Have you ever felt as if something has taken over you and caused you to act in a way you normally wouldn't? 

I'm not referring to peer pressure, but rather peer influence and the effects of late night outings. Sometimes these conditions lead a person to do something unexpected. That's what happened to me during the annual Wuzhen Theatre Festival's midnight readings.

Despite several long, tiring days of work covering the festival's multiple outdoor carnival performances and plays, I decided to sacrifice a few hours of sleep to find out more about these readings and why they were taking place so late at night.

The readings are typically held in an intimate setting, where festival attendees get a chance to take the stage for about five minutes and read their favorite piece of poetry out loud or recite an excerpt of a play. However, I never intended on doing either. I was simply a spectator.

I showed up to the East Warehouse Theatre just before 11 p.m. and was surprised to see so many people lined up to secure a seat. 

The fairy tale-like ancient water town of Wuzhen is usually asleep by that hour; its stone-paved streets and alleys are clear of crowds that take over during the day. I also didn't expect to see so few foreigners and so many locals given that the readings were in English that particular night.

A few native English-speaking attendees were the first to walk on the small stage. You could immediately tell it wasn't their first rodeo. They were clearly theater connoisseurs who narrated with passion, giving life to each character they read about, using a distinct voice and tone to evoke certain emotions. 

For the others who read poetry, they seemed to feel each word they enunciated. Everyone had their original style and their particular interpretation.

As the hour passed, more and more people in the audience would look up a passage on their phones, stand up, and take the mic. I didn't really understand what prompted them to do so, but there was something in the air that was becoming contagious.

There was a creeping urge for people in the audience to share something personal that overcame language barriers, stage fright, and shyness. It was amateur night and that's exactly how the founder of the event Zhou Liming said he intended it to be.

"They are not actors," he said. "They are just people who enjoy theater, enjoy great literature, enjoy seeing the world, enjoying life."

The next thing I knew, I was pulling up a song written by one of my favorite musicians: "One More Light" by Linkin Park's Chester Bennington. Moments later I was raising my hand and asking to go next.

After I walked into the spotlight, I confessed to the audience I wouldn't have gone on stage unless I had something important to share. 

"One More Light" was one of the last songs Bennington wrote, dedicated to a friend of his who had died. It was a difficult time for the American rock singer, who had also lost one of his musical idols and another close friend all within a two-year span.

The song's lyrics are meant to help those feeling lonely to realize that someone cares about them. I was saddened when I learned that Bennington took his own life in the summer of 2017, just months after the song's release.

It was that key word, 'care,' that I wanted to share with the audience. It's a word Bennington wanted people from all walks of life to remember. 

This may not be poetry or a script to a play, but they are nonetheless words that evoke an emotion, which I felt the inexplicable need to share.

After I was done, a few others took their turn to share their readings. At the end of the night I was able to chat with Zhou to discuss this feeling that drew so many amateurs like myself to the stage.

"What I found most touching was the material being really sincere and heartfelt. It's like a variation of karaoke," Zhou said. 

It was the first time Zhou had organized the readings in English at midnight. Last year he introduced the midnight readings to the festival for the first time, and before that, they were only held during daytime.

"We don't raise the bar high… we have so many top artists in Wuzhen during the festival. But we wanted to make it for everyone."

There was something about the readings happening at midnight that had such an effect on me that, combined with some sleep deprivation, may have caused me to make this irrational decision. 

Even though Zhou didn't mean for this to happen, I think he may be on to something special.

Reporter: Oscar Margain

Directors: Hong Yaobin, Wei Tianyao

Videographers: Guo Yuanheng, Hong Yaobin

Video editors: Hong Yaobin, Wei Tianyao

Cover image designer: Liu Shaozhen

Executive producer: Hong Yaobin

Producer: Si Nan

Supervisor: Mei Yan