From October 16 to 17, the 23rd China Shanghai International Arts Festival's "Rising Artists’ Works" commissioned work, the play "Awakening", was successfully performed at the Duanjun Theatre of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. On the day of the performance, the seats were fully occupied, and the response was enthusiastic.
"Rising Artists’ Works" is a professional project aimed at nurturing and supporting emerging artistic talents. It not only provides a platform for young artists to showcase their talents but also offers comprehensive support through funding, resourcesand professional guidance, helping young artists bring their original works to a broader stage. With an open and inclusive attitude, it cares for and supports the creation of young artistic talents worldwide, providing a platform for artistic practice and intellectual exchange across different cultural backgrounds. It encourages young artists to innovate and express unique artistic thoughts and the spirit of the times. "Awakening", with the goal and belief of "shaping roles from the perspective of young people and performing for young audiences", stood out from over 293 applications through defense and selection.
"Awakening" focuses on the youth of Zhang Wentian, an early leader of the Communist Party of China. Through poetic strokes and expressive techniques, it uses Zhang Wentian's three farewells to his mother as the narrative thread, showcasing how a young man, in times of national crisis, transitions from confusion to awakening, from exploration to determination, ultimately finding and adhering to his beliefs. It fully demonstrates Zhang Wentian's lofty ideals, patriotism, intellectual character, and courageous "pioneer spirit."
The play aims to let the audience experience the journey of young Zhang Wentian in finding himself and his ideals, and exploring the truth of saving the nation and its people through artistic forms. The work adopts the principle of "not letting words harm the meaning," abandoning the "traditional melodrama" paradigm, and focuses on depicting Zhang Wentian's growth and struggles in a prose-like manner. It deeply explores his inner world, showcasing his conflicts and choices between ideals and reality, and between personal and family matters. Through genuine emotional expressions, such as his feelings for his mother, his thirst for truthand his friendship, the play brings the audience closer to the character. Zhang Wentian in the play is no longer a mere historical symbol but a vivid, emotionaland thoughtful young figure. His every hesitation and awakening deeply touch the audience's hearts.
The performance, while maintaining the basic genre of drama, integrates various art forms such as music, dance, film and visual arts, combined with modern aesthetics and multimedia technology.Drawing on the effects of sublimation and purification from opera and solemn drama, the production aims to convey a sense of order and ceremony, providing the audience with a multi-dimensional viewing experience. The costume design, stage setting, lighting designand music all incorporate modern aesthetics, giving the production a fashionable and contemporary feel. Additionally, this round of performances emphasizes the pursuit of modern minimalist aesthetics, skillfully combining reality and symbolism, representation and expression, realism and abstraction, narrativity and theatricality. This approach fully embodies poetic qualities under the guidance of the "total art" concept, making it more relatable to contemporary youth and enhancing the interaction between visual and auditory senses.
The play also covers significant historical events such as Zhang Wentian's academic experiences during the May Fourth Movement, debates on non-resistance, the "Chongqing Struggle" and the May Thirtieth Movement, providing a strong sense of historical authenticity and immersion. Through delicate performances and heartfelt portrayals, the actors recreate the journey of Zhang Wentian and others in their pursuit of ideals and spiritual exploration, allowing the audience to feel part of the story and resonate with the plot and characters. This enables the audience to deeply experience the passionate concern of these young people for the fate of the nation and their profound reflections on the current state, futureand destiny of Chinese society.
As the performance concluded, the theater was filled with enthusiastic applause. This inter-generational dialogue of youth, spanning a century, not only resonates with the pulse of the times but also connects with the hearts of young people. It allows the struggles, growthand transformation in the pursuit of ideals of two generations of youth to echo each other, enabling young audiences to feel the noble commitment of revolutionary predecessors. From this, they draw spiritual strength, inspiring personal reflection on faith, social responsibilityand historical mission, and motivating relentless efforts for a better life, ideals and value pursuits.
