kind of innovation is central to his idea of art: "Only dead fish go with the flow," he says.

The other speakers - from Hong Kong, Lithuania, Shanghai and Taipei - are fascinating. All are running enormous institutions, but institutions that are, by their very nature, flexible and quick to adapt. 

The last word is about legacy. Andrew Bleby, from Melbourne, sums it up. There are three legacies a festival can leave: art work; support for local artists; and connection, the fostering of global conversations.

Updates from China

Right now, Volcano AD Ross Manson is in Shanghai for the China Shanghai Performing Arts Fair, alongside delegates from all over the world - including a strong Canadian contingent! He's sent us some updates from 12 hours away, including tips that conference presenters have shared on breaking into the Chinese market...

Tues, Oct 15

China. My first trip. 

I depart Vancouver at 11am, and spend the next 13 hours or so on an airplane. Four movies, three meals and a sleep. This is the longest flight I've ever been on.

Wed, Oct. 16

I arrive at Shanghai Pudong Airport in time for rush hour. I'm met at the arrival area (wasn't expecting this), and climb in a car with David Baile - a Canadian who now runs ISPA (the International Society for the Performing Arts) in New York. We drive.

Shanghai is now the biggest city on earth. It has added millions to its population over the past decade or so, and a great amount of infrastructure. There are now over 23 million people living here. That is almost three New Yorks. Despite this, the traffic moves quite smoothly on a plethora of well-built highways. Everything seems relatively clean and orderly and functional. I think about how horrific traffic is in Toronto, about the squabbling over four new subway stops, and the planned diesel train link to our airport (there is a magnetic levitation train here that travels at over 400km/h - whisking people downtown in 8 minutes), and I wonder at how far behind we are. With its sea of high buildings, Shanghai seems like the future.

I check into the Holiday Inn. This will be my home for the next six days. I go outside to wander around. The neighbourhood is not one to write home about: near a train station, full of multilane roads and fast food outlets - far from the famous concession neighbourhoods and the Bund (where all the skyscrapers are). But I still get a terrific meal of noodles. I have managed to keep myself awake for 24 hours, and have eaten five meals in that time to keep going. I go to bed at a Shanghai bedtime, and hope I can deal with the jet lag (a 12 hour time difference from Toronto).

I'm here.

Thurs, Oct 17: Afternoon

The big event today is a workshop for all the foreign delegates on "How to access the Chinese market." I take notes:

1) KE Chaoping speaks. He is the General Manager of Hangzhou Theatre, the guy in charge of the Eastern China Venue Alliance, and the Executive Director of the China International Venue Alliance. So: a big deal guy. 

• there are venue alliances in China: North, South, East, West, Delta. They program work together, and operate, as far as I can tell, something like the various touring schemes in the UK. They recently came together to form the national organization that Mr. Ke chairs. 
• The China International Venue Alliance has 263 members. 
• 50 of these are viewed as presenters.
• the HQ is in Beijing.
• 30 provinces are represented.
• the Alliance has a license to operate from the Ministry of Culture (I begin to gather that licenses from the government are key in China).
• the Alliance prefers to deal directly with overseas artists, and they particularly look for longterm relationships. Given the size of this Alliance, I am not sure WHO to connect with to begin such a relationship (a delegate from the Philadelphia Orchestra asks the same questions, and gets a non-answer: essentially "make friends, and see what develops").
• the Alliance prioritizes work that meets the demands of the various venues. I'm not sure what these demands are.
• a foreign company must find the right partner inside China. Mr. Ke mentions that there are tiers of alliance partners, such as hotels, stadia, and "professional stages."
• in China, taking a show for a one month, or even a one week run is very difficult. Currently, bookings are more likely to be for one performance, or a for just a few performances.
• again, finding a reliable partner in China is key. The Alliance is a way to ensure that partners are reliable.

2) BAO Chaoyang speaks next. He runs the Western China Alliance, is the General Manager of the Kunming Theatre, and the Vice President of the China Alliance. Here's what he said:  

• he's from Western China. Several (although not all) of the cities in his region will take Western touring projects.
• in China, there are many many arts companies, but very few with longterm strategic capability.
• the Chinese market is very sensitive to cost. This is a way to say they don't have much money. So a low-cost project is an advantage.

3) Vivian Yu speaks next. South China venue partner. Runs the Xinghai Concert Hall. 

• she emphasizes that foreigners need an understanding of the Chinese performing arts market, and Chinese government policy.
• she hears a lot of complaints from foreign arts companies: Chinese tax burden, paperwork, regulations, having to provide receipts, etc. So, she says, touring in China requires patience.
• she underlines the fact that there exist some enormous cultural difference between China and the West. An example: Chinese presenters will not worry about making changes at the last minute, despite whatever communication has occurred in email, etc. The only changes that are not fair ground are things specifically agreed to in contracts. 
• face-to-face meetings are preferred to virtual meetings. Similarly, seeing work live is preferred.

4) Frank Chen (who is one of the Shanghai SPAF heads, and who has been chairing this workshop) speaks:

• touring groups need a license from the government.
• nowadays (after a 20 year struggle), only one month is needed to obtain a license. Licenses are also granted by cities, rather than on a national level. It's unclear to me whether this is an advantage, but Frank seems to think it is. A question from the crowd asks about possible pitfalls, i.e. what happens if some local licenses are granted, and some are not. There is not yet a clear answer to this.
• taxation. A favourable policy is still in process. Frank asks that his foreign friends write with examples of a fair taxation policy for visiting arts companies. 

5) HUANG Jian (Jeff) speaks next. He is the founder of tickets.com - the first online ticketing service in China.

• Jeff doubts whether China is actually a big market.
• that said, he launches into some statistics: 100 Billion RMB in tickets sold every year.
• 20-25 billion RMB in tickets sold in Shanghai.
• 30 billion RMB in tickets sold in Beijing.
• he speaks of tiers in Chinese cities: 1st tier have a per capita average GDP of $5k USD; 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tier cities have a per capita average GDP of about $3k USD.
• more than 10 million people in China buy tickets to 4-6 performances per year.
• 15-20 year olds buy cheaper tickets (movies, concerts).
• older demographic buys live performing arts tickets.
• there is a high correlation between the GDP of a city and the strength of its performing arts market, so it's wise to pay attention to this measure.
• the most popular performances in China: 1) pop star concerts; 2) k-pop; 3) music of what he calls "fashionable" or "fancy" shows.
• the drama market is particularly strong in both Beijing and Shanghai, with sales rates coming close to rates seen for movies.
• Jeff predicts that the post-90s generation will be the biggest consumers of performing arts in China.

That's it. We all chat and exchange business cards. Frank introduces me to a rep from a Beijing dance company, saying that their work is close to Volcano's in terms of innovation and multi-disciplinary forms. We set up a meeting for when I get to Beijing next week. Nice guy.

My impression of the whole session is that all the language is capitalist - the talk is entirely about markets and stats and sales, and nothing is said about art. Of course, these are managers, not artists, but I find it ironic that market speech dominates this conference in a communist country...

Thurs, Oct 17: Evening

We all climb into buses and are taken to the harbour for a boat cruise. This is jaw-dropping. The river is populated with skyscrapers. We see what is going to be the second tallest building in the world, currently under construction and nestled among already extra-tall buildings. Shanghai has spent unimaginable amount of money on construction. 

We cruise the river, and talk and drink and eat. I end up at a table with Chris Lorway from Soundstreams and a delightful plethora of Australians (A Barbie of Australians? An Irony of Australians?). This is a fun group. After the cruise, we climb in taxis and, on Chris' suggestion, we travel to the Waldorf Astoria. Wow. This is a magnificent 1911 building. Old world luxury. We drink some $20 drinks and have a blast. At the next table, there is a group of Chinese guests wearing tuxedos and gowns. In this perfect time capsule bar, with silk bow ties and an American jazz singer, it feels like a romantic recreation of old Shanghai. What $20 drinks buys one...

Ross in Uganda!

Volcano AD Ross Manson is in Kampala, Uganda this month for the first annual Kendu Hearth Conference.

He'll be blogging from kenduheartheastafrica.blogspot.ca. Have a look!

On Peggy Baker

ROSS MANSON: I first got to know Peggy Baker just over a decade ago while building a show with Kate Alton called Mortality. We asked several famous writers to each address their own mortality in monologue form. we were putting together a dance theatre piece — scored by John Gzowski — that spoke to the great divide we will all cross over. Each writer was paired with a dancer. I cold-called Carol Shields and, to my shocked delight, she said yes.

Carol Shields

Carol was paired with Peggy. The haunting irony of this is that it was during the development of the show that Carol was diagnosed with cancer, and given only a limited time to live. She threw out the piece she had been working on for us, and began another, detailing her own death (which can be found in Brick Magazine, issue 72). Carol was a gift to us all: her humour, her wisdom, her utter lack of ego, her curiosity.

Peggy Baker in Mortality
Photo by John Lauener

Peggy was the perfect artist to realize Carol's words through movement and voice, bringing her own considerable wisdom and depth of insight to the topic. This was a very special time for me, meeting and working with two of the country's greatest artists, who seemed light-years ahead of me in terms of artistry. I watched the serious, dedicated, yet light way they both had of going deep.

Carol never saw Peggy dance her words, but Peggy's performance of them changed my life. I've seen Peggy's own work get more and more refined and shimmering over the years. I've been influenced heavily by her opinions, her dancing, and have watched her teach her masterful classes with a sense of awe at what she can inspire in students. if you can, study with her. she is a rare and exquisite thing.

Visit volcano.ca to learn more about Peggy's class, Movement for Actors, and other courses at the Volcano Conservatory. To register, email meaghan@volcano.ca.

Director Director Director

ROSS MANSON: I can't remember exactly when I met Jennifer Tarver, but it was a loooong time ago now. We were both becoming directors on the experimental fringes of Toronto at around the same time (early 90s). I have always been a fan of her mind, and her energy. Her work has spoken for itself, and has taken her from small rooms at the Music Gallery and the Theatre Centre to Stratford and New York.

Ross Manson: actor
Photo by Nir Baraket

Recently, I had the pleasure of auditioning for her. I haven't acted in Toronto for probably a decade, and Jennifer is one of the few who actually remembers that I WAS an actor (my acting work actually subsidized Volcano for the first decade or so of the company). She brought me in for the role of a director in a show she is directing this coming fall in Toronto. So there were three directors in the room: her, me, and the character, with the first two trying to understand the third.

Jennifer Tarver
Photo: Liz Lauren

We had two sessions together, and it was a pleasure. She is honest and brilliant, and focused on bringing the work to the stage in as deep and affecting a way as possible. I didn't get the part (a bit of a relief — I'm too busy!), but the audition experiences were themselves fun, fulfilling, and more like a real exploration than an audition — to her credit. I imagine her class will be similarly engaging. We're lucky to have her.

Visit volcano.ca to learn more about Jennifer's course, The Physically Active Monologue, and other classes at the Volcano Conservatory. To register, email meaghan@volcano.ca.

A Remarkable Trip

Robert Wilson's The Black Rider
Photo by NYNYNY on Flickr

ROSS MANSON: Sigrid Herzog directed me in a show in Toronto in 1989 (Big and Little, by Botho Strauss). Her approach — and that of the German team surrounding her — opened a window for me on a whole new way to make theatre. I visited her in Munich the next summer, and she was kind enough to set up theatre tickets for me to see the best work on at the time. I saw Robert Wilson's work in Hamburg (The Black Rider: amazing), and Berlin (Orlando: dreamlike), Peter Stein's work in Berlin (Roberto Zucco: astonishing), Tankred Dorst's work in Munich (Kaspar: the audience booed the director, deservedly so), and Klaus Maria Brandaeur on stage in Vienna (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf: utterly bizarre). We also took a drive to her famous brother's house in the Austrian Alps, and spent the night. I got to hang out with her and Werner (who asked me my opinion of Donald Sutherland, and fed me an Austrian farmer snack of onion leaves, black bread and dark wheat beer — delicious).

I was a 20-something Canadian actor dropped into an elite of theatre and film in Europe. The trip blew my mind open, and set me on a course that I am still on today. It showed me that one never knows where things might lead.

Sigrid is worth meeting, and worth learning from. She is now one of the leading educators in the german theatre system. There are a few spots left in her class (but only a few). This opportunity will likely not come again.

Visit volcano.ca for more details on Sigrid's course, Body & Imagination, and other classes at the Volcano Conservatory. To register, email meaghan@volcano.ca.