透過相片、文字、視象或影片分享，我們改變一個空間的用途，以創意重構私人空間，正如之前提及的，正好也是私人空間轉移（Personal Placemaking）的又一例子。我們除了把家轉移成為餐廳、酒吧、髪型屋以至健身室，著實世界各地陸續有不同的人，苦悶讓他們激發創意，不論是專業藝術工作者，還是各階層人士，或是一般家庭成員，把私人空間轉移成為藝術空間和劇場聖地 (Turning Personal Place into Theatre Place)。
如果藝術作品是一張紙，藝術創作和管理就是紙的兩面。有人能做出一張沒有底的紙嗎？我們會在紙上書寫，在其上繪畫，或是做拼貼；在展覽中，掛在牆上的都是被欣賞的紙面，但堅實地承托著作品的，是紙的背面。今天想起這個，就覺得從紙的兩面看管理很有趣。從事藝術管理工作多年，也許，經常看輕我的是我自己（哼！我的麻煩老我又出來搞事！）。其實，老師不是真的嘲笑管理者，他自己本身就是一個日理萬機，同一時間能管理和指導地球上不同角落創作戲劇作品的人。我也不是真的跟他理論，而是對他說「真正的管理」深表認同。五個編作過程其中一步是組織（Organisation），如何把散落一地的點子創意地連結起來，這種創意組織才是真正的管理之道（Management is a Process of Creative Organization）。
In the past few days, I slept for a few hours and ate very little. After two weeks’ hard working, a proposal about arts development was finally completed and submitted. How come I still want to write at the moment? Keep breathing. Keep staying alive. Pleasure comes after pain. I would like to seize the élan and jot down my thoughts and feelings. It is a journey about multipotentialities from an arts practitioner perspective.
I hate writing proposal. It is all about pain. Giving birth is one of the most painful experiences in woman’s life. Maybe writing a proposal is similar, at least it is to me. Last year I spent a lot of efforts on preparing a funding proposal that finally failed. It scared me and I do not want to fall down into that hell again.
Once I decided to do one thing, I would work in full gear. Lately somebody asked me how to write a proposal. I think of a few things we have to equip ourselves. Before you write, you need to have ideas, whatever great or small. Passion is an appetite for preparing your writing feast. You have to fall in love with the ideas, otherwise you will not have any motivation to move things forward. Then you have to discuss with different parties. Sometimes you need to vigorously discuss with them for improving the plans. You have to well understand your partners’ thoughts and feelings. Good communication skills do help. Be slow enough to let your ideas evolve and sublimate, while you also have to go fast to finish it before deadline. The most headache part is the budget estimation while a lot of stupid and difficult questions are there waiting for you to answer. It is like a journey travelling between the hell and the earth.
For me, arts administration and project management is such a boredom. As an arts administrator and project manager, I feel complicated. Sometimes I do want to create, to curate and to produce more interesting and meaningful art works (You may find me strange if you know my million crazy thoughts inside). However, I have been occupied by tonnes of nuts and bolts that I really hate.
In the December Devising Theatre workshops, the theatre Master David Glass continued to share with us his Five Creative Process. In the class, he kept laughing at the management professionals, said they were zombies without life. I pretended to be angry and argued with him. No workshops could be successfully held without group of people to arrange it.
I ponder, if an artwork were a paper itself, creative artwork and management would thus be two sides of this paper. Anyone can make a paper with only one side? On the paper, someone will write, another will paint. Some might work on it with arts collage . When the artwork is hanged up in a gallery, visitors may only see its front side but not the back. If you sees it from the back, you may observe how it strongly supports the front. Today when this paper analogy came to my mind, I found great insights and real joy. I suddenly realised that no one look me down, except myself (again!).
David did not really laugh at the management people, in fact, he is a management expert as he can take care of many different theatre projects in different countries around the globe at the same time. He is a superb about management. I did not really argue with him, but agree with him on how he defined Management. One of his Five Creative Practice is about “Organisation”. He said that management is “a process of creative organization”. A genuine creative manager is able to link up different fragmented ideas creatively and weave it into a beautiful picture.
In the past few months, we experienced a lot of social unrest and witnessed the vicious side of the city. No great thing I can do but I would like to do something meaningful to our society. In the process of writing this proposal, I am most grateful for the input from David and the strategic partner Olivia. Without them, without their abundant theatrical knowledge and experiences, nothing can be achieved. We all try our very best to contribute our own efforts. Whatever the result is, this collaboration is very meaningful and encouraging. Life is beautiful. Partnership is beautiful.
In the proposal, arts administration and facilitation coaching is included. If this article has already kicked start the first step? Despite the outcome, Let’s focus on what we can do, and what we should do.
赫然發現，原來我一直指責那個喜愛劇場的自己，說她毫不出眾、沒資格留在劇場，甚至批評她不夠水準當個稱職的戲劇治療師。這幾天大衛不斷提醒我們，不要批判，任何人任何事都可以是有趣的，只要用心活好自己，每一瞬間都是夢幻時刻（Every single moment is a miracle）。就是這個夢幻時刻，把我對劇場的所有熱情和感受全召喚回來，如果按照大衛所說，「演員就是能夠暫時相信所演的正是事實」，我會說：我是一個演員。
真的，此刻還是很激動。
我相信萬事萬物，總是各按其時成就美好，這半年把自己公司Dream of Tomorrow 重新定位，不正是想鼓勵更多人去尋找他們自己的夢幻時刻嗎？一年多前，跟大學生們做過一個有關自殺的戲劇工作坊及錄像計劃，現在也正做著電影生命教育，迎接未來更多戲劇及藝術活動，不也是想跟人分享創意藝術如何可以帶來人生的不同可能嗎？過往零碎片斷都逐一整合起來，彷彿見到面前充滿挑戰又令人興奮的道路。
I watched David Glass’s physical theatre performance many years ago when I studied Drama and Movement Therapy in London. His stunning body movement and his charm was very impressive. David’s “Lost Child” projects in Asia were very interesting too. I registered to join his theatre workshop in London but unfortunately it was finally cancelled. Until lately, when I knew that O Theatre Workshop has invited David to Hong Kong to lead a Devised Theatre workshop, I immediately enrolled for it and so much looked forward to being a theatre student again.
Although physically I was tired and troubled by some art promotion works, my soul has been nurtured in the past few days. I felt like going home. David asked us to explore movement at the ground level and do breathing. He reminded us that we human beings are part of the nature. This is quite similar to what I studied in London, being a drama therapist, I have to be grounded with the clients, provide safe environment for them, accept every moment and be with them at where they are (presence).
“Don’t try too hard!” “Don’t be too serious! Creativity is not there.” “Find your élan!” “Get the holon.”
Breathing, clapping, focusing and throwing balls – all are ordinary activities, but with extraordinary messages behind. When I was a therapy student, I loved reading theatrical thoughts of Peter Brook and Jerzy Grotowski, I was fantasied by their minimalist approaches about theatre. David’s teaching was quite similar to that approach.
During the workshop, I kept wondering what we would perform at the final show since we practiced only simple exercises all the time. David advised that we were easily distracted by many unnecessariness in our lives, we should unveil our creativity from small and simple bits.
Collaborating with more than 40 talented people who were professional theatre workers, social workers, therapists, teachers and youngsters, a 45-minute theatre work was devised after three-hour discussion and practices. How amazing it was! Being one of the crew, I felt so touched and proud. It was absolutely awesome to witness the theatre power in their midst.
I am surprised by myself. I have never found myself an actor, even though I have participated in many improvisational drama performances and I did organize some theatrical projects. I deemed myself not qualified to be an actor.
At the final show, I worked with others to curate the house opening scene with movement choreography. I walked with the whole crew onto the stage. Then I acted as a mother who was looking for her lost son. I danced for a while and sat down on a chair at my own pace. Naturally I rolled down my body, pretended to be the frustrated mother and was waiting for my élan. At that moment, tiredness, sadness and fear came to me out of the blue. An imagined 14-year old boy sneaked in to my mind. Tears ran down my face and my nose. All feelings were so real. I got closer to the audiences and asked, “have you seen my son?” I talked to the audiences how my son looked like and I could actually feel the desperateness and deep pain inside.
After that, I slowly went back to the chair, and empathised how a person could turn numb after experiencing prolonged distress. By grasping the holon, the feeling was then swiftly sublimed to be sarcastic expression by participating in the absurd advertisement “Suicide is Easy” in the subsequent scene.
The emotional changes were so authentic but came fast. I could not understand how it worked inside me . I just followed the flow of the élan. My partner talked to me after watching the show, “You are an actor. I have never seen this side of you”.
I suddenly realized that I have been condemning “myself” always, “You are not good enough, whoever you are and whatever you do. You are neither a good actor, nor a qualified drama therapist”. In the past few days, David kept saying, “do not judge. Everything and everyone can be fun and interesting. Be yourself. Every single moment is a miracle. It is a magic.” It is so true. It was really a miracle. The workshop lifted me up. David once said, “An actor can temporary believe what you are acting is a reality”. If so, yes, I am an actor.
I believe everything has its own time. I have just re-launched my own company Dream of Tomorrow. One of the objectives is to encourage others to pursue their dreams and find their own magic moments. Isn’t it very beautiful when I first experienced it? I participated in a youth care project discussing about suicide a year ago. We are going to do more works on film life education, drama and art programmes. It seems everything is now weaved into a beautiful picture.
Thanks Olivia for organising this theatre workshop. It was great to be inspired by David’s teaching too. No exact wording can fully express my gratitude. I feel like being empowered to devise my dreams ahead.
談到音樂，你會想起什麼？我會想到貝多芬的第五號《命運交響曲》、韋瓦第的《四季小提琴協奏曲》、中國弦樂《平湖秋月》、披頭四樂隊的《It’s Been A Hard Day’s Night》、鬼太鼓座的《祈歌》、林子祥的《這一晚夜》、謝安琪的《山林道》、電影主題曲《差一點我們會飛》……以上某些曲目，或許是我平時愛聽的，或許是我曾經應用過在戲劇與形體動作治療上的。
