Young talent takes center stage

Theater immersion training provides an opportunity to those not used to the spotlight, Yang Feiyue reports.

Jiang Yisen headed out from home at 5 in the morning of July 18, and spent more than 10 hours switching between buses and high-speed trains before arriving in Huichang county, East China's Jiangxi province, to pursue his dream in theater.

Jiang is about to start his second year at a middle school in Congjiang county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province, and has been bitten by the stage bug since he watched the classic Chinese play Thunderstorm online a year ago. The play has been widely described as one of China's most enduring stage plays of the 20th century.

Jiang didn't show any signs of fatigue and got right into a 10-day theater immersion training during the Mailang Teenage Theatre Competition that was jointly hosted by the organizing committee and video-streaming platform Bilibili and received support from the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication, a UNESCO advisory body.

Jiang says his dream came true when stage professionals held his hands all the way through.

"Here, teachers give us guidance at various workshops every day," Jiang says, adding that now he better understands directing, traditional Chinese opera, and key stage elements, like movement and lighting.

Jiang and nine other schoolmates received a fund from the event's organizers to join the competition and training, which had not been available back in school.

Although he didn't enter the final, Jiang says he has picked up many practical skills.

"Many thanks to Mailang for giving us kids from the mountains the opportunity to experience theater, enriching our spiritual world. When I return to school, I want to organize a theater performance so that more students can feel the charm of theater," Jiang says.

He is among more than 80 teenagers from 50 middle schools across the country who joined the competition.

They worked in groups of five to create a dozen 20-minute original plays based on given keywords in eight days. Those plays explored multiple themes, including education, relations and the future.

A total of six plays entered the final for the top three prizes during the competition that concluded on July 28.

The competition aimed to bring together teenagers from all educational backgrounds and enable them to express their ideas, says Yang Ruoran, the event's initiator.

"Many children are from distant mountainous regions and some of them went out of their city for the first time, but their performance was nothing but sincere and complete," she notes.

"I cried several times when watching them perform," Yang says, adding that many drew inspiration from their hometown experiences.

Yang got full measure of theater's charm in her middle school in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.

"We did many original plays, as well as some classic ones, and in the process of preparation and performance, I found we actually recorded and conveyed many of our ideas and got them across to a broad audience," Yang says.

It prompted her to do a national event and spread the charm of theater among her peers.

She then approached stage experts who she met during her theater engagement, including playwright and theater director Stan Lai and his wife Ding Nai-chu, theater producer and CEO of Theater Above, who readily agreed to join her cause.

With approval and support of professionals, Yang called upon like-minded classmates and friends and launched a carpet search of schools, looking for candidates.

"For example, we might look for a school with very distinctive art education or the one with the least emphasis on art education. We hope to identify schools that represent different education systems," Yang says.

The goal is to have teenagers receive professional theater training, such as play appreciation, preparation, performance, stage design and theater history and culture.

The first competition was successfully held last year in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, and managed to attract 80 students from different parts of the country.

Lu Haoxin from Foshan city, Guangdong province, joined the competition this year, to explore answers to her current state of life.

The 18-year-old just graduated from middle school and finished the college entrance examination.

She joined the competition to further her interest in stage play, which she says opened her up to a new world during a campus event a few years ago.

"We were randomly assigned to teams during the competition, and given keywords of fire, text, and erasable pen," Lu says.

"Initially, we wanted to tell a grand story, but found the idea difficult to materialize. After repeated discussions and rehearsals, we decided to bring the script back to ourselves and our lives, telling the story of the confusion and choices faced by students preparing for the college entrance exam," she says.

Several of her teammates went through the same process, so they settled on the theme about choices and named it Left and Right, which won the third prize.

"We used our experiences as a source of inspiration for creation. We had collective discussions, as we brought out parts of each person's story ... and then expanded on them to create this play," Lu says.

During the creation, Lu says she comes to believe there's no need to be afraid about confusion, because it is a course of nature.

"I think theater represents a kind of vitality for me. It transmits energy to me when I create, discuss and stage it with others," Lu says.

Ding says she was very impressed when Yang approached her to organize such a theater competition, which has been rare among middle school students.

"They are willing to put in so much effort and dedicate their time. The joy and happiness they derive from theater are something they are eager to share and promote. For someone who has been working in theater for many years, I feel obliged to encourage and support it," Ding says.

Liu Xiaowei, a tutor at the competition, says he was surprised by the teenagers' performance.

"Their works are full of imagination and creativity, which deeply inspired me. In just 10 days, I witnessed their growth. They even did their own makeup and made their own props, which is so cool," Liu says.

Shao Zehui, who has been tutoring young theater talent for years, says the lectures he gave to those middle school students are the same as those for college undergraduates.

"However, middle school students need to focus more on developing their psychological resilience. By practicing their expressions, they can become more accurate and confident on stage, and also gain a better understanding of themselves and connect with society through theater," Shao says.

He believes theater is a lab of life.

"The dreams sown by the children today will take root and grow in the future, helping them become outstanding figures in the field of Chinese theatrical art creation," Shao says.

Outstanding performers of the Mailang competition will visit the headquarters of the United Nations and communicate with officers there to promote their art works and tell China's stories, according to the competition's organizers.