A SHORT drama performed by the middle school attached to the teachers'college of Shenzhen University was among five plays awarded the first prize yesterday (Mar 1), at the Second National Arts Show for Primary and Secondary School Students currently being held in the city.

Twelve short plays, which entered the final round of the competition, were staged at Shenzhen Grand Theater on Tuesday night. Touching on important issues like food safety, environmental pollution, fierce academic competition, the generation gap and a stark contrast between students from poor and wealthy families, the plays made many adults watching the show sigh and contemplate.

"Before Election,"the first-prize winner performed by local students, portrayed two students vying for the position of class monitor - a wealthy student whose family had a nanny, and the nanny's son.

The wealthy student tried to cover up the fact that his family had a nanny, a nod to the resentment towards the rich in today's China. In contrast, the nanny's son was worried that his classmates would find out about his mother's occupation, since many people today are also proud of being rich.

The play ended with a shocking scene in which the truth was revealed and the wealthy student blamed the nanny's son for despising his own mother.

"Wish,"a  play performed by students from Xi'an, highlighted another common problem in today's China, that of parents being so engrossed in work or devoted to the pursuit of money that they have little time to spend with their children. One of the play's characters, a boy named Yang Yang, declared that he wanted to earn 80 yuan (US$10) by selling plastic covers on the street to purchase an hour from his father so that the whole family could go to the park on Children's Day.

"He only speaks three sentences to me over the phone. Have you finished your homework? Have you eaten your meal? Do you still have money with you?" the boy complained. As his father have claimed that he only earned 80 yuan an hour, the boy decided to earn the money and buy some time from his father.

"The boy who played Yang Yang is a born actor. He played so naturally,"said a Beijing Normal University professor who watched the show.

"Today's children are mature and brave enough to ask questions that adults are afraid to answer," she said.

Apart from original campus plays, the students also performed a puppet play based on a short story by Russian writer Chekhov and a costume play adapted from "Emperor's New Clothes" by Anderson.

Background

More than 5,000 young people are participating in the Second National Arts Show for Primary and Secondary School Students, being held until Saturday in Shenzhen.

Held once every three years, the event is the biggest art show for primary and secondary school students in China sponsored by the Ministry of Education.

A total of 147 performances, which entered the final round of competition, were staged at Shenzhen Grand Theater between Friday and Tuesday.

More than 400 paintings, photographs and calligraphic works, selected from 1,200 entries, are being shown at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum this week.

More than 150 theses on art education were submitted to the event¡¯s organizing committee and seminars were held on the sidelines of the arts show.

The closing ceremony and an awards gala will be held at Shenzhen Grand Theater on Saturday night.

Some 2,000 students attended the first edition of the arts show between Jan. 30 and Feb. 8, 2004 in Beijing.

Editor: Wing