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Children’s theater thrives
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WITH summer vacation under way, children’s plays have come into peak season, and the market once dominated by just two state-owned children’s theaters is now vastly more competitive, with scores of participants.
Though the increasing number of private theaters injects more creativity and vitality, experts worry that some unqualified productions may corrupt the market and bring bad influences to children.
Children’s drama in Shanghai underwent a very difficult time in the late 1990s due to competition from overseas and shrinking financial support from the government. It has regained its footing in an expanding market since the late 2000s, according to Cai Jinping, president of the China Welfare Institute Children’s Theater.
A baby boom and parents’ recognition of drama as an art form that can enlighten their kids have also contributed to the revival of children’s play in the city.
More than 8 percent of Shanghai’s 24 million residents are children under 14 years old, according to China’s 2010 census. That means there are about 2 million children as potential audience members for children’s drama. The number is expected to increase with the amended family-planning policy allowing many young couples to have a second child.
“Surely children’s drama is not their only choice for entertainment, but the expanding market is still undeniable, as we have witnessed,” says Cai.
As a result, many private companies have shown up to compete with the two state-owned art theaters — China Welfare Institute Children’s Theater, established in the 1940s, and Shanghai Puppet Theater, established in the 1960s. According to the Oriental Morning Post, more than 100 private companies are now producing children’s play.
Shanghai Camphor Art Troupe, created in 2007, is among the earliest private companies. “To make drama purely for children” was the initial idea for Mao Weirong in founding the troupe. Having worked as an actor for a state-owned children’s drama theater since 1974, Mao was dissatisfied with some of the “educational” works that were winning prizes and honors at the time.
“What the judges and leaders wanted might not be exactly what the children liked,” says Mao. “Sometimes I could not help questioning whether our audiences could understand some of the dramas we produced.”
Mao believes in two basic elements for a good children’s drama — a story that can be easily understood and colorful presentations that capture children’s attention. However, there were limits in state-owned companies to realize them in the non-market-oriented times.
“Most children can only concentrate on one thing for no more than five minutes. If you cannot catch their attention constantly, you will lose them,” says Mao.
After establishing his own company, Mao tried combining various stage elements into his works. He inserted interactive games into the dramas, while most traditional productions still center on dialogue, singing and dancing. He even once put a helicopter on stage, but later decided that was too much of a distraction from the drama itself. Now he’s working on bringing holographic images on stage.
It was difficult to succeed in the market as a private company at first, but Mao persisted and gradually his plays increased in popularity. The Camphor Art Troupe has presented more than 200 times on average for the past several years and expects increase that number this year.
Though private companies like Mao’s face financial challenges, they are willing to look at market demands more sensitively and try new things, Mao says.
“Just like the Chinese saying goes, it is easier for a small boat to turn around,” he says.
However, the private companies can also produce plays that go awry, with shoddy productions and worse. Countless versions of “Snow White” fill the market, for example. Some use cheap interactive games for more than half of the play, and some use nonprofessional performers wearing masks who don’t even act but simply stretch their arms and twist their waists. Such uses of commercial and low-cost elements have disappointed many parents and bothered practitioners in the field.
“Even if there are financial limitations, some of the dramas are too shoddily produced,” says Mao.
He can understand the companies prefer to use famous tales rather than original stories, so that they can sell well. But he cannot tolerate poor costumes and stage settings that show little respect for the audiences except a desire for profit.
“As producers of plays for children, we should at least carry on some social responsibility in the work,” he says. “We should be the ones to create a colorful, dreamy world for the children rather than ruin it. Surely there are costs in producing qualified children’s drama. If you begrudge spending the money, then don’t enter the field in the first place.”
Some plays even violate basic tenets for children, such as violence and sexually suggestive elements. Inviting children in the audience to beat the bad guy on and off stage has already become a common tactic in many children’s dramas.
A mother told Cai with the China Welfare Institute Children’s Theater that she even witnessed a lap dance in a children’s performance of “Cinderella.”
“Children’s drama is not just about providing fun on stage, but also offering enlightenment on the good and the beautiful, which may eventually help them set up their values,” says Cai, “Blindly taking on what entertains children rather than guiding them will be very dangerous.”
It is always good to see a thriving market with numerous participants providing rich choices. But Cai is worried that the long absence of a permitting system to allow market access may continue to let unqualified products enter the market.
“You cannot expect all that on self-regulation,” says Cai.
Musical “The Happiness of Growing Up”
Date: Through July 20, 10:30am, 2:30pm
Tickets: 120-220 yuan
Venue: Shanghai Children’s Theater, 800 Miaojiang Rd
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