China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Benchmark dragon
KUNMING — A unique stage play titled Story Pawnshop was recently performed in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, leaving audiences enchanted.
But, unlike conventional, wellrehearsed plays, Story Pawnshop had a distinctive flavor — the show was performed without stage-setting, props, costumes or even a script, with the artists improvising their dialogue and acting.
Featuring a medley of audiences’ own stories staged through improvisation and original music, the 120-minute play belongs to a genre called improvisational theater.
It is a form of theater in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, relying on the spontaneity of the performers.
The performance in the city’s No 88 Theater located on Nanqiang Street was savored by more than 100 improv enthusiasts.
Before the show began, Su Ai, a doctor, had given the actors a story she had written about herself and her father who had just died.
The actors recreated fictional scenes depicting Su and her father and put together a touching moment — their family reunion.
“I’d like to thank all the performers for their excellent work. Their dialogue was composed of words that I could never express to my father,” Su, 33, said. “The final reunion was just like a dream for me.”
Several other stories of audiences were randomly selected by the performers for improvisation, with laughter and tears permeating the theater.
“Improv was introduced to China by troupes in Shanghai and Beijing more than a decade ago, receiving enthusiastic responses from local audiences,” said Wang Wentao, deputy head of Yuandong Troupe that produced Story Pawnshop.
Wang added that the initial success encouraged his troupe to perform in Kunming.
The troupe has been putting on shows at the No 88 Theater every weekend since August, and tickets have sold out almost every time.
Experts believe that the surging popularity of improv, like that of traditional opera and experimental theater, is part of a larger trend honoring stagecraft rather than films and teleplays as wealthier Chinese people seek more diverse forms of entertainment.
“Improv features interactions with audiences, giving us a sense of participation in the performance,” said Yang Guai, a 28-year-old programmer who watches improv plays almost every week. “It has become a good way to relieve stress.”
Zhang Tao, founder of Yuandong Troupe, said: “One of the audiences has watched our improvisational performances eight times, which perhaps suggests a promising future for the improv market. We are now recruiting and nurturing more actors interested in this genre.”
Zheng Siqi, 20, deems improv a way of life. “I joined the drama club on the university campus and regularly imitated professional troupes to rehearse some improvisational plays,” Zheng said, adding that improv pays more attention to acting itself than costumes or props, which is why it is more suitable for beginners.
Thailand welcomed the arrival of a Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, when neighboring Malaysia began mass vaccinations.
In Bangkok, authorities took possession of 200,000 doses of a vaccine from Sinovac Biotech, putting the country on course to kick off a national inoculation campaign.
Sinovac vaccine could prove “a big hand to help Thailand” in its fight against COVID-19, “especially in the areas with high transmission”, said Thira Woratanarat, associate professor in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University.
Thira noted that Thailand has been overwhelmed with a second wave of infections, with the problem worsened by delayed planning and negotiations with vaccine manufacturers.
Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson for the Thai government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said on Tuesday the 200,000 doses, excluding 16,300 to be stored in reserve, will be sent to 13 provinces with high infections rates and are economically significant.
The first group of people to get vaccinated includes medical workers, those in close contact with COVID-19 patients and people with certain chronic illnesses, and those aged 60 years or older, Xinhua reported.
Tang Zhimin, director of China ASEAN Studies in the Bangkokbased Panyapiwat Institute of Management, said the shipment of Sinovac’s vaccine is “a great move” for Thailand to jump start vaccinations and catch up with neighbors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that had already gotten off their campaigns.
“With Sinovac in its list of suppliers, Thailand is in a better bargaining position in the global scramble for the vaccines in short supply,” said Tang.
When markets return to normal operating hours, the government discount packages to stimulate consumption will have a bigger multiplier effect. This would in turn boost business optimism and hopefully attract a new round of investments, said Tang.
Three-phase program
Separately, three days after the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government started rolling out its threephase immunization program.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin launched the country’s inoculation drive by getting the first dose of the vaccine at the local health office. It was televised live by public broadcaster Radio Televisyen Malaysia.
Over 500,000 frontliners are expected to get vaccinated during the first phase which will last until April. More vaccines from China are expected to be delivered in days.
Leow Chiuan Yee, senior lecturer at the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine in Universiti Sains Malaysia, said public health data have shown a national immunization campaign has led to a drop in hospital admissions and reduced the risk of contracting a serious illness.
“The hope is for the vaccine to improve (the economic) condition (of Malaysians),” said Serina Abdul Rahman, visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.
Serina said that the program might also lead to a reopening in borders, and allowing more sectors to recover. However, “the vaccine is not fail safe and there is the possibility of rising numbers of infections even if (more) are getting vaccinated.”