By Xu Xiaoyang

Wu Suying, an actress with Shaoxing 100 Little Flowers Art Center, won a top prize at the 24th China Drama Plum Blossom Awards in 2009. Her fandom was overjoyed when her glory was announced at the awarding ceremony on the evening of May 18th, 2009. Wu Suying wept with friends who came to congratulate. Many of her friends felt that the top honor was overdue for the Yueju artist who had spent 26 years on the stage.

Wu Suying rose to fame through her unique performance that combines both singing and other performing skills and martial arts. Her rare talent in both singing and martial arts was a phenomenon in the Yueju Opera arena. Over years she starred in various plays and won various awards. She won a top prize at a television competition in 1985 for young Yueju Opera artists in Zhejiang and Shanghai. In 1986, she joined Shaoxing 100 Little Flowers Troupe and became one of the troupes major stars.

In 2004, she came back to the stage after she had given birth to a baby. In a solo show, she interpreted five different characters. The show caused a great stir. All of her fans and experts agreed that she still had great potentialities after all these years. Greatly encouraged, she decided to try her hand at a Plum Blossom Award, the highest national recognition she had coveted all these years.

She chose Li Huiniang, a play that has had various successful versions in Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera and many other local operas, to make her much needed breakthrough and win a Plum Blossom award. The play was chosen because it gives the heroine a great opportunity to show performing skills. Wu Suying wanted to give her Li Huiniang a new image, an image that would differentiate her from versions of Li Huiniang in other folk operas.

The troupe gave her the biggest support for the same reason, for the troupe needed the honor, too. Experts met and decided upon the play. The script was improved three times. Yang Xiaoqing, an experienced director, was engaged to assure her success. Wu Suying began to rehearse in July, 2008. She worked extremely hard for two months before the play debuted in September, 2008.

The director was not satisfied with Wus debut performance, saying that she excessively emphasized the heroines delicate part whereas what she needed to do was to show the strong side of her character. Wu Suying knew what had been wrong with her performance. To understand her part better and find a way out of the situation, she studied the script again and analyzed other versions of Li Huiniang. Under the guidance of the director, she went through every detail of her performance. Gradually, she got the character right. All the right details added up to a new and compelling interpretation of the character. With many innovative elements introduced to the performance, her Li Huiniang stood out preeminently and convincingly.

In the post-award period, Wu Suying will continue to dedicate herself to Yueju Opera and to help new talents. The 42-year-old is in a position to help her younger colleagues. After all, she has won all the top honors available to Yueju Opera artists over the past 26 years. Her dedication to the Yueju Opera is her way to give back all the help she has received from her predecessors and colleagues and people from all walks of life. And her dedication to younger talents is her way to carry on the fine tradition within the Yueju Opera circles over the past decades. It is this tradition that has helped establish Yueju Opera as one of the most eye-catching regional operas in China in the 20th century and in the first decade of the 21st century. □