Makeup, dialogue, costumes, sets. Everyone and everything is getting ready with the last rehearsals at Penghao Theater in Dongmianhua Hutong, one of the alleys that branches out to the east from Nanluoguxiang.

This group of multicultural amateurs is preparing to offer several nights full of entertainment at the Third Beijing International New Short Play Festival, starting Jan 6.

The theme of this year, Fish out of Water, is a feeling many foreigners and migrants have experienced at some point.

"We all somehow connect with this topic," said Anna Grace, the producer and organizer of the event.

Featuring plays that range from 10 to 60 minutes with stories based on personal experiences in a variety of styles including drama, comedy and musicals, this third edition is intended to connect the audience with what's going on stage.

The festival began shortly after Grace came to Beijing in 2007. At the time, she had just taken over the direction of some theater workshops happening in the city.

She said there were three kinds of workshops occurring at the time: one for play writing, one for directing and one for acting.

"I thought of mixing the three of them," she said. "And that's how the festival was born."

Grace moved to the US last year where she successfully adapted some of the plays already performed in Beijing.

"Some people think that the level of quality is not the same here as in the West," she said.

"But when I do something in Beijing and then I take it to New York and it actually wins awards there, it shows that it must be good."

This is the first time Grace has been back to the Chinese capital since she left last year.

"Even though I don't live in Beijing permanently anymore, I think it is important to keep coming back to do this."

The festival has been growing strongly over the last three years. In 2009 it showed six plays, then in 2010 it featured nine. This year there will be 16 plays and almost 60 people from all over the world, based in Beijing, are involved.

"We are moving toward giving an opportunity for artists to display their work and to perform, for people that don't normally get the chance to do it," she said.

The festival will run for eight days in total, from Thursdays to Sundays over two weeks at 7:30 pm each night.

Half of the 16 plays will be staged twice the opening week, with the first session available to the public on Thursday and Friday, then repeated on Saturday and Sunday. The same schedule will be applied for the eight remaining plays the following week.

The number of applications from playwrights surprised even Grace.

"The turnout was overwhelming" she said, adding that to encourage competition, she has introduced the idea of awards for best acting, writing and directing.

Some of the plays are in English, some in Chinese, and others are mixed - there will be subtitles in both languages.

"It's a good opportunity to watch interesting people and new plays," Grace said. "These are stories written by people who live in Beijing about experiences and cultural shocks inspired by the city. How many times are you going to be able to see something like this happening?"