表演場雙週刊第九期 - 封面故事 The Art Venue Bi-Weekly Issue 009 - Cover Story (20190704)

來到西九文化區，想起幾年前，這裡 仍叫西九海濱長廊;還是一片空地， 已曾利用作舉辦三屆大型的戶外文化 藝術節─ 自由野，吸引場主每一屆也有參與。還記得在烈日當空下，邊與朋 友野餐邊欣賞本地樂隊熱唱; 或是滂沱大雨下，坐在木板步行道上看《拾‧年》 的放映，這些情景依然歷歷在目。

現在站於相同位置，眼前是西九第二個 啟用的表演藝術場地─ 自由空間;坐 落於藝術公園的正中央，於剛過去的 六月正式開幕。由可容納四百五十個座位(或九百個企位)的黑盒劇場「大盒」、 兩個多用途空間「細盒」及「盒仔」，以及可作音樂演出的酒吧Livehouse組成。 在五月底，西九文化區管理局已率先舉 行傳媒招待，公佈一系列今年至明年初 的節目; 當中最惹人關注的，是闊別香港逾十年、世界著名日本音樂大師坂本龍一的演出。

Photo credit： West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

首波節目編排可見用心，更期待與西九 表演藝術藝術總監方美昂(Alison)進行 訪問，談談自由空間的發展大綱。訪問 地點在藝術公園內的咖啡店，Alison比約 定的時間早到，但原來她還沒有吃過午餐，而當時已經是下午三時半了，可見 做決策者的她對工作是何等投入。

甫見面便問到Alison關於自由空間的定位，怎樣在香港云云表演場地中突圍而 出，她非常肯定地回答說:「自由空間 之所以不同，全因為BE BOLD(放膽去)是這個場地的靈魂。我們與藝術家、夥伴及觀眾一起走出舒適圈，衝破界限， 鼓勵大膽的創意。」不單單是放膽去的 「魂」，令自由空間不一樣，她更補充說:「現時香港最大的黑盒劇場，正是 自由空間的『大盒』; 樓高十米，座位 可以收起來，方便加入裝置藝術，或變作時裝表演的舞台。因為多變靈活的空間運用，所以這裡絕對可讓創作人放膽去創作。」

核心概念已成形，下一步是為自由空間的使用規劃定下方向，而這亦關乎受到公眾 關注的場地使用率。Alison表示:「我們的團隊有音樂、舞蹈、劇場等不同領域的專家，我們會共同商討委約或製作甚麼 節目。另一方面，畢竟政府只撥款興建 場地，我們需要自負盈虧，確實有需要達到訂下的關鍵績效指標(key performance indicator)，以確保一定的 場地租用收入; 但我覺得不用單靠提高場地使用率，可用不同的方式如票房、 資助、募款等等，達到預設的收入目標， 作為支持營運開支及節目製作費用。」

她續說，「所以構思節目時的先決條件， 是預想通過各項表演，可以帶出甚麼重大 議題。表演藝術是非常獨特的渠道，可以 鼓勵不同的群體聚集在一起，然後探索這 些議題;即使大家的意見分歧，但當中也能找到彼此認同的地方。舞蹈、音樂、戲劇、馬戲等等不同的表演形式，都是去激 發我們去思考這些重大議題的方法，同時 亦是不同想法的呈現，所以我們會綜合這 些不同形式去規劃節目內容。」

關於未來會如何跟國際及本地的藝術界合作，Alison說:「在過去的五年，我們和本地獨立新晉年輕藝術家、具規模的大型藝術團體，均建立起夥伴關係; 我們也跟海外的國際級藝術家和藝術機構 建立合作的項目(programmes)。以此為根基，加上自由空間正式啟用，可 以成為展示他們優秀創作的舞台，讓他 們放膽突破自己的固有界線。」

自由空間是新的場地，西九會有甚麼策 略拓展觀眾嗎? Alison表示:「由之前的『自由野』、『自由約』甚至其他活動， 西九這個地方已曾接待不少觀眾; 來過這裡的人，一直好奇自由空間是甚麼樣子、甚麼時候開幕。現在場地終 於開幕了，相信大家都會急不及待來這裡看個究竟。」

自由空間的首個節目《來自真實故事》已於上月上演，接著將有不同的節目陸續登場，包括一票難求的香港話劇團《如夢之夢》、曾到多處巡演的 非常林奕華《梁祝的繼承者們》等等。 大家可以瀏覽西九的官方網站，留意最新消息。

The first time I set foot on the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, before the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) began to take shape, was to attend the Freespace Fest in 2012. This then empty plot of land subsequently hosted the annual outdoor festival three more times, and I attended each one with devotion. I still have vivid memories of having a picnic and listening to local bands play under the scorching sun or watching the screening of DECADE while sitting on the timber walkway amid the pouring rain.

Now in front of me is the Art Park, and in its centre is the new Freespace, the second performance venue of the WKCD that opened in June 2019. Freespace is comprised of The Box, a 450-seat black box theatre that can be transformed into a venue that holds 900 standing attendees, as well as two multipurpose venues, The Room and The Studio, and the Livehouse.

Alison M. Friedman, Artistic Director of Performing Arts at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA), arrived for our interview at the Art Park café earlier than scheduled. Although it was already 3:30pm, she still had not eaten lunch. Hers is a tough job indeed.

Photo credit: West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

I was most curious about Alison’s thoughts on the development of Freespace, especially how it is to stand out among all the performance venues in Hong Kong. Alison spoke quite firmly in her explanation: “Freespace is going to stand out because of its ‘Be Bold’ spirit. Wework with our artists, partners, and audiences to break comfort zones, expand boundaries, and try something new—to experiment, to be bold!” Her enthusiasm continued as she added: “Freespace’s The Box is one of the largest black box theatres in Hong Kong, with a 10-metre-tall ceiling. It is completely versatile. We can have regular, stadium seating, or we can take all the seats away. It can be a venue for installations or we can make a T-shaped stage for fashion shows. It is incredibly flexible to encourage the creative mind to be bold!”

For public performance venues in Hong Kong, usage is always a popular concern. When asked about Freespace’s programming plans,Alison said: “We have dance, theatre, and music experts working as one cohesive programming team to plan our programmes. Of course, we rely on key performance indicators for hiring revenue as we are not receiving any government subsidies and need to be financially sustainable. But we can achieve that in different ways.”

“When we plan programmes, we envision what big issues we can explore through the arts. Performing arts is a unique vehicle that can encourage communities to come together and address things in a way that brings us together, that shows us what we have in common even when we disagree. We start from the big questions and the big ideas that inspire us and then find the programming vehicle to explore these big ideas.”

So how will the WKCDA work with its peers in local and international performing arts communities? Alison said: “In the past five years, our team have been building all kinds of partnerships with Hong Kong artists, from emerging independent young people to the most established big names in Hong Kong. They have also built partnerships with international artists and arts institutions, and these partnerships lay the groundwork before the buildings open. Now these artists have a home at Freespace, where they can come to collaborate, create, and showcase the best of what they have been doing and push themselves, as artists, to the next level—to be bold and go beyond their boundaries.”

What can the WKCDA do to help Freespace build its audience? Alison said: “We have amassed a group of audiences from all the years of previous programmes, so I think a lot of people have been eagerly waitingFreespace’s opening. Now they canfinally come and see it and be a part of it for themselves.”

Freespace’s first programme, From A True Story by Christian Rizzo, was held in June, and more exciting programmes are already scheduled in the coming months. Check out WKCDA’s website for details.