NEW ASIA THEATRE - RECONFIGURING THE PERFORMANCE SPACE FOR A NEW ASIA PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This thesis is founded upon the belief that performance spaces has due influence on the structure of all performances. Every performance is affected by the space that it is contained within and the performances are intangibly structured by space. Aspects of speech, dramatic forms, scenery structures and audience response can be directly affected by the spatial configuration ofthe theatre. An architect is the creator of a theatre while a theatre director is the creator of a production. The difference between an architect and a theatre director is that while the former conceptualizes space, the latter usually react to a given space. Technically an architect responds to and caters for the design of any building to the needs ofclient but ifthere were no communication of ideals between the architect and the theatre practitioner, what would ensue would be the latter struggling to react to a given space to the extent that the artistic ideals of a performance may be incapacitated or restricted by the constraint of a performance space. There is only one dominating prototype of theatre architecture in Singapore ? that of a proscenium theatre conceived by the Italians in the 18th century where the the proscenium wall divides the audience and the performer. This type oftheatre is also known as the 'fourth wall" theatre where the performance simulates events happening in another room or a space where the "fourth wall" has been torn apart to allow the audience a clandestine peek into the other space. Main criticisms against this form of theatre is that it encourages passive audience participation but the reason for it's proliferation is the versatility that it offers to the theatre practitioners. An equally popular but prototypical venue to house performances the black boxes which is basically a bare rectangular room painted black which allows the practitioner to reconfigure the space as desired. Yet the theatre arena in Singapore is currently volatile, unpredictable and constantly trying to reinvent itself to create an original theatrical form that is exclusively and specifically Singaporean. Experimental theatre is becoming increasingly mainstream and defies all known existing structures ofdramatic performances, especially the conventional western performance structure. A recent significant contribution to the Singapore theatre is a form oftheatre identified as the ‘"New Asia Theatre". Ever since the conception ofNew Asia Theatre in 1997, it has spearheaded local productions towards a genuine interest in traditional performance arts. But the journey in search for a New Asia Theatre is still in it's early stages where theatrical performances are still experimenting with numerous forms and structures in search for a particular style and language. It is precisely at this stage that the performances is vulnerable to all factors that surround it, such as spatial configuration and technological innovation. It is in this state that architecture enters the picture. Given that the relationship between the production and space is so mutually influential, different spatial quality would have different impact on the production, which can either promote or hamper the development of a new theatrical genre. Hence there exist this opportunity and this need for the participation of an architect to the development of a theatrical genre. The main thrust ofthis thesis aims to design a performance stage that is specific to the ideologies of a New Asia Theatre and play a part in the creation of a new performance typology.