This week, our Junior Theatre originalproduction As You Wish was successfully performed.

Behind the 90-minute performance lies a creative journey that spanned from September 2025 to March 2026 — a total of 60 hours of collaborative creation. But what you saw on stage was only part of the story.

#1 This wasnot a play that was “produced”—— it was a play that “grew.”

Everything began with a lesson that had no script. The teacher brought four objects into the rehearsal room:

● A pair of ballet shoes stained with red paint

● Four costume design sketches

● Two crumpled exam papers

● A photograph of a ballet dancer

From these fragments, 33 actors and 7 backstage team members began asking questions, discussing ideas, and improvising — gradually building the world of the story.

At first glance, the protagonist Ella resembles Cinderella — she has a stepmother and family conflicts. But instead of retelling a familiar tale, the students began to question:

Where did the shoes come from?

Whose name was crossed out on the exam papers?

Who is the ballet dancer?

What does Ella, a 12-year-old girl, truly want?

Why is her relationship with her stepmother so tense?

Why does her stepsister feel jealous — and does she have her own dreams?

What kind of person is Ella’s biological mother?

…and many more.

#2 On stage they were not just characters

In this performance, what we witnessed was not just a story or a set of characters — but the students themselves:

● Their ability to improvise and carry the story forward when lines were forgotten.

● Their courage to continue performing despite nerves.

● Their awareness to support one another when mistakes happened.

● Their sense of responsibility in quietly completing tasks behind the scenes.

#3 幕后的工作 舞台运转的隐形守护者

Behind-the-scenes work is an indispensable and vital part of the production. Our first-ever student backstage team, composed of Junior School students, held up the entire stage with a strong sense of responsibility and creativity:

● The All-Round Backstage Crew: Nini, Megan, Vivi He, Chloe, Monica, Jasmine, Judy (Grade 7 Volunteer) … They not only helped move props and organize costumes during the performances but also joined every script discussion in the early stages. They personally painted the stage backdrop, colored stage set pieces, and coordinated costumes and props for each cast member, gaining a deep understanding of the style and spirit of this production.

●Choreographers of Dance: The pivotal ballet competition scene in the play was independently choreographed by Mia and Hannah from Year 4.They are not only dancers in the show but also Ella’s personal choreographers. Together, they created a 30-second ballet piece for Ella, which appears gracefully in Act 5.

#4 More important than the performance was the journey

From the first ideas, to shaping the script, to repeated rehearsals and refinements, the students experienced disagreement, discussion, failure, restarting, and trying again.

This was a journey about collaboration, expression, and understanding one another. When the lights dimmed and the applause began, the most meaningful part had already been achieved.

#5 A wish from a fairy tale

In the story, Ella faces a choice: To give up everything and remain in the magical Cheese Land with her mother, or to return to the real world and face an uncertain future. Like many children would, Ella chooses to stay with her mother. But like all mothers, Ella’mom guided Ella back to the real world. Because it is precisely this uncertainty that makes life so precious —every future should hold endless possibilities.

And this is the wish our story offers to everyone:

May you always have the freedom to seek your own happiness, and may your life, in the end, be as you wish.