A private Yueju Opera troupe on wheel

Private troupes that tour villages and towns in Zhejiang and Jiangsu catered to this pool of aficionados, occasionally hitting the Shanghai cosmopolis. One of them is the No.2 Wenling Yueju Opera Troupe.

Chen Xin, formerly deputy chief of the erstwhile state-owned Wenling Yueju Opera Troupe, is self-appointed head of the privately run No.2 Wenling Yueju Opera Troupe. Chen's troupe comprises 30 members. All 20 performers are women between the ages of 18 and 50, and its 10 men are either musicians or stagehands.

Members with the No.2 Wenling Yueju Opera Troupe are performing in 2004

The No.2 Wenling Yueju Opera Troupe is constantly on the road. There are more than 20 private Yueju Opera troupes in Wenling City alone, and 485 in Zhejiang Province as a whole. The troupe has little choice but to keep moving if it is to stay ahead of the competition.

Fortunately, Zhejiang abounds in Yueju Opera buffs that uphold the tradition of Yueju Opera performances at times of joyful celebration. Village elders' associations often club together to stage performances that stretch over several days on the occasion of a senior villager's birthday, the 100th day after the birth of a baby, a wedding or completion of a house.

The stage is generally erected in the village temple . This is a task the male troupe members set about immediately upon arrival, while the troupe's actresses sort out accommodation that generally consists of plank beds and a few makeshift dressing rooms.

These conditions are a far cry from those in city theaters, but troupe members accept them with equanimity. All are dedicated to Yueju Opera, not simply because it is their best means of making a living but because they simply love it and the life it brings them. Even the troupe cook and odd-jobbers are Yueju Opera addicts who, after completing their tasks, sit and watch each performance as entranced as the rest of the audience.

Troupe manager and general factotum Chen Xin has developed an instinct for the preferences of each audience. In addition to the company's repertoire of 30 traditional dramas, it is also open to performances on request, sometimes after only one rehearsal, on special occasions.

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