In the '80s and' 90s the rise of television and film drove traditional drama out of indoor theaters back to the outdoor stage and many troupes were disbanded, while the remainder competed for outdoor temple performances. "Competition was no longer just between drama troupes, but between drama and all kinds of entertainment," observes Wang Sung-shan, a Natural Science Museum assistant researcher who has studied the Ming Hua Yuan troupe.
到了民國七十到八十年代受到電視、電影崛起影響，傳統戲曲退出內台走向野台，不少劇團都在當時解散，留下的繼續在野台廟口互相競爭，「這時的競爭已不只是團和團比，而是和各種娛樂相比」，曾以明華園為研究對象的國立自然科學博物館助理研究員王嵩山指出。