21 September 2019
On the morning of 10 January 2019, Professor David Henry Hwang, the world-renowned Chinese American playwright, conducted a wonderful open class on writing for postgraduate playwriting students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy in Classroom 207 at the Red Building of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Three days ago, Professor David Henry Hwang was just appointed an honorary professor of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. This open class was the last one of a series of playwriting lectures conducted by him after he had received this title, in which he also brought the training methods for playwriting of the Columbia University to the class of the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
In addition to the postgraduate playwriting students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, there were also many other people who came from within and without the Shanghai Theatre Academy to observe the class, including a number of teachers of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Professor Lu Jun said laughingly that he himself is also a student in front of Professor David Henry Hwang.
The open class was divided into three parts. Professor Hwang first reviewed the script reading session of English thousand-word plays of the postgraduate playwriting students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy which he watched on the afternoon of 9 January. Immediately after that, he led the students through one hour of improvisation writing exercises, and set aside the last half an hour to answer the questions of the students on the spot.
By then, his lecture series on playwriting at the Shanghai Theatre Academy came to a successful conclusion. Over the past few days, Professor Hwang had spared no effort to carry out academic exchanges and share creative experience with the teachers and students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy on many occasions, thereby, bringing American teaching methods for playwriting to the Shanghai Theatre Academy and deepening the exchange and cooperation between the Columbia University and the Shanghai Theatre Academy in playwriting teaching, which is of great significance and far-reaching impact. The teachers and students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy Playwriting Research Center led by Professor Lu Jun will also continue to make efforts for mutual exchanges and provide more exchange and learning opportunities to young Chinese playwrights, with the support of the leadership of the Shanghai Theatre Academy as well as the Department of Theatrical Literature, Graduate School, Discipline Office and International Exchange Centre.
