2023 / Theatre, rehearsal and production archive

Breaking the Moon

A collaborative rehearsal process built around changing relationships between roles; directed by Xu Shuai, with He Fa credited as supervising producer.

He Fa’s role: Credited as supervising producer; performers describe his involvement in coordinating changes to the roles
Director and writer: Director: Xu Shuai; writer: Li Yaxin
Announced performance: December 16, 2023, 19:30–21:00, 321 Space, Beijing
Other production credits: Film/video production: Sun Jiarui; music: Zhao Ziyi; production coordination: Han Fengning; performance guidance: Jiujiu
Documented stage: Rehearsal accounts, production credits and pre-performance announcements, November–December 2023

Complete chapter contents

From Burning the Moon to Breaking the Moon

In his signed article of November 27, 2023, He Fa introduced Xu Shuai’s new production. He explains that its earlier title, Burning the Moon, was changed to Breaking the Moon because another production used that name. His account describes rehearsals shaped by changing schedules and personnel, gradually connecting the participants, and invites readers to attend on December 16. The title change, rehearsals and performance plan are retained as stages of one production history.

The supervising producer within collaborative rehearsal

A performer’s account published on December 7 describes roles changing through rehearsal. One performer initially played an observer accompanying the others on a drum. As the group questioned the relationships and script, He Fa helped coordinate a new approach: the observer became a participant in the relationship between the other two performers. Improvisation continued from this revised framework. The account gives a concrete dimension to his supervising-producer credit while preserving the distinct contributions of director Xu Shuai, writer Li Yaxin and the performers.

Preserving the successive credits and announcements

Both the November 28 and December 7 credit lists name He Fa as supervising producer and Xu Shuai as director. The first lists Xueli, Wu Qiyou, Hou Xiaoxue and Zeilaman; the later list replaces the first name with Shanzha, without explaining the change. The December 7 announcement schedules a theatre salon at 321 Space for December 16, 19:30–21:00, with 30 audience places. These sources document rehearsals and production collaboration; the date, duration and capacity remain the terms of the pre-performance announcement.

Works & details

Photograph accompanying the Breaking the Moon performer introductions: two people interact in front of curtains, with motion blur in their raised arms. — Performance-related photograph published in Breaking the Moon: Introducing the Performers on December 7, 2023. The capture date and photographer are not separately credited.

Photograph accompanying the Breaking the Moon performer introductions: two people before black curtains, with pink and violet projection across the foreground person’s face and clothes. — Performance-related photograph published in Breaking the Moon: Introducing the Performers on December 7, 2023. The capture date and photographer are not separately credited.

Moving image & related documents

Archive note

Prepared from He Fa’s signed 2023 article, P4 production credits and performers’ accounts. Collaborative roles retain their original credits; planned performance details are distinguished from documented rehearsals.

Continue exploring

2023–2024↗

Human Surrender / Shoot Self with You

A collective film grows through recruitment, rehearsal and public performance. How does shared time enter the edit?

Selected works

2015–present↗

P4 Theater

Spaces, participants, events and documentation change one another through sustained work.

Collaborative practice

DOCUMENT

2023↗

Becoming Wind, Breaking Waves

A personal account by Lifeng calls others into a shared creative process.

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Continue in writing

Follow works back to signed texts, with writing at the time, later reflection and participant accounts identified separately.

Writing at the time
2023-11-27
On Burning the Moon, on What Love Is, and on Illusions of Brokenness and Wholeness
Original byline: 何发
Reading connectionXu Shuai connects these works through his involvement in Human Surrender and the production retitled from Burning the Moon to Breaking the Moon. Written before the 2023 performance, He Fa’s account follows changing personnel and rehearsal schedules toward the anticipated 16 December presentation, while the work is still taking shape.
Read English edition ↗Chinese original ↗

Work record

Breaking the Moon, 2023. Theatre, rehearsal and production archive. He Fa’s role: Supervising producer; rehearsal discussion and creative coordination.

Work / series: Breaking the Moon
Date: 2023
Medium: Theatre, rehearsal and production archive
He Fa’s role: Supervising producer; rehearsal discussion and creative coordination
Catalogue section: Collaborative practice

Cite this record: Breaking the Moon · 2023 · Supervising producer; rehearsal discussion and creative coordination · https://hefa.p4theater.cn/en/work/breaking-the-moon

Read Markdown ↓All work records ↗

TAKE A PATH ACROSS

Other paths from this work.

Working together
How an organizer enters rehearsal
Breaking the Moon Hallucination
Accounts of Hallucination record recruitment and organizational intervention; a Breaking the Moon performer describes the supervising producer helping revise a role. Organization occurs within rehearsal too, while each work retains its distinct directing and collaborative credits.
2023 / Theatre, rehearsal and production archive
2020 / Proscenium theatre and production practice
Read the source materials
1. Later accountFrom Shixiang research to an open call ↗
  The 27 April 2021 account A Seemingly Uncertain Future recalls recruitment, rehearsals and organizer intervention from Shixiang to Hallucination and explicitly records a performance.
2. Period documentThe supervising producer within collaborative rehearsal ↗
  An actor’s account of 7 December 2023 records an observer role becoming a participant through discussion, with He Fa contributing as supervisor; actor and character remain distinct.
Continue from this work ↗
DOCUMENT RECORD
Body and presence
Relations change a role’s position
Breaking the Moon Romance Theatre
Liang Yin’s Romance Theatre proposal feeds interaction records into a script; a Breaking the Moon rehearsal account turns an observer role into a participant in a relationship. Life and theatre rewrite one another without making real people identical to characters.
2023 / Theatre, rehearsal and production archive
2022 / Continuing workshops, relational practice and documentation
Read the source materials
1. Period documentFrom proposal to continuing practice ↗
  Liang Yin’s November 2022 call proposes recording relationships, developing a script from the recordings and performance by participants; He Fa’s later account is dated separately.
2. Period documentThe supervising producer within collaborative rehearsal ↗
  An actor’s account of 7 December 2023 records an observer role becoming a participant through discussion, with He Fa contributing as supervisor; actor and character remain distinct.
Continue from this work ↗