Korea Arts Management Service’s Center Stage Korea program was featured at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania, Eastern Europe, after featuring at the Theater Festival of Curitiba in Brazil this spring. The Sibiu Performing Arts Open Market (June 12–15) also took place at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, now in its 20^th year.

A latecomer in Europe dreaming of being center stage

The event that cemented Sibiu—an ancient city in Transylvania known for the magic and mystery of Dracula and its history of turmoil in Southeastern Europe—into a sought-after destination for contemporary performance art festivals is the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. The festival was born in 1994 as an ambitious personal project of Constantin Chiriac, an actor from the “Radu Stanca” Theatre of Sibiu, which opened in 1788, and the founder of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. Among European festivals, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival is a relative latecomer that developed into one of the large-scale festivals in this region. This year’s festival was held for 10 days—the event traditionally started in late May but moved to June this year to avoid the rainy season, but due to the cranky weather, the event saw some rain anyways—in a whopping 66 locations and featured 70 participating countries and 350 programs.

It was true that after finding out the inside scoop behind the 350 programs, which included not only the main program focusing on dozens of plays and encompassing all performance art genres but also minor side events, I had an empty feeling inside. However, it is true that Chiriac developed this festival quickly and in a short time frame with his excellent administrative skills, creating a strong foundation for the festival by bringing in influential artists like Silviu Purcarete and Tompa Gabor from Romania as well as influential professors from Britain and the United States (Kenneth Campbell and Noel Witts). Although the exact function or role that they played can’t be deciphered, the fact is that the board of directors is filled with names like professor Kim Yun-chul, chairman of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC); George Banu, professor at the University Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris III; Jonathan Mills, director of the Edinburgh International Festival; Silviu Purcarete; and Noel Witts.

Marking its 20th anniversary, this year’s festival showcased the ambition of its organizers to show off their ability to make connections and their fanciful skills in putting the finishing touches on the events. In addition to Silviu Purcarete’s Faust— which is practically a legacy in Romania and opened and closed the festival with its spectacle of a performance set in an extraordinary location—organizers also invited a handful of works by world-class artists, including Declan Donnellan’s stage adaptation of Ubu Roi, Nekrosius’ Divine Comedy, Sasha Waltz’s Continue, Alain Buffard’s Tout va bien (All is well), and Hideki Noda’s The Bee, among others. Additionally, the festival organizers created a Sibiu Walk of Fame, much like the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to remember and honor the seven stars (Ariane Mnouchkine, Eugenio Barba, the late Kabuki actor Nakamura Kanzaburo XVIII, and four others) who contributed to the development of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival.

Looking at these points, it seems that the actor-turned-director’s public-centered style and his particular charisma seems to be at a distance from the anti-authoritative administrative mind that is required in this contemporary generation. The aforementioned performances by acclaimed artists were the highlights of the main program, but aside from a few exceptions, I was not very satisfied with the majority of the 350 other programs and side events. However, this could just be my opinion, or that of other experts in the field. The audience, averaging to around 60,000 daily, greeted and enjoyed each performance and seemed to be deeply moved by the festival.

Actively participating in exchange with overseas theater groups, including those from Korea

Following last year’s performance of Woyzeck by Sadari Movement Lab, the Korean groups featured in Sibiu International Theatre Festival this year were Performance Group Tuida’s The Tale of Haruk and Nam Jeong-ho Dance Company’s Self-Portrait and Dance with Tetsu. Celebrating the festival’s 20^th year, there were various programs planned for the festival schedule, including two seminars featuring speakers from Korea—one under the topic of “Major support programs and current condition of international exchange in Korea’s culture and arts sectors” (Gu Hyo-jin, Korea Arts Management Service), and the other discussing the topic of “Trends in Korean performance art on the international stage” (Huh Soon-ja). There was also an interview, “Cultural Conversation,” led by professor Noel Witts of Leeds Metropolitan University, that director Bae Yo-sup and manager Hee Jin Lee of Performance Group Tuida participated in.

As expected, with the Korean works’ characteristic of requiring focused feedback and direct, active participation from the audience, the audience responded favorably to The Tale of Haruk, performed on a high school gymnasium, and Self-Portrait and Dance with Tetsu, shown inside the Radu Stanca studio hall. Performances were limited to only once or twice a day (due to limitations from the festival needing to accommodate many performances in a short amount of time, most performances were inevitably subject to such scheduling). This was especially regretful in the case of companies that had traveled a long distance, like those from Korea.

On the other hand, the Sibiu Performing Arts Open Market (SPAOM), which was held within the larger framework of the festival, provided a chance for artists and delegates to freely give presentations each morning. The highlight was the seminars held on the 13th, as mentioned above. Also, there was the interview program “Cultural Conversation” and a three-day workshop for young art managers called “Festival Reading,” led by mentor Hugo De Greef.

However, the fact that both lunch and the official booth exhibition time were held from 1:30–3:00pm gave me the impression that it was a mere cursory gesture rather than a productive promotion with the aim of invigorating the market. Compared to the festival’s scale and ambition, the far-from-perfect actual execution and organization of the festival left me and many other participants feeling puzzled and uncomfortable. Even so, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival brought in 5 to 10 works from all genres from France, the guest of honor, and Japan, with which it has a trust and friendship based on a long history of exchange with the festival. Japan even sent 20 young volunteers (Korea’s Seoul Performing Arts Festival dispatched two people). Considering this exceptional relationship, Sibiu International Theatre Festival should be seen as a strong networking partner for the Korean performance art sector in the future.

Sibiu International Theatre Festival Website: http://www.sibfest.ro/