Chinese theater students land on Vashon

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Thanks to a cultural exchange program, three Chinese teenagers who are avid theater makers will work on shows produced this summer by Vashon Repertory Theatre.

Kingsley and Derek Du and Jerry Wang, all high school students, are spending the second half of the summer contributing their talents to the reprisal of Vashon Rep’s “Oscar’s Journey,” to be presented in collaboration with the Vashon Park District on August 17.

One of the students, Wang, will also perform in a Vashon Rep’s teen musical theater camp production of “Next To Normal.” The camp runs August 7-17 at the Grange Hall on Vashon’s north end.

All three students, who will be accompanied by their mothers while on Vashon, are fluent in English and are seasoned U.S. travelers. They have arrived on Vashon via the Shanghai-based Sunrise Group, a cultural exchange program that provides Chinese teenagers with opportunities to travel to the United States to further their artistic studies.

Michael Shi, who co-founded The Sunrise Group, contacted Vashon Rep’s producing artistic director, Charlotte Tiencken, asking if Vashon Rep would welcome the students — and Tiencken jumped at the chance.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to have these talented young people sharing our summer stages,” Tiencken said. “We expect our local theater practitioners, young and not, to build strong connections with Chinese theater through the relationships that will grow from this program.”

Wang, who attends YK Pao School in Shanghai, is an actor who has studied musical theater for seven years. He has performed in a variety of shows, and recently also began teaching other students in Shanghai.

After spending one of his first mornings on Vashon riding in Vashon Rep’s Strawberry Festival float, singing his heart out with the rest of the teenage cast of “Next to Normal,” Wang said that he’s excited for the opportunity to get a better understanding of what it’s like to perform in the United States. He’s also enthusiastic about gaining a “deeper exploration of storytelling where the work is heavily influenced by nature and the local culture” — and sees Vashon Island as a good place to do that.

Kingsley Du, a senior in high school and the oldest member of the trio, will act as stage manager for the reprisal production of “Oscar’s Journey.”

Through Sunrise Group experiences, he has shadowed theater professionals and worked on a few off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions. Being on Vashon will give him a different type of experience, he said.

Like the other interns, Kingsley’s U.S. visits have been confined to New York and Los Angeles — so he appreciates the new dimension of his island internship and the fact that he’ll do his first outdoor show on Vashon.

“Vashon Island has a very artistic and tight-knit community, as well as being a peaceful location right next to Seattle,” he said.

Kingsley’s brother Derek, the youngest of the three and a high school freshman, will perform a special role in the slightly re-written version of “Oscar’s Journey,” which debuted on Vashon last summer.

Derek’s goal for his internship?

“To gather all the theater experience I can get,” he said.

Find out more about Vashon Rep’s summer season at vashonrepertorytheatre.org. To find out more about The Sunrise Group, visit sunriseartgroup.com.