Grass Stage Theatre is an applied theatre group in Shanghai. It is a people’s theatre group that is attracting more and more attraction in China. Being active ever since the beginning of 2005, writer and theatre practitioner Zhao Chuan is responsible for regular activities and the creative stuff of the group. “The grass stage” originally refers to amateur theatre group performing during farming break, wedding, funeral and festivals in China. They intentionally chose that name to remind ourselves to keep the grassroots spirit. Since the formation of their group, they have sparked considerable amount of theatrical energy among people outside the regular theatre production in which being employ or commissioned seems to be the only legitimate way to start a production.
The members meet every week. The independent power of the community is valued and cherished. Based on this philosophy, they discuss social issues, organize workshops and undergo the process of creation together. In recent years, they have kept the practice of group creative work and help arrange people’s theatre groups from overseas to stage performance in Shanghai. Their works include Madman Story, 38° Parallel Still Play, 38°Parallel in Taipei etc., and they have been performing so far in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea.