Swallow Lee note

Director’s Note

“Looking Tomorrow Changgeuk through Popular Musical-Theater Expression”

Changgeuk has grown as a modern age popular theater based on Pansori. It has a unique Music-theater form which is one of the world’s foremost performing arts. Although its brilliant artistic character, there is long way to go to achieve professional Changgeuk artists whom are writers, directors, scholars and professional actors and actresses. It tends to be belonged to Pansori so it does not have sufficiently developed sole acting and stage arts. It should take different way but it must be based on Pansori which is played by one person(it is already known for internationally). On the other hand, Changgeuk players have roles, acts and dances that are composed as a objective theatrical format. It can be a mistake adopting Western style Korean without interpreting Korean’s expression.

Music-theater is more poetic than lyric, fantastic than ordinary, emotional than rational and also popularly romantic than realistic. Audience may be interested in choosing among simple complications rather than requiring complex format of inference and thoughts. It is my first the directing a Changgeuk piece that takes popular music theater performing arts way.

What is the futuristic Changgeuk? Changgeuk is the Koreans resource that is similar to Western Opera and popular Musical. Pansori is a traditional vocal genre in which the performer sings a long narrative story. It comprises aniri(narration), sori(singing), and ballim(acting). A drum accompaniment provokes an exciting atmosphere while the percussionist encourages the singer through chuimsae(interjections) during the performance that has various and enriched language expression. If it meets with other Korean Sijo(Poetry), song, Gutt(Shamanistic Ritual) and other medium, it would be unique Korean art works.

“My bluster attempt to direct Changgeuk -- if Puccini’s Madame Butterfly is in western Opera, Korean has in Changgeuk.”