By Lisa Movius
It has become quite
fashionable among those who lament the supposedly abysmal
state of arts and culture in Shanghai to blame the heavy hand
of the municipal government. But after talking to Li
Shengying, one has to wonder whether artists who so claim are
merely making excuses. "The Cultural Bureau is very laid
back with us, even friendly and supportive," claims Li,
director of the Shanghai Youth Troupe, a branch of the
Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center. "Sure, in past decades, they'd
object to everything, censor a lot, and insist we imitate the
Russians. With "Last Winter," our latest play, they
never came by to review the scripts and observe the
rehearsals. When they do drop in, the questions are more like,
‘What's up? When can we watch? Can we smoke in the theater?'"
Things have not always been so easy for Western-style
dramatic theater in Shanghai. Mr. Li started his career
as an "overseer" and editor of scripts for the Shanghai
Cultural Bureau in the heady days of 1963, and is thus keenly
attuned to shifting political winds. The Shanghai Youth Troupe
and the People's Art Theater were formed in 1951 by preeminent
dramatists Xia Yan, Huang Zuoling, and Xiong Foxi. Most
of their history was dominated by productions of foreign
classics, whether moralizing renditions of Shakespeare or
slogging Russian Communist dramas. Shanghai's theater
establishment began moving towards local productions after the
end of the Cultural Revolution, but the transition proved
rocky. In the early 1980s, two productions written by Sha
Yexin were shut down for stirring up excessive
controversy. But the times they are a changin',
and the authorities can rarely be bothered to notice, even
when the plays have a clear political cast.
Local drama does not by any means play a big role in the
city's day-to-day cultural scene. But adherents of
Shanghai's theater world argue that size doesn't matter.
Drama in Shanghai shows a quickly responsive ingenuity and a
strong proclivity towards the experimental. With growing
official support, expanding public interest, and an increasing
number of performance venues, Shanghai theater promises
progress in 2000.
Although a number of
venues in Shanghai host occasional drama productions, only two
organizations are active in promoting local theater. One is
the Dramatic Arts Center, and the other is the Shanghai
Theater Academy, one of China's two largest schools for the
performing arts. The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center was
formed in 1995 as a response to changing conditions in Chinese
theater. Competition was stiffer for both talent and
audiences, and the Cultural Bureau's demands shifted from
ideological acceptability to fiscal viability. The People's
Art Troupe and the Youth Troupe, along with a handful of other
departments, were all placed under the SDAC umbrella.
Creatively, the Center shifted from productions of foreign
plays to emphasizing local experimental material. Since its
formation, the Center has staged some 40 productions, with
Chinese scripts representing over ninety percent. The
vast majority of these are from Shanghai playwrights.
Shanghai has some ten professional playwrights. Four--
Sha Yexin, Zhao Yaomin, Wang Wu, and Lu Jun-- are directly
employed by the Dramatic Arts Center. Last year, most of
the Center's resources were funneled into the construction of
a sort of "dramatic multiplex," complete with three theaters
and two practice halls.
Popular interest in the dramatic arts reached its low ebb
in the late 1980s. There was one night when only two
people attended a performance, and the cast went ahead and
staged the entire show for those two viewers. Today's
dramatic productions tend to draw in relatively large crowds
of a surprisingly diverse demography. Mr. Li estimates
that productions held in larger venues draw in between
80-100,000 people over the course of a run, and that figure
does not include television rebroadcasts. Nor is the
audience dominated by Upper West Side artsy types: Shanghai
theater-goers are predominantly under 30, often college and
high school students, but also joined by a lot of office
workers and "normal people." The main reason for such
turnout, SDAC staffers believe, is the Center's focus on the
topics that the laobaixing (common people) can relate
to, such as mundane economic issues and social problems
reflected on the individual level.
Shanghai theater's greatest impediments are the lack of
both theatric institutions and sufficient funds. In
sheer volume of productions, Shanghai pales compared to
Beijing. Mr. Li maintains developed only over the past two
years. "Beijing now has more theaters, more drama
schools, which receive more government funding, more power,
and more freedom than Shanghai's. Foreign performances
go to Beijing, not Shanghai, by default." Creatively,
however, Shanghai holds its own. Northern and Southern
theater exhibit very distinct flavors and styles. "Drama in
Beijing is relatively heavy, mainly addressing historical
themes. It's very easy to spot Beijing theater!"
Li emphasizes. Shanghai, in contrast, tends towards the faster
and lighter, but defies specific categorization.
China's economic reform dictates that State-Owned
Enterprises, including cultural units, begin operating in the
black. The Center's creation saw staff reduced and
budgets slashed. Between five to seven full-time staff
work administer each of the four departments. It also
directly supervises a staff of professional actors, directors,
and writers, although the talent is constantly in danger of
being siphoned off by the more profitable and higher profile
film and television industries.
The Dramatic Arts Center receives some funding directly
from the government, but mostly operates independently, with
profits from ticket sales and rents from the compound's
facilities. Li Shengying stresses that even the high arts must
be viewed practically. "There's a test of artistic
survivability: Can this make money? It's a little like
selling plastic cups. You buy them for 1.2 kuai
each, sell them for 1.5 kuai, make a small
profit. Sell enough cups and you make a big
profit. But there must be a demand for your cups."
"Of course," he adds, "theater is not as simple as selling
cups. Theater is ‘Shehui gongyan,' to the
public and for the public. We have a social
responsibility. What precisely does that mean? The
current Western trend in experimental theater favors the
obscure. Most scripts address abstract themes and shy
away from coherent narrative. I disagree with
that. Theater is about culture and about education, yes;
but it is also about entertainment. Ideally these
coexist in balanced harmony, but if there's a conflict, I
choose Entertainment. People get lectured at enough
already, and if they encounter it in a play, they think, ‘I
spend all day hard at work, I'm tired, I don't want more of
the same from a play.' A play should have strong
writing, precise directing, and convincing acting, and should
be fun. Good theater is good business. If we do it well,
people will like it. If people like it, they'll come
back."
The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center's latest production,
"Last Winter," opened on 8 January and runs until 25 January,
and again from 15 to 29 February. Tickets are 50 RMB. The
Dramatic Arts Center is located at 201 Anfu Lu (at Wulumuqi
Lu, a few blocks from the embassy district), 6431-3523.
