A plethora of side events and activities will add color to the Shanghai International Arts Festival, creating what organizers call a “festival within a festival.”

The diverse line-up includes everything from displays of Fujian cultural heritage, classical and contemporary art from Hungary, a musical carnival at Shanghai’s Zhujiajiao watertown, and competitions between international puppet and comedy teams.

Such side events have been a fixture of the festival since 2002 and are meant to showcase the talents of lesser-known artists, according to Liu Wenguo, the festival’s artistic director.

Place-specific programs like Mexican Culture Week, German Culture Week and Shaanxi Culture Week were all well received during previous festivals, says Liu, making him and his team keen to add similar events to this year’s calendar.

“The side events encompass different styles and serve as an important supplement to the main festival,” says Liu.

Strings of tradition

One of this year’s highlights is the Fujian Culture Week, which will draw attention to the ancient arts from this core region of the Maritime Silk Road. Specific events will include the marionette show “The Chinese Orphan,” the nanyin-style musical concert “Phoenix Seeking a Mate” and a performance of the Min Opera “Double Butterfly Fan.”

“The Chinese Orphan,” to be staged at Malanhua Theater on October 25-26, is adapted from the well-known Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) stage play “The Orphan of Zhao.” It will be presented by the Quanzhou Puppet Troupe.

In China, marionette shows became a popular form of entertainment in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC). By the late Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Quanzhou in Fujian Province had emerged as a focal point of the art. Delicately crafted puppets, dexterous performers and beautiful regional music all contributed to the renown of Quanzhou’s puppet theater tradition. In 2006, this tradition was placed on China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Most of the traditional puppet shows that exist today are comedies or folk tales, according to Wang Jingxian, president of the Quanzhou Puppet Troupe and the playwright behind this marionette production of “The Chinese Orphan.”

“Regardless of how delicate the puppets are, they cannot change their facial expressions. That means we have to work even harder to create body language for the puppets so as to make up for this limitation. In addition, we also tried our best to enrich the music, sound effects and stage settings to support the mood,” says Wang.

Based on positive reactions to the show in Beijing and Shandong Province, Wang and his troupe seem to have conquered the challenges of translating this classic story into a 100-minute puppet performance. “The Chinese Orphan” has already adapted into a host of other media and was one of the first Chinese theatrical works to make its way overseas.

Unlike many other productions, it presents the original play in its unabridged form. In total, about 60 marionettes were created for the play.

Ancient sounds live on

Also on tap from Fujian is the nanyin-style concert “Phoenix Seeking a Mate” from Quanzhou Normal University, scheduled for October 26 at the Hongqiao Art Center.

Nanyin music originated in Quanzhou in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), when the music of the Han people merged with the local sounds of Fujian Province. A typical nanyin ensemble is usually composed of pipa, vertical bamboo flute, sanxian (three-stringed plucked instrument) and erxian (two-stringed plucked instrument) players, as well as vocalists and supplementary percussion instruments like the wooden knocker, flat drum and double-bells.

“Phoenix Seeking a Mate” centers on a story of love-at-first-sight set in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).

The concert will break from the nanyin tradition of having instrumentalists occupying stage center. Instead, they will perform in the orchestra pit, while singers and dancers will help illustrate the story.

The melodies of nanyin music are usually described as elegant, gentle and emotional. Thousands of pieces of such music have been passed down through the ages, with studies of the genre finding many similarities with mainstream music of the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties.

The 20 musical numbers in the “Phoenix Seeking a Mate” concert were composed mostly by Wu Shi’an, the national-level nanyin inheritor.

“Nanyin is beautiful and has been popular in the region for a long time. Even though the local government took great effort for the preservation and inheritance, the traditional presentation may not seem that attractive to the young generation today,” says Wang Shan, vice president of the Quanzhou Normal University. “We have to make a change, while being alert against spoiling the essence of nanyin by improper changes.”

Butterfly love

The butterfly, as a symbol for romance in traditional Chinese drama, will play witness to a tragic love story again when Fujian Provincial Experimental Min Opera Theater stages their latest production, “Double Butterfly Fan” at Hongqiao Art Center on October 29.

Min Opera is a form of performance popular in Fujian, Taiwan and some regions of Southeast Asia. It was born in the late 19th century when three regional operas — Rulin, Pingjiang and Jianghu — merged into a single style. Min Opera was listed the National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006.

The terms “rulin,” “pingjiang” and “jianghu” are still used today to identify particular voices and presentation styles in Min Opera. “Rulin” voices featuring romance and “pingjiang” voices depicting ordinary people with humor are used in “Double Butterfly Fan.”

“We try to make the tragedy not a burden for the audience. And we have witnessed more young audiences responding favorably to the new production,” says Zhou Hong, president of the company behind the show.

Other fantastic side events

Hungary Culture Week

The Hungary Culture Week will consist of stage performances by Mupa Budapest, Muzsikas Ensemble, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Roby Lakatos Ensemble and Hungarian Rhapsody — an exhibition in commemoration of Franz Liszt. There will also be outdoor performances and arts education events to enrich the week.

Zhujiajiao Water Village Music Festival

With 35 performances over 10 days, Zhujiajiao Water Village Music Festival will bring to town a music carnival of both international and local musicians. Meanwhile, outdoor activities like the River Cruise Parade, Corner Stage and Bee Market will color the festivities.

Shanghai International Comedy Festival

The Shanghai International Comedy Festival this year will feature more diverse genres with three major categories — “International Classic,” “Chinese Original” and “Interactive Joy.” It will start with the classic comedy “As You Like It” by Italian National Theater of Torino, and close with Chinese comedian Chen Peisi’s show “The Stage.”