Basic Information on the Development of National Professional Theaters

YAN Dong-sheng

(The Financial Division, Ministry of Culture, Beijing 100020, China)

Basic Information on the Development of National Professional Theaters

The author introduced the basic situation about development of national professional theater, summarized the main issues existing in the development of professional theater, analyzed the causes, and put forward policy recommendations.

professional theater; business model; performance market; construction standards

YAN Dong-sheng

(The Financial Division, Ministry of Culture, Beijing 100020, China)

Professional theater is an important place to perform high-quality literary and artistic works, enriching the cultural life, and it plays an important position for inheriting traditional culture and carrying forward the socialist core values. In recent years, the professional theater has developed rapidly in our country and has become an important force to promote the development of art market boom. However, at the same time, there are problems, such as insufficient total amount, low utilization rate, bad operation and management mechanism etc. We should further clarify the role of professional theater, formulate relevant standards and specifications, foster healthy market environment, intensify the building of professional theater, and guide the healthy and stable development of the professional theater.

1 The national professional theater basic situation

According to statistics, as of the end of 2013, our country has 873 professional theaters. In 2013, there were 40500 performances, and 32.29 million visits, 46 performances for each professional theater on average, and an average audience of 797 people.

(1)Distribution of professional theaters

From the regional distribution, the characteristics of the eastern region is big enough, small number of western region. In eastern China there are 507 professional theaters, the central region has more than 203, 163 in the western region, accounted for 58.1%, 23.3% and 58.1% respectively. Look from the administrative hierarchy, more in major cities and fewer in small cities. In 27 provincial capitals and 4 municipalities directly under the central government there are 307 professional theaters. The average is 9.8 professional theaters per city; 306 prefecture-level cities in China (excluding capital cities) have 379 professional theaters, the average city is 1.2 professional theaters. The national 1927 cities at the county level (excluding municipal districts) have 187 professional theaters. The average city at the county level is 0.09 professional theaters. Most of the cities at the county level have no professional theater. From the theater scale, most are large and medium-sized theaters. Theatre size with seats from 801 to 1200 totals 396, accounting for 45.4%. Theatre with 1201 ～ 1600 total 112, accounting for 12.8%. From years of completion professional theaters built in this century to the highest of 325, accounting for 37.2%.

(2)Operation and management of professional theater

From the business model, the current professional theaters can be divided into 4 models, including autonomous, self-hosting business, cinema-run and the troupe. From the sources of funding, government subsidies are still the main source of income for professional theaters. In 2013, the national professional theater total revenue is about 6billion RMB, in which show revenues accounted for 36.5%, accounted for 47.7% of the government subsidy income, facilities and other services revenue accounted for 15.8%. From opera performances, the show is the largest type of art opera and musicals. In 2013, the national professional theater about 40,500 shows, including 8,300 music dramas, 8,200 musicals, children's play 6,700 sessions, 6,100 field drama, folk acrobatics 4,600 sessions.

2 Main problems and causes analysis of professional theater in the development analysis

The main problems existing in the construction and operation management of professional theater has four aspects. The first, the insufficient total amount and the phenomenon of utilization rate is not high. Currently in our country, every one million people have 0.64 professional theaters, and in 2007 the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and Japan this index were 1.8, 3.4, 3.4, 4.2 and 4.4. The phenomenon of the professional theater utilization rate is not high in our country is still relatively common. Only Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other first-tier cities professional theater more than the average number of 100 performances, and other areas of about 40, part of the old theatre appear even idle. The second is the unreasonable phenomenon of professional distribution and structure of the theatre. Small county professional theaters, with a professional theater, the city center area professional theater partial phenomenon are relatively less prominent. The third is rapid development of operating professional theatres and backward management. Research shows that most professional theater is lack of professional management team. Some theatres do not have a complete management system. In 2013, only 40% of the professional theaters made profit. The fourth is performing arts market potential and inadequate consumption demand and essence of phenomenon at the same time, the current potential of people performing arts cultural demand did not translate into real consumption. According to estimates, in 2013 the national per capita watch professional art performance is only 0.024 times, the per capita 0.12 times to watch in Beijing, Shanghai, 0.084 times, 0.057 times, Zhejiang province, less in the central and western regions.

The causes of these problems are various. First, professional theater qualitative positioning is fuzzy. At present, China's most professional theater by institutions into enterprises, should assume the responsibility of public cultural services, and to implement a market-oriented operation, leading to the nature of the professional theater and positioning become blurred. Qualitative fuzzy positioning and directly affect the government's supporting policies for professional theater. Professional theatre in China, more than 70% classified as commercial facilities, the use of land and property as commercial use, need pay high utilities, property tax and land tax. Second, the construction, management and service standards of professional theater are not sound. Professional theater from construction to management in China, for a long time, lacks of unified national standards, leading to some professional theater image light nature, hardware and software, the lightweight construction management. Third, there is a lack of talents for professional management and operation. Professional theater managers in China with art specialty, stage technology or management professional education experience accounted for only 30%, which know both management and understand the art of management talent less. Fourth, cultural consumption habits have not yet formed. Most of the urban residents are still accustomed to watching the performance from free or lowcost way of cultural consumption. On the one hand, the high performance ticket prices will potential cultural consumption. On the other hand, some people play is normal cultivation, the performing arts market benign cultural consumption habits play a certain role. Fifth, the guide incentive policy measures for construction and operation of social capital into the theater is not perfect. As a result, professional theater attractiveness to social capital is limited.

3 Relevant policy recommendations

The prosperity and development of the professional theater is an important part of establishing and perfecting the modern cultural market system, enriching people's cultural life, passing on to carry forward the necessary requirement of socialist core values. First is to clear professional theatrical nature and orientation, strengthen the support of relevant supporting policies and capital. Professional theatre in China, invested by public finance professional theater, in particular, are the important state-owned cultural assets, forthe popularization of art education, the spread of mainstream culture, construction of an important task of socialist core value system, has obvious public welfare nature. The government should through fiscal subsidies, preferential tax, government purchase services on the necessary policy support and financial support. On the one hand, the public theater funds model to draw lessons from the developed countries, government subsidies, social capital (sponsor), shows the diversification of income combination theater funds safeguard system. Professional theater, mainly for public welfare. On the other hand, the government should introduce different commercial theatre tax preferential policies to reduce their operating costs. Second is to formulate relevant standards to guide the construction and operation of professional theater management. To develop professional theater construction standards, establish a unified national expert reasoning mechanism, improving the level of scientific standardization of the construction of the theatre. Design professional operating theatre management standards, set up professional theater management of quality system, promote professional theater operation level and service quality. Third is to increase the support of construction and reform of old theatres, small theaters and the county theaters, improving distribution structure of theatre. Great importance to the original theatre (especially the old theatre is located in the center of the city) renovation of rebuilding, revitalize the original cultural facilities, convenient to the masses culture consumption, alleviating the pressure of the old theatre new cost. To the theater and the construction of the county theater give policy tilt; quicken the steps of theatre at the county level and the construction of small theater reform, improving the coverage. Fourth is to establish and improve the systematic theatre management personnel training assessment and certification, build system of theatre practitioners’ qualification, clarity the theater management team working quality requirements, standardize training organization and professional art colleges’ theatre practitioners’ education and evaluation standard. Fifth is to foster a healthy market environment. Improve the quality of drama creation, more excellent dramas promotion, improve the condition of theatre content are in short supply. Hold various cultural activities, such as for art lectures, salon, etc. Cultivate a batch of artistic accomplishment and taste, and enthusiastic audience consumption. Formulate public interest performance guidance in public interest performances around the object of type, specification, operation mode and promote the benign development of the performing arts market.

In addition, I want to mention that in order to further regulate professional theater planning and site selection, construction scale, function, content, equipment, improve the level of scientific decision and management of the construction of the professional theater. In August 2014, we launched the compilation work of professional theatre construction standards. Compiling work is led by financial and arts division of Ministry of Culture department and art department. China Entertainment Technology Association as the editor in chief, Architectural Design And Research Institute of Tsinghua University, China Academy Of Urban Planning And Design, Chinese Industry Association And China Art Institute of Science and Technology as participants, and some experts and scholars on theatre construction, planning, management and operation work together in the compiling work. Currently, the preparation outline has been discussed and approved. Next, we will finish the first draft based on full investigation. After discussion, review, comment, and other multiple stages, we plan to submit it to Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development and National Development and Reform Commission for examination and approval at the end of 2016.

Yan Dongsheng:

Deputy Director of the Financial Division, Ministry of Culture.

（編輯 張冠華）