“In the theatre, who holds the master key that opens every door?”

Directed by Shanghai-based director Selena Lu, this production transforms the stage into a site of “Practice-As-Research”. Moving away from conventional scripts, the ensemble engages in a radical experiment: “shadowing” and interviewing the invisible figures who keep the institution running—from technicians and administrative staff to janitors.

By examining who directs and who obeys, who is seen and who remains hidden, Backstage Protocol maps the invisible hierarchies and power dynamics embedded in arts education. This is a physical report on “access”: Within this rigid architecture of privilege, are we the masters of our agency, or merely expendable parts within a pre-determined protocol?.

Emergency Stairs disrupts the status quo once again, launching a social inquiry into “Access and Power” within the institution.