Small-theater players hatch big ideas

Volunteer work

Companies producing small-theater shows also play an important role in contributing to this booming scene in China. One of the oldest such companies is Zheteng (Beijing) Cultural Communication Co, which was founded in 2008 by Fu Ruoyan. The company has produced over 60 plays for small theaters, staging them more than 2,500 times around the country.

Fu grew up watching plays at Beijing People's Art Theater, where his father Fu Weibo worked as managing director of the performance department before retirement. Since high school, Fu Ruoyan has volunteered to work at the theater, where his jobs include checking tickets and preparing food for the creative teams during rehearsals.

Graduating later from the Central Academy of Drama with a major in theater management, Fu Ruoyan added: "The theater is like my second home, and I dreamed about working in theaters when I grew up. My father gave me his support."

Fu Weibo managed the small theater at Beijing People's Art Theater. When Lin Zhaohua prepared Absolute Signal, Fu Weibo worked as the play's stage manager and witnessed the birth of the production.

"Staging plays at small theaters is like having a beautiful light in the darkness that opens artists' eyes," Fu Weibo said in an interview with Beijing Evening News.

In 2004, when he started to work with the National Theater of China, Fu Weibo was in charge of running and managing Oriental Pioneering Theatre. This venue, now named Pioneering Theatre of the National Theater of China, stages small-theater productions.

"Thanks to my father, I learned the history of China's small-theater scene and gained a first hand knowledge about making plays," Fu Ruoyan said. "My father is keen on supporting young artists by letting them test their ideas in small theaters."

Fu Ruoyan is expanding his company, setting his sights on cities other than Beijing. This year, he has teamed up with small theaters in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and Xi'an, Shaanxi province, looking to develop the scene.

"Today, young people have many options to entertain themselves, such as watching short videos and playing games in escape rooms, but we still have a firm fan base for small-theater plays," he said.