What if / Magic if
計畫支持：台灣當代文化實驗場 CREATORS 計畫 2023
selected by CREATORS PLAN 2023
supported by Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab)
selected by CREATORS PLAN 2023
supported by Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab)
When developing a theatrical work, we often ask: is this the limit of the story’s reality? If emotions come from the actor’s body, and meaning comes from objects in context, what if the story emerges from both?
This project explores how actors interact with speculative, designed props to create improvised scenes -blurring the lines between performer and object, acting and design. The designer and performer work together, using “impossibility” as a core concept, to reimagine the role of secondary characters and give props a central, transformative presence on stage.
當我們發展一部劇場作品時，常會問自己：這就是故事現實的極限嗎？如果情感來自表演者的身體，物件的意義來自敘事語境，那麼如果故事其實是從兩者的交會中誕生的呢？
本計畫探索推測性設計如何干涉演員當下構建的劇本，創造即興的戲劇場景，模糊人與物、表演與設計之間的界線。設計師與表演者攜手合作，以「不可能性」作為核心概念，重新想像配角的角色，並讓道具在舞台上成為具轉化力的主體。
Project/Programme detai
This work begins with a gesture of withdrawal, referring to the act of relinquishing one’s most central yet burdensome social roles, familial duties, or personal identity labels. Through this withdrawal, a space emerges where speculative design props engage in improvisational interactions with performers. These props are no longer passive accessories but become active participants in the theater, forming a dialogical relationship with the actors. The work explores a new theatrical narrative structure through this interplay between design and performance, examining the fluidity of identity and the openness of action within the space between withdrawal and reconstruction.
本作品從一種「退出」的姿態出發，指涉個體選擇放下自己最核心卻也最沉重的社會身份、家庭責任，或其他難以擺脫的個人識別標籤。正是這樣的「退出」，開啟了一場由推測設計道具與表演者之間的即興互動。這些道具不再是靜態的輔助工具，而是成為劇場中的另一位「角色」，與演員進行對角式的創造性對話。作品透過這樣的設計與表演結構，實驗一種新的劇場敘事模式，在「退出」與「重構」之間，探索身份的可變性與行動的開放性。
This performance features Wu Ting-Chien and centers on his relationship with his father, Wu Nien-Jen. As one of Taiwan’s most revered screenwriters and theater directors, Wu Nien-Jen has long been admired as a national treasure. Wu Ting-Chien, as his son, has lived for years in the shadow of this brilliance, gently cared for yet also bound by a clearly defined familial role. Within this strong identity framework, however, lies an unspeakable inner struggle surrounding self-worth and personal agency.
The performance begins with a desire: the wish to withdraw from the role of “the son.” This becomes the central axis of the piece. Through improvisational interactions with a series of speculative design props, Wu Ting-Chien navigates the complex psychological process of stepping away. Even when he appears to have made the decision to depart from his identity, each prop intervenes in a distinct way- some prompting him to reconsider the relationship, others encouraging separation, and still others gently guiding him back into his father’s embrace.
These props are not mere theatrical accessories. They act as psychological participants, each carrying its own emotional structure and interpretive lens. The meanings they produce are not solely determined by the actor’s performance, but unfold through each live moment of use, inviting audiences to project, interpret, and question. Viewers may find themselves reflecting on Wu Ting-Chien’s character, on what it means to fulfill the role of a son, or on what defines a noble act. Ultimately, the work opens up a space for intimate and multilayered reflection- on one’s relationship with parents, and on the intricate dynamics that shape the family as both structure and story.
本作品由吳定謙主演，聚焦他與父親吳念真之間的關係，開展一場關於自我認同、親子連結與心理退場的劇場實驗。吳念真作為台灣國寶級的編劇與劇場導演，長年以來備受景仰；而吳定謙，作為他的兒子，長期生活在這樣耀眼的光環之下，也在某種程度上被細緻地照顧著。然而，正因這樣清晰而強烈的身份框架，也讓他在自我價值與定位上產生了一種難以言說的內在掙扎。
此次演出正是從「想要退出作為兒子的身份」作為出發點，成為作品的主軸。他透過與一系列推測設計道具的即興互動，展現這段心理歷程的多重層次與拉扯。當他似乎已下定決心退出這個角色時，不同的道具卻以各自獨特的方式，介入並干擾這項決定。有些道具鼓勵他重新審視與父親的關係，有些推動他徹底脫離身份，也有些引導他回到父親的懷抱。
這些道具不僅是輔助工具，更像是心理過程的參與者。每一種使用方式都對應一種情感結構與價值詮釋，也因此產生了多重的可能意義。而這些意義並非單由舞台上的演員主導，而是在每一次即興使用物件的情境中，與觀眾的生命經驗產生互動。觀眾可能從中看見對吳定謙性格的理解，對作為兒子義務的詮釋，甚至對「何為高尚行為」的自我辯證。作品最終回到了每個人與父母，乃至整個家庭關係之間那層複雜而私密的、多義的思考空間。
One of the key devices in this work offers four distinct modes of interaction. It serves as a symbolic presence of the father and becomes an emotional anchor throughout the performance. As Wu Ting-Chien performs, the device continually drops coins, representing the way many Asian parents express love through material means. Even as Ting-Chien attempts to step away from his role as a son, his father, Wu Nien-Jen, still longs to maintain a form of connection.
Each time Ting-Chien receives a ten-dollar coin during the performance, he is faced with a choice. He can insert the coin into the slot on top of the device, symbolizing a gesture of return- an act that says, “If I am no longer your son, I will not take advantage of you.” He may also feel that the money is not enough, choosing to turn the handle and release more coins. Alternatively, he can pocket the coin, claiming it as his own. Finally, he may place the coin into a nearby toy vending machine, activating a child’s toy. This last action symbolizes that even if he no longer inhabits the role of son, he is still willing to act as a conduit of his father’s love, passing it on to the next generation- perhaps to his own child, the father’s grandchild.
Through the theatrical logic of object and choice, this piece reflects on the persistence, transformation, and transmission of familial love. Each action becomes a metaphor for emotional negotiation.
本作品中的其中一件裝置具有四種不同的使用方式，它象徵著父親的存在，也成為演出過程中的情感核心。當吳定謙進行表演時，這個裝置會不斷掉落硬幣，象徵亞洲父母常以物質的形式表達愛意。即使定謙試圖退出「兒子」的身份，他的父親吳念真仍渴望維繫某種形式的連結。
吳定謙在表演中每當接到一枚十元硬幣時，可以做出不同選擇：他可以將錢投入裝置上方的投幣口，象徵「歸還」這份情感，也代表我不是你兒子時，我也不會佔你便宜；他也可以認為這份金錢不夠，選擇旋轉把手，讓更多錢幣掉落；他可以將錢收進口袋，視為自己的所有；或者，他可以將這枚硬幣投入旁邊玩具機的投幣口中，讓孩子的玩具啟動。這最後一個動作象徵著，即便他不再扮演兒子的角色，他仍願意成為父愛的媒介，將愛傳遞給下一代，也許是他的孩子，父親的孫子。
這件作品透過物件與選擇的劇場機制，映照親情中的執念、延續與轉化，讓每一次行為都成為一段情感的隱喻。
吳定謙在表演中每當接到一枚十元硬幣時，可以做出不同選擇：他可以將錢投入裝置上方的投幣口，象徵「歸還」這份情感，也代表我不是你兒子時，我也不會佔你便宜；他也可以認為這份金錢不夠，選擇旋轉把手，讓更多錢幣掉落；他可以將錢收進口袋，視為自己的所有；或者，他可以將這枚硬幣投入旁邊玩具機的投幣口中，讓孩子的玩具啟動。這最後一個動作象徵著，即便他不再扮演兒子的角色，他仍願意成為父愛的媒介，將愛傳遞給下一代，也許是他的孩子，父親的孫子。
這件作品透過物件與選擇的劇場機制，映照親情中的執念、延續與轉化，讓每一次行為都成為一段情感的隱喻。
This device, designed in the form of a toy train engine, symbolizes “the son” and forms a semi-paired relationship with the coin-dispensing apparatus. A coin slot is built into the top of the train, allowing Wu Ting-Chien, during the performance, to choose whether or not to insert a coin—an action that activates the toy and symbolically initiates an emotional connection across generations.
The toy can be seen not only as a representation of his actual child, but also as a stand-in for future descendants, or even as a projection of his own childhood. Through interacting with this object, he is given the opportunity to project himself onto the figure of the child, and from there, to re-experience the transmission and reception of love from the perspective of a father. It is through this lens that he may also begin to sense the love passed down from the previous generation, and reflect on how such love might be extended, reinterpreted, or transformed.
這件裝置是象徵「兒子」的玩具，造型為一台火車頭，與發放錢幣的裝置形成一種半系列的對應關係。火車頭上設有一個投幣口，讓演出中的吳定謙可以選擇將硬幣投入其中，啟動玩具，也象徵啟動一段跨世代的情感聯繫。
這個玩具不僅可以被視為他實際的孩子，也可以代表未來的後代，甚至是一種他對自己童年的投射。透過與這個裝置的互動，他有機會將自己投射在這個孩子身上，進而以父親的角度重新感受與理解愛的傳遞與回應。甚至可能以一位「父親」的視角，感受來自上一代的愛，也思考該如何將愛延續與轉化。
這個玩具不僅可以被視為他實際的孩子，也可以代表未來的後代，甚至是一種他對自己童年的投射。透過與這個裝置的互動，他有機會將自己投射在這個孩子身上，進而以父親的角度重新感受與理解愛的傳遞與回應。甚至可能以一位「父親」的視角，感受來自上一代的愛，也思考該如何將愛延續與轉化。
This device functions like a fax machine, intermittently spitting out sheets of paper during Wu Ting-Chien’s performance. Sometimes one sheet appears, sometimes two or three. The content varies—some pages are blank, others contain fragments of text, excerpts from unrelated scripts, or, most significantly, passages that may come from scripts written by his father.
In a previous interview, Wu Ting-Chien shared that his father would often incorporate bits of their everyday life- ordinary conversations and small domestic moments into his scripts. So what happens, emotionally and psychologically, when Wu, trying to step away from the role of “the son,” is suddenly confronted with these fragments of the everyday, resurfacing through the machine? These falling pages become like delayed letters from the past, quietly reminding him of the intimacy and entanglement that cannot be so easily severed.
這是一件如同傳真機般會吐出紙張的裝置。在吳定謙的演出過程中，這台裝置會不定時地掉出紙張，有時是一張，有時是兩張或三張。紙上內容不一，有時是空白，有時是文字，有些是來自其他劇本的片段，而其中最令人在意的，則是那些可能夾雜著他父親筆下的劇本內容。
在先前的訪談中，吳定謙曾提到，他的父親時常將家庭中的日常對話、瑣碎片段寫進劇本裡。而當他試圖從「兒子」的身份中退出，卻在舞台上再度面對這些看似平凡卻深藏情感的片語與記憶時，他會產生什麼樣的心理觸動？這些掉落的紙張，如同一封封被時光延遲的信，提醒他那些無法輕易切割的親密與牽連。
在先前的訪談中，吳定謙曾提到，他的父親時常將家庭中的日常對話、瑣碎片段寫進劇本裡。而當他試圖從「兒子」的身份中退出，卻在舞台上再度面對這些看似平凡卻深藏情感的片語與記憶時，他會產生什麼樣的心理觸動？這些掉落的紙張，如同一封封被時光延遲的信，提醒他那些無法輕易切割的親密與牽連。
This is a fictional button. When Wu Ting-Chien appears on stage as a theater actor, he may play the role of someone’s husband, someone’s son, or someone’s uncle. In those moments of performance, he is no longer his father’s son.
In reality, human life is finite. If we measure it by eighty or ninety years, a lifetime consists of only tens of thousands of hours. While Wu Ting-Chien is at work, or engaged in social environments beyond the family, the hours he spends as a son—shared time with his father—are quietly decreasing. (An on-screen display may show the countdown of these total shared hours.)
And so we ask: will he press pause? Will he let time fast-forward? Or will he try to rewind? In those moments when he is no longer a son, is he drifting away—or drawing closer, in another form?
這是一件虛構性的按鍵。當吳定謙作為一位劇場演員出現在舞台上時，他可能在扮演別人的丈夫、別人的兒子，或別人的叔叔。在這些表演的過程中，他也同時不再是他父親的兒子。現實中，人的壽命是有限的，若以八十或九十歲來計算，一生也僅有幾萬個小時。
而當吳定謙身處於工作之中，或置身於各種非家庭的社交場域時，他與父親作為父子關係的「共處時數」也在悄然減少（總共時數顯示可以在熒幕上）。於是我們不禁要問：他會選擇按下暫停鍵，會讓時間快轉，還是會嘗試倒轉？在那些他不再作為兒子的時刻裡，他究竟是逃離，還是以另一種形式靠近？
This is a roly-poly-shaped ashtray. For Wu Ding-Chien, smoking has often been the moment when he felt closest to his father. Perhaps on the balcony at home, or standing silently outside a restaurant—they once shared cigarettes, silence, and unspoken emotions.
And now, when his father is no longer quite the same person he once knew, every time he lights a cigarette, does he also revisit those memories of intimacy and tenderness? The design of the ashtray, shaped like a roly-poly, makes it difficult to deposit ashes easily. He is required to slow down, to take more time in the act of lighting and smoking a cigarette—entering a meditative state. This moment of delay may be a pause to wait for a message from his father, or a fleeting reconnection with the past.
這是一個不倒翁造型的煙灰缸。對吳定謙而言，抽菸時往往是他與父親情感最為靠近的時刻。也許是在家中的陽台上，也許是在餐廳門口，父子倆曾一同抽菸、沉默、分享一些難以言說的情感。
而當父親不再是自己父親的時候，每當他點起一根菸，是否也會重新思考彼此的關係，回憶那些曾經的親密與溫柔？這個煙灰缸因其不倒翁的設計，使得煙灰難以輕易地投入其中。他必須花更多時間，在抽菸、點菸的過程中放慢節奏，進入一種冥想狀態。這樣的延遲，也許是等待一則從父親而來的訊息，也許是與過去連結的片刻。
而當父親不再是自己父親的時候，每當他點起一根菸，是否也會重新思考彼此的關係，回憶那些曾經的親密與溫柔？這個煙灰缸因其不倒翁的設計，使得煙灰難以輕易地投入其中。他必須花更多時間，在抽菸、點菸的過程中放慢節奏，進入一種冥想狀態。這樣的延遲，也許是等待一則從父親而來的訊息，也許是與過去連結的片刻。
This work is a collaboration with actor Lai Shu-Chin, and draws from her long-term experience of living with depression. Since childhood, depression has followed her like a shadow, becoming an inseparable part of her everyday life. She has suffered deeply because of it, yet it has also brought unexpected encounters—close friendships, and even moments where it may have protected her from life’s storms. When she attempts to “withdraw” from the identity and symptoms of depression, it is not a simple act. It becomes a struggle, a form of coexistence that at times feels self-destructive, and a journey toward reclaiming psychological and emotional balance.
In this piece, depression is metaphorically represented as a pet—a goldfish. The design features an automatic feeding device. When the user is in a low emotional state, the feeder releases food to nourish the goldfish; the more severe the sadness, the more frequently it feeds. If the user maintains a stable, cheerful mood for a full week, the feeder stops dispensing, and the goldfish may slowly starve—symbolizing the gradual departure of depression.
However, excessive feeding can also cause the goldfish to become unhealthy, possibly growing to a point where it overwhelms or consumes its caretaker. This design poses a difficult and profound question: Can we coexist with depression? Is it possible to find balance and live alongside it, or must one side be destroyed? Or, is it truly possible to “cancel” depression altogether?
Ultimately, the performance reveals a body navigating the delicate terrain between coexistence, struggle, and healing—an intimate portrayal of Lai Shu-Chin’s ongoing negotiation with her condition, both as a person and as a performer.
In this piece, depression is metaphorically represented as a pet—a goldfish. The design features an automatic feeding device. When the user is in a low emotional state, the feeder releases food to nourish the goldfish; the more severe the sadness, the more frequently it feeds. If the user maintains a stable, cheerful mood for a full week, the feeder stops dispensing, and the goldfish may slowly starve—symbolizing the gradual departure of depression.
However, excessive feeding can also cause the goldfish to become unhealthy, possibly growing to a point where it overwhelms or consumes its caretaker. This design poses a difficult and profound question: Can we coexist with depression? Is it possible to find balance and live alongside it, or must one side be destroyed? Or, is it truly possible to “cancel” depression altogether?
Ultimately, the performance reveals a body navigating the delicate terrain between coexistence, struggle, and healing—an intimate portrayal of Lai Shu-Chin’s ongoing negotiation with her condition, both as a person and as a performer.
本作品與演員賴舒勤共同合作，源於她長期與憂鬱症共處的生命經驗。從童年開始，憂鬱症便如影隨形，成為她日常的一部分。她曾深受其苦，卻也因為它，認識了一些深刻的朋友，甚至避開了一些人生中的風暴。當她試圖「退出」憂鬱症這個身份與症狀時，這不僅是一場掙扎，也像是一種以破壞自我為代價的共生，一種重新尋找身心平衡的過程。
在這個作品中，憂鬱症被比喻為一隻被飼養的寵物——一條金魚。設計中加入了一個自動餵食裝置，當使用者處於低落狀態時，餵食器會投放飼料餵養鯨魚；情緒越低落，餵食量越多。而若使用者持續一週心情穩定、開朗，餵食器則不再投餌，金魚可能因飢餓而死亡，也象徵憂鬱症逐漸遠離。
然而，餵食過多也可能導致金魚不健康，反過來吞噬飼主。於是，這項設計提出了一個困難但深刻的問題：我們是否能與憂鬱共存？是選擇調和與平衡，還是讓其中一方毀滅？或者，是否有可能真正地「取消」它？作品最終讓觀眾看見，對於賴淑晴而言，這是一場不斷在共生、掙扎與療癒之間擺盪的身體表演。
在這個作品中，憂鬱症被比喻為一隻被飼養的寵物——一條金魚。設計中加入了一個自動餵食裝置，當使用者處於低落狀態時，餵食器會投放飼料餵養鯨魚；情緒越低落，餵食量越多。而若使用者持續一週心情穩定、開朗，餵食器則不再投餌，金魚可能因飢餓而死亡，也象徵憂鬱症逐漸遠離。
然而，餵食過多也可能導致金魚不健康，反過來吞噬飼主。於是，這項設計提出了一個困難但深刻的問題：我們是否能與憂鬱共存？是選擇調和與平衡，還是讓其中一方毀滅？或者，是否有可能真正地「取消」它？作品最終讓觀眾看見，對於賴淑晴而言，這是一場不斷在共生、掙扎與療癒之間擺盪的身體表演。
This is an automatic feeder combined with an emotion sensor. If the emotional level crosses the midline of the semicircle, food will be dispensed; if it doesn’t, nothing is released.
此為自動餵食器與情緒感測器，超過半圓的中線會掉飼料 沒超過則不會。
The following is a documentary excerpt from their residency process.
以下是他們在這次駐村過程中的一段紀錄影片。
Cooperate with Joanne Deng
Interviewed by CLABO
Selected by CREATORS PLAN 2023
Project support by Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab)