On October 5, 2021, coinciding with the National Day holiday, many musical theaterrs gathered at the Middle Theater in Beijing's Haidian District, and although it rained lightly in the sky, it did not affect the enthusiasm of every musical theater present.
On October 5th, the 6th "Musical Theatre Academy Award" hosted by the School of Arts of Peking University, co-organized by the Department of International Cooperation of Peking University and hosted by the Center for Ethnic Music and Musical Theatre of Peking University came to a successful conclusion at the Middle Theater in Haidian District, Beijing. The "WildFlowers on the Grassland" team of the Central Academy of Drama won the most important "Best Performance Team" award; Jiang Qianru won the "Best Musical Theater Actress" award, "Best Musical Actor" award was vacant; the "In the Distance" team of Beijing Song and Dance Theatre, the "Choose Life" team of Nanjing Arts College, and the "Red Plum Blossom" team of China ASEAN Arts Academy won the "Excellent Performance Team"; the "New World" team of the Central Conservatory of Music won the "Most Popular Musical Theater Group" award; and many players won the "Most Stylish Musical Theater Actor" Award and "Yuanpei Scholarship Award".
The "Musical Theater Academy Award" is a professional practice activity of public welfare musical theater supported by the Chinese Dramatists Association and the Beijing Haidian District Cultural Development Promotion Center. The "Musical Theatre Academy Award" represents the aesthetic paradigm of the academic school, adhering to the high-level, high-demand artistic pursuit and industry ideals, taking exchanges and cooperation, integrating innovation as its own responsibility, aiming to cultivate Chinese musical theater talents, inspire young musical theater creators to take the stage and promote the development of Chinese musical theater through a series of exchanges and displays. The Academy Musical Theatre Awards enjoy a high reputation in the industry and an increasing international influence because of their professionalism and public welfare, and in 2020, they were shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Asia Awards – Excellence and Innovation in the Arts Award.
The selection activity attracted individuals and groups from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, South Korea and other countries or regions to apply for the competition, and received a total of 33 team entries and nearly 200 individual entries. Some of these works come from domestic universities or professional colleges and troupes such as the Central Conservatory of Music, the Central Academy of Drama, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the Beijing Song and Dance Theater, and some come from famous foreign universities such as New York University, the University of London, and Dong-Dong University in South Korea. The style and content of the participating works are extremely diverse, which fully reflects the characteristics of originality and the times.
The jury of this year's "Musical Theatre Academy Award" is composed of 16 experts in the field of musical theatre at home and abroad, including Richard Lewis, tenured visiting professor of the Department of Musical Theatre at the Royal Academy of Music of Scotland; Professor Park In-sin, director of the Department of Musical Theatre at Dong-Dong University in South Korea; Professor Shi Jun of the Department of Directing at the Shanghai Theater Academy; Professor Li Xionghui, deputy director of the Department of Musical Theatre of the Central Academy of Drama; Professor Chen Wei, director of the Performance Teaching and Research Department of the China Conservatory of Music; and Professor Lu Wei of Hangzhou Normal University, a famous singer and professor of Hangzhou Normal University As well as Professor Zhou Yingchen, convener of the "Musical Theatre Academy Award" and director of the National Music and Musical Theatre Research Center of Peking University.
The selection activity strictly followed the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, and the final evaluation and award ceremony were changed to no audience, but the enthusiasm and excitement of all the actors and guests were not reduced. At the award ceremony, Mr. Hou Yansong, a first-class actor of the National Theatre of China and one of China's first generation of musical theater players, and Professor Zhao Yongbin of the Department of Musical Theatre of the Central Academy of Drama expressed their expectations for Chinese national musicals and local original musicals in a humorous dialogue, and they firmly believed that the road and soul of Chinese musicals in the future must be in the expression of Chinese stories, and the young people present will surely become the backbone of it. Professor Peng Feng, Dean of the School of Arts of Peking University, said in his speech: "Today's Musical Theatre Academy Awards are becoming more and more influential in China and even in the world, and I would like to express my admiration for the persistence and dedication of Professor Zhou Yingchen, the convener of the Musical Theatre Academy Awards and the head of the National Music and Musical Theatre Center of Peking University. Teacher Xi Qirun of the Department of Performance of the School of Arts and Media of Shenyang Institute of Technology, as the winner of the "Most Stylish Musical Actor" award, shed tears of excitement on the stage, she said: "I have been waiting for this award for a long time. As a college teacher, in the past, we have brought our own students to participate in the competition, from the first to the sixth, we have always worked hard to persevere, this year, we have participated in the competition twice in a row, at this moment holding this trophy on the stage there are too many excitement and emotions in my heart. Thanks to this award that has both height and temperature, thanks to all the judges and teachers, thanks to the 'Musical Theatre Academy Award', in the future, I will take this encouragement to go on the road of the musical theater I love more firmly! Professor Wang Lida of the Central Conservatory of Music sang the song "Kiss the Motherland" on the spot to encourage the students, she said, remembering the time when she rehearsed musicals at Peking University eight years ago, lamented the rapid development of musicals, and gave sincere advice to young musical theater people that "drama is bigger than the sky". The famous singer Lu Wei performed the classic fragment "Goodbye Fenguan" in the large-scale historical song and dance drama "Han Family Princess" on the spot, which instantly brought the audience back to the Huangsha Rolling Dahan Fenguan, bringing a wonderful audio-visual feast to the guests and contestants. At the end of the award ceremony, Professor Zhou Yingchen, convener of the Academy of Musical Theatre Awards and director of the National Music and Musical Theatre Research Center of Peking University, said: "The significance of the Academy of Musical Theatre Awards is to illuminate the people who are moving forward and make them full of hope. The Musical Theatre Academy Awards carry a sense of responsibility to pave the way for Chinese musical theater talents, and show the positive outlook and professional strength of Chinese musical theater talents. In the year after year of entries, we can see that the proportion of Chinese local works is increasing, which also means that the pace of Chinese original musicals is running fast, showing Chinese stories and local styles in front of the public through the unique art form of musical theater. ”
Since 2016, the "Academy of Musical Theatre Awards" has been successfully held for 6 consecutive years, achieving remarkable social results. It is reported that among the final evaluation works of the first Musical Theatre Academy Awards, Chinese works accounted for less than one-third, and this year, the proportion of Chinese works has increased significantly. It can be seen from this that the development momentum of China's original musical theater works is full, and it also reflects the emergence of talents in our Chinese musical theater industry in recent years. As a musical theater academy award carrying the mission of "discovering and cultivating Chinese musical theater talents", this year's National Day holiday provides a platform for all musical theater people to show themselves and communicate with each other, and also presents an unforgettable and wonderful academic musical carnival for audiences across the country and even the world.