Future theater finds a stage

"Sometimes, listening to an inspiring scholar speak for 90 minutes feels as engaging as watching a performance, maybe even a solo show in itself," she adds. "I want to give these academics a spotlight, set up a PPT, add multimedia. They're inherently dramatic."

The workshops even featured humanoid robots. To Nie, these experiments, though not yet ready for the main stage, offer a tantalizing preview of what's ahead.

"These 'half-finished' works are meant to spark dialogues," Nie says. With tech hubs like Hangzhou of Zhejiang province on her radar, she envisions future collaborations from robotics to AI-enhanced playwriting. "Robots on stage with actors? That's no longer just a fantasy."