Wuzhen Theater Festival cancels youth competition reservations: Huang Lei talks about queuing, theater expansion and commercial support

 This year’s Wuzhen Theater Festival Youth Competition has canceled online reservations and replaced them with on-site queuing for admission.On the first day of the performance, Huang Lei tied wristbands for the audience at the entrance and then entered the venue to arrange seats.Someone was dissatisfied that the original plan was disrupted by the queue. While performing these small services, he explained the reasons for the adjustment.

“ Last year, local public security organs handled 53 ticket fraud cases.”Huang Lei said that he canceled the appointment to fight scalpers.There are free seats for the youth competition. Some people are willing to spend time queuing, while others want to spend money in exchange for convenience. The organizers do not want young people queuing to lose their opportunity.This year, a large outdoor screen was added, so audiences who were unable to enter the theater could sit on the grass and watch the live broadcast.

He admitted that it would be difficult to take into account everyone's feelings for such a large-scale event, and there would be differences in reviews of the performances.“It’s good that everyone gives different voices every year. They are all a kind of love and tolerance, carefully accompanying the theater festival as it goes on.”At the scene of a specially invited play, the audience needed to participate in the bidding, but no one bid for the moment. Huang Lei also stepped forward to take over the process.

From the first to the 13th edition, Huang Lei felt that the theater festival was more stable than originally imagined.He compared the Wuzhen Theater Festival at this age to adolescent children: lively, changeable, eager to grow up, and also need tolerance.Space renovation, theater expansion and changes in performance rules all still revolve around that sentence“Create the biggest idea and provide the smallest service”.

Wuzhen originally had only two large theaters with a capacity of 1,000 people.In order to accommodate more works and respond to the audience's demand for theater, the granary and silk factory were transformed into a theater complex containing seven theaters. There is no traditional framed stage, and each space retains its own temperament.These theaters and sections did not all take shape in the first year, but grew up little by little over 13 years when demand and opportunities matured.This year the drama market has also adjusted its orientation, rotating the entire area 90 degrees to open up the line of sight to the canal.In another area of ​​the original bush, trees were retained, redundant shrubs were removed, an open lawn was paved, and a coffee spot was placed.Spectators can sit on the grass, drink coffee and watch the Grand Canal.Huang Lei said that Wuzhen has always relied on details to win, and these changes also constitute the evolution of the theater festival.

The three founders have gradually formed a division of labor over the years.Meng Jinghui travels around the world to select plays all year round, and this year he went to Chile to reach strategic cooperation with the local area and will jointly create in the future; Lai Shengchuan continues to bring new works, is deeply involved in “Town Dialogue”, and also serves as a judge; Huang Lei is more responsible for the composition, operation and management of the section.“We have found a balance among ourselves.”In his opinion, hosting festivals for artists helps maintain sobriety and independence. At the same time, theater festivals are also paying more and more attention to the audience.

More than 300 guests came to Wuzhen this year. The appearance of film and television actors attracted attention and made people look forward to cross-border creations.Huang Lei first talked about the relationship between actors and the stage: “So-called film and television actors also receive stage training, and there is no one who sets up two machines for training as soon as they come up.”His own "Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land" has been performed for more than 20 years and 700 to 800 performances, from his 30s to his 50s. In addition to filming TV series and variety shows, the stage has always occupied a large proportion, especially in the Wuzhen Theater Festival. Because it is relatively niche, he may not always be seen.Invite friends, and hope to use them to pass on this kind of life and serious art.He said that seriousness does not mean boring, and the aesthetic feelings and thoughts it triggers will go beyond the scope of entertainment.

Celebrity-endorsed brands have a particularly large number of activities during the drama festival this year, and Huang Lei does not reject this.He believes that the continued operation of large-scale theater festivals requires commercial power; the brand's choice to arrive at the most lively and attracting times also reflects the growth of the theater festival's influence.“The theater festival also needs more support. It is difficult to maintain it for a long time if it keeps losing money and making money.”His perception of some activities is that they are beautifully done and have the right temperament.

The original "hundred-year agreement" has now gone through thirteen years.As experience increases and the teamwork becomes more tacit, Huang Lei and his partners are still determined to achieve the 100th edition: “ I will continue to live the life I long for here, and I hope to live this life with everyone.” (Photography: Wang Xiaoxi)