Theatre Practice
Young Theatre Makers is a bilingual drama training programme that focuses primarily on analysing and understanding a play. Intended for secondary school students, the cross-curriculum scheme uses playscripts as a framework for discussion to develop students’ critical thinking.
Schools can choose from 14 original plays by playwrights from around the world. The plays deal with coming-of-age themes that resonate with young participants, and aim to stimulate interesting debate and dialogue. By combining showcase and discussion, the programme uncovers just how much the arts can help us understand life.
Key Learning areas
Arts Education; Personal, Social & Humanities Education
Target
S1 – S6
Language
Cantonese or English
Format
Face-to-face
Contact hours
20 hours in-school workshop; Inter-school exchange and discussion; 8 hours rehearsal, showcase and discussion in the theatre
Teachers’ support
CPD for teachers
Capacity
30 students & 4 teachers maximum per group
Fee
$30,000 per group
Plays
14 plays with Chinese and English scripts are available for schools to choose from. Through the Plays for Young People project, AFTEC brought together international playwrights and local translators to create 14 original plays for young people aged 23 and under. These selected plays, written by playwrights from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and other cities in Asia and Europe, will be used in the Young Theatre Makers programme.
PLAYS AT A GLANCE:
Playwright
Åsa Lindholm (Stockholm, Sweden)
Synopsis
A group of young people living in the era of social media who, in different ways, are struggling with life online.
Playwright
Olga Macrinici (Chișinău, Republic of Moldova)
Synopsis
“Docuanimal” is full of monologues that talk about our relationship to animals in a non-judgmental, borderless and friendly way, full of irony and surprises.
Playwright
Lin Meng Huan (Taipei)
Synopsis
Elpis would not submit to the government’s “Craze for Game, Game for Cash” scheme, and joins E.S.D.F., only to discover dark conspiracies between future humans and AI! This story reflects on the effects of technology on Earth.
Playwright
Milena Bogavac (Belgrade, Serbia)
Synopsis
A play about families, and what happens when divorce tears them apart. What can be split? What can be shared? One cannot divide love. It is unsplittable.
Playwright
Dr Vicki Ooi (Hong Kong) & Thomas Lawson (London, United Kingdom)
Synopsis
A robot-building scientist must choose between losing his son forever and trying something that has never been done before. What happens when we take artificial intelligence to its extreme?
Playwright
Dr Vicki Ooi (Hong Kong) & Thomas Lawson (London, United Kingdom)
Synopsis
Fairy tales for all ages, with new characters. Grimm’s Fairy Tales are adapted into a tale of good, evil and teamwork.
Playwright
Anders Duus (Strängnäs, Sweden)
Synopsis
On friendships, bullying and the fight for popularity, the story follows a group of teenagers who are desperate to change their status and find their place in the world.
Playwright
Khairi Anwar (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Synopsis
This play received critical acclaim and describes the gulf between teacher and student due to difference in racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Playwright
Sara Clifford (London, United Kingdom)
Synopsis
Think about disability, support and friendship. A young man and a boy meet at a school for the disabled. They develop a friendship that changes both their lives but will it last?
Playwright
Dragana Tripković (Podgorica, Montenegro)
Synopsis
When witches place a curse on Zan Zano’s family, he has to face the consequences of his actions and learn about responsibility, respect and the power of nature.
Playwright
Nick Wood (Nottingham, United Kingdom)
Synopsis
Through an adventure story on friendship, growing up, taking responsibility and learning from the past.
Playwright
Hasan Erkek (Istanbul, Turkey)
Synopsis
Willard, a retired teacher, is blamed for ruining the life of a former student. He is forced to look back at the man he once was and to understand the consequences of his actions.
Playwright
Chinonyerem Odimba (London, United Kingdom)
Synopsis
Attempting to run away and escape his parents’ plans, Badger finds a land beneath our feet that he cannot escape from. This fantastical story looks at what it means to be young – disconnected from nature, and from your identity.
Playwright
Andreea Vălean (Bucharest, Romania)
Synopsis
Three young men in a boy’s detention centre kidnap the centre’s warden and a young woman, who plans to conduct a study into juvenile delinquency. The boys demand a helicopter to rescue and set them free. Will they get what they wish for?
During the drama workshop, I not only learnt how to act, but also discovered the importance of teamwork by helping and supporting each other succeed in our final performance. What I enjoyed the most was how we were encouraged to put ourselves in the characters’ shoes. It was really fun and helped me understand the story more!
Student
Youth College (International) – Tsing Yi Site
Students learn to respect the play, analyse the script, and rebuild the scene of a play in a local setting. I like this concept and the design of the programme.
Teacher
Acknowledgement
AFTEC reserves the right to postpone, cancel, modify the programme format or substitute artists