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(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-24 13:32

Young hedgehogs take the stage

The 9th National College Drama Festival, also called Golden Hedgehog, has ended in Beijing.

This year's festival featured 106 plays, 14 of which will be selected to show at the Beijing Nine Theater until Aug 26. The Communications University of China won the Golden Hedgehog prize, so named to convey the idea of young people exploring new areas, much like the hedgehog penetrates barriers with its spines. More than 400 universities have staged 146 dramas for the festival over the past nine years.

 

Crazy promotion

The news conference for thriller film Horrible Night (tentative title) stood out among the many staged every day in Beijing after two "psychopaths" stormed into the Aug 12 event, claiming to be fans of Taiwan actress Pace Wu, who appears in the film alongside mainland actor Zhang Han.

Supporting actor Zhao Yingjun rebuked them with strong words, and just when it looked like the confrontation was about to get physical, director Ding Xiaoyang yelled: "Cut!"

The episode was intended to poke fun at the film's plot, the director explained. The storyline follows a diva and four mentally ill characters in the early 20th century. The two "psychos" were actually actors in the film, which has been completed and will hit screens early next year.

 

Children Musical Week

With more than 600 children performers from across China staging 20 musicals from Aug 22 to Aug 28 in Beijing, Children Musical Performance Week is a good family fun option for the summer vacation.

The festival's opening show, Mission To Mars, brings to the stage 30 children aged 5 to 12, who tell about their work to protect the Earth. Some of the performers have never been on stage before, while others have already appeared in several musicals. All shows will be free to the public, says the Ministry of Culture, the event's main organizer.

 

Tse's screen kiss needs wife's nod

Hong Kong actor Nicholas Tse says he needs approval from his wife, actress Cecilia Cheung, to shoot a kissing scene.

Tse's latest film, the action thriller The Stool Pigeon released today, has him locking lips with Taiwan actress Kwai Lun-mei, presumably after receiving the nod from Cheung.

Tse has build a reputation as a model husband and father in recent years, thanks to the support and care of his wife, who was involved in a nude photo scandal in early 2008.

Tse wears a necklace that has the name of his new-born son Quintus, but refuses to reveal the child's Chinese name. The couple's first son, Lucas, has been in the spotlight since his birth in 2007, with many filmmakers inviting the star baby to join in their projects.

 

All the posters you ever wanted

"Stage on Paper", the first international performing arts poster design exhibition, is being held at the National Center for the Performing Arts, offering to the public view some classic posters by world-famous designers.

The exhibition features more than 100 original works from 14 designers from Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Finland.

The exhibition also presents 54 Peking Opera posters made by Chinese students under the guidance of virtuoso German designer Christof Gassner. Another 60 posters for classic Broadway plays, musicals and dramas of the past six decades are also on display.

The exhibition, which runs from Aug 10 to Sept 5, will move to Suzhou in October.

 

Diverse dancers come to capital

Children from the ethnic groups of Yunnan, Jilin and Guizhou provinces, and the Tibet and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, recently performed their folk dances in Beijing.

The eight teams of some 120 pupils all came from schools in remote areas. They belong to nine ethnic groups: the Naxi, Dai, Jingpo, Miao, Uygur, Korean, Mongolian, Tibetan and Lhoba. These children are beneficiaries of the Children Dance Aesthetic Education Project in Remote Villages, launched in 2006 by the Chinese Dancers Association and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

The project has trained about 6,000 teachers in more than 3,000 rural primary schools.

The project also sent dance instructors to quake-ravaged areas in Sichuan province in 2008 to help children recover from the devastating earthquake.

 

Flying Tigers TV series

Based on the true story of the first American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force during World War II, a 30-episode TV series entitled Flying Tigers, The Heroes of World War II has finished shooting. The film editing could take half a year to complete.

Anna Chennault, the widow of General Claire L. Chennault, who created the AVG, supported the series, which was made in cooperation between Chinese and American filmmakers.

China Daily