A Weekend of Theatre with ISTA

Last weekend theatre students and practitioners from Hong Kong and beyond shared three days of creative exploration and play at FIS in TKO. This festival offered an exciting weekend of theatre making run by the International Schools Theatre Association. 

FIS students from the International and French Streams in Blue Pool Road and Tseung Kwan O worked with others from Renaissance College, West Island School and Creative Secondary School to participate in three full days of collaborative drama. 

The students worked with three professional theatre artists, Ulrich Gottlieb from Bangkok, and Francois Zanini and Jennie Lui from Hong Kong, on the theme of “Withstanding Storms”. The festival title was “The Legend of Tin Hau”, and students were inspired by the story of Tin Hau, the Confucian saying “The green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm”, and a visit to the Chi Lin Nunnery, itself an urban oasis of calm amid this bustling city. The students explored the theme using drama and developed their creative response under the guidance of the artist using ISTA’s unique collaborative ensemble model. The festival culminated in a sharing of work with parents, which was enthusiastically received, and the students were proud of their achievements.

Throughout the weekend, these young people went beyond their comfort zones, challenged themselves, and took risks both socially and theatrically. Towards the end of the festival, the students reflected on how they had gone from a mixture of fear, trepidation and nervous anticipation on Friday, to confidence and excitement on Sunday. 

The students rose to the challenge of working with older peers and professionals, and really took ownership of their individual roles in the collaborative process. The students all had a fabulous time, learnt so much, and made new friends!