Roxanne Li
Mother nature produces tiny miracles in our lives every day. This is explored in The Miracle Journey, which combines arts and technology to present people of all ages with an immersive experience to explore the wonders of nature.
Produced by Jam Island Theater,a nonprofit performance organization, the interactive theater show provided cross-media musical performances at the Jockey Club Creative Arts Center from May 5 to May 7.
The show incorporated elements of science, mathematics, engineering and technology into its stage performance, along with interactive programs and workshops, for children and parents to get a unique music and science educational experience.
"The uniqueness lies in the multi-disciplinary format of the show, offering audiences seats to sit still - like every ordinary theater performance - but also encouraging them to take part in," said artistic director Teresa Wong Kai-man.
The 75-minute performance focused on the idea of exploring wonders of nature.
Creators used not only normal theatrical techniques but also a number of self-developed mechanistic devices with lighting, sound effects and projection to stimulate a real-scene space.
Lifting machines allowed the audience to feel themselves switching from volcanoes, forests, grassland and even seas, while the projection technology presented scenes of leaves hanging overhead and fishes swimming by.
"Scientific experiments build up the stage effects of our performance," Wong explained.
"For example, there is a scene in the performance showing that polluted water turns into a clear river by artificial treatment. The stage effect was achieved by actors adding a chemical solution to colored water," she said.
Apart from letting them feel like in a natural environment, creators enable the audience to join with the magical nature landscapes by providing interactive scientific experiments and workshops.
"Our performance venue consists of a theater and a gallery and there will be guided exploration session during the show," said Candy Lau Nga-ting, Jam Island Theater's communications director.
Audiences can cross through the theater led by performance actors to explore the space freely and conduct handicraft experiments on the workshop site.
In addition, creators emphasized the most unique factor is that the set and design of the show was made mainly from items easily found during daily life.
"Artists picked up tree branches and leaves from the natural environment for decoration," said set and costume designer Yue Fung-kit.
He also showed a binocular telescope made from cardboard boxes.
"We don't want to use any unapproachable high-end technology for the performance," said Lau. "We just hope to use the simplest and common elements to trigger the thinking of the audience. They may raise a different perspective toward the world after watching the performance."
Wong said: "Nowadays many kids have doors to get in touch with various knowledge. However, many of them are still forced to learn something which may be examination-oriented or disciplined. The education we wish to present is letting children learn and entertain.
"For younger kids, we hope to stimulate their interest in science; we also hope school-age children can explore the natural ecology of the earth through the science experiments and comprehend the scientific principles behind various natural phenomena," said Wong.
"And for older audiences, including parents, we hope they will start more communication and discussion with their children after watching the show," she said. "The most important thing is that the whole family can enjoy the process."
Several creators, including those with backgrounds in music and engineering technology, have been working on this project since 2021.
Previously, they have worked with the government, schools and communities to hold multiple performances which combine STEAM, music and arts. Ideas for their future projects are to infinity and beyond.
"Our next project is a performance about galaxy exploration, giving audiences young and old a glimpse into the wonders of the vast universe," said production director Kristopher Chan Cheung.
"Life's adventures can embark on a new journey at any stage," Lau added.
roxanne.li@singtaonews.corp
