The first lecture of "Meeting Intellectual in the Spring Hills" lecture series in 2020 was held "in the cloud" to greet everyone. Mr. Lucas Wang, the Artistic Director of the Inside-Out Theatre, shared with us the operation of theatres and production of dramas.

Review of Lecture

Lucas explained the different concepts of "theatre" and "playhouse", the modes and risks of theatre operation and the difficulties theatres are faced with during this epidemic period . He also shared the industry knowledge with us. After listening to the lecture, we are more looking forward to the works of theatres.

Lucas said, "The live ambience plays a key role in watching dramas in playhouses, which is difficult to be created through live streaming."

Lucas shared successful cases --En attendant Godot and Frankenstein

Choosing "Just Do Whatever Makes You Happy" as the theme, Mr. Lucas Wang frankly said that his background was in business rather than drama or other related professions. What made him determined to enter the industry of drama was interest and opportunity, and from his perspective, to enjoy your work is the simplist value in life.

Selection of Questions and Answers

Q：I'm curious about the skills of constructing a sense of space in the playhouse. For instance, we need to depict a comparatively large scene but we are restricted to the limited space of the stage.

A：We need to rely on perspective or choreography to express in an abstract way, for example, we can merely present one corner. The scene on the stage gives the audience a large space of imagination, which is also the charm of the playhouse.

Q：If I want to enter the industry, could you please recommend some internships?

A：Nowadays, there are many domestic and foreign theatres recruiting interns and volunteers, and many overseas playhouses even have long-term recruitment. There are also some emerging theatres in Shenzhen, and you can pay more attention to them.

Feedbacks from Students

@龚勋

I have always treasured the opportunity to communicate with professional troupes. Lucas introduced some knowledge about theatre operation to us and shared the experience of their team when they were creating plays, which made me feel the uniqueness of this industry once again. My experience of producing plays in the drama club enabled me to strongly resonate with the lecturer's sharing. Behind the beautiful stories is the real exhaustion.

@奥菲利亚

Due to the epidemic, I haven't walked into the playhouse to be immersed in a play for a long time. Lucas shared with us the difficulties theatres are faced with in this epidemic situation. I really felt sorry for that and it’s a heartbreak. Theatres have always been places full of love and affection. I hope it will recover soon.

@李安

Lucas shared many internal situations of the industry, which gave me a deeper understanding of the Chinese drama industry, especially private playhouses. After learning about the advantages of foreign language majors in the workplace like playhouses, I became more confident in my profession. However, Chinese drama still has a long way to go in terms of originality.

@郭旭康

This time, Lucas has shared a lot about drama and theatre operation, which has triggered me a lot. As a student of SME, I have a certain understanding of how non-art major students enter the field of drama and form a clearer conception of the theatre industry. I also hope there will be more similar sharing in the future.

 About the Guest

 Lucas Wang is an experienced theatre manager and a drama producer, who has been the director of Inside-Out Theatre since 2016 and is responsible for the programme planning of theater performances, the curation of artistic films and the operation of venues.

    In 2016, in collaboration with the Belgian director Jeroen Versteele, he produced the Chinese version of the contemporary Dutch drama “Poison”, which premiered in Inside-Out Theatre on December 29, 2016. In 2017, he cooperated with Swiss director Elias Perrig to produce the Chinese version of the contemporary British drama “Breathing”, which won the 2017 Shanghai drama award for the “Best Small Theatre Drama of the Year”. In the same year, he introduced “White Rabbit and Red Rabbit” into China. This special “drama game” created under specific rules gave audience unique enjoyment and interactivity, delivering them special artistic experience, and stood out from the ordinary drama markets. People from all walks of life, such as actors, hosts, and artists from other fields, were invited to take part in the “drama game” and now it has carried out 7 rounds of performances. He planned and held the first Inside-Out Theatre Technology and Art Festival. Under the structure of “Technology x Art”, through 3 foreign dramas and 3 locally produced dramas, he initiated the discussion about how to express science ethic in drama and how to apply new technology into performance. The second festival was held from 15 to 20 September, 2019. This festival focused on how technologies, such as social media and monitoring, get involved in our life. Also, the festival put forward new thinking and questions about the relationship between individuals and the relationship in between people and society.

The Inside-Out Theatre 

The Inside-Out Theatre is located in the Middle Art Park of Xingshikou Road, Haidian District. It is the first private theatre in the western part of Beijing. With an area of 2,724 square meters, it was reconstructed based on the original structure of an old factory building. The interior of the theatre was designed with professional acoustics and lighting. It has a 442-seat medium-sized theatre, a 105-seat projection space, a rehearsal hall, and an open multi-functional hall which can be used for performances of various art categories such as small theatre plays, mini operas, concerts and so on.

    The Inside-Out Theatre is committed to providing a comfortable, open, and diversified artistic communication space with an international perspective for audiences and artists. Since the formal establishment of the Inside-Out Theater in 2013, it has gradually become one of the most influential theatres in the western part of Beijing, and has received more and more attention and recognition from various media. In 2015, it was nominated by the Beijing News and was awarded “The Second Most Popular Theater in Beijing” in the annual drama category election; in 2016 it was nominated by “Life Week” as “Best Theater of the Year in Beijing”.

Meeting Intellectuals in the Spring Hills

“Meeting Intellectuals in the Spring Hills” is one of the University's lecture series where the University will invite social elites in such fields as culture and arts to share with our students in form of salon or lecture to promote a discussion of thought-provoking issues or soul-searching experiences. During the lectures, everyone will have a chance to listen and respond on their world views, their aspirations, and intellectual taste in life.