On November 20, 2023, the highly anticipated 8th China Campus Theater Festival kicked off in Shenzhen. Fu Yixuan, Deputy Secretary of the Branch of the Leading Party Members' Group and Secretary General of China Theater Association, Jin Xiu, Member of the Leading Party Members' Group and Full-time Vice Chairman of Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and other organizers, national experts and institution representatives attended the opening ceremony. The original musical Elephants’ Journey to the North of YNAU was selected as the opening performance of this year's campus theater festival for its excellent production and distinctive characteristics, which shone on the stage in the Concert Hall of Shenzhen Arts School. Jiang Feng, Member of the Party Committee and Vice President of YNAU, and Yang Jun, Dean of Drama School attended the opening ceremony.
The China Campus Theater Festival is a national campus theater festival founded by China Theater Association in 2008. It is held every two years and has been held seven times in Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen. Co-sponsored by China Theater Association, Publicity Department of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and Nanshan District Government of Shenzhen, this year's campus theater festival will stage 19 wonderful plays selected from universities across China, including 14 major plays and five short plays (opera highlights), from November 20 to 30, 2023. These plays cover a variety of forms, including dramas, traditional Chinese operas, operas, musicals, children's plays, and puppet shows. They include both classic or literary adaptations and original works that show students' campus life or are closely integrated with the majors of YNAU, as well as excellent works with ethnic customs or local characteristics.
At the opening ceremony, Fu Yixuan, the Deputy Secretary of the Branch of the Leading Party Members' Group and Secretary General of China Theater Association, delivered a speech and introduced that during this year's campus drama festival, in addition to repertoire performances and discussions, a dialogue activity themed "Drama on Campus" was also planned. Moreover, the activity "One Drama in One School" was held to invite drama experts and artists into the school, and a number of activities such as drama workshops, special lectures, and drama salons were also organized. These activities fully demonstrated the richness and diversity of campus drama in China, as well as the spiritual outlook of young students in the new era. Shenzhen, a youthful city, looks particularly beautiful with youthful dramas.
Since the establishment of the China Campus Theater Festival, four plays of the Drama School of YNAU have successively been included, namely Fairy Tale in Spring, The Last Overlord, Star Adventure, and Forever Paul, all of which have won the Excellent Play Award and "Campus Star" single award. This is the fifth time that Elephants’ Journey to the North, the original work of the Drama School, was selected for the China Campus Theater Festival. This year, it was selected as the opening performance, indicating the China Theater Association's high recognition of the creation and performance level of YNAU.
The play is led by Professor Liu Qiong from the Performance Department of Drama School, who serves as the project leader. She led the creative team and cast members, with a total of over 60 people including teachers and students from all majors to bring a wonderful visual feast to audiences from Shenzhen and other regions of China at the Concert Hall of Shenzhen Arts School. Adapted from the "2021 Long-distance Migration of Wild Asian Elephants", a news event that attracts worldwide attention, this play skillfully combines hot events with artistic beauty, allowing the audiences to receive education on ecological civilization in an interesting and entertaining way.
The participation of Elephants’ Journey to the North in this year's China Campus Theater Festival was highly valued by the Party Committee and administration of YNAU, which provided strong financial support. The Drama School has made every effort to bring together teachers and students from multiple majors such as Performance and Stage Art to jointly make revisions and practice repeatedly, bringing the most perfect stage art to Shenzhen. This play is the first talent training and play incubation achievement of "Yunnan Famous Artist - Liu Qiong Studio". Before that, it was approved as a "Special Support Project for Excellent Literary and Artistic Creation in Yunnan Province in 2022" and a large-scale stage play funded by China National Arts Fund in 2023. It has also been included in the 17th New Drama (Festival) Exhibition of Yunnan Province and the 8th China Campus Theater Festival successively. Moreover, it has won the Excellent Screenplay Award and Excellent Director Award for the New Play Exhibition in Yunnan Province. It is worth mentioning that the playwriting, directing, stage design, costume, make-up and modeling, and performance of this play are all completed by the faculty and student team of YNAU, fully demonstrating the advantages of the Drama School in its complete majors and abundant talents.
During the opening ceremony, the hall was packed with people. The meticulously designed animal figures and magnificent stage captivated and excited the audience. The emotional journey of the play aroused waves of laughter and enthusiastic applause from the audience as the plot unfolded. Even after the play ended, they were reluctant to leave and lingered for a long time.
After the performance, Fu Yixuan, Deputy Secretary of the Branch of the Leading Party Members' Group and Secretary General of China Theater Association, presented the medal of "Excellent Play" to the project leader Liu Qiong on behalf of the Organizing Committee. Director Lu Hao, a review expert, spoke highly of the performance and said, "It not only holds profound educational significance but also has reached a new height in artistic expression. It is a work with international artistic quality and has the potential to reach a broader audience."
After the audience left, Jiang Feng, Member of the Party Committee and Vice President of YNAU, paid a visit to the cast and crew on behalf of the Party Committee and administration of YNAU and expressed warm congratulations and heartfelt thanks for their outstanding performance.
The successful performance of Elephants’ Journey to the North at the opening ceremony of China Campus Theater Festival not only demonstrated the school-running level and professional image of YNAU, but also expanded its social influence. The Drama School demonstrates the quality and characteristic talent training with high-quality drama works. Through continuous examination by national display platforms, teachers and students have become more confident and positive. It is reported that after the performance, this play will go on a nationwide tour to cities such as Beijing, continuing to promote YNAU’s works throughout China.
