Zhou Xin (right), a graduate from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, stages a play that was adapted from The Fisherman and the Jinni with her partner at the Young Theatre Artist's Competition in Wuzhen in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to China Daily]
A competition section of the annual Wuzhen festival aspires to draw more young people, Xing Wen reports.
In Tongxiang county's Wuzhen scenic spot stands a hip-roof structure that was built during the reign of emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), under which is a stage of more than 200 square meters. On it, elderly artists perform a local opera called Tongxiang huaguxi almost daily, as they hope to keep the traditional art form alive.
While this building is in the eastern part of Wuzhen, the Bangwan playhouse that can host up to 200 audience members is located in the west, and hosts the Young Theatre Artist's Competition, a part of the annual Wuzhen Theatre Festival, which ran from Oct 18-28. This section has remained "at the core" of the festival since it started in 2013, in the words of renowned theater actor Huang Lei.
The festival has also turned the ancient town into a place where the traditional and avant-garde appear to mix.
Huang, a festival co-founder, says the competition section should spur interest in theater among young people. His experience in the past six years in Wuzhen has been encouraging, he adds.
A one-man show directed by Zu Jiyan, a young director based in Beijing, for the Young Theatre Artist's Competition in Wuzhen. [Photo provided to China Daily]
Wu Bi, a participant-turned-judge for the competition, views the event as a turning point in his career. The actor of the National Theatre of China started to also be known as a director and playwright after he won the prize for best play at the third Young Theatre Artist's Competition in 2015.
"The competition is where my dream of becoming a director began," says Wu, who has served as a judge at the event's preliminary contests since the following year.
"Maybe they (the young contestants) differ from one another, but they have one thing in common-purity. That's because they haven't entirely stepped into the industry. They are self-motivated."
This year, 18 plays out of a total of 400 entries were selected by the judges for performances at the Bangwan playhouse.
Zhou Xin, 24, a graduate from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, says that participating in the competition at the playhouse has been on her bucket list for years.
"When Taiwan theater director Stan Lai toured my hometown, Wuhai, 12 years ago with his play Menage a 13, I was fascinated by the art form," says Zhou, who sees Lai, another co-founder of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, as her idol.
Audiences wait in long lines outside the Bangwan playhouse to watch the plays performed during the youth competition. [Photo provided to China Daily]
"After I found out that some of my schoolmates who performed at the festival's outdoor carnival got to meet and take photos with Lai in Wuzhen, I also wanted to join the competition."
The play she created for the contest is an interpretation of the Fisherman and the Jinni, a story from the compilation of Arabic folk tales, titled One Thousand and One Nights. Zhou tried to integrate elements of traditional Chinese opera, such as postures and drumbeats, with an avant-garde approach to drama.
"I began to learn Chinese opera when I was 9 years old," she says. "I want to use what I've learned from the opera in my drama work. I'm sure that's my direction in the future as well."
By comparing her own work with those of her peers in the competition, Zhou says she clearly noticed her lack of a thorough grounding in the theories of theater and acting.
"I was awakened by the contest. I realized that I should stay grounded and make greater efforts to achieve my goal, step by step," Zhou adds.
Chiu Hung-chun, 24, a graduate from the Taiwan University of Art, says that meeting experienced directors, playwrights, actors and actresses at the competition is an efficient way to further youngsters' artistic potential.
Another scene from Zhou Xin's play. [Photo provided to China Daily]
"There are few theatrical events in Taiwan that can gather so many brilliant artists from the field," says Chiu, who previously worked as the director of a troupe in which the playwright was a student from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. "It's also a platform for cross-Straits cultural exchange."
After getting a taste of theaters from different parts of China, Chiu says he is most fascinated by the many ways in which Mandarin is spoken in the country.
"We all use the same language, but the way we speak it differs from place to place. For instance, the Sichuan dialect sounds softer than some others," Chiu says, adding that local cultural variations have inspired him to produce "heightened dramatic effects" in his future work.
Zu Jiyan, another contestant who has already created several plays, says she has benefitted from talking to Chiu about how undergraduate students in Taiwan study acting.
"They are first asked to open themselves up to everything in theater and then learn to characterize certain figures," says Zu, 27. "That's why they appear more relaxed than us on stage."
Zu, who works as a theater director in Beijing, says she was engaged in writing scripts, rehearsing and touring for most of her time before she arrived in Wuzhen in October. At this year's festival, she got enough time to discuss plays with others and appreciate quality performances from home and abroad over two weeks.
"It's like a fueling station that drives me toward self-improvement," Zu says. "And the atmosphere here is such that we could be hit by sudden inspiration."
