ARTBEAT
The Academy for Performing Arts has found a new Dean of Drama to step into the position vacated by retiring Chung King-fai. He is Dr David Jiang Weiguo. Jiang may not be a household name within the local arts community here, but he certainly has been around. The veteran performing artist is a Shanghai Theatre Academy graduate who worked as a professional actor and director in China from the late 60s to 1989. During the 1980s, he also taught at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, first as a lecturer and later an associate professor. In 1989, Jiang was awarded a grant from the Asian Cultural Council and visited Yale and New York University. Bitten by the travel bug, he spent the next decade working at various academic institutions around the world, including Tisch School of the Arts, New York University; University of Leeds in the UK, where he received his doctorate degree; National Institute of the Arts in Taipei; Columbia University in New York and West Yorkshire Playhouse in northern England. Jiang will join the APA in September.
Hong Kong Arts Festival Society's associate programme director Lau Chun-keung is calling it quits. Lau has spent more than a decade organising significant musical events such as Tan Dun's Marco Polo (1997), the much-acclaimed Chinese Chamber Operas (1999 and 2000) and next year's Raise The Red Lantern. The top-ranking but low-profile veteran has not revealed his future plans, and it's understood that he's unlikely to do so until his departure at the end of this month.
The Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) has hit the big time . . . on American television. Its founder and artistic director Richard Pontzious was on leave in the US and 'nearly fell off his chair' when he heard the AYO mentioned on that forever running quiz show, Jeopardy. The 'clue' was: 'The Asian Youth Orchestra recently played to rave reviews in this capital of South Korea.' Never mind the answer. 'Hearing AYO's name on Jeopardy is like waking up to find your name in the New York Times crossword,' says Pontzious.
Phew! The Hong Kong Players have found someone to direct this year's Christmas pantomime after all. Bob Corwin, who made his Players debut in the recent production of Romeo And Juliet, has pledged to make his version of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs as much fun as possible. Auditions will soon commence and the cast will include a dame, a seriously wicked witch, 14 dwarves (alternate casts) and Father Christmas (of course).
Seasoned actor and singer Cheng Siu-chau is to star opposite Rachel Lee Lai-chun, the former Category III actress, in Spring-time's forthcoming production Dark Tales. The ageing 'idol' apparently has not set foot on the stage for more than a decade, but says he is happy to take a role in this stage adaptation of the Chinese erotic/horror classic. The reportedly $20 million production is scheduled to open on August 10 and will run for 80 performances at the Jockey Club Auditorium.
Curator Alice King was supposed to join visiting artist Yang Jiechang at a press interview on Monday. But by the end of the interview, King was still nowhere to be seen. Apparently, the head of Alisan Fine Arts Gallery had a more important interview to attend - one with visiting former American president George Bush.