Behind the scenes at a grand and world-class theater
Print Edition
The Shanghai Poly Grand Theater in Jiading District has been building its audience since it opened four years ago. It has put on 1,180 performances and introduced nearly 20,000 artists to more than 800,000 visitors.
Zhu Guiyin, a technical manager at the theater, is one of the group of lighting and sound engineers and set designers who have made all the theater鈥檚 achievements possible.
鈥淎 stage, however its complexity, requires us to finish its arrangement one day before the performance,鈥 said Zhu. 鈥淲e need at first to get in touch with the troupes, to know what kind of equipment is needed, what the stage layout is and what the choreography will be. We feel glad when the troupes can visit the theater when we are arranging the stage. But sometimes they can鈥檛 and we can only depend on phone or e-mail exchanges, and problems may occur.鈥
Once a misunderstanding occurred because a translator mistranslated the voltage of electromechanical equipment before the Russian drama 鈥淪lava鈥檚 Snowshow鈥 was staged at the theater at the end of 2016.
鈥淪afety of the performers needs to be ensured first and foremost,鈥 said Zhu. He explained how ventilation was stopped to prevent performers from being hurt by scissors attached on ropes as props and how the staff rearranged the stage and reduced the weight of the props to ensure the stage was not overloaded.
鈥淲e may just need strength and care to dismantle a stage, whereas to arrange the stage we have to use the brain,鈥 said Zhu.
The theater invited more than 500 troupes from 24 countries and regions to stage performances over the past four years. Famous artists such as actress Liu Xiaoqing, dancer Yang Liping, conductor Tan Lihua and director Lin Zhaohua have set foot there.
The meticulous pursuit of the artists and their art in turn encourages the theater employees to do well.
When Lin Zhaohua鈥檚 play 鈥淭he Three Sisters Waiting for Godot鈥 was to be staged in the theater, the crew arrived beforehand to do their final rehearsals due to the different stage, lighting and sound conditions between Shanghai Poly Grand Theater and theaters in Beijing.
鈥淲e did everything possible to meet the crew鈥檚 requirements to ensure the success of the performance,鈥 said one theater employee.
When world-renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman expressed an interest to perform in China, the theater immediately sent out an invitation. An agreement on poster design was reached after rounds of negotiation since the theater intended to focus on the violinist, whereas the foreign troupe hoped the whole troupe could be publicized.
鈥淲hen doing the promotion, we paid attention to everything from artist introduction and portrait to a specific usage of an adjective. Sometimes a punctuation mark would be revised repeatedly. All these are part of the performance,鈥 said Hao Yinan, chief of the theater鈥檚 branding department.
On the theater鈥檚 schedule there is a 鈥渕onthly play鈥 column to ensure the audience can watch one cheap and cheerful play every month. The monthly play enjoys an attendance rate of above 60 percent, partly for the appealing price that may be as cheap as 50 yuan (US$7.2) per ticket, and partly, and mostly, for the theater鈥檚 emphasis on the diversity and quality of the plays.
鈥淲e hope through the monthly play we can cultivate the aesthetic value of the audience. Though at first the low ticket price was aimed to attract those who had never been to the theater, the standard of the plays rises as the audience group enlarges,鈥 said Hu Po, chief of the program department.
As a local comprehensive theater, the Shanghai Poly Grand Theater enlarges its target audience by introducing the world鈥檚 top artists on one hand and holding universal art popularization concerts monthly on the other, according to Hu.
鈥淲e dig out potential plays ourselves, and we also have support from our chain theaters to batch purchase plays. So many plays were debuted here in Jiading,鈥 said Qin Tiji, chairman of Shanghai Poly Grand Theater Management Co.
Though it is only late October, the schedule of Shanghai Poly Grand Theater is full till the end of December. Scheduled performances include 鈥淲hite Deer Plain鈥 from the Shaanxi People鈥檚 Art Theater, 鈥淪wan Lake鈥 by the Royal Russian Ballet and a concert by famous Chinese pianist Li Yundi.
The theater also pays attention to children鈥檚 artistic cultivation. It organized its children鈥檚 choir in 2015 and held the first Shanghai Children鈥檚 Chorus Festival in July this year with 10 children鈥檚 choruses from Shanghai and other regions taking part. The Poly Children鈥檚 Choir visited Norway, Denmark and Sweden in August this year and met the mayor of Oslo during a reception for the children.
鈥淚 sent my daughter to Poly Children鈥檚 Choir for the first-rate facility of the theater and also for the face-to-face guidance from its top artists,鈥 said Wen Fang, mother of a Poly Children鈥檚 Choir member.
In March this year, the theater also founded its children鈥檚 ballet troupe and enrolled 41 students.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
