A monthlong drama festival designed especially for children was inaugurated last week at Children’s Palace.

    An array of carnivals, lectures, workshops, summer camps and acting events are expected to expose local children to the rich culture of drama.

    The festival is jointly organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee and several municipal government departments, including the culture, sports and tourism bureau, the education bureau and the women’s federation, as well as a local children’s art troupe.

    Among all the activities, the drama carnival will be the highlight of the festival. Five shows, with 18 performances included, are to be held in Bao’an, Futian, Yantian districts and Guangming New Area.

    During the festival, 20,000 tickets will be distributed to raise money for charity. Students can donate stationery worth 50 yuan (US$7.5) to get one ticket for a show. Tickets are also for sale at 50 yuan each. All of the money collected from selling tickets will be donated to charity.

    A group of children from Guanfeng Primary School in Shennongjia area of Hubei attended the inauguration ceremony last week, sharing their summer vacation with the children of Shenzhen. They received 2,000 pieces of stationery from Shenzhen residents who contributed to the ticket sales.

    Moreover, a summer camp initiated by Broadway had invited top Broadway professionals to train Shenzhen children and drama teachers. The summer camp is expected to improve children’s teamwork, coordination and self-expression abilities.

    Directors also enacted classic Broadway musicals such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Sound of Music,” offering professional training for writing, directing and acting to local children.

    The Shenzhen Children’s Drama Festival has been prospering creativity and providing an interactive platform for families to experience drama culture since the first festival in 2012.

    (Zhang Qian, Wang Piaoyi)