Lovely People in Drama Rainbow Education
Li Yingqi (Qiqi)
Xu Ang (Coco)
Cao Xi
Xu Haixing (Haixing)
Feng Yunfeng (Doudou)
Feng Xue (Sharon)
Xie Wen (Wenwen)
Liu Miao (Xiao Yu)
Chen Yuan (Eastear)
Cao Xi
Is Drama Rainbow Education’s Creative Director and Executive Director of Jianxue International Institute of Education and Culture. He is also a dramatist, director, youth theatre director and drama tutor, and a pioneer of Chinese Drama and Theatre in Education.
Cao Xi graduated from the Department of Drama Literature at the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing, and the Department of Drama at Trinity College, Dublin. He believes that drama has a broader social dimension than just the art form itself. developing this dimension means engaging with the essential function of drama in society, which is to provoke social change. He argues that drama should always keep questioning and challenging society, and is dedicated to exploring the relationship between drama and anthropology, education, and its intersection with sociology and philosophy.
He has directed a range of theatre productions such as Six Characters in Search of an Author, The Flower and the Sword, The Box Room, Benched, Making Mummy, Macbeth and The Other Side of Me. He has developed a close theatre collaboration with Chris Cooper, translating and/or directing over 10 productions of his short stories, TiE and Youth Theatre plays to establish a new form of political theatre which, in combining education and drama, is a far reaching exploration of what it means to be human.
In 2014-16 Cao Xi led DRE’s participation in the Facing the Gap international Erasmus project bringing together our teacher-facilitators to work with practitioners from Hungary, Malta and the UK. In 2019 he organised the next phase of this work in Beijing with an international Facing the Gap Conference to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Drama Rainbow Education. His research and practice in the field of educational drama and theatre has been shared at several international conferences, for example, at the Hong Kong Education Theatre Forum (TEFO), International Academy of Educational Drama (IDIERI), and the Sanlian Weekly “Thinking Square”.
As the Drama Rainbow Education Creative Director and Executive Director of Jianxue International Institute of Education and Culture, Cao Xi leads and teaches on our Annual DiE Summer Schools, ‘a week of practice’ workshops, and is an experienced trainer in cities throughout China.
Besides actively developing drama as a learning medium, and as Creative Director playing a leading role in establishing the Drama Rainbow Education Centre he has also systematically studied the theory and practice of DiE and TiE and the drama theory of the English dramatist Edward Bond, including undertaking translations of his writings and plays into Chinese. In 2015 he translated David Davis’ Imagining the Real:towards a new theory of drama in education, into mandarin and is currently working on further translations of the work of Gavin Bolton.
Xu Ang (Coco)
Drama in education teacher-facilitator, trainer. She has more than 10 years of teaching experience specializing in DiE courses for 3-8 y.o . She has done extensive research in curriculum development and has made outstanding contributions in developmental drama practice. Xu Ang was trained at Capital Normal University in the School of Foreign Vocal Music which gave her a foundational introduction to the role of emotional intelligence and neuron-diversity in classroom arts education. As one of DRE’s longest serving teacher-facilitator’s Xu Ang was one of the first to be trained in China by international Drama in Education experts Chris Cooper & Konstantinos Amoiropoulos and passed the assessment. Since 2013, she has been leading a continuous programme of intensive training at the Chinese National Children’s Centre for pre-school teachers in DiE; been an intermediate class trainer for the Jianxue International Summer School since 2015; performed (2015 -2019) as an actor-teacher in the ‘Ashes’, ‘The Giant’s Embrace’ and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ TiE programmes, in which more than 1000 children aged 3-7 y.o have participated at the Chinese National Children’s Centre; participated in the “The Twelve Five” key topics of the Chinese Academy of Education; been an invited public speaker at Tsinghua University, which was very well received.
From 2014 to 2016, Xu Ang was invited to participate in the EU Facing the Gap international project with young people from Hungary, UK and Malta in peer led Drama in Education workshops. In March 2018, she accompanied DRE consultant and pioneer in the field ,Ms. Li Yingning, to visit the Dawn School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to lead a DiE teacher training programme. In 2019, she led the Youth Theatre project ‘The Journey’, a new play by Chris Cooper, which was performed to a public audience at the Beijing Renyi Juyin Theatre that December. At the beginning of 2020, Xu Ang participated in the course evaluation work published by the ‘Preschool Children’s Educational Drama and Social Development Course’. She believes that the value of drama is not only that it makes us better people, but that it also allows us to discover ourselves and see others through it, therefore becoming a more complete person in the journey of life.
Feng Yunfeng (Doudou)
Drama in Education teacher-facilitator, trainer, a member and certified trainer of the School of Education, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland, in DiE. More than 10 years of DiE teaching experience, focusing on the research and development and practice of DiE courses for 3-8 y.o. As one of the longest standing Teacher-facilitators at DRE, Feng Yunfeng was one of the first in China to be trained, assessed and highly praised in China by international DiE experts Chris Cooper & Konstantinos Amoiropoulos and Carmel O’Sullivan. She has participated in the creation and performance of many TIE projects for DRE, bringing the ultimate in educational drama experience and imaginative thinking to children all over the country. As a member of the production team and a stage manager, she has participated in numerous Youth Theatre performances. Feng Yunfeng was invited as a Chinese representative to participate in the EU Facing the Gap international project and went to Hungary and the UK to lead and participate in peer led training and DiE workshops. Feng Yunfeng firmly believes that drama in education plays a positive role in children’s growth and development where it can always lead children to explore and reflect in a safe and interesting teaching space. In this process, children will recognize themselves and the world in a different way in the interaction with others.
Li Yingqi (Qiqi)
Drama in education teacher-facilitator, has received systematic training from expert drama in education trainers Chris Cooper and Cao Xi and has been assessed as highly competent. She is a Youth Theatre stage manager and TiE actor-teacher for Drama Rainbow Education who specializes in DiE courses for 3-6 y.o. and promotes the development of 7-12 y.o. through Youth Theatre project classes.
As part of the production team and a Stage Manager, she has participated in performances of Invisible Me, Holes, The Examination, The Journey, The Field of Stones, The Soil and Ishida in the Renyi Juyin Theatre and The Peng Hao Theatre, amongst others, since 2017.
Li Yingqi graduated from the YILI University and majored in Pre-school Education. As a result of her substantial professional knowledge and expertise, she can clearly understand the psychological and developmental needs of children of different ages when she communicates and interacts with them, and has unique insight into early years education guidance for families .
Throughout her four years of teaching practice at DRE , Li Yingqi has consistently demonstrated that she is excellent at discovering and helping children build relevant individual paths to learning; thus, she advances an innovative understanding of drama and inspires high levels of motivation in children.. She believes it is more significant to enable children to know their situation than simply just take care of children. She believes building up children’s ability to communicate can encourage them to express what they really want and in turn face the world.
Feng Xue (Sharon)
Head of the Teaching Department. Drama in education teacher-facilitator, trainer. Trained and assessed by senior international DiE expert Li YingNing, Chris Cooper, Konstantinos Amoiropoulos and certificated by Trinity College Dublin School of Education, in DiE. More than 10 years experience in DIE practice, curriculum development, teacher training etc. Feng Xue specializes in teacher-facilitating in DiE courses for 3-8 y.o and Youth Forum and Youth Theatre projects for 7-12 y.o and DRE’s Online Learning Lab. She has also participated as an actor-teacher in the creation and performance of the The Other Side of Me TiE project. She has been invited to Beijing Normal University and Guangxi Science and Technology Normal University to deliver pre-school education majors training; provided drama teaching guidance for the China National Children’s Centre, XingLong Primary School and HongYing Primary School; Participated, in 2014-16, in the EU Facing the Gap international project, including visits to Hungary and the UK to deliver and participate in peer led DiE training workshops, exchanging and sharing research on issues relating to juvenile education. She has in-depth research experience on family education and emotional psychology. She believes that the essence of education lies in helping children understand themselves more and understand the relationship between society and individual human development
Liu Miao (Xiao Yu)
Drama in Education teacher-facilitator, DiE Trainer certified by the School of Education Trinity College Dublin. Systematically trained, assessed and highly commended by International Drama in Education experts David Davis, Chris Cooper and Carmel O’Sullivan, Liu Miao focuses on the research and practice of Drama in Education for children aged 3-12 y.o.
In 2017, he was invited to the 2nd CTLA Conference on Drama and Education.
Since 2015, as part of the production team and stage manager to the DRE Youth Theatre, he has successfully helped the children participate in the Beijing Nanluoguxiang Performing Arts Festival and put on plays such as Shapes and Shadows, Invisible Me, Holes, The Field of Stones.
Since 2015, he has been an actor-teacher for Theatre in Education productions such as The Giant’s Embrace, Making Mummy, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Other Side of Me, touring to many first tier cities.
He has participated in the creation of the DRE Creative Curriculum, and has trained kindergarten and primary school teachers throughout the country on how to plan Drama in Education in their schools.
His extensive experience in theatrical performance fills Liu Miao’s class with dramatic tension and interest. He believes that the greatest charm of DiE is when it put us into different fictional situations, where we are allowed to voice our opinions in a protected environment and to overcome challenges one after the other. From within the fictional context, children learn to know themselves, and understand more about the world, so as to become an independent, more “Human”, being .
Xu Haixing (Haixing)
Drama in Education teacher-facilitator, trainer certified by the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Drama Literature and Master’s (MA) degree in Social Performance from Shanghai Theatre Academy. Studied at University College Bergen, Norway majoring in Theatre in Education and Applied Drama. Haixing has been trained and mentored by DiE experts Chris Cooper and Kari Mjaaland Heggstad. Xu Haixing’s professional background in drama literature prompted her to constantly think about the relationship between story and the real world. During her masters degree, she followed the Chinese DiE expert Li Yingning, bringing DiE practice into the curriculum in many schools in Shanghai. Here at DRE she has focused on the development and practice of DiE courses for 5-11 y.o. She was invited to participate in the EU Facing the Gap international project in 2016, visiting Hungary and the UK to participate in peer led training and workshops. Xu Haixing has been an important member of DRE’s actor-teacher team, creating and performing in The Giant’s Embrace and Making Mummy Theatre in Education programmes. According to Haixing, drama explores real human experience in a fictional context. Children are able to experience reality, safely, through fiction in order to make sense of the world and apply what they have learned through drama in life, helping to shape how they live in the world.
Xie Wen (Wenwen)
Drama in Education teacher -facilitator, DIE Trainer certified by School of Education Trinity College Dublin, Jianxue International Education and Culture Institute annual Summer School Teacher Trainer. Xie Wen graduated from Normal University and majored in preschool education. Since 2007, she has accrued 12 years of experience working with children. She has made a breakthrough contribution to the development of the DiE course curriculum and practice for 3-5 y.o. Between 2014-2016, as a Chinese representative, she participated in the EU Facing the Gap international project, visiting Hungary and the UK to lead and participate peer led DIE workshops and training exchanging and sharing different approaches to issues surrounding the education of juveniles. In 2016, under the guidance of Cao Xi, she, together with 20 high school students in Beijing Liuyin Academy, brought this European Union project, to Chinese youth in a project based on Edward Bond’s play “The Children”. She was also invited to the 2nd National Drama and Education Conference in 2017on behalf of Drama Rainbow Education to demonstrate DRE’s classic DiE course based on the story of The Lion Who Could Not Roar. Xie Wen has been a leading member of DRE’s TiE projects since 2012 working on The Boy who Cried Wolf, The Box Room, Foundling, Making Mummy, Jack and the Beanstalk . As an actor-teacher, she has been part of a partnership with the Chinese National Children’s Centre which brought the experience of TiE to more than 1000 children aged 3-7 y.o over the last 10 years，Xie Wen believes that a child is the best teacher and it is important to forget being “teacher”, and work with the children to ‘stir things around’, so that together teacher-facilitator and child can create a learning model as co-creators and learners.
Chen Yuan (Eastear)
Drama in Education teacher-facilitator, DRE Youth Theatre Director, DiE Trainer certified by the School of Education Trinity College Dublin, Jianxue International Education and Culture Institute Summer School Teacher Trainer. From 2014 till now, she has been working with the children in DRE Youth Theatre and collectively created more than 10 plays, including Stuck which is the first environmental theatre facilitated by children and Shapes and Shadows which was invited to be performed on the First Nanjing International Junior Theatre Festival. Plays, such as Invisible Me, Holes and The Field of Stones were also popular in the Beijing Nanluoguxiang Performing Arts Festival. As an actor-teacher in DRE’s TIE projects, she has participated in the creation and performance of The Other Side of Me, touring nationally. Her mono-drama What About has been selected for the 7th Beijing Fringe Festival. Chen Yuan graduated from the School of Foreign Studies at South China Normal University. She used to be the English and Drama teacher in Guangdong Bi Guiyuan IB school and joined the official training organized by the IB Regional Office for Asia Pacific. In 2013, she helped the National Museum of China design a drama in education course. In 2014-2016, she took part in the international Facing the Gap project which investigated how drama improves key competences in education and capacity building in both young people and youth workers. As one of the facilitators of the Youth Exchange Project, she led a workshop focussing on education for Youth in China from 12 countries, which impressed David Davis, who said later, “I’ve been teaching over 55 years and my students are all over the world. You’re one of the best facilitators I’ve seen.