Seoul Musical Festival to hold conferences, workshops for local musical directors


From “Gwanghwamun Younga” to “200 Pounds Beauty,” local musicals have been finding their niche in Korea’s performing arts scene in the past few years, in spite of the dominance of big-scale, imported foreign productions, such as “Wicked” and “Elisabeth.”

To support local musical productions and boost their ticket sales, the Culture Ministry and Seoul Metropolitan Government together organized an eight-day festival, consisting of performances, exhibitions, musical-themed conferences and workshops. The event features Korea’s local productions exclusively.

A total of five local musicals, selected by the festival’s judges, will be performed during the musical bash. All of the five pieces have been previously showcased in a number of performing art-grant programs, including CJ’s “Creative Minds” program, Myeongdong Theater and the Culture Ministry’s “Changjak factory” program, and the Daegu International Musical Festival.

Among the five, two will be selected for prizes by the end of the festival. Both winners will each be given 100 million won ($88,100) in prize money. The Grand-Prix winner will be given an opportunity to be staged for free at one of the theaters in Chungmu Art Hall.

The five pieces include Lee Ho-jeong and Choo Min-joo’s “Abbocato,” which deals with the real-life 2003 mass murder-suicide arson case which took place in a Daegu subway train, and Han Jeong-seok and Park So-young’s “The Goddess Is Watching You,” inspired by French writer Amelie Nothomb’s 2005 novel “Sulphuric Acid.” 

The festival is to also offer a number of workshops for aspiring local musical writers, directors and performers.

American musical theater and opera composer and lyricist Michael John LaChiusa will be in Seoul to hold a workshop for aspiring composers and playwrights, while Brian Gill, an assistant professor of vocal performance at New York University’s Steinhart School, will give a lesson to those interested in pursuing a singing and acting career. The workshop fees range from 100,000 won to 200,000 won.

Those interested in the history of Korea’s local musicals should check out the festival’s special exhibition featuring stage costumes and related items of some 20 musicals since the 1960s. Korea’s first original musical was Yegreen Troupe’s “Sneak Up on Me,” which was staged in Seoul in 1966. The piece featured Patti Kim, considered one of the legendary pop signers of the last 50 years. The exhibition includes the show’s catalogue and photographs of the performance.

The exhibition also includes composer Kim Min-ki’s original score of the 1994 musical “The Subway Line No. 1,” which was performed more than 4,000 times in the following 15 years. Other featured shows include “The Last Empress” and “Nanta.”

A number of academic conferences will be held throughout the eight-day event, where local musical figures will attend to discuss the future of the local musical market.

Seoul Musical Festival, which kicked off on Monday, runs until Aug. 13 at Chungmu Art Hall in Seoul. For tickets and information, visit www.seoulmusicalfestival.kr.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)