Theatre Miniature
By Helena Leong

What is the Theatre Miniature? Nobody had discovered miniature in theatre until Hope Chiang.
The Taiwanese artist tries to test the new concept by real actors in manipulating small toys and objects. She will have the third performance "Puzzle the Puzzle" in April, the performance will be held in Macau Pin-to Bookshop and Hong Kong Mackie Study.

Chiang, a 27 years old woman, has been learning dancing, piano and drum since she was young. She is always curious in learning new things. She said that she likes the theatric job which gives her a space to think and imagine. She was committed to theatre when she met a teacher who inspired her to experience the mysterious beauty of the theatre in university. Her first serious directing work was an open-air Dance and Drama Collaboration on campus. For this performance, she set it in beautiful places of the university building in the evening, such as the stairs of the library, the garden, the little forest, the corner, etc. Many students from different departments volunteered to join the performance.

Her second work was in a style of Absurd Theatre. It depicted the scene in which men were killed by apples. Her intention was to indicate that pictures can give us a lot of imagination. The third one was about a puppet show to express the spirit of Zen and nature. She has been a tutor for some puppet and mask making workshops. She loves puppets because she enjoys making them come alive with her hand. She also said that puppets could be made of everything; even a pencil, a bottle, a nail, a piece of cloth, etc.

Chiang has a Master of Theatre Directing from Middlesex University in London. She also studied the regional culture and theatre art in Madrid, Moscow and Bangkok in the past four years; she has been involved in several international art festivals in various capacities such as a director, an actress, an administrator, a volunteer or a translator. She received the awards of the Academic Scholarship of Middlesex University and the Best Presentation, Setting, and Costume in the Play Contest for sophomores and juniors in the university.

Chiang said, "I have met many good friends in Macau and they give me a warm feeling. Because of the good time, good people and good environment, so I decided to stay in Macau." She also said that Macau is a good place to develop arts; she likes to walk in alleys and streets to look at some old buildings.

The Theatre Miniature is innovated from her two works in Macau, "The Dream of a Female Painter at Ming Ming Villa" and "The Small Hand", both were attractive topics. With her miniature creation in Macau, she has tried to test the theatre miniature by combining actors and puppets; the audience was greatly attracted to characters and the small objects, she said.

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