On the theater stage, a huge wheel is suspended in the air, rolling forward, repeating in a circle. The audience entered the venue and took their seats one after another. Some people talked about the big wheel in front of them, as if Xiangzi was trapped in his life's destiny. Sitting in the front row were primary school students watching the show together. They all excitedly stretched their heads and called out to their friends about the props on the stand.
The lights dimmed, and under the city wall in the dusk, in the rising smoke, Xiangzi and the coachmen came running to the sound of rattles and drums. They ran and roared from far to near, showing their galloping vitality... This novelty , the special opening made the scene quiet for a moment.
On January 1, 2024, as the closing drama of the 7th Lao She Drama Festival, the drama "Camel Xiangzi" adapted from Mr. Lao She's classic work completed its first performance at the Tianqiao Art Center in Beijing. The stage presents cross-time and space dialogues between Xiangzi in three periods: old, middle-aged and young, completely interpreting the spiritual history of Xiangzi. The spiritual world of the "boring gourd" Xiangzi was opened up, and his inner entanglement and confusion between ideals and reality aroused the resonance of today's people.
Rehearsal is like kimchi that has not been soaked for enough days. It doesn’t taste that way.
Over the past ten years, Fang Xu has systematically adapted six Lao She works. Only this year Mr. Lao She's "Camel Xiangzi" was put on the stage. Fang Xu frankly said that at first, because there were so many artistic categories for adapting "Luotuo Xiangzi" in China, he hesitated "whether to change it." "As far as I know, "Luotuo Xiangzi" seems to have only one dance drama that has not been changed." One of the most direct reasons for wanting to change it is that in 2020, a platform asked him to record an audio book by Lao She. The other party selected five works, the first of which was "Camel Xiangzi". Fang Xu asked why Xiangzi was put in the first part? The other party replied that big data shows that young people now love to listen to "Camel Xiangzi", and many young people compare themselves to Xiangzi. Fang Xu was particularly surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect that young people would resonate so much with this seemingly ancient work, "Oh, that might indeed be worth doing."
Later, it happened to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mr. Lao She, and there was an invitation from the Lao She Theater Festival. "With this, the adaptation of the play "Camel Xiangzi" was confirmed."
The script adaptation of "Camel Xiangzi" took eight months of polishing. Fang Xu said: "To change the script, you have to be willing to spend time and work hard to 'ret' it. Because the original story is not very strong, how to connect, how to choose, how to present... It is really quite brain-burning. For example, there are many things in the original. I deleted all the characters, Er Qiangzi, Lao Ma, Xiao Shunzi, etc., but I didn’t ‘destroy’ them all. I gave their words to certain people in the group play to varying degrees.” When encountering changes, When he couldn't come out, he would read the original work over and over again, "Maybe one day something will help you find your direction again."
In this adaptation, Fang Xu hopes that the focus of the stage will fall on the character Xiangzi, "As for Tiger, Niu, Xiao Fuzi, and Fourth Master Liu, they are some of the characters around Xiangzi, and they are also a part of his life, but not all. I don’t want to set it up like this: the play starts with Huniu, and the whole play ends when Huniu dies. I I feel that this setting is not so consistent with the original work. We strive to return the focus to Xiangzi, which is the most important idea in the entire adaptation."
"It took a little trouble to make it look like this." Fang Xu Frankly speaking, at the beginning of the group rehearsal, it was just a conversation between an old Xiangzi and a young Xiangzi, and the characters were also episodic. After arranging for nearly 20 days, one day he suddenly felt that it was no longer possible: "If I keep arranging like this, I will collapse because I can't stand the play."
Later, they took nearly 10 days to re-write the script and complete the entire play. The presentation method has been subversively modified.
"I said let's give it a try. First of all, the original work of "Camel Xiangzi" is famous enough. If the appearance of this drama is good, it can also become a word-of-mouth drama. In that case, everyone's efforts will not be in vain." The entire book Logic and organization are expressed, and rehearsals become smoother. "Everyone is tied to this thing every day, and one day someone may suddenly have that energy.In fact, rehearsals are like pickles. If you don’t soak them for a few days, they won’t taste that way. " Fang Xu said with a smile. On the day when the
play was put together, many people came to watch it. Their general reaction was, "This play is different from what we imagined. Upon hearing this, Fang Xu felt at ease, "This matter is settled." " His firm idea is, "Look at the appearance first for a play. If the appearance is wrong, don't think it will be good. If the play can't go beyond everyone's imagination, I won't be enthusiastic about arranging it.
As a result, before the play was completed, the tickets had already been sold out, and it was even harder to get tickets for the extra show. Fang Xu said with a smile, "On New Year's Day, I thought the afternoon show would not be easy to perform, but I didn't expect that everyone on stage and off stage would be difficult to perform." All pretty high. We only complete half of the play on stage, the other half is completed by our audience friends. "
Innovation is to focus more on the spiritual world of people
Fang Xu's version of "Camel Xiangzi" completely presents Xiangzi's life: Xiangzi was young and strong when he appeared on the stage, and wanted to use all his strength to live a better life, but he was very He was about to be beaten by life - the car he had saved up for three years to buy was taken away by the soldiers; Xiangzi lost his car and went to Mr. Cao's family to provide monthly payment. Mr. Cao was kind to Xiangzi, and Xiangzi ran happily on the street. But an accident happened Later, the car broke down, and Xiangzi's ideal was shattered again. When Xiangzi was dejected, Huniu appeared who cared about him. Xiangzi started pulling the car again, and he still wanted to make money and live a good life with his strength. Unexpectedly, Huniu He and the child died, and later Xiao Fuzi also died. Xiangzi's life creed of "people need face and strength" completely collapsed. Xiangzi began to fool around and completely degenerated.
What is refreshing is that this time "Camel Xiangzi" The "all-male class" performance continued on the stage, with 15 actors not only playing coachman but also taking on group roles and other roles, and the role changes were often right under the eyes of the audience, even from male to female. "Big changes" on the stage "People" shocked the audience. Fang Xu said frankly, "We 'change into living beings' on stage because of our costumes." This is indeed thanks to the costume designer Mr. Kuan. I proposed the idea of changing clothes on stage, and he said that it was okay and could be realized. Because he has participated in many large-scale events, including the Double Olympics, he has rich experience. He said that this is the first time that large-scale events require actors to change their clothes within ten seconds on a drama stage. . So everyone looked at it quite magically. When the clothes were flipped down, it was Huniu's female clothes. When flipped back, she became a coachman again. "
As for the "all-male class", Fang Xu said bluntly, "The all-male class is not a gimmick. Cross-gender performances allow us to focus more on people's spiritual world. This time the characters were recast live on stage because of the logic of the whole play, and it was integrated with the logic of the characters. It was not just for show. "In the end, 15 outstanding actors, including Liu Xinran, Xu Xingbo, Zhao Zhen, Sun Ning, Guo Xiao, Qin Feng, and Ren Yuebin, performed sincerely and vividly on the stage, portraying the characters of their characters deeply and winning applause from the audience.
Fang Xu was deeply impressed. One day when he went to the rehearsal venue, he was immediately confused: "At that time, our assistant director Wang Lu was rehearsing instead of Liu Siye. The female director was very small. I went to take a look and she was alone. I had a 'fight' with a group of men in the rehearsal venue, which left me stunned. Later, I told them that it actually doesn’t matter whether they are all male or not. You are playing this person. When you really put your emotions into it, it doesn’t matter whether the character looks male or female, or even the clothes, etc. What moved everyone in the end was the true inner emotions of the characters. Moreover, when actors take gender out of the equation, they will really focus more on people's inner world, emotional world, and spiritual world, which are the things that most 'collision' with people. "
's "male versions" of Huniu and Xiao Fuzi always arouse the enthusiasm of the audience when they appear. "During the synthesis, I found that a gentleman on the field directly 'translated' into a Huniu. This one is particularly fierce. This character It came out immediately. "Fang Xu said with a smile. "Many viewers said, 'Hu Niu is really a tiger, and Xiao Fuzi is so beautiful.' I originally said this in the rehearsal venue, and I said you will definitely hear this in the future.In fact, Huniu was not played by Zhao Zhen at the beginning, but later on, the tiger energy that he originally had came out. To be honest, the original description of Huniu was that she was old, ugly, and powerful, and Huniu was like a man. , Zhao Zhen's Huniu may be closer to the character in Mr. Lao She's works. "
Fang Xu seemed confident in exploring the potential of the "all-male class" in shaping characters, "At first, Zhao Zhen felt that Hu Niu was a woman after all, and she spoke in a small voice. I said no, if Hu Niu lowered her voice, she would be doomed. Think about it, we once met a woman in a restaurant in Tianjin. She had a permed haircut and a round waist. She was talking alone in the restaurant and no one else could hear her. At that time, I wanted to take a picture of her with my mobile phone, but I didn’t dare. This is Huniu, just do it like this.
Zhao Zhen said with a smile, "I have to play the role of a coachman in the future, so I always think about whether I should at least have a similar voice to the coachman in front of me when I play the role of a tiger girl. The character will run unconsciously." Look for that voice in a sharp direction. The director kept telling me about this, and he said, remember, just speak normally. Later, when he told me about the smoke-drinking lady with a loud voice we met at dinner, oh, I felt it right away. She was a live tiger girl, tall and fierce, with a loud voice. "The character of Huniu is colorful and the most memorable, but Zhao Zhen bluntly said that the classic portrayal of the senior artists is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, which makes him feel a lot of pressure, "I always wonder whether the audience will recognize it. "
Zhao Zhen has his own understanding of Hu Niu's tiger spirit, "Hu Niu's tiger refers to her character. She has no shackles or cages framed by society, so she acts straightforwardly. Be happy and dare to say and do. Many viewers like Huniu, maybe because they feel happy to see her dare to love, hate, and express themselves, and they project their own emotional value on Huniu. I think this is what the director and we have been talking about. When you truly enter the character's inner world, the audience will not look at you differently because of gender issues. "When
performed the first scene, Zhao Zhente was nervous. It wasn't until the curtain call came and he heard the audience's applause that he felt a little more at ease. "To play Huniu, I climbed up on the shoulders of senior artists, but climbing this way When Zuoshan was born, I also had my own thoughts. I entered drama school at the age of 13 and saw the behavior of many older gentlemen such as Fulian Cheng. This time on stage, the actions such as putting my hands on my hips and deliberately combing my hair were my own. Designed. He said bluntly that opera actors have a very complete set of stylized movements. This foundation they have learned from childhood may have been with them all their lives. "But on the stage, if you want to express the stylized movements of opera well, It's very beautiful, but it requires years of accumulation, including refinement of stage experience and life. I am especially grateful for my study at drama school and Chinese Opera, and my subsequent experience in film and television filming. This is a life-long beneficial experience for me. "
"Da Yiyi" Beijing-style drama style presents "new impression" Lao She
Each of Fang Xu's works is directed and acted by himself, and many of them are also screenwriters, which also gives his works a personalized "big impression" "Freehand" style has unique vitality. "Mr. Jiao Juyin and his generation put forward a viewpoint on drama at that time. The main purpose was that the development of drama in China should be integrated with Chinese opera, Chinese folk art, and China's local stage art forms. . I think the direction of drama proposed by Mr. Jiao and others is in line with Chinese aesthetics. Ultimately, my "Da Yiyi" also comes from this. "
In Fang Xu's view, the presentation of Chinese opera and folk art is relatively freehand, such as a table and two chairs in opera, horse riding and rowing. It is a way of expression slowly extracted from life, "I think this It is a very interesting, distinctive and accurate way of expression in Chinese culture. My "big freehand" is actually a kind of extraction, which is to extract some elements with higher concentration and stronger colors from life to make the imagery of expression clearer. I think this is a very lovely point in the artistic creation process. . I don't like things that are too real. I like things that are imaginative and can bring me a sense of pleasure.So in terms of stage aesthetics, I like to leave some room for imagination. There are various changes on the stage, and people can imagine as much as they want. I particularly like this feeling. "
The running of the coachman at the beginning of Fang Xu's version of "Camel Xiangzi" was unforgettable for the audience, "Originally, I wanted to play on the treadmill on the stage this time. The actors ran horizontally and vertically. But when we took the treadmill to operate it, we found that it was not in the state we originally imagined, because the speed-up and speed-down of the treadmill required a process. This process interfered with the performance, so we simply canceled it. "So he discussed with the artist and said that he always kept in his mind the first shot of the opening scene of the old movie "The Sandgull". The music was playing and the women's volleyball players were walking up from the horizon in a row. This scene was particularly beautiful. "The artist said that I Make a sloping platform so that people can run up, and make an iron mesh that can transmit light and provide some smoke. I say this is good!
Fang Xu bluntly said that he wanted the play to be as beautiful as a painting, and did not want it to be a dirty and shabby bunch of coachmen and the city of Beijing. "I wanted to make the look of this play very clean." The same goes for clothing. We can't make it dirty. Our clothes look mottled, but they are not dirty and have no patches. Even Hu Niu's clothes are all dyed, like paintings. "
"stitched" the work to today, hoping to find a path to dialogue with contemporary people.
Fang Xu's version of the drama "Camel Xiangzi" condensed the life of Xiangzi's struggle against fate in three hours. The ending was unexpected: Old Xiangzi is no longer It was the silly, cute and heart-warming Xiangzi. For 60 yuan, the old Xiangzi betrayed Ruan Ming, who led the coachmen on strike. Ruan Ming was killed, and the old Xiangzi did not blame himself at all.
When asked why it ended like this , Fang Xu said frankly, “Actually, my last touch was to ‘sew’ this work to today, which was also my intention at the beginning of creation. What worries me most about this play is the ending. The original ending is too sad. The last sentence of the original work says that Xiangzi: the doomed ghost of individualism! It is true that Xiangzi alone cannot withstand the world, but I am afraid that the play will end up weak and without any power. Now to end like this, I am actually telling a story about Sisyphus - I know that this process is difficult and hopeless, but pessimism cannot solve any problems, and I still have to live bravely. We hope to find a dialogue path with today's young audiences that can trigger their thinking about individual life, the human spiritual world, and the relationship between man and society. "
At the end of the play, Sheriff Sun said that there will be a day when all the money is spent. Old Xiangzi said to him: People can't live forever. Sheriff Sun added, "Old man, you understand." In the last scene, A newsboy sells newspapers on the street and shouts about the arrival of the tram, which brings fear to the carriage driver. Why are these information points given? "When you ask about this ending, I am quite excited, because I believe that someone will understand it when making a play. But to be honest, this is indeed not what Mr. Lao She said in his original article. I thought at the time, I just wanted to bring you an information point. Because the meaning of making a play is to inspire everyone to think about some issues, such as today's taxis and online ride-hailing, and today's people face artificial intelligence and AI. This fear of being 'replaced' is also happening right now. ? I just want to tell everyone that the transition between the old and the new and the changes of the times will continue to repeat themselves, and fear cannot resist it. If everyone could clearly understand this, it would not cause more troubles, and might actually lead to a more comfortable life. "
Drama is only love and wonderful. Exploring the gap between opera and drama.
Ten years ago, a friend kindly reminded Fang Xu: If you choose Lao She, it means you give up business. Along the way, Fang Xu feels grateful and lucky," We have persisted for 12 years until today, relying on the charm of Mr. Lao She’s literary classics and the love and support of audience friends. We will continue. Drama is only about love and excitement."
What new plans do you have for the new year? Fang Xu frankly said that in addition to taking "Camel Xiangzi" to Shanghai for a performance in mid-January, he may also cooperate with a Chongqing performance company this year. "I originally revised a novel "No Problem" by Mr. Lao She "The Problem", this work may not be well-known, but Mr. Lao She wrote a very interesting story. It is a story that happened on a farm in the suburbs of Chongqing, and how a farm director squeezed a doctor who studied agriculture from abroad from the farm. This play should be a comedy with a bit of black humor. "
With his love, dedication, and perseverance for drama, Fang Xu's dramas have attracted many "die fans" to watch them over the years. This also made people around him feel the same. Zhao Zhen said: "Director Fang and I were actually in 2009 We’ve known each other since we were 20 years old, but something went wrong and we didn’t officially collaborate until "Niu Tianci". He has been looking for a path, which is a relatively perfect path that combines fiction and reality between drama and opera. He is innovative without being constrained by any form, and I think he has done an almost perfect job of combining Chinese opera and drama. And he just wants to lead us people out of this road through his own efforts. Over the years, the audience has become accustomed to the fact that dramas are about reality and operas are about fiction. It is really not easy to cultivate some audiences. The director also has a concept, we just want to act in a down-to-earth manner, so that the audience can see that we are seriously using all our enthusiasm to present something to the audience. "
" There are many young people in our team. Working with the director is a learning and furthering process. I come here to see and listen when I have nothing to do. The atmosphere of our rehearsal is very good, everyone is laughing and laughing. Rehearsal, special harmony. "
text/reporter Li Zhe
stills/Zhang Bonan
source: Beijing Youth Daily
