Locally Commissioned Theatre Play for Babies “Sounds of WOODerland” Premieres Industry Exchange Session Held to Support Future Expansion of Local Works
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) presented the third Macao International Children’s Arts Festival from July to August 2026, and concurrently brought to the stage “Sounds of WOODerland", a baby theatre piece and the fourth work under the programme “Commissioning Performing Arts Productions 2024-2026”. The production received positive feedback from both audiences and industry professionals. To further promote local creations beyond Macao, IC specially invited industry representatives, including stage production companies, theatres, and arts festival organisers specialising in children’s programming from Chinese Mainland and neighbouring regions to attend the performances and participate in the “Local Program Presentation Session” (the Session) where they held discussions and explored collaboration opportunities with the teams behind the selected works of the Commissioning Programme.
At the Session, the selected project teams under the Commissioning Programme and other Macao performing arts groups presented their production concepts and artistic line-ups to the attending industry delegates and jointly explored the potential for re-staging and touring the works. Guests in attendance included representatives from the Livelihood Affairs Bureau of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, the Children’s Art Theatre of the China Welfare Institute, Shanghai Children’s International Culture Development Co., Ltd., Shanghai Little Player Theatre, Beijing Momoda Baby Theatre, the Beijing Fun Age Entertainment Co., Ltd, Shenzhen Luhu Art Center, Shenzhen Guangming Culture and Art Center, Dongguan Songshan Lake Exhibition and Performance Center, the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Through this industry exchange initiative, IC aims to build a regional networking platform for Macao’s performing arts groups and facilitate the continued development of Macao’s stage productions.
In its dedicated efforts to establish Macao as a “City of Performing Arts” and to create more performance opportunities for the local performing arts community, while underscoring Macao’s role as a “One Base” platform for cultural exchange . IC launched a call for proposals of commissioned stage works in 2024, six of which with potential were selected, with the goal of cultivating high-quality local productions. The work presented at this year’s International Children’s Arts Festival, “Sounds of WOODerland”, was created by local producer Chan Si Kei and composer/percussionist Yukie Lai, in collaboration with artists from Luxembourg and Austria. Featuring original percussion and improvisation, handcrafted instruments and distinctive sound installations, the play is a multi-dimensional soundscape packed with dynamic body movements, engaging babies’ senses through playful exploration. This cross-regional creative collaboration not only helps enhance the quality of the work, but also deepens international cultural and people-to-people exchanges, highlighting Macao’s role as a cultural exchange platform under its positioning as “One Base”.
The remaining two works under the Commissioning Programme will be staged later this year: a theatre play by PO Art Studio, and a theatre piece by the Dirks Theatre Arts Association. For more information, please visit IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo.
