Internet entrepreneur brings the taste of Broadway to Beijing

A former Silicon Valley online entrepreneur is now bringing a taste of Broadway to Beijing.

Chris Verrill, a 44-year-old San Franciscan, is gearing up for his next production, that of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, by his theater company which is taking Chinese audiences by storm.

Earlier productions by his Beijing Playhouse, China's English Broadway Theater, have already been major hits.

The move into the theater is a far cry from building his business success in California.

But it is partly the money from the sale of his internet retail company, Wild Ties, eight years ago at the height of the dot com boom, which he is ploughing into developing theater in China.

"Realizing that Beijing was one of the few international cities in the world that didn't have an English language theater is what inspired me to put my idea into action here," he says.

"Some people may think there is a big difference between e commerce and theater but in reality there are lot of similarities. Both are big tests of anyone's business skill and they are both cutting edge in their own way," he says.

But he adds: "The difference is that you get a lot of satisfaction from the look of a happy audience in the theater. That is what motivates you."

After arriving in Beijing in 2005 Verrill took a job as the creator, original producer and co-host of the China Drive program on China Radio International before he decided to launch a theater company.

He received 70 applicants from all different backgrounds, nationalities and ages to audition for his first production, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which he staged at the Beijing City International School in December 2006. He cast 30.

The story of the mean spirited Scrooge appealed to the Chinese audience.

"The iconic story applies in China as much as anywhere in the world," he says.

Verrill says he was worried about whether the Chinese would take to the concept of a semi-professional theater.

"While street performances and professional acting are deep-seated facets of Chinese culture, the month-long staging of the first show was a grand experiment in whether there was the staying power for this kind of thing, " he says.

So much so that Verrill was in a constant state of first night nerves and would sit at each performance on the balcony out of sight observing audience reaction.

"I liked to read their faces," he says. "They were saying to me, they liked it."

There have since been successful productions of Guys and Dolls, Love Letters and Neil Simon's comedy The Odd Couple as well as another A Christmas Carol. Romeo and Juliet in May, for which rehearsals are now taking place, will be the sixth production.

His company is looking to break even in its third year, a major achievement for any arts company.

"Breaking even might be boring for your business pages but it is actually excellent for the performing arts. In fact, it is good for many industries if you break even after three years."

There have been inevitable potential cultural embarrassments to contend with, even in an area as mundane as ticket pricing.

"Originally we were going to have ticket prices of 250 yuan. I had to change it because 250 read in a certain way in Chinese means imbecile. They are now 260 yuan," he laughs.

The theater currently operates with 11 regular staff, the actors themselves are unpaid volunteers and heavy expenditure items are special effects such as stage smoke as well as lighting and sound effects.

"Volunteers are at the core of what makes Beijing Playhouse a success," adds Verrill.

All this is far removed from Verrill's earlier career as a pioneer of the e-commerce revolution, where he specialized in media marketing.

After selling Wild Ties, which he had launched in 1995, he spent two years as the marketing and communications director of software innovator Senitus Corporation, again in Silicon Valley.

This marketing background has held him in good stead in Beijing, as he leafs through the well-designed brochure which introduces the 16 sponsors of the theatre.

"They are generous, but none of them gives us cash," Verrill said. "However, I don't need cash, what I need is a local business partner who is familiar with real estate, Chinese bureaucracy and property developments."

He believes people with such expertise on board will help him eventually find a permanent base for the theater, instead of having to perform at many different venues.

Besides the shows, the theater now has Kids Theatre Camp for teaching children to act; it runs a drama club and also offers public speaking courses for companies.

"My goal is to create a sustainable theater, to bring Broadway to China and most of all, to entertain audiences here," he says.

(China Daily 03/02/2009 page1)