In May 2023, the Beijing Performing Arts Service Platform, hosted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, launched 15 performing arts space cultivation projects for the first time. In September, Langyuan Vintage Yushe Performing Arts Space was selected for the project and received support for the cultivation of performing arts spaces at the municipal level.
Yushe Performing Arts Space, formerly known as the staff canteen of Wandong Medical Equipment Factory, is the only remaining old industrial building in Beijing's CBD area. Relying on the geographical advantages, Langyuan Vintage Yushe Performing Arts Space will renovate the original building internally to provide venue support for cultural and artistic exchanges and cross-border practices. After several years of development, it has become a complex space integrating commerce and performing arts, with unique characteristics in terms of performing arts content, stage performance forms and cultural experience.
Create a "varied" space:
Theaters, shows, and exhibition halls can be switched at any time
The exterior of the Yushe Performing Arts Space is composed of retro red brick walls and a modern black roof. It used to be a large workshop with a history of more than 60 years, and it is the oldest house in the factory. During the renovation, the Langyuan team followed the appearance of the old factory, retained all the red brick walls, only rebuilt the roof, and made the interior of the space in a modern industrial style, adding a stylish atmosphere.
The exterior of Yushe Performing Arts Space (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
At the entrance of the Yushe Performing Arts Space, there is a café where a public welfare salon is held and a reading room for people to read and chat. Walking into the space, the first area to enter is the prologue hall, where you can sign in, display and interact with other activities, and the second floor attic is the central control area, which can control the holding of performances and activities from a high altitude.
A book salon is held in the café (photo courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
The preface hall of Yushe Performing Arts Space (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
Entering the main hall, you will be greeted by a 1,000-square-meter open space with high ceilings. The whole space is column-free, which can be customized according to the needs of activities and performances to meet the needs of a variety of event venues, and the space availability is strong. The circulation of the space is rich and reasonable, which enhances the sense of hierarchy of the space.
The interior of Yushe Performing Arts Space (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
There are electric telescopic stepped seats in the main hall, which can meet the switch between theaters, show venues and art exhibition halls at any time. The seats are pulled out, and here is a theater that can seat more than 200 people, where old artists and young actors perform ancient and modern Chinese and foreign playsThe seats are retracted, and it is transformed into a versatile art gallery and a modern show.
The scene of the corporate event (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
Innovative Performing Arts Activities:
Launched Kunqu Opera "** Partner" and "Drama Experimental Field".
Langyuan Vintage attaches great importance to the construction of high-quality public cultural content, for which the park will hold more than 500 large and small public cultural activities every year, and Yushe Performing Arts Space has created "Prism Mini Drama Festival", regular performances of Kunqu Opera, "Beijing Book Market", "Unfamiliar Art Book Fair", "Zhou" and other innovative brand performing arts activities combined with space characteristics.
Promotional poster for the Spring 2023 Book Market (Photo courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
"Master of Hundred Operas" Kunqu Opera is a traditional cultural label deeply cultivated by Yushe Performing Arts Space. Yushe Performing Arts Space has cooperated with Kunqu opera teachers such as Wang Zhenyi and Wei Chunrong, winners of the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre, and has continued to stage high-quality original Kunqu operas such as "The Palace of Eternal Life", "The Peony Pavilion", "The Legend of the West Chamber", "Night Run", "Welcoming the Crying Image", "Thorn Tiger" and "The Story of the Jade Hairpin" in the park for seven consecutive years. In terms of performance form, Yushe Performing Arts Space focuses on the concept of "** partner", inviting two teachers who are not often played together in the drama circle to create a new collision and enhance the uniqueness of the repertoire.
Stills from "The Story of the Jade Hairpin" (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
We have two groups of very famous partners, one is Wei Chunrong and Wang Zhenyi, who will perform "The Legend of the White Snake" at Yushe Performing Arts Space in January 2024, and the other group is a joint Xing Jinsha and Wen Yuhang, one from Hong Kong and one from Taiwan, their performances in Yushe Performing Arts Space have attracted the attention of both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong and Macao, and many audiences have made a special trip from Zhejiang and Guangdong to Beijing to watch the play. Chang Hao, the person in charge of the content brand of the first Langyuan, said.
Excerpts from "Excerpts" (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
In addition to the concept of "** partner", Yushe Performing Arts Space continues to promote Kunqu Opera to reach young consumers. Student tickets are set up for young people, and young people are encouraged to come with discounts, so that they can truly experience Kunqu Opera. Many audiences fell in love with this traditional art after the first ** Kunqu Opera and became "Kunqu fans". In order to fully express their love for Kunqu Opera, some "Kunqu fans" will wear traditional costumes to watch the performance.
The audience of "The Story of the Jade Hairpin" (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
In order to shorten the distance between the performance teachers and the "Kunqu fans", and to better let the audience have a deeper understanding of Kunqu Opera, before each performance, the performance teacher will conduct a popular science popularization of Kunqu Opera, explaining the story, singing and footwork behind Kunqu Opera. Regular charity salons also provide opportunities for the audience to talk and communicate with Kunqu opera artists.
Kunqu opera teacher's signature scene (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
In addition to the traditional Kunqu opera performances, Yushe Performing Arts Space has also created the "Prism MINI Theater Festival" brand activity, which is a theater festival for young people, encouraging young theater artists to show their creativity. The "Prism MINI Theatre Festival" is not only a fixed performance in the theater, but also a theatrical experimental field, accommodating a variety of theatrical forms and contents. At present, it has been successfully held for five sessions, and has exhibited original works by young people such as "The Truth", "Tasha Out of Focus", "Rose" and "Room Live". The original repertoire of the 2021-2023 "Prism MINI Theater Festival" accounts for nearly 90%.
The main creator of the drama and the audience took a group photo (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
Prism MINI Theater Festival" stills (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
Booth at the Autumn 2023 Book Market (Photo courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
The rich and diverse cultural consumption choices and the concept of win-win cooperation make the brand activities of Yushe Performing Arts Space deeply loved by citizens, tourists and businesses. The 6th Beijing Book Market held in the spring of 2023 gathered more than 200 publishing houses, cultural institutions, cultural and creative brands, and coffee brands from all over the country, forming a total of 303 booths.
The scene of the 2023 Spring Book Market (courtesy of Yushe Performing Arts Space).
Among the high-rise buildings in the CBD, Langyuan Vintage Yushe Performing Arts Space has watered a "spiritual oasis" for busy urbanites with its rich and diverse cultural activities, creating a "literary paradise". In the future, in terms of performance content, Yushe Performing Arts Space will carry out more independent planning, promote the diversity of performances, strive to broaden the audience's horizons, and better do a good job in cultural guidance. (Written by Wu Meixuan).