The Sixth Fuel Factory Interactive Theater
photo:Ling Tien
In 2019, the transArt team from NCTU in Hsinchu, Taiwan, partnered with Post Theater in Berlin to host the 6th Fuel Interactive Theater at the site of the Japanese Navy's Sixth Fuel Factory, a relic from World War II. I assumed the primary responsibility of coordinating and planning the theater production. Here, I'll detail the team's journey from planning and execution to the final performance. Ultimately, we completed two productions and performed for three days.
- About The Sixth Fuel Factory
The Hsinchu Branch of the Japanese Navy's Sixth Fuel Factory, abbreviated as "Sixth Fuel" in Chinese, was a fuel plant established by the Japanese military in Hsinchu, Taiwan in 1943 (year 18 of the Shōwa era).
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The factory complex, including the dormitory area, covered approximately one million square meters. Its primary function was to synthesize isooctane in addition to aircraft fuel oil. However, Japan surrendered before it could be put into extensive use.
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Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Air Force Engineering Corps stationed themselves here. Subsequently, the Hsinchu Sixth Fuel factory buildings were repurposed to accommodate military dependents, gradually forming a unique settlement known as "embedded houses within the factory." In 2013, after the last military-dependent family relocated, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu City proposed various projects to preserve and revitalization the historic site and its facilities.
The factory complex, including the dormitory area, covered approximately one million square meters. Its primary function was to synthesize isooctane in addition to aircraft fuel oil. However, Japan surrendered before it could be put into extensive use.
Following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Air Force Engineering Corps stationed themselves here. Subsequently, the Hsinchu Sixth Fuel factory buildings were repurposed to accommodate military dependents, gradually forming a unique settlement known as "embedded houses within the factory." In 2013, after the last military-dependent family relocated, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu City proposed various projects to preserve and revitalization the historic site and its facilities.
- About The Sixth Fuel Factory Interactive Theater
In the summer of 2018, Wen-Shu Lai, the host of the transArt team from National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Taiwan, met with Max Schumacher, the artistic director of Post Theater in Germany. In this conversation, they discussed the Sixth Fuel Factory in Hsinchu, Taiwan. They noted that both Taiwan and Germany had participated in World War II, but people in Taiwan seldom discussed the colonial history and wartime issues.
The two artistic directors initiated a project for the Hsinchu Sixth Fuel Theater, presenting two script productions, "for-giving" and "for-getting," along with "nonument," performed on-site at the historical location of the Sixth Fuel Factory in Hsinchu to initiate discussions on World War II history.
location
- The challenges
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Time plan
- Our team
- Allocation of two performances
In the theatre, my responsibilities, as shown in the charts below, include coordination, planning, and execution oversight.
- Performance venue planning
- Promotion of the performance
- The Sixth Fuel Factory Interactive Theater
Adviser: Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education
Organizer: National Chiao Tung University
Co-organizer: Hsinchu City Cultural Affairs Bureau
Organizer: National Chiao Tung University
Co-organizer: Hsinchu City Cultural Affairs Bureau
Executor:
TransArt NCTU (including art, architecture and music)
Post theater in Berlin
IoT talk Lab NCTU
TransArt NCTU (including art, architecture and music)
Post theater in Berlin
IoT talk Lab NCTU