Acting master class

Back in 2019, Beijing People's Art Theatre launched its first training program for young acting talent, which saw 10 students graduate and join the company.

According to Feng, Beijing People's Art Theatre has often collaborated with art schools in the training of new recruits, but 2019 was the first time that the company began doing so independently.

"Beijing People's Art Theatre has a long tradition and its own acting standard and style. Our students will carry on that legacy, which is very important for the theater," says Feng.

"I asked the applicants who came to our auditions, 'why do you want to join Beijing People's Art Theatre', and some of them told me that they wanted to become stars," says Feng. "We look for good actors, but not stars. Good actors become stars because they can act. Being famous is not the goal.

"People have many more options for entertainment now. The same is true for people who create dramas. They have more opportunities, more challenges and more temptations. I hope that the young students will stay focused and passionate about the craft of acting," he says.

Feng also notes that one of the key areas of the training program is encouraging them to read as much as possible, since many classic theatrical productions by Beijing People's Art Theatre are based on literary works.

"Great dramatists, such as Cao Yu and Lao She, laid a solid foundation for the theater. Their scripts are classics and have been adapted into plays for decades. We will train the new recruits to read their scripts first and to understand them. They need to read the whole thing, not just the parts they are assigned," Feng adds.