The Beijing People's Art Theatre and Yanqing District have joined forces to launch a "Drama Co-Creation Plan," with the Shixiaguan Valley in the "Badaling Great Wall" demonstration area—part of Beijing's second batch of the "Hundreds and Thousands Project"—serving as the pilot site.
The initiative aims to address creative challenges faced by art troupes, guiding artistic creation to take root among the people and in everyday life. It seeks to channel high-quality cultural resources directly to the grassroots and bring professional theatrical expertise to rural areas, injecting fresh cultural momentum into the high-quality development of the capital's countryside.
Tang Ye, Deputy Director of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, stated that the core of the plan is to build a bridge connecting artistic troupes with grassroots practice. It promotes paired cooperation, resource sharing, and joint drama creation, enabling professional theatrical work to truly embed itself in rural settings and integrate into rural development. This fosters a deep fusion of dramatic art and rural construction, injecting lasting vitality into the effort to beautify the countryside through culture in the new era.
In terms of thematic creation, the plan will delve deeply into the cultural heritage and unique resources of Yanqing District. Leveraging the Beijing People's Art Theatre's strengths in professional creation, it will focus on three core themes: Great Wall preservation, rural revitalization, and ecological conservation. Creation teams will be organized to conduct immersive fieldwork and life experiences in Shixiaguan Valley and surrounding villages, meticulously uncovering rural stories at the foot of the Great Wall and the millennia-old Great Wall culture. The goal is to produce exquisite theatrical works that embody contemporary warmth, regional characteristics, and artistic quality.
Regarding art outreach, the initiative will utilize Yanqing District's existing cultural spaces and drama bookstores as bases. It will fully leverage the Beijing People's Art Theatre's leading role in theatrical theory research by collectively donating art theory books and professional publications meticulously compiled by the theatre in recent years, and specifically establishing a "Beijing People's Art Reading Zone."
In the area of talent empowerment, the Beijing People's Art Theatre will dispatch key professionals from fields such as acting and stage design to engage with distinctive landmarks in Yanqing, including village spaces and guesthouse courtyards. They will carry out various forms of artistic guidance and practical experience activities, combining deep life immersion for creation with grassroots service to the public. This approach allows dramatic art to step out of theatres and integrate into daily rural life.
For resource integration, the Beijing People's Art Theatre will actively organize its artists to participate in various cultural activities in Yanqing District. It will jointly promote drama art brand projects, facilitating two-way exchange and mutual learning of resources between both parties. This aims to precisely channel professional theatrical resources to the grassroots to serve local communities, helping Yanqing District develop a rural development model rich in cultural connotation and artistic distinctiveness, allowing Great Wall culture and dramatic art to shine with new brilliance through their interaction.
Zhang Jing, Deputy Director and Second-Level Investigator of the Yanqing District Culture and Tourism Bureau, stated that by utilizing the Shixiaguan Valley Tourist Service Center and public spaces in high-quality guesthouses, Yanqing District will arrange special art venues such as drama bookstores and small performance spaces. It will establish regular art practice bases for fieldwork creation, script incubation, and stage design sketching. Jointly, they will conduct various forms of cultural volunteer services, including drama salons and script readings, providing the Beijing People's Art Theatre with professional performance venues, comprehensive cultural tourism scenarios, and local performance talent support.
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