Captain Smiley’s battle for the galaxy with the Evil Pouting Alien entered a whole new dimension as primary school students took the lead roles for the first time in the popular MTR X Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (HKRep) Railway Safety interactive drama. They were the stars of two “living art” public performances at MTR Hong Kong Station today (4 August 2013).
Each show was the culmination of a fun and engaging half-day summer workshop in which children aged from 8 to 10 were guided by professional trainers from HKRep to explore their talents in dance, acting and art. They then put together what they learned to stage an exciting show on how Hong Kong students help Captain Smiley, the stranded fighter from outer space, to return to the galaxy by demonstrating safe and courteous behaviour on the MTR.
The event was co-organised by Baby Kingdom, Hong Kong’s leading parenting website, which recruited 90 children to take part in the workshops. All participants were awarded certificates as “Master of Railway Safety Trainees”.
“The enjoyment that children get from expressing their creativity through different artistic forms is enriching for them and a pleasure for us to see. These workshops really capture the essence of our collaboration with HKRep. By bringing art and drama to students, we encourage them to explore their own talents while also instilling important messages about railway safety from a young age,” said Mr Jay Walder, CEO of MTR Corporation.
“These workshops are really a fun and creative activity for the kids to join. As a parenting media platform like ours, it's great that we can come together with MTR and HKRep to provide children with an educational but fun activity during their summer holidays,” said Rainer Sip, Operations Director of Baby Kingdom.
Sponsored by MTR Corporation, the MTR X HKRep: Master of Railway Safety School Tour was presented for free to 40,000 students in 2012-13 with interactive drama performances at 50 primary schools and story-telling sessions at 50 kindergartens. After seeing the shows, students were invited to show their mastery of railway safety through drawings. Prizes for the top three submissions in the senior primary category and junior primary category were presented today. In the coming academic year, the overall programme will be expanded to a total of 110 performances, including at special schools for the first time.
“The 2013-14 programme is the most extensive since we first teamed up with MTR to launch these school tours two years ago. At HKRep, we want to reach all sectors of the community to provide entertainment, education and raise awareness of theatre arts, so we are delighted to be adding performances for special schools this year, “ said Mr Anthony Chan, Artist Director of HKRep.
Kindergartens, primary schools and special schools interested in the MTR X HKRep: Master of Railway Safety School Tour performances can obtain more details by contacting HKRep at 3103 5911 (Ms Cheung), or visit the MTR or HKRep websites: www.mtr.com.hk / www.hkrep.com.
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Contact Person: Jane Wong
Email: cr_promo_2012@yahoo.com.hk
Telephone: (852)29937125
Organization: MTR Corporation