Young talent takes center stage

Theater immersion training provides an opportunity to those not used to the spotlight, Yang Feiyue reports.

Jiang Yisen headed out from home at 5 in the morning of July 18, and spent more than 10 hours switching between buses and high-speed trains before arriving in Huichang county, East China's Jiangxi province, to pursue his dream in theater.

Jiang is about to start his second year at a middle school in Congjiang county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province, and has been bitten by the stage bug since he watched the classic Chinese play Thunderstorm online a year ago. The play has been widely described as one of China's most enduring stage plays of the 20th century.

Jiang didn't show any signs of fatigue and got right into a 10-day theater immersion training during the Mailang Teenage Theatre Competition that was jointly hosted by the organizing committee and video-streaming platform Bilibili and received support from the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication, a UNESCO advisory body.

Jiang says his dream came true when stage professionals held his hands all the way through.

"Here, teachers give us guidance at various workshops every day," Jiang says, adding that now he better understands directing, traditional Chinese opera, and key stage elements, like movement and lighting.

Jiang and nine other schoolmates received a fund from the event's organizers to join the competition and training, which had not been available back in school.

Although he didn't enter the final, Jiang says he has picked up many practical skills.

"Many thanks to Mailang for giving us kids from the mountains the opportunity to experience theater, enriching our spiritual world. When I return to school, I want to organize a theater performance so that more students can feel the charm of theater," Jiang says.

He is among more than 80 teenagers from 50 middle schools across the country who joined the competition.