Performers rehearse for the upcoming play, Crossroads, which will premiere at the National Center for the Performing Arts from Oct 17 to 25 and will feature music performed by the NCPA Drama Ensemble.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"Friendship, love and responsibility are topics that relate to young people of any generation and deserve to be discussed today."

Huang is one of China's most successful theater directors with over 40 plays under his belt. He was drawn to theater after watching the classic Chinese play, Antique, directed by renowned Beijing People's Art Theater director Lin Zhaohua in 1997.

The then 18-year-old Huang, who was born and raised in Beijing, was very impressed by the play, which follows a competition between two Beijing-based antiques collectors from the 1900s to the 1930s, as well as the vivid stage portrayals by the actors, including Pu Cunxin and Liang Guanhua.

After watching the play, Huang spent a year reading books about theater and watching over 100 theater performances in the capital in 1997 and'98.