Cao Yu is a writer with the highest level of creation and artistic achievement in the history of Chinese drama, and is also a famous dramatist with international influence, known as "Shakespeare of China".
On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Cao Yu's birth, the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) recently held an academic seminar to commemorate the event. Nearly 30 experts and scholars engaged in the Cao Yu stuides and those who have participated in the adaptation and stage practice of Cao Yu’s dramas attended the seminar.
Professor Yang Yang, Vice president of STA, delivered the opening speech. Cao Shujun, Vice president of the China Cao Yu Studies Society and Director of the Cao Yu Studies Office of STA’s Chinese Drama Studies Center, delivered a keynote speech. Experts and scholars from STA, Shanghai Art Research Institute, Paris-Sorbonne University of Franch, Bayin Art school in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province and Chinese Society of Drama Theory and History, as well as representatives of STA alumini, including Tang Zhiyan, Lu Yadong, Zhang Jilai, Wang Xueming, Yang Xinhua, Ji Feng, Wei Shuxian, Zhao guocan, Chen Jun and Ding Luonan etc attended the seminar and made presentations. After the seminar, the participating experts and scholars watched the slected edisode of the opera "Wilderness" in the rehearsal hall.
This event was proposed by the retired professors of STA and organized by STA’s Chinese Drama Studies Centre. It was the first Caoyu studies seminar held offline after the COVID-19 outbreak. This seminar covered a wide range of contents, from the exploration of creative practice to the elevation of theoretical summary, from the analysis of Cao Yu's life to the close reading of drama texts, which involved the whole process of creation, performance and acceptance. To a certain extent, it has increased the breadth and depth of the studies of Cao Yu's dramas, and will certainly be of inspiring significance to drama creation and performance at present.
