A group photo of the cast during an educational exchange salon after the performance.

A group of U.S. teens made a successful debut performing in The Chinese Mermaid, a classic Chinese play for children, at the China National Theatre for Children (CNTC) on July 16, 2023, kicking off the 12th China Children's Theater Festival in Beijing.

To pull off the show, the 15 teens from Montana and California spent more than one year learning lines and dance from Chinese language teachers and artists. Their hard work paid off — aided by high-tech stage design, their touching performance earned rounds of enthusiastic applause from the audience.