As night fell, the curtains rose, and illuminated by the spotlights, the stories got underway. The history of the school’s relocation, the confusion of youth, the touching encounters with different generations in the stream of time, and the sacrifice for the country-stories sparkling with youthful heroism were presented on stage.
On the evening of March 18, the 34th Golden Autumn Art Festival Drama Contest at Wuhan University finally returned to its glamorous glory, recovering from the three-year pandemic. Students gathered at the University Student Activity Center to enjoy the audiovisual feast.
The performers from the Economics and Management School expressed their earnest hope for continuing education with their performance of “The Spark, hoping that a single spark could start a prairie fire, which eventually took third place.
Excellent Performance of the Economics and Management School students
“When the clock turns back and memory rewinds, the Chinese nation’s struggle to resist Japanese invasion and save the nation in wartime is still vividly remembered. On the edge of the war, it was the students on Luojia Mountain who held high the torch of national rejuvenation in the cruel war and the ‘useless scholars’ who abandoned their pens to join the army in times of national peril.” The director of The Spark explained his idea of the creation. In times of national crisis, with the land destroyed and wars raging, Wuhan University had to move westward to Leshan to keep the flame of academia burning. Based on the historical event, the drama recalls difficulties and obstacles during the move, evokes the courage and perseverance of the faculty of students, and reveals the potential to continue cultural inheritance through a single spark.
Performance of the Spark
The last performance, Don’t Look Back by the School of Journalism and Communication, brought the audience a thrill for its appealing and powerful performance. It tells the story of an undergraduate girl who has a secret crush on a boy but hesitates to tell him for lack of courage. From the autumn with its slightly golden leaves to the spring with its flowers in full bloom, she pursues and struggles all the way. Mixed emotions trail her and finally end in her last line "I like you", symbolizing her outburst of feelings and endowing her with inner liberation. The form of Avant-Garde drama was adopted for this script, and some musical elements were added for the first time, enabling the drama to reach a climax in its final part.
Don’t Look Back by the School of Journalism and Communication
As the light and shadow danced across the stage, brisk melody and amusing lyrics enveloped the crowds in a gentle embrace of the lilting refrain. The chord with the echo of the audience lingered around the hall like a bright moonlight secretly streaming through the window, flooding in and spreading across the floor. The talk on stage, the strum of the guitar, and the movements of the performers jointly created a magnificent orchestration, which was welcomed by a wave of loud cheers and applause erupting in the hall. Eventually, the School of Journalism and Communication defended its championship with a high score of 9.84.
When asked what message she would like to send to the team members, the director of Don’t Look Back, Li Xinran, smiled radiantly and said, “From October to March, we appreciated falling snowflakes and blooming cherry blossoms with the crew. What we really cherish is the laughter, inspiration, and the sweat and tears we experienced together. Whether you will enjoy the drama in the future and no matter what you will take away from it, I hope that you will always remember this period of time, carry the unique love and romance, and walk on bravely and resolutely.”
When the curtain descended on the drama, however, just like the story that did not have a real ending for the audience, there was no full stop for the Golden Autumn Art Festival. It is like a dream catcher bearing abundant memories of Luojia Mountain, conserving love and romance in WHU students’ bustling daily life, igniting their inner passion and devotion year after year, and weaving an eternal glittering dream in the fleeting time. “If I should meet thee, after long years, how should I greet thee?” With love, youth, and a flickering fire in your eyes.
Photo by Peng Zhuo & Zhang Ruiyv
Edited by Zhang Jing, Li Jing, Zhou Yue
