Chinese Name: 故事工廠
Date of Establishment: December 31, 2013
Founders: Lin Jia-feng (林佳鋒), Huang Chih-kai (黃致凱)
Did You Know?
The core team of Story Works, founded by Lin Jia-feng and Huang Chih-kai, came from Ping-Fong Acting Troupe (屏風表演班). With contemporary theater as its main thrust, Story Works strives to drive the cultural and creative industry economy, cultivate theater talent, and implement theatrical education, aiming to bring art into every corner of society and create a cultural environment conducive to interactive theater.
Lin Jia-feng has been involved in performing arts for more than 30 years. He has served as artistic director, executive director, producer, deputy business director for the National Taichung Theater, and is currently the executive director of Story Works. Of his original intention behind founding the group, he says: "Young people have talents and dreams. What I can do is do my best to help them realize their dreams." He believes that interpersonal emotions are the most important element in theater. Founding Story Works in 2013, Lin committed himself to promoting innovation in contemporary theater, both on-stage and in management, hoping to create a stage for storytelling and continue along his dream track in the performing arts. Each of Story Works’ shows draws its themes from everyday life, further strengthening the link between the performing arts and life. The troupe strives to draw the public into the theater through telling stories in a down-to-earth, easy-to-understand way.
Lin's fellow Story Works founder, Huang Chih-kai, graduated from the first class of the Department of Drama & Theatre at National Taiwan University and is currently the artistic director of the troupe. He studied under Hugh Lee (李國修), founder of Ping-Fong Acting Troupe, for 11 years. "Enthusiastic" and "goofy" were how the veteran described Huang. In recent years, Huang Chih-kai has been focused on the development of genre dramas and the creation of stage images. His works are diverse in style, exploring social phenomena, and often incorporating elements of comedy into serious issues to provide audiences with a varied emotional experience. In addition to the creation of original works, he has also tried his hand at adaptations and crossovers with other arts. He hopes to "make the world the way we like it" through drama.
Story Works primarily puts on original shows, hoping that every good story can give the audience another chance to experience the charm of the theater together. The troupe is committed to the passion and mission of the theater, hoping to create moving, surprising, and living stories, presenting every moving moment to the audience.
The script is an important factor in determining the core value of a theatrical work. In order to attract more young people to invest in script creation, Story Works launched the “Young Tide Project (青潮計畫)” in 2018 to select original scripts, hoping to become an incubator for creative young people aiming to express their dreams.
Story Works’ shows put on to date include: “Don Quixote (白日夢騎士)," "Three Storytellers (3個諸葛亮)," "Unspoken (男言之隱)," "The Way of Zhuang Zi (莊子兵法),” “As You Like It (偽婚男女),” “The Voice Hunter (變聲偵探),” “The Long Goodbye (小兒子),” “Sakurako's Choice (一夜新娘)," "The Moon is Always Full (明晚，空中見)," "The Man, The Boy, and The Monkey King (七十三變)," "The Beloved Godot (他們等待的那位果陀)," "Goodbye to Music Halls (再見歌廳秀)," the theatrical adaptation of "The World Between Us (我們與惡的距離)," "Ageless Addiction (暫時停止青春)," "Space Boy (星空男孩)," "The Whistleblower (一個公務員的意外死亡)," and "Silent Sisterhood (四姊妹)."
Their version of "Don Quixote" also served as a tribute by Huang to his mentor, Hugh Lee, by aiming to inherit the spirit of Ping-Fong Acting Troupe and tells the dreams of those working in the theater. Story Works’ best-seller, "Three Storytellers," features the titular threesome brilliantly deconstructing four classical Chinese folk romances, "Chang'e Flies to the Moon (嫦娥奔月)," "The Cowherd and Weaver Girl (牛郎織女)”, "The Butterfly Lovers (梁祝)," and "The Legend of the White Snake (白蛇傳)," humorously presenting tales of how love can look in real life.
"The World Between Us," meanwhile, is adapted from the PTS television series. The plot incorporates a variety of social issues such as cases of indiscriminate homicide, people with psychoses, and sensationalistic news media. Story Works uses the interactive form of forum theater to let the audience vote on how the plot proceeds, reflecting the public discussion and reflection the original show sparked across Taiwan.