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1 9 | 四月号戏剧学院人才辈出,有赖戏剧泰斗锺景辉博士 (King Sir) 於创院时的铺垫,以及他18年来的领导.

As the Academy celebrates its 35th anniversary, King Sir, who retired in 2001, returned to the campus and reminisced about the early years of the School of Drama and the development of Hong Kong'

s drama scene. When King Sir entered the Academy'

s new annex, the teaching facilities echoed with his fond memories of his old students and his hopes for recent alumni and current students. Happily, the visit showed him that the latest additions to the campus reflected continued growth from the seeds he sowed many years ago. When the School was officially founded in 1985, one year after the establishment of the Academy, it became Hong Kong'

s first provider of professional tertiary drama education. Thousands of people, including full-time theatre actors, applied to enrol as soon as the doors were opened. King Sir, who was invited in

1983 to become Founding Dean of Drama, brought a wealth of experience to the Academy after

23 years of lecturing at Hong Kong Baptist College, as it then was, but said that the setting up of a new School presented an enormous challenge. As a school of drama for Hong Kong students, there need to be Cantonese-speaking tutors. But back then, not many locals who worked in the field had received formal dramatic training, King Sir recalled. He therefore needed to cast the net wide to find people to teach drama, including Dr Fredric Mao Chun-fai. For over three decades, the School of Drama has nurtured many outstanding drama talents, whose success has been built on the cornerstone laid by Founding Dean Dr Chung King-fai (King Sir) during his

18 years at the Academy. The next challenge was curriculum design. What lessons should we have? How should our teaching support Hong Kong'

s drama scene? How could we help our students develop their theatrical careers? With a bachelor'

s degree in Speech and Drama from Oklahoma Baptist University and a master'

s degree in Fine Arts from Yale University'

s School of Drama, King Sir aspired to bring Yale'

s theoretical and practical approaches to Hong Kong and establish a broad and cultured drama school. When you are devoted to an art, you have to know its history, including that of its methods and techniques, if you want to master it, said King Sir. The rules of art are there to be broken, not to be complied with. An art student should learn history and theories, and keep reflecting and practising until their individuality takes shape. King Sir himself is an erudite scholar. Almost every issue of Dramatic Arts, a series published by the School of Drama, included pieces by him, such as art reviews and essays on different dramatic styles CC a reflection of his belief in learning as the cornerstone of the dramatic arts. The dramatic arts constitute, in King Sir'

s words, the art form closest to humans . He therefore requires his students to work hard towards acquiring good manners. Drama is not a one-man show. Backstage, actors must work with lighting technicians, costume managers and other people. Onstage, they must of course interact King Sir in his 20s (taken in the United States). 廿多岁时的 King Sir (摄於美国). King Sir'

s stage performance . King Sir的舞台 演出. 今年正值演艺学院成立 35周年,於2001年荣休的 King Sir 重临校园,并首次踏足去年落成的新翼大楼.他一边参观 新设施, 一边回溯学院与香港戏剧界的发展历程, 宛如在细 赏他三十多年前埋下的种子,如何茁壮成长.著 King Sir 多番提及对毕业生和学生的期望,感受到当中浓浓的关怀. 演艺学院成立於