The staged reading is directed by Ji Won Jeon, visiting assistant professor in theatre at Skidmore College. It is presented at Skidmore College’s JKB Black Box Theater on March 27 and 28.
Synopsis of the play: By means of a walking ́”four-legged beast” who relates tales of the outside world to an isolated village, Pai creates an allegorical satire that explores the tension between tradition and innovation. Drawing upon the travel diary of an eighteenth-century Korean philosopher named Yeon-Ahm, Pai’s play explores Yeon-Ahm’s search for practical ideas based in Chinese Confucianism that could be used to modernize Korean society.
The English translation of the play is published, with an introduction by Chon, in The Mercurian. November 2018.
Link: https://the-mercurian.com/2018/11/08/inching-towards-yeolha/
Previous presentations include:
- Walkabout Yeolha, an adaptation of this translation, premiered at Columbia University, adapted by Kyoung H. Park and directed by Kon Yi, in October 2010.
- Scenes from Inching Towards Yeolha presented as a staged reading for Drama Across Borders Conference: The Politics and Poetics of Contemporary Theatre in Translation at Cornell University and Cherry Arts Space, Ithaca NY. May 11-12, 2018.
- Staged Reading at International Voices Festival, Chicago, IL. June 4, 2019.
- Staged Reading at The Theatrical Translation as Creative Process: A Conference Festival at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. October 2019.
