NTU HIGHLIGHTS

Professor Yi-Meei Wang, Department of Drama and Theatre

Developed within the design studio of the Department of Drama and Theatre at NTU, this research reframes theatrical costume design as a dynamic system of knowledge circulation—one in which bodies, objects, and digital tools continuously shape one another. It originated from a question posed during a morning class— “How does a piece of fabric learn to follow a body?”—and evolved into a creative process framework that integrates embodied humanities with knowledge management, grounded in the lived experiences of designers, actors, and students.

At the core of this framework is the SECI knowledge cycle, whose four phases—socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization—are enacted not through abstract models but across rehearsal spaces, cutting tables, and digital workstations. Knowledge initially emerges through collective interpretation of scripts and character dynamics, during which students physically inhabit roles to sense posture, rhythm, and emotional intensity. These embodied experiences are then externalized into sketches, notes, measurements, and preliminary prototypes, rendering intuitive insights visible and subject to negotiation. As information accumulates, ranging from character relationship charts (Fig. 19) to 3D body-scan data and digital design workflows (Fig. 20), it is combined and reorganized into a coherent body of design intelligence. Through repeated hands-on practice, this intelligence is internalized as embodied skill, completing the cycle and enabling renewed creative capacity.

Organized through interconnected phases—script comprehension, experiential analysis, collaborative interpretation, design development, iterative fitting, and performance integration—the framework integrates traditional craft practices with emerging technologies. The introduction of 3D body scanning transforms the early stages of the workflow by replacing subjective manual measurements with precise, reproducible actor data. Each performer’s “digital double” enhances accuracy in pattern drafting and muslin fitting while establishing a reusable database that can be revisited, refined, or shared across future productions. Consequently, digitized design files, annotated drafts, and process documentation constitute a new form of archival memory, enabling design knowledge to circulate beyond individual expertise.

Central to this system is the formula KM = (P + K) ^S, which conceptualizes how practical experience (P) and theoretical knowledge (K) are amplified through structured processes (S). The 2024 NTU production Hamlet Machineman (Figs. 21–22) illustrates this model in practice, demonstrating how systematic knowledge circulation enhances creative precision, coordination, and adaptability.

Now integrated into NTU’s teaching practices, this model supports a renewed pedagogical approach to cross-disciplinary design education. Its long-term value lies in encouraging students to engage embodied knowledge through physical experience, translate sensation into material form, and reenter iterative knowledge cycles with increased clarity and agency. As the system continues to evolve through digital tools and collaborative modes of production, it points toward a future in which theatrical design is not merely produced but continually recomposed—circulating among people, materials, and ideas in ever-expanding configurations.