10 December 2019
Recently, all undergraduate classes of the Directing Department of Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) carried out the “Observe and Learn from Real Life” practical activities with the theme of Never Forget Original Aspiration, Take Root in Real Life.
The students of Year 1 went to “observe and learn from real life” in the ancient town of Tongli ancient in Suzhou on 15 November. The students were having the short act training of acting elements in their basic professional courses. The main purpose of this activity was to enable the students to observe real life, experience real life, find simple and interesting people and things around them in the process of experiencing, and collect materials for creation of works. Most of the 15 students in the class come from China’s northeastern, northwestern and southwestern regions, and are still unfamiliar with the culture of water towns in the Yangtze River Delta region, so this activity arranged them to visit the ancient water town of Tongli.
In order to better complete the teaching content of event-based short act training of directing elements, the Year 2 students came to Wuzhen, Jiaxing, which is known as the land of fish and rice, the home of silk” on 21 November, led by the teachers.
The students of Year 3, while working with the famous overseas teacher, Nicholas Barter, former principle of RADA, in creating the teaching production Much Ado about Nothing, went to various colleges and universities in Shanghai to hold discussions with the teachers and students there and conduct field research, so as to accumulate materials for the next practicum production Who Stole My Sleep.
The graduating Year 4 students were working on the graduation production “Medal”, which is based on Li Min, a female soldier of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and former vice chairwoman of the CPPCC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee. From 21 to 24 November, the students came to Harbin, where the heroine Li Min had lived and worked, for “observing and learning from real life” over the period of three days and two nights.
The thematic practical activities on this occasion were part of the specific initiatives of the STA Directing Department to fulfill the university’s requirements for talent training, and cultivate the reserve force for cultural development in the new era. In the future study and creation, teachers and students of the STA Directing Department will continue to learn from the people, absorb nutrients from the people and real life, and create excellent works that are worthy of the times and live up to the expectation of the people.
