Wu Hsing-kuo (Chinese: å ³èˆˆåœ‹) is a Taiwanese actor of the silver
screen and theater, known for both his performance of complex movie
roles as much as for his innovative adaptations of Western classics
into traditional Peking Opera.Wu was trained in classical Peking Opera
since the age of 11 in Taiwan's state-run Fu-Hsing Chinese Opera
School, specializing in wu sheng (male martial) roles. He was admitted
with honors into the Theatre Department of Chinese Culture University
in Taipei, trained under master Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) and
became the leading dancer of Lin Hwai-min's Cloud Gate Dance Theater.
However, his teacher Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) considered him
as a pretentious student who didn't focus on study and finally
abandoned him in 1989. Since then, Chou Cheng-jung (died in 2000)
never met him anymore. In addition, most of the traditional Chinese
opera audiences do not recognize him as a qualified actor.In 1986, he
and a group of enthusiastic friends founded the Contemporary Legend
Theatre [zh] in Taipei, seeking to revitalize traditional Chinese
theatre by adapting Western classical plays to the style and
techniques of Peking Opera. He was the leading actor and director of
four Shakespeare adaptations, including the critically acclaimed
Kingdom of Desire (慾望城國), an adaptation of Macbeth, and King
Lear (æ Žçˆ¾åœ¨æ¤), in which Wu plays all the parts.In 1992, Wu was
awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in New York with Richard
Schechner. That year, he also won the Hong Kong Film Award for best
new actor.
screen and theater, known for both his performance of complex movie
roles as much as for his innovative adaptations of Western classics
into traditional Peking Opera.Wu was trained in classical Peking Opera
since the age of 11 in Taiwan's state-run Fu-Hsing Chinese Opera
School, specializing in wu sheng (male martial) roles. He was admitted
with honors into the Theatre Department of Chinese Culture University
in Taipei, trained under master Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) and
became the leading dancer of Lin Hwai-min's Cloud Gate Dance Theater.
However, his teacher Chou Cheng-jung (Zhou Zheng-rong) considered him
as a pretentious student who didn't focus on study and finally
abandoned him in 1989. Since then, Chou Cheng-jung (died in 2000)
never met him anymore. In addition, most of the traditional Chinese
opera audiences do not recognize him as a qualified actor.In 1986, he
and a group of enthusiastic friends founded the Contemporary Legend
Theatre [zh] in Taipei, seeking to revitalize traditional Chinese
theatre by adapting Western classical plays to the style and
techniques of Peking Opera. He was the leading actor and director of
four Shakespeare adaptations, including the critically acclaimed
Kingdom of Desire (慾望城國), an adaptation of Macbeth, and King
Lear (æ Žçˆ¾åœ¨æ¤), in which Wu plays all the parts.In 1992, Wu was
awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in New York with Richard
Schechner. That year, he also won the Hong Kong Film Award for best
new actor.
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