“Uncles and aunties, this is the latest trend for hosting joyous occasions—simple yet stylish, cost-effective yet prestigious!” At the Workers’ Cultural Palace Grand Theatre in Linyi City, the small play “Village Joys,” created by Yishui County, is being performed. On stage, representatives from the matchmaking volunteer team and the caring business alliance stand on either side as the village’s Yangko dance troupe presents a lively performance, showcasing a new rural civilization amidst the backdrop of marriage customs reform.

The opening ceremony of the second “Night of the Yihe River” small plays and productions exhibition was held here, where awards were presented for outstanding scripts and performances from Linyi City for the first half of 2024. In addition to “Village Joys,” which won the award for outstanding production, the excellent scripts “A Bag of Sweet Potatoes” and “Roots” from Yishui County were also recognized.

Since the beginning of this year, Yishui County has seen a surge of high-quality artistic works. In addition to completing the script for the large historical stage play “Ji Wang Gu,” significant achievements have been made in the creation and performance of various small plays. By July, a total of 11 small productions had been completed, with eight of them performing over 30 shows, while three others are currently in the process of funding and casting.

In the rehearsal hall of the Yishui County Cultural Center, the small play “Love on the Journey” is in intense rehearsals. The actors’ brilliant performances breathe life into the play, immersing the audience in a dramatized reality.

Yishui County places great importance on the creation of small plays. Since the establishment of the small play studio, efforts have concentrated on team building, topic planning, project promotion, and establishing sound mechanisms. A team of 30 scriptwriters and actors has been formed, with provincial and municipal experts invited for guidance. The county actively participates in specialized training for scriptwriters, directors, and actors organized by the city to enhance their creative skills and performance levels.

“Leveraging Yishui County’s rich red cultural resources and deep historical heritage, we have created red-themed works such as ‘A Bag of Sweet Potatoes,’ ‘Three IOUs,’ and ‘Roots,’ as well as topics on changing customs in ‘Village Joys’ and ‘Simple Joyous Occasions.’ We also have legal-themed productions like ‘Love on the Journey,’ ‘One Yellow Flower,’ and ‘Trap Demolition,’ along with anti-corruption themes in ‘Just Looking for You,’ and educational themes in ‘Cultivating Virtue in All Environments.’ These works are rich in content, distinctive in character, and diverse in form. We have also further enhanced the large stage play ‘Red Stone Gu,’ which has been performed nearly a hundred times in places like Yishui, Linyi, Jinan, Shenzhen, and Beijing,” explained Chen Hua, director of the Yishui County Cultural Center.

In artistic creation, talent is key. Yishui County leads with its cultural center staff, gathering talent from various fields to actively plan and select feasible productions. They organize writers to improve script quality and artistic standards, rigorously reviewing and assessing works to promptly identify and resolve issues, ensuring performance effectiveness. They mobilize grassroots creative teams from towns, village troupes, and cultural volunteers to participate in the productions. By combining rural performances with small play exhibitions, they bring the stage closer to the community. At the same time, they innovate service models to effectively integrate culture and tourism. Utilizing red tourism routes and red education bases, they promote their productions widely through both online and offline channels, enhancing the visibility and influence of the creative works.