A corny show:

Dancer Myra Chu’s composition, Farmland Ritual, was among the highlights of recent Shandong village drama festival

The sixth installment of a biannual village drama festival was held in Mujiayuan village, Weifang, Shandong province last month.

The sixth installment of a biannual village drama festival was held in Mujiayuan village, Hanting district, Weifang, Shandong province last month. The festival — which included drama performances, workshops, a youth dialogue forum and a film screening — attracted scholars, artists and drama lovers from Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sichuan, Jilin and Shandong.

Theatrical performances varied in genre, with children’s dramas, Peking Opera, Huangmei Opera, Lu Opera, presented by the locals and artists from the drama workshops, such as well-known theater director, screenwriter, Cao Kefei, and dancer, Myra Chu. The stage shows were created and performed in “temporary theaters” in fields, village cultural squares and courtyards.

The theme of this particular event was “festival”, and, at the opening ceremony, a school from Weifang brought an original drama called Nianyue, to commemorate Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the moon and her husband Hou Yi.

A farmer from the area performed a local opera accompanied by the troupe that he established five years ago. Myra Chu performed her dance, Farmland Ritual in a field where the ground was covered with ears of corn.

The drama festival — held twice a year in spring and fall — is also known as the “Village Reviving Drama Experiment” and was inaugurated in 2016 by a young local, Mu Changfei, when he gave up the big city life and returned to his hometown.

Dancer Myra Chu (in red dress) instructs local children to participate in a group dance.

Local villagers participate in Farming Ritual, a dance piece choreographed by Myra Chu (in black dress).

The actress who plays the role of Dou’e in Snow in Summer prepares hermakeup.

Students from Zhuojing School in Weifang perform the drama Nianyue, created in combination with the local Mid-Autumn Festival custom.

The little actor who plays in the drama Nianyue finishes his costumes with the help of two staff.

The local Lu Opera actors prepare for the performance of Snow in Summer.

The villagers watch the performance of the Lu Opera Snow in Summer.