Big Stories In Small Spaces
Introduced as the “The Academy”, a group of Sha Tin College teachers of “refined taste and manners” whose identities will be revealed in due course, “Big Stories in Small Spaces” created a glittering series of games conceived at a time of tribulation. With the disappointing cancellation of the school’s annual theatre production, “finding a new way to get a wider group of people involved in creative thinking is crucial to uplift the spirits of Sha Tin students” said Mr. Harris, the only known member of The Academy thus far. Beginning on November 23rd, a series of equally enigmatic and creatively-stimulating games have been taking place at Sha Tin College.
The first challenge presented by The Academy was met with an ebullient response, with students and teachers sending in submissions of a ‘Three Word Story’. “I have been delighted that the school embraces such an experiment over many weeks. Teachers and students have shown a great deal of interest in joining in,” said Mr. Harris, gushing over the event that had amassed nearly 90 responses within five days. The unique and unusual proposition of a three-word story held a profound purpose behind it: to paint a narrative landscape by stripping a story into three succinct words, thus testing the boundaries of language.
“As an avid lover of storytelling, the challenge has proven to me that stories do not necessarily require eloquent language and elaborate plot-lines, they can just as effectively convey a message in a simple manner!” says Lara Griffiths of 13G1, just one of many students who enjoyed reading the challenge entries. This sentiment was echoed by another student, Amaris Chan of 12X1, who observed that “The Three Word Stories were very varied and foreign languages were used a lot; people used the challenge as a means of expressing their feelings as well as telling many stories.”
Immediately following the first event with only a weekend to catch one’s breath, The Academy had begun to host “The Tiny Gallery” where students were encouraged to create a tiny portrait, sculpture or piece inspired by nature. In addition to testing the Sha Tin cohort’s linguistic skills, The Academy’s second challenge probed the limits of students’ engineering expertise – instructing students to create meticulous works of art on a miniature scale. The creations were then proudly displayed on the ground floor of the school campus, allowing students to appreciate the sheer talent of the student body.
“Big Stories in Small Spaces” had only started to gain momentum in its first two weeks when the unfortunate closure of school disrupted the pulsing flow of creativity, halting original plans for a week of live music and dance. Students are eager to find out what the next games entail. The Academy is determined to allow the challenges to unravel themselves in their own mysterious and elusive way.
By Charmaine Yu (13X2)
Copy edited by Reese Wong (13P1)
