Amidst a bucolic setting, the artists study and practice theatrical arts, honing their acting skills while living in a communal environment. Lee considers this gathering of performing artists as an ideal theatrical community, inspired by his belief that such a community is uniquely shaped by the individuals that comprise it, each one having a distinctive personality.
Contemporary theatrical techniques are widely applied to his staging of native traditional performing arts. In his “Ogu – The Ritual of Death” (1989), which features traditional shamanic exorcist rituals, he employs stage props of exaggerated sexual organs that call to mind the work of Slovak-born mime artist Milan Sladek. Another example is his “Wonjeon Yuseo : A Ballad of Once Upon a Time” (2009) in which he places a mound of trash on the stage, which seems to have been inspired by Kantor’s legendary stage designs. Kantor notes that his stage direction is based on the Heideggerian theory that seeks to distinguish between a “thing” and an “object.” According to the avant-garde Polish stage director, the French term emballage (to pack) refers to a ritual process of folding, binding, and sealing. By creatively applying “packing” techniques to various stage objects, Kantor sought to express the Heideggerian argument in which a thing can be understood as an action.
Itinerant vs. Settled Life Lee’s appreciation of locality is demonstrated by the development of his artistic community in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province. There he leased a shuttered primary school building in a small village and established a community of stage actors and technical staff. Amidst a bucolic setting, the artists study and practice theatrical arts, honing their acting skills while living in a communal environment. Lee considers this gathering of performing artists as an ideal theatrical community, inspired by his belief that such a community is uniquely shaped by the individuals that comprise it, each one having a distinctive personality. Even though his theatrical oeuvre has been made into a film that received critical acclaim, he is still firmly attached to his primary roots of theater and staging. He believes that theater has a transformative power to create a close community, even out of a group of strangers. When asked if the communal lifestyle of his Miryang Theatre Village has been influenced by the avant-garde Théâtre du Soleil, founded by Ariane Mnouchkine in France, he denies it. Lee says that he regards the Parisian stage ensemble as a special elite group and part of a cultural hegemony, heavily funded by the French government. He would rather be compared with Peter Schumann’s Bread and Puppet Theatre in the United States, or Dario Fo’s Compagnia Dario Fo-Franca Rame in Italy. His idea for the Miryang Theatre Village is to develop a contemporary version of Korean traditional itinerant artists’ groups, called namsadang pae . I hesitated to ask him whether the Miryang community is being subsidized by the local city for its regular operational expenses and theater festivals. According to Lee, the ideal form of theatrical life and training is best realized from a nomadic lifestyle. He expects the Miryang Theatre Village to become a living museum of theatrical arts, a fulfillment of his vision. Lee believes that settlement should be preceded by a nomadic experience. Indeed, his Street Theatre Troupe has a nomadic aspect, traveling to a number of
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