Walter Byongsok Chon, Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy and Theatre Studies, participated in the panel “International Dramaturgy Lab: Connecting Dramaturgs Across Borders” at the LMDA (Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas) conference on June 18 and spoke about his project.
As part of the International Dramaturgy Lab (IDL), his group “Arariyo” (from the Korean folk song “Arirang”), which includes Tania Santos (Mexico), Davide Giovanzana (Finland), and Rachel Parish (US), developed a performance text titled “The Mystery of Rachel Sinclair.”
The piece, focused on the investigation of the disappearance of a fictional Canadian journalist Rachel Sinclair, is currently in 4 parts, 16 minutes long, and adapts different theatrical forms, multiple languages (English, Spanish, Korean, Finnish, French, and German), and specific cultural sentiments from the home countries of the group members (Mexico, Finland, US, and Korea). It explores the intersectionality and fluidity of borders and identities, how language both creates and evades meaning across borders, and how cultural sentiments transcend borders.
Synopsis of the Piece:
Rachel Sinclair, a Canadian journalist and creative writing teacher, disappears from her home after devouring eight watermelon. Her last social media post is a verse from “Arirang,” the Korean folk song. Chris Jung, a Korean detective is brought in to investigate the case (Episode 1). Chris enters Rachel’s home and notices rinds of watermelon, a penis, Frida Kahlo paintings, poems about love and performance, and a manuscript about Mexican female journalists. He wonders if Rachel disappeared in Mexico (Episode 2). He feels he is inside Rachel Sinclair and perceives, in multiple languages, what it means to disappear in Mexico (Episode 3). Rachel is in a farm in an unspecified space. She reads The Farmer’s Almanac and plants seeds. She encounters a farmer who might be Chris Jung. The two communicate while watching the clouds. They harvest the crop and sing “Arirang” together (Episode 4).
The video is available at: https://youtu.be/p-YFYnthycc
* The International Dramaturgy Lab (IDL) is an experimental initiative developed in collaboration with The Dramaturgs’ Network UK; Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) USA, Canada, and Mexico; The Fence International Network; STOD Finland; and the Danish Dramaturg Network.