Abstract
Chapter 3 examines the second Theatre Olympics in Shizuoka, Japan, under the artistic direction of Suzuki Tadashi, by concentrating on its goal: transforming culturally barren Shizuoka into a performing arts hub. By exploring the theme of “Creating Hope,” the chapter investigates the meaning of hope for the Japanese—a meaning rooted in Japanese history and status that extends into the new millennium. It then describes the tangible output of the theme, the theatre complex of Shizuoka, and its cultural impact on the people. Suzuki’s artistic vision, his artistic journey to nature, and his global networking skills allowed him to design the theatre complex of Shizuoka, which juxtaposes contrasting images between technology and tradition, the West and the East, and theatre and nature. By infusing the concept of the East and nature into Olympism, the second Theatre Olympics moved the central axis of Olympic spirit one step closer to the East and encouraged Eastern artists to partake in the Theatre Olympics.
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Kim, J.K. (2016). The East and the Nature. In: International Theatre Olympics. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2573-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2573-0_3
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