A scene from The Jiang's House 1912 in Dalian, Liaoning province. The production was the city's first crowdfunded modern drama.Photos By Wen Lei / For China Daily
A TV anchor is promoting greater public participation in the production of contemporary drama.
During the Oct 28 debut of The Jiang's House 1912, the first crowdfunded modern drama performed in Dalian, Liaoning province, producer Wang Bo waited at the theater door.
With box-office takings of 320,000 yuan ($46,462), Wang wasn't concerned about profits. Instead, he wanted to get firsthand feedback from the audience.
He noted their criticisms, such as the theater's poor acoustics and the number of lame jokes in the play, and promised to improve the performance in the next show.
"We want to build a platform for grassroots modern drama so ordinary people can participate in the production and performance of plays," said Wang, an anchor with Dalian TV. He is also founder of the Modern Drama Producer, the northeastern city's first crowdfunding platform for contemporary stage plays which is dedicated to building a platform for actors, playwrights, directors and investors.
The Jiang's House 1912 sparked interest among Dalian locals in September, when the Modern Drama Producer started raising funds for a performance of the play.
Within a month, the project had raised 15,000 yuan from 123 people, who received discounted tickets and invitations to take part in rehearsals and communicate face-to-face with the director - Wang Dong, who also wrote the play and takes the lead role - and members of the cast.
While Wang Bo was disappointed with the total raised, he remained optimistic about future developments.
"We expected to raise 70,000 yuan (the full cost of staging the play). In fact, with investment of 165,000 yuan, we made a small profit. However, the project attracted the attention of potential audience members, and what really matters is that our team went through the whole process, from fundraising to market promotion. We will definitely do much better in the future," he said.
"By combining resources, we can provide the younger generation with a stable stage and look forward to seeing a bright future for modern drama in Dalian, and even in China," Wang said. He added that the project has paid 30,000 yuan for the rights to stage a production of a new play called Run Away, written by Zhu Fu, a member of the Association of Chinese Dramatists, and will soon begin a crowdfunding program.
At present, many small troupes devoted to modern drama are attempting to raise money via online crowdfunding platforms.
Unlike equity-based crowdfunding, where investors receive shares in a company, people who donate money to modern drama can obtain discounted tickets, participate in rehearsals and interact closely with actors. Alternatively, their names will appear in the acknowledgments and producer's list.
Groups that offer detailed descriptions of proposed performances usually win the most support from netizens, with some raising as much as 150,000 yuan.
