How noisy and bizarre the theater would be and how could the viewers concentrate on the show, if audience members were allowed to keep their cellphones power on and send messages to make any comments on any scene of the play throughout the show. And the comments would be projected on a screen beside the stage.

Although some people may not think it is a good idea to encourage cellphones to ring one after another, all the audience hang their heads to tap their fingers on the phone and look up at the comments of others of the play on a screen. This is exactly what Li Dong is hoping for.

Li, producer of the play The Crazy SMS (short message service), considers it the highlight of the production.

"It's a trend to make the audience's reaction part of the play. Today's viewers are not satisfied with quietly watching a play from the beginning to the end. So we will offer them an 'open theater' to get involved," said Li.

Right or not, The Crazy SMS will be put on at the Poly Theater tonight and tomorrow, and then moves to the Cultural Palace of Nationalities from September 30 to October 4.

The play has been directed by Hang Cheng, a veteran theater journalist with Beijing Youth Daily who hit the city's drama scene last winter with his debut drama Chour in the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Writing and directing the play, Hang received wide acclaim from professional dramatic circles, the audience and his fellow journalists.

Very different from Chour in the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, a tragedy which tells how Chour -- the Chinese translation of nobody or unimportant person -- survives in the snobbish world with sharp black humor, a realistic setting and simple music, The Crazy SMS is a comedy on a fashionable theme and stars double-talking performers.

According to Hang, Chour features rich personal flavor and explores deep in artistic level. To some degree, Hang's first try is an experimental work for a certain group of theater fans.

However, the new play is a very commercial one, produced by two experienced companies: Beijing Suo You Culture Co Ltd and Beijing Zhongbo Futai Culture & Arts Co Ltd, sponsored by a SMS company and targeting box-office success.

"When producing the first play, I wanted to do something artistic and express a certain personal idea. But this time, the only goal is to make the audience laugh," said Hang.

He said he has no prejudice toward commercial productions. As a theater reporter for more than eight years, he has witnessed the development of the local market and knows it better than many of the artists involved.

"So being commercial does not mean I am producing something which is rubbish. The play still contains my view of life. I acknowledge that SMS is an advanced and efficient means of communication, but it neglects personal emotions. I don't think SMS could take the place of face-to-face conversation or other further communication between people," he emphasized.

Hang also pointed that he felt it is more difficult to make a commercial play than an experimental one. "It's easier to freely express yourself, but not make a play to satisfy the producer, the sponsor and the audience," he said.

But his cast and crew are satisfied with his job, saying he has made some progress in directing a play that tries to communicate with all parties involved.

Hang and producer Li settled on the story early this year, considering the new but important position of SMS in people's daily lives.

According to statistics from 2002, about 40 billion SMS messages are sent a year in China. During the seven-day holiday of Spring Festival that year, SMS became the most fashionable means of sending greetings.

In that week, those SMS companies earned 700 million yuan (US$85 million) by handling about 7 billion short messages during the holiday period.

Li said: "SMS is playing an unexpectedly important role in our lives. It has become a game for the younger generation. But it also brings some negative influences at the same time, such as SMS harassment and SMS fraud."

Written by Wang Pei, the play is based on the personal experiences of actor Wu Qingzhe who plays the leading role as an employee of a SMS company.

Two competing SMS companies are at loggerheads. The bosses and the employees find their business and personal affairs become entangled.

Besides the two leading roles played by Wu and Liu Tianchi, a teacher from Central Academy of Drama, the supporting cast is also strong.

Yang Shaohua and Yang Yi, the father-son cross-talk performer appear together for the first time in a modern stage play.

Yang Shaohua, 74, is one of the most renowned cross-talk artists in the country, and arguably the oldest one who is still active on stage.

"I was wondering, how dare they ask me to perform the play, as I am so old and have not any experience of performing a modern drama before," the septuagenarian joked.

"I was nervous at first, because the cross-talk which I have become accustomed to is a form involving one performer or a pair, while the drama is a teamwork. But the young cast is lovely. They help me a lot and give me confidence. I hope I will live up to the audience's expectations," he said.

(China Daily September 25, 2003)