Song Yingwen

A GROUP of amateur drama players initiated a play-reading event originally designed to entertain themselves but found themselves receiving cheers and flowers from their audience Sunday at Shenzhen Library.

The joy doubled when they later learned that they might have just started a new drama craze in the city, as many audience members offered to join them or said they intended to start play-reading events of their own.

Li Shaoqin, organizer of the event and one of the players in the drama “Thunderstorm,” couldn’t hide her excitement when she was hailed by the audience after the performance.

“Drama is a spiritual oasis in the chaos of urban life. Play reading is an easier way for people to enter this oasis than others. My partners and I are more than happy to see other people sharing the fun and joy we had on the journey.”

Dubbed as the first play-reading event in the city, Sunday’s “Thunderstorm” was the second performance by Li’s group.

The group of 10 including a retired professional actor, teachers and students, government employees and TV station staff, made their debut performance reading parts from the stage version of Ba Jin’s masterpiece “Home,” on Sept. 9 at Shenzhen Library.

“The second performance drew a much larger audience than we expected,” said Li.

Most of the audience came after reading news about the group’s first performance. “I’d never heard of play reading before, so I came to see what it was,” said Wang Weiqing, a 24-year-old woman.

Play reading is a new term not only to the local audience. Even Li herself, vice chairwoman of the Shenzhen Dramatists’ Association, learned about it recently during a trip to Taiwan. “The moment I saw it, I recognized this could be an acceptable way of popularizing drama in Shenzhen, a city without a professional drama troupe but with a considerable number of fans. The form allows audiences to stage a play by themselves.”

Play reading is a simplified way of staging a drama. It has no strict requirements on equipment, settings or lighting. All it needs, according to Li, is people interested in drama. “With a script in hand, anyone can read a play. It can be a game between family members and friends,” said Li.

Cai Yinshi, a 71-year-old retired businessman from Hong Kong who played the father in “Home,” said he joined the group for fun, although the process of staging the plays is actually a mixture of happiness and physical and mental exercise.

With most of its members full-time employees, the team has to find time to rehearse during the two-month preparation for the public event.

Team leader Li is especially impressed by the dedication of all the members. “Without any payment, they have all showed a strong responsibility and devotion to the play. The satisfaction of bringing something new to people is one thing that we gained from the experience, and friendship is another important thing that we cherish.”

Cai said that now they have begun reading plays, the group will try to carry on the practice in the future. “It could be an open show, or just an event in a smaller group, but we will definitely go on promoting it,” he said.

According to Cong Rong, also vice chairman of the Shenzhen Dramatists’ Association, the association will make play reading a monthly event in the city.