Every year, people who work in theatre get excited due to the coming of World Theatre Day. People in modern society, with their fast-paced lifestyles and array of online video platforms, seem to have lost patience with ”flat” drama, and have perhaps fallen out of love with the meaning of theatre. What they don’t realise is that the stories played-out on those small stages can change people’s lives and place them on aspirational pathways that may come to define their lives. On roads like this, there are beautiful and unique sights that others may miss completely… 

Access International Academy Ningbo (AIAN) is located in Beilun District, Ningbo City, and includes students from over 20 countries and regions. At AIAN, teachers attach great importance to children’s personal development, as well as to their academic growth, and by being able to freely pursue goals and enjoy the process of their growth happily, children in turn strive to become the people that they wish to be by simply following their hearts.

During her child education and care studies in the UK, Taiwanese AIAN teacher Ms. Donna learned how drama education can have a positive impact on children’s healthy development, and she puts that knowledge to good use as the drama education course leader for students of all ages at AIAN. On the advent of World Drama Day, we were honoured to visit the beautiful campus of AIAN, and to experience the charm of drama with Ms. Donna in person.

When we first approached Ms. Donna with our request to film a drama class at AIAN, she agreed immediately without hesitation, which gave us great excitement about the coming day of filming. 

On March 14th, we arrived at AIAN early in the morning, setting up to record every brilliant moment that we witnessed in order to produce a two-minute micro-documentary. During the classes, all the children were laughing, having fun and expressing themselves confidently – simply rejoicing in the drama of the small stage.

Throughout the day, Ms. Donna showed us a total of 7 wonderful drama classes. With such a busy schedule, we worried that Ms. Donna would become tired, but she always replied with a smile on her face: ”Haha, I’m still energetic!”; “How can you be tired when you’re doing something you love?” or simply “No problem at all!”. During each of the 7 classes, we all felt Ms. Donna’s great passion for theatre, and bore witness to the charm of drama as every child immersed themselves in their respective performances. 

When we asked the children what drama means to them, they answered, “drama is like an attractive and interesting show which makes us laugh heartily during the class” or “drama is an amusement centre, where you brighten your day by experiencing endless intriguing games and creating your world.” or “drama is a wonderland with a lot of novel stories, activities, and games”. Indeed, after our amazing journey at AIAN, we began to feel that drama belongs to everyone who loves life.

As a world-famous educational toy company, we have always been committed to supporting children’s development and learning through richly dramatic play experiences. Over the years, we’ve worked with academic experts, teachers, children and their parents to develop toys that encourage children’s creativity and imagination. 

The day we spent with AIAN’s teachers and students reinforced our determination to adhere to Hape’s philosophy of “Love play, learn”, and we look forward to creating a more immersive role-play experience for children, guiding them to explore new worlds, to improve their social skills and encouraging them to be more expressive and open. To us, it’s no secret that imaginative play is fundamental to child development – and that is why we are committed to encouraging creative play and nurturing imaginations with our toys and our accessories.