The dilapidated Shikumen, the mottled and broken cement walls, the low and dark pavilions...the sound of rain mixed with the continuous muffled thunder, the rainy season comes with a helpless feeling of sadness, the bitterness and helplessness of life, the suffering of little people. Hardship and sorrow, everything is so depressing and suffocating... On the afternoon of July 14, a special performance was staged at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center. Xia Yan's classic drama "Under the Roofs of Shanghai" was reinterpreted in an immersive performance . However, this time the identities of the actors are somewhat special - they are principals from primary and secondary schools in Shanghai.
As a new section of the training class for improving the artistic quality of primary and secondary school principals in Shanghai, the first Shanghai Primary and Secondary School Principals Repertory Theater was launched in October 2023. More than 60 members of the repertory troupe have been training and rehearsing for more than half a year, using Mandarin. and Shanghai-language versions of "Under the Roofs of Shanghai", delivering their own "graduation drama".
The first Shanghai Primary and Secondary School Principals’ Drama Troupe is guided by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Art Education Committee, and co-organized by the Shanghai Science and Technology Art Education Center, Shanghai Art Education Association, and Shanghai Drama Art Center. Since the beginning of the class, the drama troupe has maintained weekly classes and held winter camp training during the winter vacation, allowing many principals and principals who started from scratch to gradually master professional skills. The reason why "Under the Roofs of Shanghai" was chosen is because it is an "ensemble play" that allows as many members as possible to have the opportunity to appear.
Campus principals can experience real performances first-hand and experience the charm of beauty in an all-round way through drama education and creative rehearsals, watching classic plays and backstage tours. They also combine drama content with the school’s aesthetic education work and apply what they have learned to campus management. and school aesthetic education planning, assisting the construction of campus aesthetic education and promoting the improvement of students' aesthetic literacy.
"From the perspective of educators, we must continue to inspire, guide and motivate students." Wang Haofeng, the vice principal of Xiyan'an Middle School who plays a bank clerk in the play, praised the charm of this art form. As an educator, he naturally extended it to teaching. He said that the training and cultivation method of drama itself is a very fresh experience for students, and it is easy to stimulate students' creativity and inspire them. A new way of thinking about texts and knowledge. "I have a strong feeling that we must find ways to introduce drama education in the future."
Zhang Wei, vice principal and physics teacher of Shanghai Kangjian Foreign Languages Experimental Middle School, is the actor who plays Li Lingbei and is also the executive director of the first act. In his opinion, the basic skills of teachers are similar to the "stage appearance" in drama performances. The expressiveness, appeal and stage design of drama can be used as a reference for teachers on the podium. Drama is not only a way of performance, but also brings all-round improvements to school management. For example, the popular "psychodrama" can use drama to do psychological work for children. "This is what I was doing when I participated in the primary and secondary school principal's drama. Expanding ideas after the troupe. "
It is understood that after the drama troupe's first drama comes to an end, the second Shanghai Primary and Secondary School Principals' Repertory Troupe is about to start.
Source: Shanghai Xuhui
