On the evening of November 29th, members of the SUFE Student Drama Troupe and alumni stepped on the stage together to perform for "Let’s live on the stage" ——a special gala event for the 101st anniversary of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the 15th anniversary of the Student Drama Troupe at the Art Center. Xu Tao, the Chairperson of the University Council and Zhu Mingxiong, the Vice Chairperson of the University Council enjoyed the Gala together with nearly a thousand teachers and students.
The video of alumni's congratulations to the Student Drama Troupe members opened the prelude of the gala. It was divided into five parts. First, the clip of the drama "Secret Love in Peach Blossom Garden" presented by alumni of the class of 2008. The troupe members were awarded the best actor and actress at the Shanghai University Drama Festival when they performed the drama previously. This time, the old troupe members returned to the stage and paid tribute to the classics.
Subsequently, members of the troupe performed “The Death of a Young Man”, a play originally created by the drama troupe, which won the first prize at the Shanghai University Drama Festival. The wonderful clip was rearranged, using symbolic elements and minimalist stage tones to show the vanguard elements vividly. Then, the body drama "The Growth of a Seed" was performed. It was a play inspired by the body training courses of the troupe. Through static modeling, dynamic modeling, dance fragments and other forms, the members of the troupe mimicked the seeds growing in spring, summer, autumn and winter in a funny and witty way, and won the applause of the audience.
The next play was the classic drama "The Body on the Window" from Taiwan Performance Workshop, which was directed by sophomore troupe members. The complex relationship between characters, the contrast between the past and the future, and unexpected coincidences all contributed to a hilarious comedy.
Finally, the recitation "Let's Live on the Stage" by the alumni presented the feelings of fifteen members who joined the drama troupe at different times. "The stage, like a dream parallel to the real world, is like a fantasy," said Yang Yixin, a member from class of 2003, “But when the light hit me, everything was so real that the world finally calmed down and listened to me.” The whole evening ended in the musical "right here right now". The performers, the actors and staff of the three plays sang songs and danced on the stage, which truly restored the scene of the daily rehearsal of the drama troupe.
The theme of the gala "Let's Live on the Stage", is not only a motto from the system of the dramatist Stanislavsky, but also the philosophy of the drama troupe. Yang Shunhong, a member of the troupe of the class of 2016, said, "I have always felt that living on the stage does not mean you can actually follow the rules of life on the stage, but to treat the stage with a serious attitude as towards life, to respect the stage in a way as you love life, and to maintain original aspiration and awe for the stage all the time." Over the past 15 years, students have come together for their artistic dreams and expressed their ideas, thoughts and spirits through drama. The fifteen-year-old Student Drama Troupe is about to embark on a new journey. We wish them an even better tomorrow!
