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Abstract
“Flavor” is a play script created for graduation in July 2008 by LIN Wei-sheng, a graduate student of the Graduate School of Applied Media Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts. It relates the heroine Showor, a talented culinarian with a particular sense of flavor, suffering from amnesia caused by a car accident. Her memories are of only certain past events, such as a birthday party, her former two-timing boyfriend (who was unfaithful to her), etc. However, she can’t remember some relatively recent events, such as her love affair with her present boyfriend, the work her boss last night ordered her to do, etc. Such symptoms of amnesia make her life changed substantially, causing her suspicious of her own memory, and therefore she wishes to verify her memories. Accompanied by one of her girl cousins, Showor returns to the company she worked at in the past, where she meets her former boyfriend, having her verified the past events in her memory. It is, however, a blank in her memory about the relationship with her present boyfriend Ahming.
Ahming, the script’s hero, was Showor’s partner selling oyster thin noodles. Because of being injured in a car accident, Showor was taken away by gourmet Mrs. Woo, yet leaving no any sign of Showor’s whereabouts. During the period of Showor’s absence, the business of the oyster-thin-noodles-selling stall becomes nasty. Ahming is often absent-minded, even having customers remind him of the noodles’ poor flavor. On the sudden appearance of Showor, Ahming is much excited, talking about the past. Unfortunately, all that can not bring back Showor’s memories, leaving Ahming with a helpless acceptance of the fact. On Showor’s birthday, Ahming brings with him a pot of oyster thin noodles as a substitute for birthday cake for celebration. Showor is affectionately touched at eating the oyster thin noodles prepared by Ahming with fresh materials brought with effort from the place of origin, accordingly she accepts his courting. At the end of the play, Showor does not regain her past memories, however, has more new memories kept up for her to recall.
The play lasts for 100 minutes in the form of combined multimedia and theater effects, thereby presenting the amnesia experienced by the heroine, letting the audience realizing her psychological conditions while enjoying the performance through the multimedia effects. After completion of the script, the playwright held a public ‘stage-reading presentation’, letting players acting live the dialogues and various roles’ characters in front of the audience. At the seminar held thereafter, the playwright himself, the players and the audience discussed, through their inspection, whether the script could be formally put on the stage.
The creation of this script, from scheme to completion, lasted for five years. This thesis emphasizes the record and review of the script’s creation process. Listed in the appendix are the poster advertising the stage-reading presentation, the playbill, responded questionnaires. It is the thesis writer’s hope that, via this thesis, prospective creative playwrights may be provided with some suggestions and transmission of relative experiences.
Keywords: amnesia; flavor; oyster thin noodles
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