Seven upper-level students returned to Shanghai feeling confident and connected after spending their summer in New York City working on a shared goal: creating this year’s NYU Shanghai Reality Show.
Every year the Reality Show hits the stage across NYU’s global campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai. An NYU tradition dating back to 2006, the show has become a key part of how NYU helps first-year students adjust to college life.
The cast members travel to New York City for two months of training, spending three hours a day crafting skits and scripts, practicing their vocals, and collaborating on choreography under the guidance of a professional team from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Reality Show casts from NYU Shanghai, NYU in New York, and NYU Abu Dhabi during rehearsals in New York City
This year’s Reality Show cast staged two performances—one on September 10 for an audience of upper-level students, faculty, and staff, and a second show the following night exclusively for the Class of 2028 and NYU President Linda G. Mills, who was in attendance for her second year in a row. President Mills, who has been an advocate for the show’s development from its inception, said the Reality Show plays an important role in building a sense of global community among the three NYU campuses.
“Nothing sets the tone for a movie like the opening scene,” President Mills said. “It's the same as the start of a song or the first page of a book or for that matter, taking a new class or moving to a new city; the earliest moments of a new experience contain a potent promise for the future. I'm glad you're here now. You believe in the power of global collaboration.”
Left: Performing for the Class of 2028. Right: The cast with NYU President Linda Mills and NYU Shanghai leadership
This year’s cast showcases the true diversity of experiences and talents of NYU Shanghai students. Some dreamed of performing on stage, while others happened on the opportunity by chance.
Anita Luo ’27 from South Africa, remembers hearing her sister (a 2018 Reality Show cast member) share “amazing things about the process of making it.” Watching it as a first year student, “during a few scenes I remember I cried because I just knew that these songs were for us, and some of them were written by the students,” she says.
“The Reality Show made me feel that the university cares about us from our well-being to academics,” said Rachel Li Jiahang ’27 from Beijing, about watching the show as an audience member at the start of her first year. “It felt like we were being loved.” And Beatrice Zhang Yihan ’27 from Shanghai was impressed by the strong energy and professionalism of last year’s Reality Show cast. “I never thought that I could be on the same stage with them in the future,” she said. “But when they started recruiting in the spring, I decided to join.”
Dana Zinchenko ’26 from Russia, watched the show as a sophomore and described it as looking at her life through the lens of a musical. “I had already experienced all of the things they talked about in the show,” she says. “I was crying and laughing at the same time.”
Deron Nguyen ’27 from San Jose, California says the Reality Show deeply inspired him and helped him adjust to school as a first-year student. “I felt compelled to share that same gift with the incoming class and show that a supportive community is here.”
But Carlos Qu Chen ’27 from Beijing, has no memories of that first show he watched. “After about half an hour, I fell asleep,” he admits, chalking it up to a lack of appreciation for theater and feeling overwhelmed by so much English. Fast forward to this year, when his Orientation Ambassador asked if he’d step up to replace another student who dropped out, “I had to go for it,” he said. “I felt I had to prove to those who believed in me that if you trust me, I can do it well.”
Doris Wang Zhehan ’27 from Shanghai attended the audition just to watch. “But when I walked in, the director and music director just started asking me my name and what I prepared,” she says. “With no preparations, I just auditioned…and it worked!”
While there were initial feelings of nervousness and newness, once they joined the cast, the students began to venture out of their comfort zones and learn how to collaborate.
“We would create a silly space for each of us to feel free to act out whatever we wanted,” Beatrice says. “I realized that the teacher was helping everyone, because we all come from different places with different backgrounds,” Carlos adds. “The goal was to let us free ourselves through these exercises, to drop all of our past baggage.”
“The most memorable part of training in New York was exploring the city with the other cast members,” says Deron. “It gave us time to bond, share stories, and discover the city together in a way that made the entire experience unforgettable.”
Scenes from choreography rehearsal at NYU Tisch
The creative process was inclusive—from song-writing to choreography, their input was valued. “They encouraged us to write a poem, a song, whatever we wanted…to create the sketches and songs from, so it had a lot of personal voice in it,” Anita says.
The cast would also break out into smaller groups to collaborate on songs and sketches. For the song Beatrice wrote on homesickness, cast members were each asked to write a line describing something they loved about Shanghai. “We added [their sentences] to the last few measures of the song,” she says.
Even the choreography was a collaborative process. “It was more about all of us working together for the same goal and all of us exchanging ideas and exchanging our own feelings about the dance,” says Dana.
The Reality Show explored an array of themes relatable to NYU Shanghai students, including choosing a major, establishing boundaries with roommates, homesickness, and more.
Doris says she hopes the audience enjoyed her skit about being absent-minded during class—on stage, the seated cast switched back and forth from listening to a professor’s lecture to spiraling dreamlike into the atmosphere, with floating chairs and all.
During the performances, the audience laughed and nodded along. “The chemistry class part totally presented my actual mental state in class,” says Lai Zhang ’28. “Their facial expressions and tones were spot-on!”
Sisi Jiang ’28 said her favorite moments were the “bus of truth” skit which encourages students to start conversations, and a skit about deciding on a major. “I also feel lost about my future academic choice right now.”
Anita says the themes of community and intersectional identity, backgrounds, and experiences resonated with her own experiences as a South African growing up in a Chinese immigrant family. “I have this inner conflict, but it's really nice to know that in our school we have a lot of people like that and have a place where we can explore that through diversity dialogues,” she says.
Carlos says he took longer to connect with the performance. “The more familiar I became with the songs, I started to feel a strong connection when the music played,” he says. “It felt like every actor infused their own soul into it. When the music starts playing, I get goosebumps.”
What many of the cast members didn’t expect was the friendships they made as they learned to support each other during the months-long process. “Over time, I gradually realized that through interacting with people outside of work, even casually, it could actually bring a lot of inspiration to the job,” says Carlos. “That’s something I gained unexpectedly…[and] we became like a family.”
“Before every performance and after each rehearsal, we combined our fingers together and closed our eyes to take a collective breath,” said Doris. “It really felt like everyone cared about each other.”
“I feel more deeply connected with my community and the other cast members,” Deron says, adding how hearing their stories helped him realize that he wasn’t alone. The experience has transformed him into a more confident public speaker he says, and has empowered all aspects of his life. “If I can handle the Reality Show, I feel like I can tackle anything.”
What the cast members learned as they created the show is also the lesson that they hope to share with the Class of 2028: You are not alone. “This show is by students—we collaborated together, we wrote most of the songs,” Anita says. “The topics… in the show are things that we really went through, and I want them to know that there are people around them that also go through the same thing.”
Just like they took a chance on a new experience by joining the cast, they hope the Class of 2028 will also embrace college life with excitement and a willingness to try new things. “There may be a lot of obstacles in your new environment,” says Rachel, “But as you go through it, you'll find this experience very valuable and have a very nice opportunity to explore yourself and new interests.”
“I think what I’ve learned from this experience is to never miss any opportunity that could allow you to shine,” Carlos says, referencing one of his lines in the show. “I’m really thankful for these mentors who can see potential in me that I don’t even see in myself. To first-year students, I’d say this: don’t miss any chance that comes your way. Even if you don’t feel 100% confident, why not try when the opportunity is there? If you don’t take the chance, someone else will, and they might not even do as well as you could.”
Ultimately the message of the Reality Show is welcoming first year students to the next four years of their life. “I’m already thinking about the time that I’ll need to say goodbye to NYU Shanghai, and that's what makes the show even more sentimental for me,” says Dana. “First years, they're just stepping into these four years of happiness, these four years of excitement, and I just want them to be ready for what lies ahead.”
Creative Team
Director - Preston Martin
Associate Director - Angel Lin
Music Director - Nate Weida
Stage Manager - Audrey Liu
Executive Producer - Linda G. Mills
Producer - Zoe Ragouzeos
Creator - Elizabeth Swados (1951 - 2016)
Drummer - Doris Zhang
Coordinators - Zige Zhao and Shelly Lu
If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to the counseling resources available from the Student Health Center. You can also call the 24-hour Wellness Exchange hotline number at +86-21-2059-9999.