Tent Play In Mainland China

Tent theatre originated in the Student Democracy Movement of protesting “TheJapan US Security Treaty” in the1960’s, and then two tent theatre groups “Red Tent”and “Black Tent” were established. As early as1992, the Japan troupe “Shinjuku andLiangShanpo” which claimed itself lineal successors of the “Red Tent” performed aplay “The Legend of Mermaid” in Shanghai. In2007, the tent theatre group“YeZhanZhiYue· HaiBiZi” led by Japanese director Sakurai Daizo put up a tent inBeijing, and performed a play “Changing Jiake City”. Since then, Sakurai began topractice his theory about the tent theatre in Beijing. During this period, the Beijingtent theatre group,“Lin” and “Liuhuo” have been established one after another.Additionally, two original plays “The Crow State2” and “Cyborg·Don Quixote”have been made and performed.This essay focuses on studying the development and the practical situation ofSakurai’s tent theatre in the mainland of China. The preface section describes brieflythe current research situation of tent theatre in the mainland of China, generalizes theavailable material, and then explaines the significance and the research scope of thisessay. The first chapter will display the developing process of tent theatre in themainland of China according to chronological order. The relevant situation of tenttheatre in Japan and Taiwan will be used as background.The second section will show the complete producing process of tent theatre as awhole combining author’s personal experience when participating in the productionof the play “Cyborg Don Quixote” in2013. The author will use the internalcommunications of the Beijing tent theatre group,“Liuhuo” tent theatre and Taiwan“Haibizi” as reference. The whole process includes independent performance,finding place, building tent, making stage, props and clothes, performing, removingtent and internal self-examination. The author will try to analyze and explore somequestions behind these aspects, for example, the difference between the actors whenthey performed and the current situation of urban space in Beijing when searchingfor performance place.In the third chapter, the author will take “Cyborg Don Quixote” which has been put on in Beijing in2003as an example, describe the main characters and the storyin detail, try to show the scene of stage of this play for readers, and analyze the senseof reality and relationship in the tent theatre though its practice in the mainland ofChina combining with the author’s feelings and observation as the script supervisorof “Cyborg Don Quixote”.Although the history of the tent theatre in the mainland of China is not long, it haspossessed some influence in the theatre field of Beijing. As a new theatre form, theappearance of tent theatre enriched the play species of the mainland of China, andprovided a kind of unique theatrical theory for the contemporary play field whosetheme can help to understand the social reality of the mainland of China in someextent.