Cao Xi

Biography

Cao earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Central Academy of Drama, majoring in playwriting, and a Master of Philosophy (Theatre and Performance Studies) from the Drama Department/Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin. He has been serving Drama Rainbow Education, one of the leading forces of educational drama and theatre in mainland China, as Creative Director since 2009. Following his TEDx talk held by Melton Foundation in 2010, his contribution to the DiE field has been acknowledged by the creation of Drama Rainbow DIE/TIE Forum in 2010 followed a broader forum called “China-UK Drama/Theatre in Education Forum”, where he gave a keynote speech and a workshop on Theatre in Education. He is also a drama specialist in early years drama and a youth theatre director. His writings on drama and theatre in education as well as Bondian drama can be found on art magazine Art and Design, China Art Newspaper and New Plays. His contribution to drama and theatre extends to other culture and contexts, including recently in Macao and Malta. He’s a frequent speaker of important drama conference in Chinese and Cantonese speaking worlds, as well as internationally. He is also a translator and has translated several Edward Bond’s plays into Mandarin and has translated and edited the Chinese version of Imagining the Real by David Davis in 2015. Cao has directed more than 9 TIE programmes for children aged 4-12 which are considered the earliest TIE programmes in mainland China and they created an influence of a new generation of theatre practioners. He has also been a teacher trainer, lecturer and has worked in different countries giving talks, workshops and lectures. He is currently directing Jian Xue’s Summer School, which is the renowned drama teacher training centre in Chinese speaking worlds.