The performance hall is one of the important elements that cannot be missed when discussing performing arts. Since “Phantom of the Opera” in 2001, when Korean musicals were formed in earnest, Korea’s first musical-only theater, “Charlotte Theatre,” was opened in 2006, followed by Doosan Art Center’s Yonkang Hall, COEX Artium D-Cube Art Center, and Blue Square. Currently, the number of performance halls in Korea is approximately 1,500, including local and metropolitan areas. As the Korean performing arts market has increased, numerous theaters have been created, and these theaters are classified into small theaters, medium theaters, and large theaters depending on the number of seats. In general, theaters with more than a thousand seats are called large theaters, theaters with less than 300 seats are called small theaters, and medium-sized theaters are those with around 500 seats. Hyehwa Daehak-ro, known as the mecca of performances, has over 100 theaters of various sizes, ranging from small theaters with a few dozen seats to medium-sized theaters with about 600 seats.
Medium and small theaters have limitations in the number of technologies that can be applied due to the small size of the theater itself, but the distance between the audience seats and the stage is close, so the audience can see the actors’ detailed facial expressions and have the advantage of creating a more focused performance atmosphere. On the other hand, a large theater can have a large number of actors on stage and has a lot of space, so various productions are possible, but the distance between the audience seats and the stage is long. As there are various sizes of theaters, finding the right theater for a performance is also considered important these days. The size of the theater is determined by considering various factors such as the number of actors on stage, stage settings, and the atmosphere and characteristics of the play. In this special article, we will discuss the recently observed trend of increasing the size of theaters for plays returning for the nth year and its side effects.
“Hedwig” went from a small theater to a large theater.
The 14th season of the musical “Hedwig” opened on March 22nd. “Hedwig” is a musical led by two actors and a live band that tells the story of rocker “Hedwig,” who has been searching for freedom and love from East Berlin to New York, and has been loved continuously since its Korean premiere in 2005. There is one thing that has become a hot topic along with a welcome response to the news of the opening of “Hedwig.” This is the theater where “Hedwig” will be performed. “Hedwig” was performed in small and medium-sized theaters from its premiere until the 12th anniversary of 2019, but due to a license change, it was moved to the Chungmu Arts Center Grand Theater last season and the Charlotte Theater this season, increasing its scale to a large theater. Chungmu Arts Center’s Grand Theater has 1,255 seats, and the Charlotte Theater has 1,230 seats.
The reason why the size of the theater became a hot topic is because of the characteristics of the play “Hedwig.” “Hedwig” is a concert-style musical in which communication between the actors on stage and the audience plays a major role. Excluding the band, only two actors appear, and the performance is carried out with the setting of a character named ‘Hedwig’ moving around shabby concert halls and telling his story at New York’s Millennium Theater where ‘Tommy’ was performing, so many elements are involved. Considering this, there is an opinion that “Hedwig” is better suited to small theaters rather than large theaters.
The play “Art” wearing a ‘mic’.
“Art” is French playwright Yasmina Reza’s representative work and is a delightful black comedy that depicts the process of the long-time friendship of three men, Serge Marc and Ivan, being disintegrated and repaired by a single painting. It was performed in 35 countries and returned to Korea for its fourth season this year after its premiere in 2018. The premiere of “Art” was performed in a small theater with 200 to 300 seats, and the three reenactments were performed in a theater with about 400 seats. The venue for this story is also Link Arts Center’s Bucks Hall, which has 401 seats.
Compared to Yes24 Stage 1, which seats 406 people, and Baekam Art Hall, which seats 417 people, Link Art Center Bucks Hall has a small number of seats, but unlike last season, the actors wear microphones in this story. Unlike musicals, plays are originally performed without microphones, and in special cases where it is deemed difficult to transmit the actor’s voice as a whole, microphones are worn. Examples include the play “R&J” and “History Boys” (Posner). “Art” Story To find the reason for the ‘appearance of microphones’, it is necessary to compare theater characteristics rather than simply the number of seats. Unlike Yes24 Stage Hall 1, which has seats on the first and second floors, Link Art Center Bucks Hall only has seats on the first floor, so the further you go to the back row, the more the view overlooks. In addition, there were some responses that the sound was difficult to hear last season, and considering that this season will not only feature professional theater actors, it is assumed that an “art” using a microphone was born.
In conclusion.
In this way, when a performance does not meet a theater of an appropriate size, there is clearly a sense of disappointment resulting from the mismatch between the scale of the play and the theater. Of course, it is a matter of individual preference, but it will be even more difficult for audiences who have experienced the synergy that comes when the theater and the play match each other to shake off that disappointment. As an example of a theater that has synergy with performance, the play “R & J,” which opened last March, has been performed at Dongguk University’s Lee Hae-rang Arts Theater since its premiere in 2018. Many people automatically think of ‘Lee Hae-rang Theater’ when they think of ‘R&J’ due to the combination of the unique structure of ‘stage seats’ and the appropriate size.
In addition to “Hedwig” and “Art,” the recently opened “The Mist” and “The Last Man” also returned with a larger theater size compared to last season. What is the reason?. Although it is difficult to know all the details, it can be assumed that as the size of the theater musical market increased, the number of audiences also increased, and the result was that production companies increased the size of theaters compared to before to take into account the increase in demand. Competition for rental venues and the participation of actors whose fees tend to be high will also have an impact. We hope that an appropriate balance between commercial reasons and artistic elements will be achieved so that the audience can enjoy a satisfactory performance.
Source | CY Stage
Trans/Shared by | Musical in Life
Musical in Life 