THEATER
Team of “Love, a/Verse”: Valerie Lin, Sigrid Yang, Gia Tsai, Sequoia Collier-Hezel, Brandon Gergel and Woody Slion (left to right).
Cultural Alchemy: Theater Company Aims to Transform Taiwanese Theater TEXT: BRANDON GERGEL
IMAGES: TINA KUANG
C
ode Switch Theater Company is a new Ta i w a n e s e - f o r e i g n collaborative theater company founded by Brandon Gergel, Sequoia Collier-Hezel, and Sigrid Yang. Its mission, and the impetus behind its play Love, a/Verse (反詩·愛) , is a simple one: making theater for all who call Taiwan home. Language has always been a s i g n i f i ca nt h u rd l e fo r fo re i g n e rs interested in exploring theater in Taiwan. While Taipei’s Mandarinlanguage theater scene is vibrant, and a core group of devoted theater makers fuel the English-language theater community, truly bilingual performances are still a rarity in theaters on the island, which can discourage potential audiences from experiencing all Taiwan’s rich theater scene has to offer. Stories that tackle the intersection of foreigners and Taiwanese are even rarer. “We wanted to tell a story that would resonate with both Taiwanese and
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Sigrid Yang (left) and Gia Tsai (right) play Mask and Yu Lin in “Love, a/Verse”, where Mask and Yu Lin share an inseparable relationship.
WINTER 2023 www.communitycenter.org.tw
foreigners,” explains Brandon Gergel, playwright of Love, a/Verse, which premiered in August as part of the Taipei Fringe Festival. “Many of us have been in multicultural relationships, and we knew that each member of our diverse team would be able to contribute something that rings true. The production is more than the sum of its parts.” D i re c to r S e q u o i a C o l l i e r- H eze l agrees: “I see Love, a/Verse as almost two different plays. I feel that the experience of foreigners will differ so greatly from the Taiwanese audience that they are almost separate shows. And I’m okay with that.” Love, a/Verse comes at a time when cross-cultural unions are becoming increasingly common. The play tells the story of Emil and Yu Lin, whose love, nurtured through their shared passion for poetry, faces linguistic and romantic hurdles. To rekindle their romance, they must discover a language that transcends words, a poetic dialogue of the heart.
Love, a/Verse's characters code switch between Mandarin, English, and Taiwanese as they reflect on love and power through the lens of language. The core of Code Switch’s mission is building bridges between the various groups that call Taiwan home. To that end, the play is surtitled in Mandarin and English. Love, a/Verse combines elements of physical theater, traditional drumming, and dance, weaving these diverse elements into a syncretic whole. Each night, a different local poet is selected to perform original poetry as part of the play as Emil, Yu Lin, and the Mask, characters, look on. Gergel commented, “I know of a few foreigners who have lived here for years that signed up for Mandarin lessons after seeing Love, a/Verse. A few even asked me if I had interviewed their partners as I was writing. Apparently,
