It’s been quite a while since the Korean theater scene has witnessed a production as impactful as Dreamplay These21’s 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉, which in the past year has been recognized at almost all of Korea’s theater awards ceremonies and has been well-received by critics, audiences, and the media alike. This production has broad appeal while also showing the potential and position of contemporary Korean theater. I met with Kim Jae-yeop, the director of 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉, one of the 2014 PAMS Choice selections. As our interview shifted between his past, current, and future works, the industry veteran did not once falter in answering any question as he confidently shared his perspective on theater with me—a fearlessness that serves as a hidden strength in 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉.

The Story That Creates Form

Q(Kim Seul-gi) : 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉 tells the story of how the individual and society meet in chronological order. It is an interesting approach that excludes a blatant voice while still naturally making social commentary. I’m curious, what was the starting point for this piece?

A(Kim Jae-yeop) : While keeping up with the 2012 presidential election, I began to think of a situation where a significant public figure such as the president and an individual such as myself would meet. My child was born that same year, which led me to think of what kind of president my child would meet in their lifetime, and what kind of president my father had encountered in his. At first I experimented with dividing the story up into episodes, but along the way. I felt the need for a singular, penetrating message that could connect all the ideas as a whole. At that point I began to reflect on why I set out to tell this story in the first place. In the end, with regards to ideas such as authority and the individual, I reflected on what hardships my father had to handle to survive in that society, and I could call on him as a historical witness to these events.

Q : I’ve heard that the initial written form was not a script but an essay. It is no simple task to take over 100 pages of text and transform them into a script. Did you have any prior experience adapting novels to theatrical productions?

A : With my previous work, 〈Jang Seok-jo’s People〉, the author Kim So-jin had written such wonderful dialogue that we could simply use it as is. However, in this work, both the narrative and dramatic elements flow together. Whenever the dramatic elements begin to take over, I get the desire to put a stop to it. In a similar vein, if we get too caught up enjoying the banter of conversation, we become so focused on the fiction that we lose sight of the story we originally intended to tell. There is normally some misunderstanding about the role of a narrator in a play, as many think of the narrator as someone who pauses the action to insert dry description or commentary. However, if their words are ones that the audience will benefit from listening to in the long run, then what the narrator’s lines need to be considerably more engaging for the audience. Also, for a stage production it is much more effective to have the author’s words clearly presented in three lines than creating a two- or three-page dialogue about it.

Q : In the play, it appears that a first-person narrator began to appear naturally while you were putting the story together. Are you aware of the contemporary theater scene’s interest in “telling one’s own story”?

A : Actually, “drama” is just another form itself, but as I am writing I find that I forget why I started writing in the first place and begin to worry about other things like whether the work is being composed well. Though aesthetic completion is important, I guess you could say that it is n’t a great fit with me; I neither majored in theater nor have I ever been an assistant director for any other projects. I don’t even have the slightest clue what I have to do to get an aesthetic sense. It’s not as though I’m intentionally resisting the existing forms, but I don’t know that I can continue to make such efforts doing this and that.

Being Aware of and Expressing Reality

Q : Nevertheless, with regards to artistic completion, 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉 distinguishes itself from the raw spirit of previous Dreamplay productions.

A : To be frank, the more complete a work is, the more conservative it is, because if it’s a story that can be understood in one viewing, then its story exists within pre-existing concepts. More importantly, I’ve recently been having this recurring thought: rather than objectifying the audience, I should simply be honest with myself, and by doing so, the audience will already be prepared to hear the story. In this day and age we don’t have the opportunity to see ourselves as the main character in any given situation. Have we not become alienated from many things and now live a completely separate, objective, alternative life? Thus, if we make reckless attempts to enlighten or teach then we will actually incite rejection. Audiences will always open their minds if they feel satisfied that the work is genuine according to their own terms. In this respect, 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉 reverberated with the audiences, with many of them saying that it brought their fathers to mind or made them recall their own past experiences.

Q : In the works you have directed, it seems that there are many things derived from the reality of our times. In your own opinion, would you say that you make keen observations of the present times and put them to good use, beginning with the themes of the story and extending to the way the story is told?

A : That’s correct. Actually, from the time I began in theater to around mid-2000 I was not exactly interested in societal matters; at that time I was focused on creating fantasy-driven, absurdist, and allegorical works. Now, though, I want to search for more ubiquitous topics. If I simply criticized reality it would just be an endless repetition. Because of this, I try to look at it from a wider perspective; examining aspects such as the economy and history and then putting them in dramatic form is not somehow preserving them—it’s concerned with ways to press on. I am currently working on a project adapted from poet Kim Su-young’s work, and what has been bothering me most while writing the play is how to bring this author’s story from that time (the 1950s and 1960s) into the modern day. Of course, in the writing process you have to make many difficult decisions, which is a great source of joy to put on stage; it is sharing what I have learned and pursued with the audience. However, if I stay within the boundaries of what I know intuitively, then it will only confine the imagination.

Thoughts on Writing and Directing

Q : It seems as if the process you chose was an enjoyable yet painful one. Surely you have your own personal reasons for choosing a more arduous method, but how did the actors working with you receive this?

A : Since I am both the playwright and director, I first met with the actors as a writer rather than as a director. In some ways, they are the first audience, so I have to consider their feedback. If they can’t act it out properly then it’s clearly my fault for not writing the script clearly. I couldn’t very well ask the actors why they don’t understand it any more than I could tell the audience that they are watching it wrong. In the end, I can’t separate myself as the playwright and myself as the director; audiences will give me feedback saying that, as the director, I should take the final responsibility for the work.

Q : Although you have directed plays by other playwrights, you have been acting as both playwright and director for quite a while. You’ve stated before that writing is more enjoyable than directing—could you explain the context of this sentiment a bit more?

A : When I am directing a play written by another writer, for example, I find myself trying to understand the core of this person who I haven’t even met: this line is significant because of so and so, that is such and such so we have to keep it in. I thought that this was what a good director does. Then sometime I was talking with some other directors, when it was said that a director who only directs must be extremely good at directing. However, I think it’s foremost for those who both direct and write including myself to show why this play must be performed. If they can’t be very good at directing, they have to at least do this, or else there is no reason to see the show.

The Possibility of Theater (that isn’t “theater”) in Our Time

Q : How did you come up with the idea of Dreamplay These21?

A : I did it because I think there can be good "non-theater" theater. For a long time, I had worked in with a theater mind set but was met with various kinds of limitations in doing so. Actually, as our members, myself included, get along in our years, our range of activity is expanding, so joining together to collaborate on a project had become more difficult. On the other hand, however, I have also become concerned with other art forms outside of drama, trying to discover a thesis and themes, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a "play," per se; t could be published as a journal, or be an attempt at any number of a variety of projects. However, most of the other directors in Dreamplay besides me are still mainly producing drama plays. We all gather as Dreamplay, where we can each pursue our own endeavors and do all that we can do.

Q : What is the significance for 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉 being selected for PAMS Choice?

A : After my premiere production at the National Drama Theater of Korea last year, it reopened starting from Daehangno and continued to the countryside. During this run, we tried to get the chance to be a national headliner. I think making this possible is my responsibility now—to see how well-received this production will be, and what benefit there might be in going beyond the private theaters of Daehangno to a larger stage. It would be an all-new thrill for me if this production could somehow go overseas. I’m curious to see the reception from audiences who have similar histories to ours, but in this age, we live among people with completely different cultural backgrounds. Although there are many Korean productions that have gone overseas, there doesn’t seem to have been many contemporary original productions that have had the opportunity to communicate with foreign audiences. In this respect, I feel that I can discover a new kind of tension and motivation.

 

ⒸDreamplay

2014 PAMS Choice 〈Chronicle of Alibis〉 A father who is a graduate of the Republic of Korea Field Artillery School, and who fought in the Korean War as a corporal, is shedding tears in front of a boot camp. He is waiting for his youngest son who has just completed the four-week long boot camp before serving as a public officer. His older brother was a war veteran, and all his nephews and sons have already served the country as corporals. The director’s autobiographical narratives−including his dead father and his older brother−interlace a history of the Individual with a history of the Nation, harmonizing the viewpoint of history with self-introspection, overcoming dichotomy to, achieve a new political theater.  Dreamplay These21 〈Dreamplay These21〉 is the project of Theater Company Dreamplay. 〈Dreamplay These21〉 is new type of theater that gose beyond the drama to treat the underlying contemporary social, political, economical, cultural problems of our day and age. Applying a new style of theatrical writing, it breaks down the border between drama and reality, all the while trying to develop a new type of documentary epic theater, and extention theater−ultimately branching out to fields like−economics, sociology, politics, history and meta-humanities.