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Cross-talk
is a form of the "Talk and Sing Art." The
stories are told or sung in the third person.
As characters are introduced, the narrator
or the storyteller takes on the role of the
new character before resuming the story. Throughout
the story, the storyteller will switch between
narration and playing a role. This is known
as "Talk and Sing Art."
The
earliest cross-talk in Taiwan began with Wei
Long-hao and Wu Zhao-nan's 16-volume cross-talk
audio tape collection. However, as these two
leading masters changed professions later on,
it left a crack in Taiwan's cross-talk scene.
The crack was filled with the establishment of
Hanlin Folk Arts Story Telling Troupe (B1, 166,
TongHua Street) in 1985. According to troupe
leader Wang Zhen-quan, since 1985 everyone interested
in performing cross-talk seems to have become
affiliated with Hanlin, which has become the
nation's cradle for cross-talk.
Hanlin
Story Telling Troupe takes an approach that is
both traditional and modern. The group believes
that cross-talk does not necessary need to be
conducted in Mandrain. Hanlin gives performances
in rural areas, where people speak mainly Taiwanese;
the locals may find traditional Mandarin cross-talk
interesting, but they will not understand it.
Thus, Hanlin presents cross-talk in different
languages giving a new dimension to the art.
Cross-talk performances in Mandarin, Taiwanese,
Hakka, and English is one of their goals.
Also,
to make "Talk and Sing Art" more accessible,
Hanlin will set up a cross-talk library this
month at 37, WanMei Street, Section 1. The library
will house a wide variety of educational material
on cross-talk collected over the years.
The
Taipei Quyi Tuan (19, ZhongShun Street, Section
2) is also involved in cross-talk performances.
Established in 1993, the group carries on with
traditional "Talk and Sing Art. Group leader
Guo Zhi-Jie says that cross-talk is high-end
humor and a form of laughing art. Not only must
the humor be reasonable, it must also tie closely
to the story. More importantly, the presentation
must relate to the audience's lives in order
to speak to the audience's heart and evoke an
echo.
The
Taipei Quyi Tuan holds study seminars every summer.
The lessons include cross-talk theories, structure
of cross-talk, techniques in bundle shaking,
the language of cross-talk, and most importantly,
creating. They hold a solo-string class every
Monday at their headquarters on ZhongShun Street
in MuZha. Wednesdays are video presentations.
Their latest performance will be held in August
and will include cross-talk performers from Beijing,
Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, which along with
the actors from Taipei will total 16 performers
for the entire program. |
