33ʳᵈ Macao Arts Festival

Lift Left Life Live

PO Art Studio

Programme Notes

The airplane is a type of transport for travelling between different countries; the lift is a means for shuttling between floors; the Macau Tower is a building that witnesses the city’s tourism development. This is a trip about “home”.

The Art Airline is about to start a new journey. Have you chosen your destination?

Enjoy your trip!

Creators’ Notes

When sightseeing tours develop into an “industry” of an astonishing scale, they exert a profound impact on the economy, ecological environment and culture of countries across the world, and Macao is no exception. Macao has also suffered while benefiting greatly from this “industry”.

We always wished to take a break from the explosive growth of tourism, and the abrupt pandemic seemed to have pressed the pause button for the world, providing the city with room to think and take a break. When the way of life we all were accustomed to became disrupted, we began to ponder over what we are yearning for, and some people even wished to flee the city. That is why the PO Art Studio presented Lift Left Life Live at the Macao City Fringe Festival last year, hoping to invite participants to look at the place where they live from a different perspective, taking a trip with “home” as the final destination. When we wished to travel but were unable to leave, did we really experience the city during that “pause”?

Now the global pandemic is coming to an end and the play button has been pressed, this city seems to be hastily recovering and catching up with lost time, as we see the recurrence of absurd scenes stemming from the tourism industry. Therefore, we are presenting this journey with “home” as the place of departure. Although we have entered the post-pandemic era, did we review the relationship between tourism and our city during the break period? If it is inevitable to develop toward a tourism city, what kind of tourism can we choose to have?

By Leong Son U and Mok Kuan Chong

Biographical Notes

Leong Son U, Co-creation, Lighting and Installation Design

A creative member of the PO Art Studio, Leong graduated in lighting design from the Department of Theatre Design and Technology at the Taipei University of the Arts. He has been engaged in design in various fields, script writing and art education. The plays he has written in recent years include F’art for U, Arts Delivery 2.0, and Lift Left Life Live.

Mok Kuan Chong, Co-creation and Performance

A creative member of the PO Art Studio and a member of the Dirks Theatre, Mok graduated in performance from the Department of Theatre Arts at the Taipei University of the Arts. She has been engaged in performance, production, theatre education and event coordination.

Cheong Wai Kit, Technical Director and Stage Manager

Cheong studied lighting design with a grant from the Cultural Affairs Bureau and graduated from the School of Theatre and Entertainment Arts of HKAPA. His recent lighting design projects include The Agony, Grandma’s Treasure Box, musical Café 22°N, audītŭs, and multimedia interactive installations In Between and What Are We Waiting For?

Ao Ieong Pui San, Producer

Ao Ieong is an independent producer engaged in community art and non-conventional theatre productions. She organised and produced the “Crème de la Fringe: Iao Hon”series for the 21st Macao City Fringe Festival in 2022 and has been working as the production coordinator for the F’art for U project of the PO Art Studio since 2021.

Chan Hoi In, Performance

Nicknamed “Happy”, Chan is a performer, drama instructor for children, and a mother of a four-year-old boy.

Tong Ka Hei, Performance

Tong is a rising young director and actor. He won the first place in a number of ballroom dance and Latin dance competitions at an early age and started to work in theatre after returning from the United Kingdom in 2018. He directed his first play, the classic Brighton Beach Memoirs in 2022, and has performed in stage plays including Equus and In a Grove.

Wu Son Kit, Performance

Wu graduated from the Intercultural Theatre Institute in Singapore in 2022 and has performed in the production A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Hui Ka Ion, Performance

Hui graduated in acting from the School of Drama of the The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. During his studies, he was invited to join the exchange and perform Fly! Archaeology Bird, Fly! in Taiwan.

Wong Si Lam, Performance

A graduate in communication from the Communication University of China, Wong is a freelance performer, theatre educator, emcee and copywriter with performing experience in over 100 shows, and has also engaged in art administration, public relations and marketing, new media operation and event planning.

Tang Kai San, Performance

Tang is a member of the PO Art Studio and has actively participated in theatre, physical training and backstage work in recent years. Among his performances are The Lion and the Unicorn and Jacques Et Son Maître by the Funny Old Tree Theatre Ensemble and F’art for U by the PO Art Studio. He is currently studying at the Department of Finance and Business Economics of the University of Macau.

Li Wai Wing, Performance

Li is a full-time playwright and actor. He has studied playwriting at the School of Drama of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and screenwriting at the Open University of Hong Kong, and among his plays are 2x1.5 and the stage play Wing Chun Gym.

Choi Ian Weng, Performance

Choi is a freelance theatre practitioner mostly engaged in art administration, ticketing, backstage and frontstage work. Her performances in recent years include Memories of Grandma, The Home of Crows, Detective Agency EP1, Fight or Flight, and F’art for U.

Chau Hoi Lun, Performance

Chau is a project planner and a trainee of the Hiu Kok Theatre Actor Training Programme. She has been engaged in the administration, planning and marketing of a number of cultural and creative projects in the hope of exploring their cultural meaning through the combination of creativity and art. She has also participated in various kinds of performances.

Cheong Lai Ieng, Performance

Cheong is a theatre practitioner and an art aficionado currently studying for a BA (Hons) in Drama & Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her performances in recent years include the Theatre for Early Years Promotion and Development Programme of the Big Mouse Kids Drama Group, Monsters: A Play about the Killing of James Bulger by the Brotherhood Art Theatre, and A Day in the Life by Step Out.

Lao Mei Wa, Performance

Lao has been learning Chinese dance since childhood and is currently a dancer at Stella & Artists. She prefers to express herself with her body through dance rather than using speech.

Lei Kin Chong, Performance

Lei loves performing arts and has participated in local short videos and drama performances.

Ng Kai I, Performance

A third-year university student who loves coffee and making new friends.

Chao Chi Cheng, Performance

A university student.

Lao I Lam, Performance

Lao is a full-time film and stage actress. In recent years she has actively performed in films, short videos, commercials and plays in Macao, Hong Kong and mainland China, and has worked as a programme host. She sees each performance as an experiment and process of discovery and will continue exploring the world and discovering and understanding the different sides of herself.

Wong Weng Si, Performance

Wong is a freelancer who works in the theatre in different rolesas an actor, actor-teacher, producer, story marketer, and community programme leader. Her works in recent years include Myth of Fox, Town Musicians, The White Collar Principle, Fang Fang, Drug, The Withered Wall, and The Kidult Man.

Ao Ieong Wun Un, Performance and Deputy Stage Manager

Ao Ieong is keen on working in the stage profession and participated in the production of different plays during his studies. Currently he serves mostly as a deputy stage manager or an assistant stage manager.

 

Disclaimer
The Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government provides liaison and technical support to the project only. Any views/opinions expressed by the project team are those of the project only and do not reflect the views of the Cultural Affairs Bureau.