Abstract
This article examines the theories and pedagogical practices of cultivating huaju (spoken drama) actors and theatre personnel orchestrated by the National Drama School (NDS), the only modern theatre academy sponsored by the Nationalist Party-state. Unpacking never-used archival materials (acting curricula, teaching prompts, and script notes), this article examines the theatre academy that made spoken drama's maturity possible. Specifically, it uncovers three keynotes in the discourse of huaju acting: (1) the theoretical debates between Tian Han and Hong Shen regarding the "technics" of acting during a time of national crisis; (2) the phase when the National Drama School joined with war refugees and relocated to Jiang'an in Sichuan Province where actors were cultivated and huaju gained its artistic achievements; and (3) a patriotic play, Congjun le (Joy of Joining the Army), which was performed in Jiang'an's Confucian temple in late 1939. The collective efforts of scripting and staging this play by the faculty and student-actors at NDS revealed how backstage acting training activities shaped onstage performance and offstage reception while also consolidating a "modern China."
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