Watching stage shows can be enlightening, but performing yourself is an entirely different learning experience.
'When you speak to people, you can tell the difference between someone who has performed and someone who hasn't,' says Brian Chiu See-yee, a former drama student. 'Learning drama helped me develop as a person.'
This is why Hong Kong is slowly beginning to introduce drama into the primary and secondary school curriculum.
Hong Kong has long had a soft spot for drama. Cantonese opera is an eternal favourite. When High School Musical 3 debuted, it went straight to No 1 at the local box office. All student tickets have sold out for the upcoming production of Cats. And around 1,520 students enrol every year at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
William Yip Shun-him, artistic director of educational theatre company Theatre Noir, says drama gives students confidence at a young age.
It also encourages communication and working with people they don't know.