Recently, the first National University Musical Theatre Creation and Performance Competition themed “Digital Intelligence and the Future,” a sub-event of the 14th Future Designer · National College Student Digital Art &Design Awards (NCDA), has drawn to a close. Faculty and students from the Musical Theatre Programme at Nanjing University of the Arts (NUA) won First Prize in the national finals with their original musical The Knight. The University was also awarded the Best Organization Award, and Professor Jiang Xiaomeng, Head of the Musical Theatre Department, received the Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award.

The Knight is the original graduation production created by the class of 2023 undergraduates from the Musical Theatre Department. With an immersive “play-within-a-play” approach, the production brings to the stage the real-life dilemmas faced by Gen Z over life, study, career, and relationships. The musical tells a story in which readers and the author experience the knight’s battles within the book together, encouraging young people to face hardships and understand one another. The cast includes Shen Zhangyineng, Chen Jialing, Lei Ye, Tang Mowen, Yang Bingxin and Zhang Wenqian.

NCDA is a national disciplinary competition for university students included on the National Discipline Competition Ranking for General Institutions of Higher Education released by the Chinese Society of Higher Education. After preliminary rounds of selection, 48 university teams advanced to the national finals, where 10 First Prizes, 15 Second Prizes and 23 Third Prizes were awarded.

The 5th Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Musical Theatre Week was held alongside the competition. Professor Li Xiangmin, Deputy Party Secretary of NUA, was invited to deliver a lecture ontheatre performance market. Drawing on a key commissioned project he leads for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, his talk examined today’s theatre market, brimming with practical insights, and the venue was full. Meanwhile, Professor Jiang Xiaomeng shared NUA’s approach to nurturing musical theatre talent at an industry roundtable.

This award serves as strong recognition of NUA’s teaching and original creative practice in musical theatre. Building on its strengths in drama and film studies, the University will continue to encourage young NUA artists to create original work, and contribute to the development of Chinese musical theatre.