Over 60 students and alumni of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) demonstrated to full-house audiences that science, engineering and business students can shine bright on the musical stage – not just in their laboratory.
After no more than 19 days of preparation, the students and alumni staged a 3-hour award-winning Broadway musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”.
Said Prof Oliver Lo of HKUST’s Division of Humanities, who directed the production, “I am truly amazed at the talent and commitment that these youngsters had shown. They started from zero three weeks ago, and now they know their dialogue and stage movement by heart. And don’t forget this is all in theatrical English. Yet our students and alumni were not daunted by the enormity of the challenge. This is nothing short of a miracle!”
Himself an accomplished opera educationalist, Prof Lo said, “While the students and alumni are amateurs when it comes to theatrical performance, the standard of their performance is very high and I am happy to say that they have great potentials.”
The three shows, presented by HKUST’s Center for the Arts, were staged on the night of 25 June and in the afternoon and on the night of 26 June at the Tsang Shiu Tim Art Hall on the HKUST campus.
The students started preparing for the show immediately after they have completed their final examinations. As for the alumni who have their own jobs during the day, they have to find time outside their working hours to rehearse.
Mr Yu Yu, a PhD candidate in bioengineering at HKUST and a key player in the cast, said, “This experience is just wonderful. To be able to stage the performance in such a short period demanded that we focus all our energies on learning, practicing and rehearsing. And of course we became very good friends in the process.”
Asked how they would celebrate after the last show, Yu said, “We have refrained from hot and spicy food in the past three weeks, in order to preserve the purity of our voice. Now that the show is over, we will indulge ourselves by having deep fried chicken for supper!”
For media enquiries, please feel free to contact :
Ross Lai
Tel: 2358 6306 / 9103 2928
Email: rosslai@ust.hk
Donna Wong
Tel: 2358 6317
Email: donnaw@ust.hk
