On the evening of November 16, 2023, the opening ceremony of the 8th Beijing College Students Drama Festival was held at Theatre Centre at Changping Campus of the CAD.

This year’s festival, themed as ‘Thrive with China’ received 87 entries from 44 institutions of higher education in Beijing, 23 of which became the finalists to be staged at the festival.

Professional artists and educators from China Coal Mine Art Troupe, Beijing People's Art Theatre, Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy were invited to review the shows. Experts from the CAD were invited to deliver open course and conduct workshops on theatre art, such as Song Libo from the Department of Acting, Zhao Miao from the Department of Directing Liu Feng from the Department of Stage Design, and Guo Fumin from the Department of Dramatic Literature.

The opening ceremony started with the short original musical ‘Encounter, Theatre’ by the students from the CAD. Subsequently, Zhang Yirui from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) spoke on behalf of all participating students, followed by Deputy Secretary Jiang Langlang of the CAD, who delivered a speech to stress the CAD’s duty of promoting the communication among higher educational institutions and between them and the society, before he announced to kick off the festival.

Deputy Secretary Jiang Langlang of the CAD

Zhang Yirui from China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Then, the representatives from the participating institutions gave wonderful performances to celebrate the event.

The Beijing College Students Drama Festival has been held every two years since 2006, and seven fruitful versions has been reaped so far. This year, the festival prioritizes the integrity of students, wide accessibility, high quality and openness, as well as inheritance and innovation. It aims to build a platform for the young to showcase their drama works, pass on the power of theatre, and to enhance their level of theatrical practice.