AFFILIATED PRODUCTIONS
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Blind
written by Maurice Maeterlinck
adapted & directed by Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Theater for the New City
March 30 to April 9, 2017
Twelve abandoned beings try to figure out their present and the future, but eventually subdue to their fate. Blind, the adaptation of Maeterlinck’s same titled play, is a contemporary fable to address the issue of social engagement in the current society.
Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li sees the passivity of characters in "The Blind" as a modern metaphor for people who watch the world around them, living on social media rather than in daily life. "People, aware of the global change with the uprising of the alt-right feel the deep sense of helplessness. Without further reaction or response as a way of solution, people tend to sit home talking, and posting on social media, rather than rolling up their sleeves to participate in the vis-à-vis community works."
With the belief in avant-garde theatre as a way of looking at the nature of reality rather than simply trying to recapture reality, "Blind" is designed as avant-garde theatre, playing upon the fusion of the western theatrical language and the Asian theatrical aesthetics, aiming to explore performance and "the power of audience engagement through its theatre aesthetics."
Director: Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Assistant Director: Toney Brown
Stage Manager: Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, Toney Brown
Scenic Designer: You-Shin Chen
Lighting Designer: Yi-Chung Chen
Sound Designer: Yung-Chin Sunny Chang
Ensemble: Leah Bachar, Brad Burgess,
Chun Cho, Monica Hunken,
Kevin Lynch, & Equinano
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The (New) Trial
written by Peter Weiss
adapted & directed by Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li
Theater for the New City
September 1 to 6, 2015
The (New) Trial presents a surreal look at the life of Joseph K, an attorney at an international corporation, by exploring K’s obsessive idealism and his self-destructive addiction to helping others. Confined to his docile body, K is manipulated, functioning as a public mask by the corporation he works for, winning the “war” of the global market expansion. He is eventually abandoned once the victory is obtained.
Continuing the legacy and the belief system of The Living Theatre, in The (New) Trial, director Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li, Artistic Associate of The Living Theatre, attempts to deconstruct societal complexity and the hierarchical power relations among the characters in the play, hoping to stimulate critical thought. To manifest this essential concept, actors will explore the dynamics between the different characters and break through the fourth wall to share personal experiences of their lives as actors on and off stage. A giant mirror will cover up the stage floor in order for the actors to be fully aware of the power relationship to self.