Dong Qichang was a grandmaster of painting and a famous cultural figure in the Southern Yangtze region who came out from Songjiang. As an outstanding representative of the Songjiang painting school, he created numerous classic works, which have influenced the creation of literati painting for more than 300 years.
On the evening of 23 June, “Dong Qichang”, a large-scale historical drama, started its first round of performances in the STA Experimental Theatre of Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA). The play is jointly presented by the Songjiang District People's Government and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. It is the second piece of the theatrical work series about famous figures in the history in Songjiang that has been put on the stage.
"Dong Qichang" has a strong creative team. It is co-written by Lu Jun, a senior professor at STA, and Xiao Liu, a professor at STA. It is directed by Xu Wei, a director at the Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre. Yi Tianfu, Vice President of the China Stage Design Association and Dean of the STA Department of Stage Design, is in charge of the stage and lighting designs. Xu Jiahua, chief designer for make-up and modeling for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and a professor at STA, serves as the modeling designer. Pan Jianhua, Vice President of China Stage Design Association and a professor at STA, serves as the costume designer.
The theatrical work series about famous figures in the history of Songjiang is an important cultural brand project in the Humanistic Songjiang Action Plan. Among them, the drama "Xu Ji" (also known as "Four Ministers of the Ming Dynasty") has won the funding support of the China National Arts Fund, and has been staged earlier. The script creation of the drama "Lu Ji" and the Chinese opera "Chun Shenjun" have been completed, and both plays have won the funding support of the Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation, and will been put on the stage successively. Within this year, the text creation of the drama "Tao Zongyi" and the drama "Hou Shaoqiu" will also be completed.
