How do you make a play take shape? What if a theatre festival is to be organized? In March of 2021, all this was still unknown. But there was a force driving me to start the journey.
After having the idea of organizing a theatre festival and directing a play, some like-minded people came along. We ranged from students from other international schools to students from public schools in Beijing. Some were old friends, some were new and unfamiliar, but all were driven by the same ambition and interests, and we formed a core group of seven people: Fan, Lisa, Sunny, Isa, Angel, Junhan, and myself. There was assistance from other tutors and participants, but the seven of us were mainly responsible for the event.
For us, theatre is terrific because it speaks to the heart. The ups and downs of life or its emptiness can be filled by theatre and caught in a story that doesn’t belong to us. Immersed in theatre, actors give to and draw from each other, we empathize with the director and the writer, and make a degree of reconciliation with ourselves. Because of this, the theatre has a unique appeal, and we want to make it memorable for our own sake.
There are many positions and opportunities in a theatre festival, and not all are related to acting. In a team, each of us must play multiple roles. Some are responsible for the promotion and operation of the festival, some are responsible for preparing costumes and props, some are responsible for the design of posters and tickets, and each of us has to be an overall planner for the event. As you can see, a festival requires various positions, which provides opportunities for people with different ambitions to showcase and practice.
First of all, the drama part is undoubtedly essential. One of the first headaches we had was writing the script ourselves or adapting another story, however, what would be the original text for the adaptation? After a lot of discussions, the idea of The Little Prince jumped out at us. In our opinion, the story is suitable for young and old, the plot is not limited, and it is easy to develop other content around. So, as director and assistant director, I and Fan decided to adapt The Little Prince.
Lisa and Sunny, two students who love art and design, were responsible for this part of the play. In the process, they designed the makeup for each character, drew schematics for each scene of the stage, and contributed a lot to the final set-up of the festival.
Since our festival involved ticket sales, Angel focused on the business and promotion side of the event. To land sponsorships, she talked to a few well-known companies and ended up relieving some of the financial pressure. At the same time, to better promote our festival, she published articles to attract more attention.
Isa and Junhan were in charge of the overall planning and took on the role of hosts. In a significant event, it takes a planner to make sure every detail is running smoothly, and it takes days and nights of planning, iterating, and practicing to ensure that every part of the event is error-free.
Each person is responsible for a different task, but we were not individually limited in scope. In a team, we focused on problems together. And when one person needed help, everyone stepped up.
You may be wondering, so what did this theatre festival include? There were differently themed “planets” that the audience could explore, as well as outstanding solo performances and the grand finale of The Little Prince. In the theme planet, the audience needed to interact with the actors to get clues, and after collecting all the clues they would get a variety of souvenirs designed by us. During the initial monologue performance, nine actors prepared their favorite drama pieces and performed them. The final act of the night was the highlight of the festival, The Little Prince.
There were six different little princes in my scripted production. Led by the little fox as the narrator, the audience did not have fixed seats but had to follow the actors’ footsteps and lighting cues and move between the venues. The audience of about 200 followed the path of the Little Prince from one planet to another. They landed on Earth with the Little Prince, stood around him, met him with different people and animals, and witnessed his final death or return. The audience saw the king lying under a pile of snacks, after moving to the next scene, standing on a ladder looking down at the others. Looking back, you could see the rose and the Little Prince’s deep conversation with the snake that traveled among the audience.
What made this journey even better was the people I met in the process. One of the most memorable moments was when, a week before the show, famous Chinese director Jiao Gang came to coach us. Not only did he teach a lot of acting techniques, but he also gave us a lot of advice on directing, making the whole experience much more interesting. For example, he suggested adding more formal elements to the play to make the performance more personal. Therefore, in the play, the Little Prince had to look down on the planet from a ladder, the king could indulge in snacks during the performance, and the snake needed to wander through the audience and have conversations. Finally, he also pointed out that because this was a play that sells tickets, it was a commercial act, so each of us was responsible for the drama presented. Through the theatre, I formed a unique connection with him and a heart-to-heart exchange.
This experience has given me and my team a new, in-depth understanding of the breadth of theatre, not merely in terms of staging a performance but also as a much larger project. During the process, we met different kinds of people and tackled all sorts of obstacles. Theatre has the potential to empower everyone. For me, theatre gives me a firm goal to keep moving forward, and it is my source of strength.
The second festival will be held in 2022. Like the first one, we will manifest innovative ideas and build a unique theatre performance. Perhaps not in the same form, but it will definitely be something unexpected. We hope that more people will participate, and we hope that you, who are reading, will pay attention.
We believe that the power of theatre is to reach some unimagined distances. In realizing the festival, some ideas are not too unrealistic, so let’s make them happen. Those moments that are beyond your control may be the moment when you reach your “B612” planet. For us, the tacit understanding and friendships we develop in the process, the satisfaction and happiness we feel at the end are the reasons to continue.
So, I hope you can either join us or watch us. Enter the utopia of theatre and feel the power of drama in 2022.
Images: Hank Zhou
