Students at the Century Park Campus enthralled audiences recently with their entertaining performance of the play, Wacky Soap. The rhyming allegorical tale written by Mark Wheeler looked at complex themes surrounding happiness and social issues, concluding that, “Lasting happiness comes from within, not from a ‘quick fix’ lather on your skin”.

Students from Years 6 to 10 participated in the play as part of the Extra-Curricular Activity programme, some acting for the first time, and others who had participated in multiple prior productions on campus. According to Century Park Campus Drama teacher, Nicola Howard, “Children get involved in theatre for different reasons. There are the students who are very talented in this area, and there are others who just enjoy drama and theatre”. Howard adds that, “Each student reaps different rewards, and it is a wonderful experience to watch them all challenge themselves and learn new skills.”

The play gave also students the opportunity to work closely together as they learned more about about the various aspects of presenting a successful show. Howard says, “One of the reasons I was drawn to producing the play, Wacky Soap, this year was because it provided students with such a good opportunity to work together. So often in plays, children can be focused on being ‘the star’, when, in fact, we see our students grow by learning about the importance of collaborating as part of the ensemble.”

The team effort certainly paid off, with two brilliant performances put on at the Century Park theatre, with vibrant background sets designed by the Visual Art teachers and students. The hard work of the talented cast and teachers was obvious to families, faculty, and friends who enjoyed the all-around engaging and professional performance.

YCIS Shanghai’s Music and Drama programmes offer students a range of performance opportunities throughout the year, and are an integral part of the school’s holistic education model. To learn more about these programmes, please click here.