Thousands of Students Take Art Academy Entance Exams

Every year at this time, many high school students who dream of becoming an artist take the entrance exam at various art institutes in China. This year, hundreds of thousands of students are enrolling to take the exam. Chen Zhe has the details.

Reporter:

Thirty-one art academies have started registering students for the admissions tests.

More than 4,000 students have already registered for Beijing Film Academy's entrance exam. The school is China's most prestigious art academy for film production and directing.

"I've been waiting for nearly three hours. And, finally, I got my examination number for the interview.

"On my admission card it says my first interview will be on the 25th at 8 o'clock in the morning."

"My son has been holding onto this dream for a long time, and he is very interested in performing. I just want to help him fulfill his dream."

This year, the school will offer two new majors. The first one is the performing art of cross-talk and comedy. This is the first professional training program for comedians in China.

Chen Jun is a junior at another university in Beijing, who likes famous Chinese famous cross-talk artist Guo Degang very much. He says he will quit his present studies and enroll in the Beijing Film Academy to fulfill his dream, if he can pass the entrance exam.

"I have a dream that some day I can start a new era of comedy. And this idea has compelled me to be here to take the art academy examination. I believe I will make it!"

The BFA's new major in cross-talk and comedy also provides a chance for students with average looks to achieve their dreams of becoming performers.

Huang Xiaoyu has registered to take the exam and wants to major in comedy. She says the reason she wants to be a comedienne is to bring more happiness to people.

"First, I have an interest in performing, and I believe that a good performance is the one that can make people laugh. I like comedy, and that's why I'm here."

The other new major is filmmaking, which includes the whole process of writing the script, shooting the film and editing it.

Mu Deyuan is the head of the Directing Department at the Beijing Film Academy.

"After four years of studying film-directing, the students will have a clear and complete idea of how to make a film. This knowledge can be a perfect foundation for their further development and can help them to develop their special skills such as performing and writing a play."

The art academy entrance exam is not only for students, but also for their parents. To prepare for the test, a family must be prepared to pay at least 3,000 yuan, or 440 U.S. dollars, for test preparation training.

"I took a training class in Xi'an. It cost me 3,000 yuan for six lessons. And my father employed a teacher to do provide special training for me. For each lesson the fee was about 50 yuan an hour."

Some of the students taking the entrance exam will realize their dreams of entering one of the country's art and film academies. But those who don't make it won't have any regrets as long as they know they tried their best.

Chen Zhe, CRI news.