Curtain rises on Shanghai's first children's theater festival
The first Shanghai International Children's Theater Festival kicked off on Thursday.
Sixteen plays from eight countries will be staged in various theaters in Shanghai to entertain children during the city's first international children's theater festival, organizers said at the event's opening ceremony on Thursday.
Themed on "Ignite Children's Imagination," a slew of activities, including performances, interactive experiences and professional exchanges will be held over the next 22 days, making Shanghai a high land for international exchanges, innovation and development of culture for children, according to the China Welfare Institute, host of the Shanghai International Children's Theater Festival.
The festival will feature 16 plays from eight countries.
The theater art gala is developed based on the Shanghai International Children's Theater Exhibition, which was initiated in 2004 and has shown 97 plays from more than 30 countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Belgium and Spain, attracting about 300,000 audiences. More than 80 percent of the plays made their debuts on the Chinese mainland through the event.
As part of the 22nd China Shanghai International Arts Festival, the new children's theater fiesta raised its curtain at the Shanghai Children's Art Theater on Thursday, when organizers announced that 16 plays from China, Russia, the UK, Italy, Brazil, Australia, Spain and Germany will be staged at the theater, the Children's Art Theather of CWI and other venues.
"CHIFFONNADE" by Germany's Teatro 4Garoupas
Those present at the opening ceremony were lucky enough to see a few episodes from some of the plays, including "Lua" from the Shanghai Children's Art Theater and "CHIFFONNADE" by Germany's Teatro 4Garoupas.
Also, sixteen professional groups of children's performing arts from China and overseas established the Shanghai International Children's Theater Community on Thursday for better exchanges and cooperation. They will share resources and explore new approaches to develop plays for children.
Meanwhile, 12 schools in Shanghai, including Shanghai Experimental School, Shanghai United International School and the special education rehabilitation guidance center of Hongkou District (also a special education school), were honored as education bases for children's theater art. They are encouraged to play a bigger role in training teachers and creating new plays.
"Lua" from the Shanghai Children's Art Theater
The children's theater arts section of the international art festival's performing arts fair will also take place at the Shanghai Children's Art Theater on October 19, when experts and scholars will exchange ideas on the high-quality development of children's dramatic arts.
A drama carnival for families, the first of its kind in Shanghai, will also be held, featuring impromptu performances and interactive activities.
