One day, Huang Lei, one of the creators of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, was lounging at home when his eyes fell upon a toy dinosaur perched on the table.

In a sudden burst of inspiration, the "giant dinosaur" became one of this year's thematic prompts for the annual theater festival's Emerging Theatre Artists Competition.

For this year's competition, participants were challenged to craft original theatrical pieces that incorporate three elements — pillows, sunlight and giant dinosaurs — with a length not exceeding half an hour.

The first two keywords were contributed by seasoned theater directors Meng Jinghui and Stan Lai, who are also among the creators of the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, set in Wuzhen, a water town in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.

The festival received 560 submissions for this year's competition. Eighteen standout theater groups emerged to display their works for rounds throughout the Wuzhen Theatre Festival last month.

Drawing from the three seemingly disparate elements, the 18 plays explore a variety of themes, including family bonds, love, life and death, solitude, human dignity and women's rights.

The play Amy Zhang Returns to Her Hometown, featuring three actors who use modern dance to portray the dilemma faced by a 30-year-old woman from a small county working in the bustling city of Shanghai, won the top prize in the competition.

The play depicts protagonist Amy Zhang's journey back home, weaving together elements of reality and memory.

Zhang left her hometown following the gaokao, or college entrance exam, and yearned to realize her self-worth in the big city.