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| Kim Kwang-bo, artistic director of the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK), and other participants at an opening event for the company's new streaming platform, Online Theater, watch a projected video at its Myeongdong Theater in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of NTCK |
By Park Ji-won
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| Poster for "Online Theater" by the National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK) / Courtesy of NTCK |
The platform opened at 2:00 p.m. showcasing five plays performed between 2020 and 2021 including "Faust Ending," "The Tragedy of X," "The Orphan of Zhao: Seeds of Revenge" and "Scapin." They all include subtitles, while some, such as "Scapin," provide voice explanations for the blind and a sign language service for the deaf. For "The Orphan of Zhao: Seeds of Revenge," the NCTK unveiled its director's version which features transition scenes.
Kim Kwang-bo, artistic director of the NTCK, said, "We are not just showing plain pre-recorded shows of our plays to audiences. We aim to provide a new experience to audiences by introducing sign language and voice explanation services for the disabled as well as videos through our new online platform so that it can potentially expand our audience. We are also planning to join hands with other theatrical companies and provide their works online as well in the future … It is hard to become like National Theater Live now, but we aim to become like the service," Kim said during a press conference held at Myeongdong Theater, Seoul, Monday.
"The coronavirus pandemic helped the streaming service be unveiled sooner. It is meaningful in terms of providing more chances of showing plays to audiences living outside of Seoul." It also aims to provide English subtitles in videos as well as making the performances accessible overseas, Kim added.
The five videos did not have any cinematic effects in filming. But the directors plan to film the plays in order to present the unique characteristic of plays.
"I was worried about filming the plays like movies, because it is unnatural to film a stage show. The filming needs a storyboard, different lighting and cameras which is different from plays … So I tried to add more dynamics to a conventional play set by using cameras as if we are watching the stage from different angles so that we can come up with unique videos that well cover the identity of plays," Koh Sun-woong, director of "The Orphan of Zhao: Seeds of Revenge" said.
The videos are available at 9,900 won ($8.4) for three days on three devices from the time a viewer begins to watch a play. To promote its opening, the NCTK will provide one video for 6,600 won until Nov. 7.
