Lightwire Theater brings show to China

Workshops offer youngsters a behind-the-scenes look at how everything works in the show.

In 2007, they premiered Darwin the Dinosaur. Popp says they were nervous because the technology was still new. "We were afraid that the costumes would fail. But the audiences' reception was overwhelming," Popp recalls.

Ian Carney says they initially hesitated to perform on America's Got Talent because of the time limit. "Telling the story in 90 seconds is extremely challenging. Every second counts, and your ideas have to be very clear. It was quite an artistic push for us," he says. "But after our first response, we knew that we had made the right decision."

On the heels of Darwin the Dinosaur, Lightwire Theater has created three more shows, The Ugly Duckling, Lightwire the Show and A Very Electric Christmas, and are now touring around the world.

"We are able to transport the show in a large trailer. The dimensional weight is far greater than the actual weight in kilos," says Ian Carney. "Besides touring to different countries, we would ultimately like to have a sit-down show in a theme park or Las Vegas."

IF YOU GO

7:30 pm, May 16-17. Arts and Education Center for Performing Arts, inside Tsinghua University, 30 Shuangqing Lu (Road), Haidian district, Beijing. 010-6278-8104.

2:30 pm and 7:30 pm, June 1; 2:30 pm, June 2. National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6655-0000.