The write stuff

In the month of script solicitation, the organizers received more than 600 works from both new and veteran writers. Ages ranged from 20 to 45. The first round of competition saw 30 scripts stand out, some of which were short, fewer than 500 words.

"We selected interesting ideas, and let the candidates expand their ideas into full scripts. The process was long but rewarding," says Fu Ruoyan, adding that the final 10 winning scripts will be published in Chinese theater magazine New Scripts and will be introduced to investors or film producers, who will hopefully bring them to life on stage or screen.

The selected scripts cover various styles and genres, such as comedies, crime thrillers and science fiction, and the judges have been impressed by the creativity of the young playwrights. To many business insiders, the theatrical market can give fledgling writers ample opportunities. "The market for plays and movies is big in China, and we are always looking for good scripts, which are the base and core of a good movie or a play," he adds.

Cheng Yirui, 20, is the youngest winner of the competition with his script, Kezhong Zhiren (Inside the Box).

It tells the story of a young woman who is recently married and pregnant. Her life is hard and there is conflict, resentment and unhappiness in her relationships. She finds solace, and eventually becomes trapped, in a virtual world where her parents and husband exist, but life is easy and idyllic. While she enjoys the peaceful, perfect existence in that world, it is marred by the nagging desire to return to the real world and face her problems head-on.

"Though I am not married, I've seen many problems existing in marriage," says Cheng, who's still a student at the school of physical medicine and rehabilitation of Beijing Sport University. "For example, couples are constantly stuck to their phones rather than talking to each other, while older people often seem confused about the lifestyles of the younger generation. Those are issues I want to discuss through my script."