Project to draw theater talent in second year

One of the five scripts, which have been staged already, titled When We Are Parted, is written and directed by Zhu Hongxuan. It tells the story of two female physicians who face gender stereotypes and prejudice in their careers.

Set against the backdrop of the 1930s and '40s, the play was first staged online in September, with four performances.

"The issues we explore in the play apply to contemporary women, who also face challenges of prejudice in their careers," says Zhu, who is a graduate of Peking University and launched her own drama club on campus.

"The Pei Yuan project allows young scriptwriters like me to test our ideas and gives us opportunities to work with veteran directors and actors."

He Sinuo, scriptwriter and director of the Chinese children's musical Angry Dinosaur, says, "We almost gave up the idea of working in theaters because of the lack of financial support and opportunities. Then we decided to give it a try by sending our script to the Pei Yuan program."

The script stood out among others and will be staged next year. Along with his wife, Zhong Shu, who's also a scriptwriter, He tells the story of love and adventure with music. The couple worked with television stations as directors and producers. He is also the keyboardist of Chinese rock band Sound Toy.