"Seeing so many people love this opera in the countryside, we feel happy no matter how tired we feel or what difficulties we face," said Zhang Jianqin.

In order to develop each person's potential and also to save money, all the members try to be versatile.

As head of the troupe Du handles a lot of the routine business. But he is also a leading actor.

"When I am done with my lead role in one play, I often switch to play some other supportive role," he said.

Ye Baonan, director of the troupes, said: "I also write plays and join the cast sometimes."

A dying tradition?

"Our earnings are based on how many performances we give each month," Du said.

The crew of Huangpi Youth Chuju Opera Troupe are middle-aged or above, just like their farmer audience in Central China's Hubei Province.

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.