Research Proposal for dissertation

My research topic for dissertation is “Evaluation festival: Comparative research of Children’s theatre Festivals in South Korea and UK.

Due to the enacting, the five days work in a week for employees and going to school on five days in twice a week for students have made new social and cultural trend: enjoy leisure time with family has been made in South Korea. Because of the trend, holding festivals is also getting popular. Especially, the Children’s theatre festival remarkable has been grown in South Korea.
However, the growth of Children’s theatre festival, the evaluation for economical, social and cultural effect of the festivals by professional methods has not been doing. Therefore, the evaluation of Children’s theatre festival can be valuable research in the field.

On this research, the targeted festivals will be four: ‘Seoul Children’s theatre festival’ and ‘Puppet Festival Chuncheon’ in South Korea and ‘Greenwich Children’s theatre festival’ and ‘Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival’ in UK.

For the research, questionnaires by festival audiences in ‘Seoul Children’s theatre festival’ and ‘Bank of Scotland Imaginate Festival’ and observation of the all of festivals and interview with the marketing manager in ‘Greenwich Children’s theatre festival’ and using Secondary data and literature research for ‘Puppet Festival Chuncheon’ will be doing.

"Puppet Festival Chuncheon" in South Korea

(Source: http://festival2.cocobau.com/community/comm03.asp?csno=&pg=1)

On this time, I would like to introduce representative Puppet Festival in South Korea. The title of Puppet Festival is “Puppet Festival Chuncheon.” “Chuncheon” is famous area for tourist attraction because of beautiful lakeside and location advantage: it is located in near the capital city: Seoul.

Puppet Festival Chuncheon is regarded a Mecca for puppetry as one of the best performing artistic festivals with its facilities, such as Chuncheon Puppet Theatre opened in 2001 and also Chuncheon Puppet Museum established in 2004,while showing its various kinds of accompanying events as well as puppet shows, which will make the Festival take off one stride forward.

Puppet Festival Chuncheon proceeded at Chuncheon Puppet Theatre as its central venue during August annually since 1989. The Puppet Festival Chuncheon, with its 20 years old, becomes a worldwide big fair for puppetry, altogether with puppeteers local and overseas, while providing the audience with lots of artistic and interesting events and fun, as well as its renowned puppet shows.

The Chuncheon Puppet Theatre, established in 2001 with its best equipment and facilities, considered as the largest cultural center for kids in Korea as well as a major center puppetry in the world.

Due to the advantages: the location in tourist attraction and the seasonal time for summer holiday with family, the Puppet Festival has been popular more and more. It can be the good case of that the festival related with tourism.

"The Little Matchstick Girl"

( Source: http://www.gavinskerritt.com/content/matchstick-workshop.htm)

On this post, I am going to introduce brilliant Puppet Play in UK. The title is 'The Little Matchstick Girl'. This Puppet Play performed by Gavin Skerritt.

On 17 April 2009, at the Greenwich Children's theatre Festival, this Puppet Play : The Little Matchstick Girl performed by twice a day.

On the play, there were lots of sounds effects and lights to emphasize the dramatic moment on the play. In addition, the actor played multiple people by himself using different voices and mask. The acting and proper playing of puppet by him was very impressed to me.
After the play, about ten minutes, the Puppet player had a time to explain and talk with Children of the puppets which were used for the play.

Here is his theatre company's web address.

I would like to introduce his company for everyone.

http://www.gavinskerritt.com

Introduce Greenwich Children's theatre festival

This post is for introducing the second 'Greenwich Children's theatre Festival'.
It was held from 6 to 18 April in 2009 at Greenwich theatre. The contents of this post was condected by News Shopper Online on 31 March 2009.
The web address is http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/leisure/4249305.Puppetry_pulls_the_strings_for_Greenwich_Children___s_Theatre_Festival/

('BABE-The Sheep Pig, Source: photo from 'Theatrework')


Greenwich Theatre’s executive director James Haddrell talks about his love of puppetry and how the medium is sure to enchant families in the forthcoming Children’s Theatre Festival.


(Source: Photo from Greenwich theatre website)

" This year’s Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival is bigger and bolder than last year’s debut programme, with more shows, more workshops and more venues included, but looking through the programme one of the strongest themes which emerges is puppetry.

I have always been a fan of puppetry as a way of telling a story.
I think the reason it can be so affecting for an audience is it’s so simple, very often you can see how it is done and yet it can be so magical.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a one-man show in a tiny fringe theatre or The Lion King in the West End — even though the puppeteer is clearly there on stage it doesn’t take long for an audience to forget and just watch the puppet as if it’s a living character.

The reason it works so well for children is they can enjoy the magic.
They’re the best people for letting loose their imagination because that’s what they do every time they play a new game — but then they can understand how the magic works and reproduce it at home.
A puppet can be a 12ft giant, like the one we used in our last pantomime, or a tiny clothes-peg with a face drawn on which a child makes at home.
That’s why, this year, we’ve added a puppetry workshop to the line-up of events in the festival.
Gavin Skerritt, the puppeteer who performs The Little Matchstick Girl, will be inviting children to meet the puppets in his show and to create their own to take home.
The other thing I’m particularly proud of this year is the unveiling of a brand new story.
I love the idea at this festival we could see a new fairy tale being born which is why I have invited Blunderbus Theatre Company, the team behind our sell-out hits Giraffes Can’t Dance and The Selfish Crocodile, to present the all-new Grandpa Joe’s Magic Show.
Who knows, maybe it’s a story children in the audience will pass on to their children in years to come."

Here, Leisure highlights the must-see puppetry shows and best activities from Greenwich Children’s Theatre Festival

April 6: Utopia Workshops. Create a new show with puppetry, music and costumes in three days. Free.
April 11: Rainbow Fish. Based on Marcus Pfister’s fishy tale, puppetry brings dreamy underwater life to the stage. 11am. £8.50.
April 15: Pinocchio. As Geppetto, Steve Tiplady performs the classic tale about the puppet who longs to be a real boy. 11am and 2pm. £8.50.
April 17: The Little Matchstick Girl. Fantastical story-telling followed by a meet and make the puppets session. 2pm and 4pm. £8.50/£10.
April 18: The Tell Woman. This show combines dance, theatre and puppetry in a dark and beautiful way with lots of yukky jokes. 3.30pm. £6 (News shoper Online, 2009).

The fail of family musical ‘Lion King’ in South Korea

This picture was published by Song, Il Seop.

In South Korea, the first musical theatre for only musical was built in 2008. In addition, the first staring musical was ‘Lion King’, which was performed by famous Japan theatrical company: ‘Siky’ and representative musical for family.

Nowadays, in South Korea, due to the working 5 days and going to school five days, life style has changed focused on family. In addition, the need for arts events also increased one of the leisure activities. In addition, in South Korea, with this situation, the need of musical has increased. Therefore, the opening of ‘Lion king’ looked like positive in terms of income. However, different with positive anticipation of running of the business, the result of ‘Lion King’ by a statement of profit and loss by theatrical company ‘Siky’ was terrible because of deficit: almost at 1,636,360 pounds(Lee 2007). Even, it was been performed during one year in South Korea.

According to newspaper, the reason of fail for ‘Lion King’ pointed that the company didn’t consider of the whole ticket price for family. Such as, in South Korea, the family members are normally four. Therefore, if the ticket price was almost at 30 to 35pounds for one person, family should pay at least 120 pounds. Therefore, the whole ticket price was acted as a burden to families. Accordingly, to apply on ticket price discounting for family should be needed for selling theatre for family as a marketing strategy.

The '5th ASSITEJ Korea Winter Festival' in Seoul

(picture by Gruppe 38, Denmark)

The '5th ASSITEJ Korea Winter festival, Seoul' was held from 10,January to 18,January,2009 In Seoul.

In this festival, five foreign countries' children's theatres from Denmark, Japan, Germany, Israel and Australia and three interior children's theatres were performed.

(picture by Paul Watt 2008, My house by Andy Manley)

This time, I would like to introduce new book of children's theatre.

The title is 'Theatre for Children and Young People' by Stuart Bennett.

Why I recommend this book,this book published by ASSITEJ UK and Germany.

Wolfgang Schneider who is president of ASSITEJ also recommended this book.

Personally, In 2007 summer, the ASSITEJ Conference was held by ASSITEJ Korea. Wolfgang Schneider also participated the conference. I was impressed by his speech.