AHA DRAMA CHARITY THEATRE GROUP
Founder's Story
I, Ashley Ge Xuanxin, as someone who has studied musical theatre for 9 years, used to be a very shy, quiet person with social anxiety, lacking in opinion and ideas. However, through studying and performing in dramas, I became lively, extroverted, positive, empathetic, and significantly improved in interpersonal relations and understanding of the objective world. Because of my deep love for musicals and knowing their charm, I was ultimately deeply changed by them.
By chance, I heard the term "applied drama" and became extremely interested and curious about it. Since then, I started exploring how drama could bring about such significant changes in people. Last summer, I participated in the commercial performance of "Shanhaijing" and learned that the Shanghai Children's Foundation arranged for the children they support to watch our performance. From then on, I had the idea to form a theatre group to allow more underprivileged and autistic children to participate in the art of musical theatre, which has a relatively narrow audience base, thereby changing more children's lives. I hope they too can possess the keen eyes to discover the beauty in the world and confidently stand on the musical theatre stage.
Drama comes from life, yet it elevates above life, serving as life's mirror and epitome. In the process of presenting drama, it requires meticulous observation of life and empathy for the human heart. Thus, actors, through the process of feeling and "self-other exchange," become a group that is more sensitive and loving than the average person. Children from special groups can express themselves in the free creation of "Process Drama," and the theatre group will create musicals based on their personal experiences from their imaginative ideas. Since the plots are related to them, they can drop their masks in drama and be their true selves, accomplishing things they can't in reality. I believe that through the application of drama, by understanding the scripts and characters, children can notice the details in life, enhance their empathy, and become more understanding and tolerant in life. This courage and anticipation for life are our vision and goal for founding the theatre group.
Using drama as a medium and love as a bridge to build a spiritual home for special children is the purpose of our theatre group.
Sincere Thanks
I'm deeply grateful for the strong support from the Shanghai Children's Foundation and the Shanghai Charity Foundation Dacheng Charitable Fund. We founded a public welfare theatre group composed entirely of children, including playwrights, designers, directors, choreographers, and photographers. We hope to awaken society's care for special groups through children helping children.
STUDENT LEADERS:
Ashley Ge - Glory Academy ‘2027 , Lucy Yao - Glory Academy ‘2027, Eric Hua - Glory Academy ‘2027, Sally Wang - Glory Academy ‘2026
