Stage and Performance Groups

At the Drama Club aspiring actors can try their hand at acting, mingle with the cast and crew of Beijing Playhouse shows, and perhaps receive pointers from Beijing Playhouse directors. It's also a great way to learn about shows in advance of auditions.

We meet on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 7 pm. We also occasionally have special workshops on the 3rd Tuesdays of the month.

Opened in 1991, this martial arts academy in Huilongguan teaches traditional Chinese wushu in a 6,000 sqm campus that accepts foreign students.

Holds weekly performances of The Peony Pavilion, a Kunqu Opera based on the play written by Ming Dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu. Kunqu Opera is one of the oldest forms of traditional Chinese opera still in existence today and is a UNESCO designated "masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of humanity." Tickets are RMB 380, 580, 780, 980, 1980 and 12,000 and should be reserved in advance. Group discounts are available.

Dedicated to the training of professionals in Xiqu (Chinese Opera), the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts (NACTA), originally named the Academy of Chinese Traditional Opera (ACTO), is the only institute of its kind in China that offers both B.A., M.A. and M.F.A. degrees.

Get a taste of lao Beijing with acrobatic peformances, traditional Beijing opera and flashy kung fu demos.

Cheeky Monkey produced its first play, “I Heart Beijing” in November of 2006 at the HART Center for the Arts in 798, and has developed from there under the direction of Elyse Ribbons ( 柳素英 ). Dubbed by the South China Morning Post as a group that manages to bridge the East-West culture gap, one of Cheeky Monkey’s goals is to address cross-cultural issues through comedy and dance. Plays produced are all original works by Beijing residents in English, Chinese and Chinglish. Performers are professional actors and dancers from all over the world.

Locals and Foreigners meet together to perform and film scenes from Classic and Contemporary Movies. During the weekly sessions, a director teaches film acting and production. With the aid of a local screenwriter we produce independent films, specially written for members, telling stories of the Beijing community.

Not to be confused with the well-known Beijing Actors workshop, though they perform together often, Beijing Improv holds weekly workshops.

If you can act, write, or direct, Beijing Actors Workshop wants to hear from you. They organize structured improvisation and scripted scene work in English and Chinese, method acting, exercises, theatre games, and monthly public performances. Free. Meets every Wednesday at 8.30pm at The Playground (6407 6889). Check their website for more details.

China's English community theater presents contemporary live semi-professional theater productions, performed in English with Chinese subtitles. Professional acting experience not necessary and nationality not important, though ability to perform in English is required.