STAGE FOR EVERYONE: AN ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A SHENZHEN COMMUNITY THEATRE

In this thesis, I study the development of a locally, socio-historically defined community theatre called Stage for Everyone, in the Chinese domestic migrant city of Shenzhen. My 20 months of research for this thesis relied on literature review concerning community performances and theatre ecology, interviews with 26 practitioners and participants, and besides, participant observation on 5 performance events. During my discussion, upon considering Stage for Everyone as an ecosystem which comprises practitioners-participants-space interrelation, I further trace the development of this theatre, from a spontaneous talent show which took place around an open-air stage among domestic migrant workers, to diverse theatrical events held in various forms, at various scales, and in various spaces amid the Shenzhen public. Over time, I suggest, Stage for Everyone builds the domestic-migration-based community in Shenzhen in four phases, namely as a ‘migrant workers’, ‘city builders’, ‘new residents’, and then ‘home members’ community.

Author dc:creator

• LYU XIYAN

• Community theatre, community performance, ecology, Stage for Everyone, practitioner, participant, space