Week 7: Fragments as Invitation — Conversations with Dr. Declan Patrick

必达康
May 11
3 min read

This week focuses on the conversation with Dr. Declan Patrick, who is a Senior Lecturer in the field of Theatre Studies and Dance at the University of Waikato. I had the privilege of meeting him for the first time during the workshop production process. We had our brief but thoughtful conversation and quickly finalized the details of the future collaboration. To my surprise, he is such an extraordinarily kind and approachable person to talk with personally, and the discussions with him are always full of a sense of humor, which makes me quickly confirm that we share the same page and hold the mutual perspective on the development of this project.

During the conversation, one thing that left a deep impression on me was when I mentioned my personal opinion towards classical performing arts. I believe that certain stereotypes persisting in current society, such as categorizing classical art as an endangered art form in need of special protection or viewing it as a dying tradition, directly erase its inherent capacity to evolve. Such a statement denies the decades of effort put in by all artists. It is precisely these stereotypes, which appear to be for your own good and aim to protect you, that further marginalize the classical arts. What we need to do is let contemporary audiences know that classical art remains a constantly evolving art form, with many innovative expressions now being brought to the stage. As audiences, we should set aside these unjustified biases that treat them in isolation and just truly immerse ourselves in the theater. Dr. Declan seemed to strongly resonate with my perspective, and he immediately shared one of his personal experiences built upon this. This made me feel that my research is heading in the right direction, and I'm no longer alone while doing this project.

Regarding the subtle shifts in the relationship between audiences and performances in the context of digital media, Dr. Declan reflected a reality of contemporary society that social media has profoundly transformed the way people consume content without doubt. As creators, we are often limited to reducing our artistic works to carefully edited clips of just a few seconds, and audiences typically experience only fragments rather than the complete experience. However, this does not necessarily mean it is a negative thing; on the contrary, it can serve as an entry point to bring classical art more exposure than ever before. In this regard, he emphasized the significance of finding a hook.

Indeed, the key lies in marketing the audiences, whether it's a piece of recognizable music, a scene from a memorable opera, or a particular movement within dance. These fragments can attract audience attention and create initial engagement, which provides individuals the space to discover deeper crafts for themselves if they're interested, allowing audiences to come to it on their own terms. This perspective offers an alternative way of thinking about accessibility within contemporary performing arts. In this sense, digital media creates new pathways through which audiences may encounter it.

During the conversation, Dr. Declan also introduced me to Opera Helps, a creative project launched by Joshua Sofaer, who is an artist, researcher and Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Opera Helps is a participatory project in which opera singers visit participants at home, listen to their concerns, and sing a fitting aria in response, creating an intimate encounter between voice, space, and emotion. The work reframes opera as participatory, accessible, and human-centred rather than exclusive or distant, which I think can reflect the core of my project.

Ultimately, this conversation encouraged me to reconsider how audiences reshape classical arts in the context of the digital media era, and how it functions not simply as a promotional tool, but as an invitation into deeper engagement. No one can escape the tide of the times, but what matters is how we rise to the challenge in the face of setbacks and turn them into our advantage.

Next week, we will continue developing the project through further production and audience engagement, exploring how these ideas can be translated into practical media outputs. Please stay tuned for more updates on our progress and our original creative materials.

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