Close encounters with art and real life

Li Zhuoqun. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Instead of attracting elderly audiences, her shows have mainly been enjoyed by young people.

Fans say her shows' plot-lines are simple and there are fewer roles to keep track of than in big-budget shows.

"The audiences feel intimate with and connected to the stories," says Li.

Her first directorial work, Yan Xijiao, in 2013, is a love-triangle. It's about the lead female character, Yan Xijiao, the concubine of district official Song Jiang, and Yan's secret lover, Song's apprentice Zhang Wenyuan.

The show has been staged more than 40 times around the country. It's a hit compared with other traditional folk-art shows.

In 2014, Li staged her second work, A Love Beyond. It's adapted from the novel Grinding the Jade Bodhisattva, a tragic love story written by an anonymous author from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Like many Chinese young people, Li is a fan of American and South Korean TV dramas. She is good at borrowing elements from those TV dramas for her own scenes, such as falling in love at first sight and reunion.