ShanghaiPRIDE Theatre Festival | China Coming Out Creative Writing Workshop

I shall have also cause to speak,
And from his mouth whose voice will draw on
More; But let this same be presently perform’d, Even while men’s minds
Are wild; lest more mischance On plots and errors,
Happen. Let four captains Bear Hamlet, like a soldier, to the stage; For he was likely, had he been put
On, To have proved
Most royally: and, for his passage, The soldiers’ music and the rites
Of war Speak loudly for him. Take up the bodies:
Such a sight as this Becomes the field, but here shows much amiss. Go, bid the soldiers shoot. A dead march.
E
Xe
Unt, bearing off the dead bodies;
After which a pea-
L of ordnance is shot off

Hamlet by Shakespeare

Introduction:
China Coming Out Creative Writing Workshop is a series of workshops initiated by Ibsen International, collaborating with Queer University, which first happened in the beginning of 2018. The workshop combines writing and performing in a wholesome way, empowering Chinese LGBTQ community by using the theatrical dramaturgy as a core method. The second round is going to be held in Shanghai, working again with Queer University, but at the same time partnering with ShanghaiPRIDE, which is celebrating its 10 years anniversary this year.

The program of this workshop lasts 4 days, including intensive theory lecturing and self-writing session, performing technique and body training. The main goal is to help the Chinese LGBTQ community to be heard by the society via an artistic tool.

Tutors:
Hege Randi Tørressen

Hege Randi Tørressen is a Norwegian theatre practitioner based in Oslo. She studied at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, where she received a master’s degree in theatre and literature. During more than 25 years, she has worked on more than 100 theatre productions in Norwegian, German, English and Chinese language. For the last 17 years she has worked as dramaturge at the National Theatre (Nationaltheatret) in Oslo. She is a consultant for “International Ibsen Festival” and has been a jury member of the Norwegian Ibsen Prize for 7 years.

Fabrizio Massini

Fabrizio Massini received an MA in Chinese Theatre and Film from the University of London (SOAS), furthered his studies with a research residency at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. Based in China since 2009, Fabrizio worked as artistic consultant and producer for several institutions including Wuzhen Theatre Festival, Guangzhou Dance Festival, BeijingTheatre Olympics and others. He gave guest lecturesat the Danish National School of Performing Arts, National Theatre Company of China, Macau Contemporary Dance Festivals and others. Current artistic director of Ibsen International (Norway/China), Fabrizio curated projects connecting dramaturges from Norway, Denmark, Germany and Slovenia with Chinese practitioners.

Wei Jiangang

Wei Jiangang was born and raised in Xinjiang, China. He was trained as an actor at the drama department of the Xinjiang Arts Institute in Urumqi and at the Shanghai Drama Academy. Having a passion for community work and a drive to contribute to social change, he has continually searched for meaningful ways to share his drama skills with others and to use them in socially relevant ways. During recent years he started to engage himself on the production side of various film- and other productions benefiting different social movements in China. In 2007, he founded the LGBT webcast “Queer Comrades”, for which he hosted and directed more than 50 half-hour episodes. Since 2010, he’s the executive director of the NGO Beijing Gender which houses the webcast Queer Comrades. Founded in 2002, it constitutes one of the first Chinese NGOs to focus on issues of gender, sexuality and sexual health, thus fulfilling a pioneering role in Chinese society.

Workshop:
* Full day for 4 days
* Writing language: Chinese
* Location: Shanghai
* 6 students
* If you are interested, please submit the form (downloading by scaning the code below) and a Chinese writing sample to shanghaipride@gmail.com with email title [ShPTF Workshop＋Name].

It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair,
we had everything before us,
we had nothing before us,
we were all going direct to Heaven,
we were all going direct the other way.

by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities