Thanks to the efforts of director Lin Zhaohua, the Young Directors' Maiden Drama Works Exhibition was held successfully at the Beijing People's Artistic Theater.

With short gray hair, the thin-framed director is known for his critical contemporary viewpoint. In contrast to the serious sharp-tongued nature of his work, he is known to be a gentle and kind person.

On November 2, Lin Zhaohua, who doesn't like showing off in public, talked about directing and innovation in national theatre drama at a symposium during the exhibition.

Due to his promoting and participation, the People's Artistic Theater's Young Directors' Maiden Drama Works Exhibition met the public during September and October this year. Among more than 200 works, six got the chance to be put on stage. For the performance, Lin was full of myriad emotions as his play "Absolute Signal" was performed at the People's Artistic Theater 21 years ago. He said "I made the drama in this banquet hall, going through hell and high water. After China's implementation of reform and opening-up, the banquet hall was once rebuilt into a dancing hall." He turned to the chief director of the theater and said, "Don't reject the young directors' thanks for all your support because it's a great service you give them by allowing them to perform."

Lin added, "It's wrong that previously we selected and trained drama professionals only in theatrical circles. Modern drama needs more young drama makers who are talented and bold in blazing new creative trails. Without them, the history of China's drama will not continue."

For the exhibition, Lin showered his praises on the participants. He noted that many directors showed great effort in their talent for directing. They were very energetic with great imaginative power which, he said, many professional directors lacked.

In the meantime, Lin also talked about the limitations of the exhibition as well as his expectations: It would be much better if only there were more original works. He said, "It doesn't mean I am partial just to original works. But only by developing world classic, Chinese classics as well as the original works can a national theater maintain its powerful status. Furthermore, the forms and content of drama itself are multiple. We should allow the co-existence of tradition along side innovation."

Lin said he was firmly against those who took certain genre performances as the so-called "mainstream". "Currently there is no mainstream in theatre. Owing to the existence of various forms of theatrical performance, the meaning of drama has become more colorful. Therefore young drama makers don't necessarily think according to genre. I think genuine new dramas still haven't appeared in China and I pin my hopes on the young."

A young director then raised a question: which drama that you directed was in the form of theatrical realism? Lin answered calmly, "Every drama I have made is based on realism as my basic position is realism. However young directors are different now. Their intention is to create new drama." He said that the purpose to hold such an initiative was to find a group of good directors. Because in his opinion, the theater does not include just literature but also the art of directing.

With regard to the future of young directors participating in the exhibition, Lin said that they had better not always try to create a complete work, or establish an organization. Top priority should be given to the work of directing. "For me, I haven't been accepted by all the audiences from when I established the Lin Zhaohua Studio in 1989. If we had money, we made dramas; otherwise we were unoccupied. If the young truly love drama, they should try and experience outside the mainstream, instead of hurrying toward the national system. Actually, what the theatre really lacks today is a drama spirit."

(China.org.cn by Li Xiao, November 17, 2003)