Act to inspire

 

On the stage of Penghao Theatre in Beijing on July 27, 13 child actors and actresses stood in the spotlight, beaming with confidence and spoke their dreams. Around them sat a full audience gasping in admiration for the debut of a performance that had only three days of rehearsal.

The play, "Reynard the Fox and the Happy Village" starred the children from migrant workers'families, "floating children", in Lengquan village in Beijings's northwestern suburbs. It was organized by a student association, Dean D’Art, as a conclusion for their summer theater project for the children in the village.

"I thought they might have stage fright, but it turned out they have a real talent for acting," Ma Hongsuo, mother of one of the children, said.

Dean D'Art was founded in April by students from Peking University and Beijing Foreign Studies University and it aims to give these floating children free art education.

"These children do not share as many education resources as those from the cities, especially art classes," Shen Danxi, founder of Dean D’Art, said. "But art can change one's soul."

From July 13 to 27, the project was divided into two parts: one was "Interests in the Bud" during which volunteers gave the children classes of handcrafts, drawing, music and acting; the other was “Wonder in the Exploration,” when children chose to practice drama or make costumes for the performers in the last three days.

More than 30 migrant children aged 9 to 14 took part in the project that was held in the community center of the village.

"I felt really happy when I got one of the major parts in the play," Xie Zhaoxia, a 14-year-old girl, said.

The girl followed her parents to Beijing when she was nine years old. But next semester she has to return to her hometown in the Sichuan province to continue her high school studies because those who do not have a Beijing hukou cannot continue studies in Beijing after their nine-year compulsory education is completed.

Her father got pneumoconiosis, or known as black lung disease, after years of being exposed in the bad working environment and had been in hospital for four months. The whole family lives on her mother's 1000-yuan-a-month salary.

"She seems a little bit touchy and more sophisticated than other kids," Zhou Lijuan, social worker in the community center, said.

Although the girl liked being photographed, she was never willing to talk more about her thoughts on the future and always steered the conversation to the present.

"I like them," she said, looking at the volunteers. "They are nice and patient and I look forward to being on the stage."

The kids came to the center at nine o'clock every morning and started to recite lines, learn dancing and singing till five in the afternoon during the last three days of the program.

During the rehearsal Chen Miaojuan, the volunteer in charge of the performance class, had a sore throat but she took some medicine and hung on for the kids.

"It is hard to keep the children focused all the time but I was trying," she said. "I want to give them a perfect debut."

On the night of the premiere, the children dazzled the audience with their almost flawless performance, telling a story of how a kind-hearted fox won the trust of the villagers by protecting them from the wolf and the leopard.

When one of the audience raised the question of "what are your dreams" after the show, the little players jumped to answer.

"I want to be a teacher!" - "I want to be a journalist!" - "A statesman!" - "A painter!"

In contrast to the chirping children and the rapt audience, the volunteers remained quietly awed.

"Of course I am happy for them," Shen Danxi said. "Their amazing performance wraps up our summer project like an exclamation mark, but also leaves a question mark."

"What should we do for them next? Even if we could fill some of the blank for their art education, can we guarantee them a more stable life or a fairer chance for other resources?" she said.

"What’s next?"

Liu Dan contributed to the story.

Contact the writer at fanzhen@chinadaily.com.cn