Drama Life

Theater has been an integral part of my life. Here are some memorable moments from my journey on stage.

Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land (暗恋桃花源 2018)

This is my first time playing a leading role in a stage play. The play is called Secret Love In Peach Blossom Land (暗恋桃花源 in Chinese), and I play the role of Mr. Yuan (袁老板). It is one of the most famous works by the renowned playwright Stan Lai. My favorite line is when Jiang Binliu says to Yun Zhifan at the end, “Have you ever thought of me all these years?” (“这些年你有没有想过我？”)

Rhinoceros in Love (恋爱的犀牛 2019)

The last play I performed in during my high school drama club was Rhinoceros in Love (恋爱的犀牛 in Chinese). I played the role of the Great Immortal (大仙). This play tells a story of love that is both crazy yet mocked, bizarre yet deeply moving. I still remember seeing the auditorium completely packed, with people even standing in the aisles. The feeling of standing on that stage was truly incredible.

Seed Paradise (种子天堂 2021)

At university, I joined the Fudan Drama Troupe, one of the best amateur theater groups in China. This was my first time performing on a university stage. The play was titled “Seed Paradise,” dedicated to commemorating the late Professor Zhong Yang (钟杨) from Fudan University. He was renowned for his quote, “It is not the outstanding who dream well, but those who dream well who become outstanding.” (不是杰出者才善梦，而是善梦者才杰出。) He gave his life to protect the flora of Tibet. In the play, I portrayed his first Tibetan student, Tashi. Back then, to convincingly play this simple and sincere character, I spent a long time practicing how to gaze blankly.

Graduation Play: Forest Storytelling (森林故事会 2024)

This is a photo taken during the curtain call of my graduation play at the end of my undergraduate studies. The script for this play was entirely written by my close friend. Titled “Forest Storytelling” (森林故事会), it brought together a group of us who had been close friends for four years, united by our shared passion for theater. As the final curtain fell on this play, it also marked the end of my undergraduate life. From that moment on, wherever I go, I always check to see if there’s a drama club or any plays I can be part of.

Someone is Going to Come (有人将至 2025)

To stage Fosse is to stage the unstageable. The scarce action, the sparse setting, the circular dialogue, the rhythmic repetition, and the nightmarish landscapes of nowhere – all such major attributes of a Fosse play, all of which are compactly embodied par excellence in Someone is Going to Come, point to a radical project of communication, of communicating the impossibility of communication, or as the Swedish Academy’s bureaucratic, prosaic, yet oddly precise choice of words has it, to “give voice to the unsayable”.