Photo provided to China Daily

Wuzhen－a water town in Zhejiang province－is the perfect place to hold a festival, says the festival's artistic director Stan Lai.

The town boasts a range of theatrical spaces, such as courtyards and warehouses, in which productions can be staged.

Lai is also one of Taiwan's leading theater directors.

Performances aside, theater professionals from across the world are set to take part in discussions, master classes and workshops. This is what the festival was originally meant to be, says producer Ding Naichu －"a window for the East and West to see each other" and, more importantly, for knowledge to be exchanged.

In an effort to foster China's next generation of modern theater creators, the festival launched a Small Town Award last year, handing out prizes of up to 200,000 yuan ($32,200) to find talented young directors and actors.

The award is open to participants age 35 or younger. Entries are 40-minute plays on a given theme with only three props allowed. These works will be judged by a team of veteran directors, actors and critics, including China's avantgarde theater pioneer Meng Jinghui and actor Huang Lei.

This year, with an invisible door, a hat and an instrument, participants are encouraged to free their minds in their interpretation of "metamorphoses".

Last year, a team of visionary artists, including Lai and Huang, who directed his first TV series in Wuzhen, started the festival. It was an instant success, with an array of high-quality plays from home and abroad.

Wuzhen was home to a number of ancient scholars who became famous in China's literary and artistic world, and it is set to build on its legacy as a place to nurture creative minds as it becomes the hub of Chinese theater.

A "young artists in residence" program intends to invite artists to not only have their works performed during the festival but also to stay in Wuzhen and create original plays.

They are working to see the festival build a cultural legacy in the town, says Huang, meaning the town will be seeing cultural events year-round.

"I'm trying to push everyone to carry on this dream, to make this grand event a leg-end and then eventually a part of China's theatrical history. That's our goal," he says.

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