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September 12, 2017

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Home » District » Songjiang

Selfless dedication maintains center

A FORMER sailor named Zhou Weiqiang in Songjiang District’s Chedun Town committed himself to public welfare works after he quit his job due to health issues.

Zhou and his partners founded the Dahai Community Service Center to help needy people and offer them fun cultural experiences, such as performances by professional director Xu Chuan.

The original puppet shows, including “Wang Laohu” series and “Defeat Black Wolf by Strategy,” enjoy high popularity at local communities, schools and welfare houses.

Local performances

The service center has given several performances at the local schools of migrant workers’ children. And once when they performed at Huangqiao Primary School, students rushed to the front of the stage as the show reached its climax. Zhou was greatly impressed and touched by the enthusiasm of children.

Ai Ke, choreographer of these puppet shows, plays an important role in the development of the public welfare center. She raised money when the center was short of funds and served as a temporary actor when the show needed more actors.

Script writing process

Director Xu Chuan was born in Lu’an, in Anhui Province, and graduated from the provincial art school. In 2010, Xu came to Songjiang and worked at the district’s cultural distribution center. After reading the scripts written by Ai, Xu encouraged her to write more.

Xu often takes two or three days to finish a piece of background music for the shows. He also spared no efforts to instruct actors during rehearsal. Although it was hard work, Xu never asked for any pay.

The center once faced a problem when some actors were unable to perform for personal reasons.

After a sleepless night, Zhou quickly recruited university students as volunteers to rehearse and act in the show. Finally, they brought the party to a successful close.

This year, a drama troupe from the service center recruited 20 actors to recreate the show “Defeat Black Wolf by Strategy” despite a lack of funds.

It is because of the volunteers’ selfless dedication and love for public welfare that keeps the center going.




 

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