Huang Zongluo

b. 1926, Beijing

Huaju (spoken drama) actor

Huang Zongluo was an actor in the Beijing People’s Art Theatre (Beijing renmin yishu juyuan) before he retired a few years ago. He played leading roles in almost a hundred stage productions and films and his best-known work includes Tea House (Chaguan, huaju), The Thirty-cent Note (Sanjiaoqian guobi), To Live (Huozhe, film) and Looking for Fun (Zhao le, film). He won national and international prizes for his excellent acting skills. Together with his brother Huang Zongjiang (a playwright and a critic) and sister Huang Zongying (a celebrated film actress and prose writer), the Huangs contributed greatly to modern Chinese drama and cinema.

Educated at Northern University (Huabei daxue), Yen Ching University and the Central Academy of Drama (Zhongyang xiju xueyuan), Huang joined the Beijing People’s Art Theatre in the 1950s.

Following general director Jiao Juyin’s emphasis on character portrayal, Huang worked out his own creative process. Whenever he needed to perform a new role, he would always try to find a’model’ in everyday life. He regarded this as a necessary approach to his future stage work. He then wrote an ‘autobiography’ of the role he would play. By using expressive details, such as hand gestures, body movements and specific facial expressions, Huang not only explored the characters’ inner world, but also managed to bring out the characters’ feelings and emotions. Huang was also good at creating small comic roles.

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