A Thousand Stages (2021), Yet I have Never Quite Lived
魏海敏：千年舞台，我卻沒怎麼活過
Time is like a gushing river. What it brings in is yet unknown; what it takes away is almost poetry. When director Ong Keng Sen gazed at Taiwan, the island presented him with three names distinctly: Wei Haimin, Chen Chieh-Jen, and Chang Chao-tang. All of them are pathfinders of their time, braving frontiers and pushing ahead against the tides of the epoch.
In this one-woman show, visual artist Chen Chieh-jen carves a passage through time for its tides to flow onto the stage. Riding the tide is Wei Hai-min, who would bring to life, again, the iconic roles that she has embodied on stage over the course of her acting career, transversing the centuries between the Tang dynasty and the era of the Republic of China. These waves would also take us on a retrospective journey over the past six decades of Taiwan's history, during which we would visit Xiao Haiguang in Zuoying, Kaohsiung, the end of Taiwan's martial law period, and the present-day democratic society. All the tears, the joys, and the unfulfilled matters along this sojourn are captured across time by the photographs of Master Chang Chao-tang.
In "A Thousand Stages, Yet I Have Never Quite Lived," one would find narratives of the nation, the history of the age, and its politics; one would find the twists of personal stories of families and the self. The micro-narrative perspective grants us a glimpse of the overarching historical backdrop; the macro-narrative perspective leaves its mark on unique individual lives.
2021 TIFA台灣國際藝術節鉅作《千年舞台，我卻沒怎麼活過（A Thousand Stages, Yet I have Never Quite Lived）》一代名角魏海敏從大唐演到民國，除了再現她表演生涯中各個經典角色，時間也帶觀眾回溯台灣過去60年的歲月。 導演王景生刻劃影像藝術家陳界仁與攝影師張照堂的身影，見證他們在時間長河中涉水獨行。 魏海敏表示，這次要演出的角色是「自己」
Instrumentation:
Peking Opera Singer
Flute, oboe, piano, percussion, violin, cello
Conductor
Production
導演暨編劇Director & Playwright｜王景生 Ong Keng Sen
表演者 Performer｜魏海敏 Wei Hai-min
靜態攝影 Photography｜張照堂 Chang Chao-tang
影像設計Video Artist｜陳界仁 Chen Chieh-jen
作曲 Composer｜張玹 Chang Shiuan
電子樂作曲 Electronic Composer｜山中透Toru Yamanaka
舞臺暨燈光設計 Stage & Lighting Designer｜Scott Zielinski
服裝設計 Costume Designer｜黃文英 Hwarng Wern-ying
指揮 Conductor｜黃東漢 Toni Huang
現場音樂演出 Live music played by｜國家交響樂團 National Symphony Orchestra
導演助理 Director Assistant｜薛祖杰 Hsueh Tzu-chieh