The first original graduation play The White Pillow of School of Performing Arts was displayed in the Prism Experimental Center on July 7 and 8, and won unanimous praise from the judges and the audience. A total of 82 professional performing groups submitted nearly 100 works for the festival, and after rigorous and objective screening by the judges, nine award-winning works were finally evaluated, and The White Pillow won one of the "Youth Power" awards (one of the nine award-winning works) issued by the organizing committee.
The White Pillow is an original graduation play created by the junior students and teachers of the Performance Customized Class of School of Performing Arts. After this win, the play was performed publicly for the first time. The collaborative creation of two teachers, Artistic Director——Li Peng, Playwright & Director——Su Na, was well received by the organizing committee judges and the audience. As an experimental play of the School, the play demonstrated the profound thinking and dedication of the faculty team to the innovation of performing education and practice in all aspects of stage design, script writing and performing arts. This successful premiere is not only an illustration of the results of the creative work, but also an important demonstration of the achievements of drama performing of the School, which highlights the School’s profound heritage and strength in artistic innovation and performance education.
On the day of the premiere, Prof. Qi Shilong came to the scene and expressed great appreciation for the creation of the original play. He confirmed that the process of creating an original work is very arduous, which requires a long period of practice, revision and polishing. As the first award-winning play going out of Beijing City University, the success of The White Pillow is a great achievement for the teachers and students.
The premiere of The White Pillow was widely publicized and praised by professionals within the industry. Before the premiere, Beijing Satellite Television had widely publicized the play through a special program called Beijing Satellite Television's Great Plays in Beijing. From the program, the audience gained a deeper understanding of the creative philosophy, artistic performance and social significance of the play, which added more expectation and attention to the premiere.
The School of Performing Arts has always taken it as its mission to cultivate film and television talents with innovative spirit and artistic talent, and the premiere of The White Pillow is a successful example of this goal. The premiere of this play is not only the culmination of the hard work of the writers, directors and actors, but also a reflection of the professionalism accumulated by the teaching staff of the School over the years. Furthermore, it recognizes the hard work of the faculty and students, as well as making an important contribution and exploration to the original experimental plays.
