ILSANGJIHA (the name of the theater group’s lab) – the area in the basement that exists beneath the daily lives of ordinary people. Not far from Daehangno - the Mecca of Korean theater, with 150 performance halls - in the basement of a building in Seongbukdong, you will find the rehearsal lab of Hyuntak KIM and the theater group Seongbukdong Beedoolkee (theater group SB). As soon as this theater was opened in 2010, they embarked on a series of performances, including Forest Fire, Chunhyang, MEDIA, Hamlet, Death of a Salesman, and Miss Julie. This team made its debut in 2008 with the classic of Korean Realism Forest Fire. Their deconstructive approach to Forest Fire inspired both praise and criticism, and their recent activities suggest that this controversy was merely the start for the group’s young director. When people write about Hyuntak KIM and theater group SB, they always refer to the refreshing sense of surprise they feel on entering ILSANGJIHA. The following is an example:

"The theater lab ILSANG, located in the basement of café ILSANG, is used as a rehearsal lab and performance space for theater group SB, but actually it seems more like a basement with a low concrete ceiling, pillars and exposed cement floors. There is no separation between the stage and the audience, there are no seats, and there is not one single light fixture. Basically, it is not a performance theater in the basement of a building, but simply a basement."(Kiran KIM, "Small Play, Powerful Strides ", The Korean Theatre Journal Winter 2010).

Being closer to a simple basement than a studio, this space does not allow for any kind of illusion whatsoever, presenting the materiality of the space as it is. This is characteristic of many of director Hyun-Tak Kim’s pieces. (Unfortunately, I have never been to ILSANGJIHA.) In the face of such surprise, some think about the dark side of experimenting with extreme formality, others understand the spirit and attitude that experimental theater should take, and a few question the ethicality of experimental theater. Although this space seems inseparable from Hyuntak KIM, I met him while he was performing MEDIA on Media at a little theater in Daehangno.

An Alluring Synesthetic Concept

Q: : I finally got to see MEDIA on Media...

A : What did you think?

Q: Since you were not performing at ILSANGJIHA, I thought perhaps there would be something missing without the aura of your original stage, but that wasn’t a problem at all.

A : Many other people were curious about that too. Of course, to some extent, I did take into account the physical space of our lab, but I never direct a piece to fit the physical characteristics of ILSANGJIHA. Everything I do aims to realize the concept in the best way possible.

Q: For example, using fluorescent lights as lighting? In your performance reviews, fluorescent lighting is mentioned a lot... (laughs)

A : Yes. We moved our stage, but we replaced all the theater light bulbs and reinstalled fluorescent ones. MEDIA on Media needs that lighting.

Q: When we look at MEDIA on Media and Death of a Salesman, which will be introduced at the October PAMS Choice Awards, we can see that your way of deconstructing and reconstructing well-known classics is quite unique. A lot of other pieces that incorporate such methods either read the text or substitute modern theater language in the footnotes. In your work, the text is fully deconstructed and scenes are reenacted in a completely different and whimsical tone. But then you recapture and play out the core essence of the text in a synesthetic way. In other words, you reconstruct the text within a whole new powerful and interesting concept.

A : I tend to focus on image when reading text. That’s not to say I think up every detail of the mise-en-scène at this stage. It is the second version of MEDIA that I have directed, and there is a different version. In 2005, when we performed it under the title The Essence of Theater-MEDIA, we reinvented the story of Media and Jason as the small plays that were being pushed to the brinks, while the theaters were depicted as the mighty authorities and institutions. We installed a curtain frame on stage. Jason would appear pulling back the curtains, and this frame would move along with him. This second performance can also be seen as a fun version, because Media is spelled the same way as ‘media’. I thought it would be fun to talk about Media through various media. There are many other concepts in my head that I have yet to put into a play.

The Coldest, Most Relentless Possible Action

Q: After ILSANGJIHA opened, I was surprised to see that you came up with a flood of new performances, but from what you have said it seems you have an infinite source of new performances in your mind (laughs). I heard that Death of a Salesman, a PAMS Choice Award selection, is also a second take. Tell us about the first version.

A : The first one starts with a boxing match. In the ring, an old man, Willy, is fighting with his younger self. He goes into round 1 after he listens to what his wife has to say, then goes into round two after listening to his children. And so it goes on.

Q: I think these ideas are what make your plays unique. Moving away from intricate interpretations of the text, I can picture Willy panting and out of breath. The second version, which was selected by PAMS Choice, shows Willy running ceaselessly on the treadmill. In a way, it seems like it is an extension of the first version.

A : There was something missing after we performed the first version. I tried to think of ways to make Willy be more ‘in pain’. In boxing, you can duck when your opponent throws a punch at you. Boxing rounds also have breaks in between. Why let Willy rest? I thought, what is repetitive, free of will and emotion, and relentless? This brought me to the idea of the treadmill.

Q: In both versions, actor Jinseong LEE plays Willy. Isn’t this too harsh on the actor?

A : For the first version, we cast a real boxer to play younger Willy, rather than an actor, so it was easier to persuade Lee for the second version. Nevertheless, he found out pretty quickly that the second version was just as difficult as the first (laughs)!

Q: Did you, by any chance, think of another version while directing this one?

A : Not exactly, but rather I had an experience where I suddenly realized this performance was missing something very important. Early this year, a curator from the National Museum of Contemporary Art came to see our performance, and offered us a chance to perform at the museum. When I first got the offer, I wasn’t that interested. I was preparing for another performance, and I did not feel the need to perform in that particular space. Then, while we were talking, the curator asked, “Why doesn’t the play have any moments of silence?”. Those words struck me in the head like a bat. I then thanked the curator for pointing this out and accepted the offer to perform at the museum. Right now I am making a silent version. Willy will be running in a state of panic. Actor Jinseong LEE and Willy will coexist, and I want to focus elaborately on the double subtext of the two. We will be performing the new version of Death of a Salesman at the PAMS Choice Showcase for the first time.

‘Existence’ Comes Before ‘Meaning’

Q: I should spread the word for people to go and see the showcasing of Death of a Salesman (laughs)! When I read your reviews I see that, in a lot of your performances, you cast actual athletes; children or others without formal theatrical training. In another interview, you said that you prefer working with these lesser-trained ‘rookie’ actors, rather than fully-trained and experienced ones.

A : Actors who act under a certain manual or method don’t blend in well with my plays. What’s more, those actors with experience don’t have the time to work with me (laughs). When I direct a new piece, I usually rehearse for about four months. Actors can change in the process of completing a piece. The reason I cast ordinary people is because I need them to be themselves, not a persona that is carved out of honed acting skills. When I directed Hamlet, 10 year-old children were cast, and the audience complained furiously that they could not hear anything the children said. There were many people who walked out in the middle of the performance (FYI, in Korea rarely anyone walks out of a performance no matter how bad or unpleasant it is). So people who saw the rehearsals told us to use subtitles. But I liked it better when I couldn’t hear their lines. It is at those moments, when you have a hard time hearing the lines, that the audience really starts to listen. Most importantly, the audience is able to sympathize with Hamlet’s concerns.

Q: So that’s why your reviews have key words like “asceticism” and “existence”? You have been performing at ILSANGJIHA without being widely recognized, until last year. Although your popularity may not be nationwide, I have seen many people mesmerized by your work. Last year you won the Best Director award from a performance-focused magazine, and at the end of the year you received the New Concept Theater award of the renowned Dong-A Theater Awards. I expect you have gotten much busier recently?

A : Not really. We were still performing at ILSANGJIHA during the first half of this year.

Q: Is it that you don’t feel the attention?

A : It’s nice that people are paying interest and that they are showing support, but that doesn’t mean my work suddenly has to become something else.

Q: Thank you for the great interview. I can’t wait to see the new version of Death of a Salesman.