Before entering the competition, she thought, "This is my last chance."
Zhai's success in the competition provided her with an answer.
"The Wuzhen Theatre Festival is one of the most prominent in the country. Because of this award, theaters have reached out to me and producers want to meet me. This is a career breakthrough," she says.
Reflecting on her stay in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, she pinpointed two of her happiest moments.
"One day, a young man working as a service person at the theater from Northeast China approached me with tears in his eyes after watching the performance and shared how deeply moved he was by it.
"Another day, during outdoor rehearsal, some elderly folks said that after watching the play, they felt that young people today have it tough and that they could better understand their own children.
"I cherish these moments of building connections with the audience through the work," she says.
She plans to expand the play to around 60 minutes and then makes touring performances in small theaters.
"I am now more convinced that I can continue on this path," she adds.
In the play Baby Boxes, Xu Linlin, who serves as the playwright, director and lead actress, presents a fictional story about two female dinosaurs who have been living in a dark cave and have never found the courage to step into the sunlight.
One day, they come across an unidentified object that they believe is a dinosaur egg but is actually a pillow.
