MAP Students Perform in Taiwan

In June, four Grinnell College students traveled to Tainan, Taiwan to perform in Night Magic directed by Professor Craig Quintero. Amaris Bates ’18, Nolan Boggess ’19, Dru Greenwood ’18, and Yi-Chia Wang ’20 left the Des Moines airport on June 6 and arrived in Taipei after a 13-hour flight. The group took a train to Tainan where they were shown around the hotel that would be their home for the next month and introduced to local foods and customs. Rehearsals for Night Magic began right away and the students met with six local Taiwanese actors. Devising the piece became a collaborative effort between Quintero and the actors and after a short two-week rehearsal period, 60 people had the opportunity to watch the production.

Night Magic took place at The Place Hotel in Tainan and explored the ways in which the night alters human senses. The cast performed the show six times each night for a ten-night run, each performance lasting a half an hour. Night Magic was an immersive theatrical experience for both the actors and the audience members. The show was a performance for an audience of one, meaning that only one audience member attended each performance of the production. The actors had to learn to deliver entirely honest performances, as audience members were so close that anything too performative looked silly and unrealistic. Night Magic received many positive reviews from Taiwanese critics and the students presented on the performance on Thursday, September 28.