Bai Jialing remembers most of the classic lines from Rhino in Love, a hit play from director Meng Jinghui. But for the fourth time this year, the 24-year-old Beijing-based violin mentor went to the theater to take in the play’s familiar love story and “experience the unique appeal of the stagecraft”.

白佳玲（音译）是一位24岁的小提琴教师，同时也是孟京辉的热演大戏《恋爱的犀牛》的粉丝，戏中的经典台词她已经烂熟于心。但即便如此，她今年第四次走进剧院，去体验这部剧“独一无二的舞台魅力。”

“Every time I sit there and watch the actors perform the same story, I see something new,” said Bai.

白在接受采访时说，“每次我坐在台下看台上演员们的表演，都会有新的感受。”

With living standards and cultural tastes steadily rising alongside China’s economic prowess, many like Bai are pursuing opportunities to witness refined theatrical presentations.

随着中国的经济迅猛发展，中国人的生活水平和文化品位也逐渐提高，很多像白佳玲一样的人开始走进剧院欣赏高雅的戏剧表演。

According to the Beijing Trade Association for Performances, in 2013, over 10 million people went into theaters in the country’s capital to see its 23,155 stage performances. Total box office revenues exceeded 1.44 billion yuan.

据北京演出行业协会统计，2013年，超过1千万人走进首都各大剧院，共计观看了约23,155场演出，总票房逾14亿元。

According to Sun Jianqiu, an English professor at the University of International Business and Economics who is a veteran researcher of European and US theater, the appeal of stagecraft is that it is different from mass produced entertainment like television and film. Theater affords audiences the chance to see performance art, rehearsed and improvised, unfold in real time.

对外经贸大学的英语教授孙建秋，同时也是欧美戏剧方面的专家。他认为，舞台表演，不论是预先排练过的还是临场发挥的，都让观众有机会在现场体验表演艺术。它与“批量生产”的影视剧作品的这种不同正是舞台艺术的魅力所在。

“Every performance is a brand-new effort to drive stage art to perfection,” said Sun. “In an era of mass production, even in the arts, ‘hand-made’ stagecraft sends a more humane message that resonates with viewers.”

孙教授说，“每一次演出都是一次迈向完美舞台艺术的全新的努力，在艺术领域都开始批量生产的时代，‘纯手工’的戏剧，传递了更多人文情怀，引起了观众的共鸣。”

To the delight of theater fans, from early November to the end of December, Beijing will host the sixth Theater Olympics, an international event promoting the development of theater arts.

推动戏剧艺术发展的国际盛事——第六届戏剧奥林匹克，将于11月初到12月底在京举办。这无疑是戏剧粉们的福利。

Top thespians from across the world will perform about 45 plays, 30 with foreign origins and 15 written in China.

全世界最顶尖的演员将为大家奉上45场演出，其中包括30部国外作品和15部本土作品。