Zhang Qian zhqcindy@163.com A special drama featuring the story of stay-behind children living in rural areas in China was staged at Shenzhen Theater on Sunday, attracting over 1,000 audience memebers, including children, parents, volunteers and social workers. The psychodrama, titled “The Story of Xiaoyi,” is the first interactive psychodrama that has been put on in Shenzhen. The scripted performance section only lasted 20 minutes, as the rest of the drama was totally spontaneous. The actors and actresses were volunteers from a charity group in Shanghai, known as Huidiji Mentality Caring Center and their 20-minute part was to tell the true story of Xiaoyi, a stay-behind girl in Guizhou Province. Xiaoyi’s parents left her with her grandparents in order to make money in big cities when she was very young. Since then, Xiaoyi’s parents have seldom come home. Even if they do come home to the rural village, the parents only care about Xiaoyi’s performance at school, rather than her growth or emotional need for her parents. In the show, Xiaoyi shouts out her wishes, anger and pain for her parents, but only in her mind. She refused to talk to anyone about her confusion or show inferiority. The rest of the show was a spontaneous performance with guest actors invited to play the role of the volunteers who attempted to walk into Xiaoyi’s heart and help her regain happiness and confidence. Two guest actors were invited on Sunday night. Xiao Peng, a Shenzhen volunteer with rich experience interacting with stay-behind kids, was the first guest actor. His spontaneous interaction with the child actress, Xiaoyi, and her family showcased how a trained volunteer can interact with stay-behind children to help them speak out their confusion and get others to help them. One hundred audience memebers were invited to watch the drama for free by a local Shenzhen charity group, named KIDO, which cares for youth development. They invited teachers, psychologists and social workers who pay close attention to helping stay-behind children in rural areas across China. One audience member, who had brought his 4-year-old child to watch the drama, said it was the first time he had watched a spontaneous drama. “It’s very interesting and inspiring at the same time,” said the audience member, who also liked to volunteer in his leisure time. |