As a dramatist, "Zhang Juzheng" is the latest drama directed and starred by Feng Yuanzheng. The first half of this interview mainly focused on the creation of the play. Following the previous article, we naturally want to talk about the changes he has brought to the Beijing People's Arts since he took over as the dean of Beijing People's Arts on September 14, 2022. I remember that back then, Director Cao Yu, one of the founders of Beijing People's Art Theatre, once wrote an inscription for the theater: "Dragon, Horse, Wind and God, Camel Steps with Calmness." Nowadays, this seems to have become Dean Feng’s casual approach to the promotion of humanities and arts.
In his view, all the changes in Renyi are to make the theater develop better, “not just for the sake of change, nor must we change every year. The reform of Renyi has already taken its first step. So we first need to see how this step is going? This will take time to verify, and then consider the next step."
"How to make Beijing Renyi move forward, this is the most important"
The Paper: I usually log in to the official website of Renyi. At the beginning of the new year, the official website has a completely new look. The main page has become a picture of the Capital Theater and Beijing International Drama Center. In addition, I once again noticed that your personal introduction still appears in the category of actors. It does not indicate that you are the dean of humanities. Even your previous resume as deputy dean and captain of the actor team has been removed. Why is this? ?
Feng Yuanzheng: The official website style before Renyi has been used for many years. In recent years, there have been many new changes in human art. For example, when the Beijing International Drama Center will be unveiled in 2021, we have the Caoyu Theater and a new small theater. These should appear in the introduction on the official website. The New Year is here, and although (the official website design) is not perfect yet, we also hope to give everyone a new look. We define the newly revised Renyi official website as an authoritative platform for theater information release and an integrated display platform for artistic production. The new page focuses on youthfulness and flatness, and also fully considers the user experience. We have added e-book journals, collection stories of the People's Art and Theater Museum, including introductions to collections of plays, and will continue to enrich the content in the future.
As for your personal introduction, the administrative title will appear in the "Theatre Leader" column. We are indeed more cautious in this regard. But what belongs to an actor should belong to an actor. No matter how famous an actor is, he is also an actor. Just like Brother Pu is the chairman of the Chinese Dramatists Association. When he appears in the "Actors" column of the official website, it will not mean that he is still the chairman of the Drama Association. title. The same goes for me. In the "Actor" column, there will be no introduction that I am also the chairman of the Beijing Dramatists Association. The official website of Beijing Renyi is still under improvement, which is easier said than done. During the adjustment process, we found that there are many technical problems that need to be solved. We also look forward to new and old friends of Renyi to provide valuable opinions on the official website update.
Beijing People’s Art Theater’s brand new official website page
The Paper News: Can you tell us what new measures you have put forward since you became the captain of the Beijing People’s Art Troupe?
Feng Yuanzheng: I was the captain of the actor team that I took over in 2016. At that time, I felt that there were some problems in the actor management of Renyi, and many actors did not come back to act. At the same time, there are also many actors who want to work well in the theater and express their hope to improve their professional capabilities. First of all, I promoted the "Young Actor Training Program", inviting Teacher Lan Tianye and Brother Pu to give lectures and impart stage experience. In addition, in order to train actors' lines, we launched a "script reading" program.
On January 24, 2017, the Beijing People’s Art Young Actor Training Program was officially launched. The first lecture of the master class series is Lan Tianye, a veteran artist from Beijing People's Art Theatre.
Then there is the launch of the artistic assessment for young actors. Some of our young actors reported that after coming to People's Art, they did not have the opportunity to show their other artistic side. For example, after his role was finalized, he had no chance to try other roles. Therefore, our artistic assessment content includes performance clips and monologue presentations. Performance clips are clips that have been performed in theaters and have not been performed by the actor; monologue presentations are roles that the actor has not played before.On the one hand, it allows young actors to calm down and find partners freely at this time of year. They can choose scripts and complete character creation by themselves. On the other hand, it also allows us to discover the different shining points in these young people. During the assessment, many directors from the theater will also be present. For example, last year's two new small theater plays "The Orphan of Zhao" and "Hamlet" were projects hatched from the assessment.
2023 Beijing People's Art Young Actors Art Assessment Group Photo
The Paper News: People's Art launched two "Acting Student Training Courses" in 2019 and 2022. Is this something you proposed when you were the captain of the actor team?
Feng Yuanzheng: Yes, these two "acting student training courses" are also designed to reserve new strength for the arts. Within one year, college students who have obtained undergraduate diplomas from art schools will be trained into actors in the arts. Students come in through exams. The first half of the year is business learning. Pu Ge, Gong Lijun, He Bing, Wu Gang, Yue Xiuqing, Tang Ye, Song Dandan, Chen Xiaoyi and myself are Renyi’s own teachers, who use Renyi’s methods to train them, and they will also be invited Many artists and teachers from other art fields come to give lectures or short-term training. The second half of the year is internship, and there is a graduation drama at the end. During this process, we will conduct some screening and elimination, and we will not use some outstanding children, but their performance style is not suitable for the needs of Renyi.
Stills from Beijing People's Art 2019 Performance Student Training Class Graduation Play "North Street South Campus"
The Paper News: Learning from the past to learn from the present, I would like to ask you to review the two previous directors of the People's Art Institute. Let’s first talk about Dean Ren Ming, who passed away the year before last year. You have worked with him for many years and took over the responsibilities of the dean from him. How do you view continuity and change?
Feng Yuanzheng: I have known Dean Ren Ming since he was studying in the Directing Department of China National Theater. At that time, I used to go to China National Theater to chat with him. He should be the first person to know him in Renyi. It has been 39 years this year. After he entered the People's Art Theater, he worked here for 35 years. As a colleague, I have collaborated with him the most in the theater. We have collaborated on more than a dozen dramas such as "Family Portrait", "Friends", "Sima Qian" and "The Player". Ren Ming has been the vice president of Humanities and Arts since he was 36 years old. He became the dean of Humanities and Arts in 2014. He is a very experienced manager and has his own style and uniqueness in art.
Feng Yuanzheng and Ren Ming in the rehearsal hall. The picture is from the Beijing People’s Art Official Account article
From a management point of view, we are actually following the history and rules of People’s Art, culture and art in the past 70 years. style. We will not change anything right from the start, nor will we make earth-shaking changes. We must follow the creative laws of human art and artistic laws, and do a good job of inheritance and development. From the very beginning of its establishment, the Beijing People's Art Theater proposed to build a theater with international influence like the Moscow Art Theater. Today, it is still a representative of Chinese theaters, still insists on being people-centered, and lives up to its name. The word "people" in it. At the same time, in the exploration and pursuit of art, we insist on high-quality artistic quality for every work we launch, and do our best to be the best we can. On the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Academy, the Beijing People's Art Theater School was established, which is a unique Chinese performance method, not a Western one. China's first small theater was born in Renyi, and avant-garde theater was also born in Renyi. From this perspective, Beijing Renyi is not conservative. Although it has a history of more than 70 years, it has never lagged behind the times.
Capital Theater
When Ren Yuan was alive, I fully supported him in terms of art, because he was the defender of Beijing People's Art Realism banner. He did not change the overall style and master plan of Beijing People's Art. That's up to me. I won’t change it, I’m just saying that as the current manager of the theater, how to move Beijing People’s Art forward is the most important thing. As far as I am concerned, next year it will be 40 years since I entered the theater. I personally feel that people and art must keep up with the times. Plays like "Tea House" and the old version of "Thunderstorm" are classic symbols and must be preserved. However, if we only re-stage such plays, we are not following the times.This is like the four characters "Capital Theater" on the top of the Capital Theater. If it were replaced with neon lights, it would be wrong. It must still be painted with red paint on the iron sheet as the symbol of this theater. Including the Beijing International Theater Center, which will be completed in 2021, its facade color is the same as that of the Capital Theater, and its shape and structure are the style of a modern theater, which is both inheritance and innovation.
In June 2021, the Beijing International Theater Center was completed and officially opened to the outside world in September of the same year.
"The last thing I can allow is for someone to harm this theater."
The Paper News: The other one is Mr. Yu Zhi, the performance master of Beijing People's Art Institute - you are the first actor-turned-dean in the history of the People's Art Institute. So Zhi was the first vice-dean of Renyi from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. He seemed unhappy in this managerial position, and later he collapsed from exhaustion. What experiences or lessons will you learn from him?
Feng Yuanzheng: I think that at that time, Beijing People’s Art Institute had no choice but to choose teacher Shi Zhi to carry this banner, because the three words "Suzhi" are no longer just the name of an actor, but a person. The symbol and symbol of art, it represents the Beijing People's Art Theater School. At that time, Mr. Cao Yu was our honorary dean, and Mr. Shi Zhi was in charge of various tasks as the first deputy dean. He is a good person, a person who is unwilling to hurt others, so he can only be hurt by others and can only hurt himself.
The Paper: You won’t do this with ?
Feng Yuanzheng: Why should I hurt myself? The last thing I can allow is for someone to harm this theater. At that time, the teacher's kindness may have affected his mood and health. As the leader of the institute, he is afraid, not of artistic creation, but of human nature. He is a very tolerant person who keeps many things in his heart and digests them by himself. Many people did break his heart at that time, which was particularly heartbreaking. But times are different after all, and people’s personalities are also different.
I was in great awe of Teacher Shi. Every time I saw him at that time, I would bow to him. In our theater, no one ever calls him "dean", they always call him "teacher". He is a man who is not good at words, and in modern terms, he is a bit sociophobic. In terms of performing arts, he is a well-deserved great artist, an insurmountable peak in front of any younger generation. I remember that I was quite shy at that time. I could rarely speak ten sentences in front of him at a time. Most of the time I would ask him for advice on a performance issue, and his answers were very simple, usually one or two sentences. So in this sense, I am not familiar with him. Looking back now, I feel that being the first deputy dean was a big loss for him as an actor. This is what he is least good at. In fact, I am not good at it either. I just say that one day this responsibility will be handed over to you. , you can only rush forward, there is no retreat.
At the beginning of 2023, Beijing People's Art held an event to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Su's death. Feng Yuanzheng served as the general planner of the event.
The Paper: I noticed that at Beijing People's Art, you don't seem to want to be called "dean"?
Feng Yuanzheng: All actors in Renyi are not allowed to call me "dean" in the rehearsal hall, and they are not allowed to call me "dean" in life. Seniors and actors of my generation who are older than me just call me "Yuanzheng", while younger actors call me "Teacher Yuanzheng". When Dean Ren Ming was alive, many actors also called him "Teacher Ren" in the rehearsal hall.
The Paper : Let’s recall that on September 14, 2022, you officially met with the media as the new dean of Renyi. Were you scared at that time? Or have you ever been hesitant and apprehensive? You just mentioned human character. We know that you were born in a military family.
Feng Yuanzheng: Why should I be afraid of ? If I were afraid, I would not have taken on this burden in the first place.When it comes to my family background, this time I will be playing "Zhang Juzheng". When it comes to the relationship between the little emperor and Zhang Juzheng, I will also think of my father. When he talks to us brothers, we will either sit upright or stand respectfully. Even if I later established a career, it would still be the same.
My father is a soldier. Maybe I have a strong soldier side in my heart. I am not afraid of hardships or difficulties. I am very grateful to my father. The experiences I had as a child were of great help to my subsequent growth. After my seventh birthday, I followed my parents to the May 7th Cadre School. It was in Junliangcheng, Tianjin, now Dongli District, Tianjin. At that time, it was still a saline-alkali land. From the age of seven to the age of twelve, for nearly six years, I have been in the cadre school in the countryside. I learned almost all farm work and endured all hardships. I remember one year it snowed. When I opened the door, I saw a wall of snow as high as one person in front of me. It was a real "heavy snow seal". My mother and I had to shovel a way out before we could go out.
At the beginning of 2023, on the night of the premiere of the drama "Under the Red Flag", director Feng Yuanzheng led all the cast and crew to take a group photo with the audience.
The Paper News : I would like to review with you the premiere of "Under the Red Flag" on January 19 last year. After the end, you took the stage to thank the audience, saying, "In the past three years, we have gone through closing the theater, returning to 30%, 50%, and 75% (attendance rate), and today is the first day..." Faced with the applause from the audience, you once choked up while standing on the stage. What did you think of at that time?
Feng Yuanzheng: I may have been too excited at the time, because everyone has experienced a lot during the three years of the epidemic. I remember that the atmosphere on the night of the performance of "Family Portrait" was very tense on New Year's Eve in 2020. In fact, during the performance a few days ago, there were already cases where the audience asked for refunds or wore masks to enter the venue. After the performance ended that night, I told Liang Danni, let’s pack up and go home. She said that she still had to perform on the second day of the new year. I said not sure, let’s bring it over when the show starts again. As a result, the show was notified at 12 o'clock that night.
Stills from the play "Family Portrait"
After the show stopped, I stayed at home for a long time. One day I felt that it was not possible and I had to go to the theater to have a look. When I got backstage, I discovered that it was still the same as when we left. At that moment, I was quite emotional and took a photo of the empty corridor. During the epidemic, performances resumed intermittently. I remember that the first play I performed after resumption was "Mahjong" because there were only two actors on the stage, Pu Ge and Gong Lijun, to avoid infection. During that period, Beijing People's Art Theater was always the first to open its theaters. Every time the epidemic recurred, Beijing People's Art Theater was also the last to close its theaters. We still hope not to disappoint those audiences who love Renyi, and at the same time, we also want to ensure the safety of the audience. Until now, hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes are still placed in each Renyi theater.
In January 2024, disinfectant supplies were placed in the lobby of the Capital Theater. Photography Wang Zheng
To introduce talents, our method is "fall in love first, then get married"
The Paper News: In 2022, at the literary forum celebrating the 70th anniversary of Beijing People's Art, The title of your speech is "How the Origin of a Play Comes". There are many famous screenwriters in the history of human art, including the founder Mr. Cao Yu, Mr. Guo Qihong, Mr. He Jiping, including Mr. Wan Fang outside the hospital. How did you master screenwriting after becoming the dean? How do you work with current young and middle-aged screenwriters? What are your views?
Feng Yuanzheng: In the past year, we have talked with at least more than 20 screenwriters. We will talk to them every once in a while, and I will talk to them personally. There are students as young as college students who have not yet graduated, as well as famous people like Teacher Mo Yan. Most of them are young screenwriters in their 20s and 30s, including the screenwriters of "Nine Dramas" and the screenwriters of NTU's "Jiang Gong's Face". I’ve met the screenwriter Wen Fangyi. In addition, I can also tell you a piece of news. We will soon publish the "2024 Drama Screenwriter and Director Talent Training Course Enrollment Brochure" on the official website of Renyi. The class will start in April this year.
Renyi used to pay more attention to screenwriters and writers who have won the Mao Prize and the Nobel Prize. In fact, we also need to cultivate young screenwriters. He Jiping wrote "The First Floor in the World" in his 30s, Mr. Cao Yu wrote "Thunderstorm" in his 20s, and Zheng Tianwei also wrote "Antique" in his 30s. There is also a lack of talent among young screenwriters today. It mainly depends on whether we can discover them and achieve good cooperation. We need to take the initiative in this regard instead of waiting. We have been waiting for many years, but it has not been effective. If you can purposefully meet some writers and screenwriters, talk to them sincerely, and let them spend two or three years writing a project in a down-to-earth manner, I think it is okay.
The Paper: By “talking with a purpose”, do you mean commissioned works?
Feng Yuanzheng: There is no commission yet for , it is just a conversation. A play like "Zhang Juzheng" is a commissioned work. Teacher Mo Yan also agreed to write more plays for us. Whether it counts as a commission is another matter. When I talk to young screenwriters, I try to find common ground and ask them to think about what kind of drama they want to write for Renyi. As for what to write, we will not stipulate the content, it still depends on what others want to write. Renyi does not engage in "propositional composition". "Propositional composition" is very troublesome. Once someone cannot write well, should we use it or not? The reason why plays such as "The First Floor in the World" and "Antique" have vitality is that they all come from the author's inner creative will.
In March 2023, when "The First Floor" celebrated its 575th performance, screenwriter He Jiping returned to the theater to participate in the celebration
The Paper News: In addition to screenwriters, will we also introduce some other creative talents in the future? ?
Feng Yuanzheng: There are some in , such as Chang Jiang, the stage designer of "Zhang Juzheng". He was previously the stage designer of the Beijing Peking Opera Company, and we introduced him two years ago. The way Renyi introduces talents is to cooperate first and then introduce them. We will not recruit people simply because of their reputation. There must be a process of "fall in love first, then get married." If there are one or two projects and the other party is also interested in joining, then we can cooperate first and see the actual results. . For example, director Zhang Tong, who directed the drama "The First Son" last year, we are now in a cooperative mode. We first need to see if she is suitable, and at the same time we need to see if she likes people and art. The so-called saying that people and arts need to "fit in the same groove" is just a concept and a description. In the end, the actual implementation is a question of whether they are suitable or not.
"The abilities of young actors have grown up"
The Paper: There is a line in the drama "Zhang Juzheng", "Use temporary pain to exchange for long-term peace." In the past two years, I have often heard you at people's art activities. He said, "Humanity and art have entered a stage of alternation between old and new." This time I would like to ask you to talk specifically about which old actors will gradually fade out of the stage? At the same time, you also said "don't quit your job when you retire." How do you understand this specifically?
Feng Yuanzheng: In the past two years, more than 20 actors in the People's Art Association have retired. The so-called "retirement does not leave the job" means that even if they retire, they can still come back to act. There is no problem with this. But their degree of freedom is undoubtedly higher. They can come back or not come back, and we can no longer use administrative means to manage and require them. For example, if someone has already planned to start a new life, it would be wrong for you to ask them to come back at this time. Today, Renyi has indeed had many treasured actors who are very popular with the audience. However, when Renyi wants to move forward, it must have a development perspective and cannot just let them help you.
For me, I hope that these old friends, old classmates, and my senior brothers and sisters can come back, not to support me, but to support Beijing People's Arts. They also said that as long as I say something, it will be fine. But the more people say this, the less I can use the power of the dean to impose demands. At the same time, as I said before, it depends on whether it is appropriate or not. You cannot say something that is obviously inappropriate. Even if someone gives me face, the performance will not be pleasant. In the end, it is the theater and the audience who suffer.
"Exchanging temporary pain for long-term peace" is indeed a question I often consider. Historical experience tells us that this is the case.In 1992, after the performance of "Tea House", I still remember the scene of the veteran artists taking their final call collectively. Thirty years is a reincarnation, the reincarnation of a generation. In 1992, I was just 30 years old, and by the time "Teahouse" was rearranged in 1999, I was already 37 years old. Our generation has inherited the classics and has only been acting for more than 20 years until today, but we are already facing retirement. In the future, we will definitely consider letting young people play "Teahouse". This is a must, but when to play it is a matter of timing. "Teahouse" will never disappear on the stage of human art. We must look for such talents, cultivate such talents, and find actors who can take over. This requires "long-term security." My thoughts can’t just be about this year and next year, but should take into account the development in the next few years or even ten years.
Still photos of "Teahouse" Liang Guanhua plays Wang Lifa, Feng Yuanzheng plays the second master Song, and Pu Cunxin plays the fourth master Chang
The Paper News: Your generation of "Teahouse" actors have superb acting skills, and at the same time, the "celebrity effect" is also seen every time in "Teahouse" One of the reasons why the performances are packed out. Let me put it bluntly, those who don't usually watch dramas come to see "Teahouse" not only for the drama but also for the characters. And many actors in the play, including you, are famous among the audience not only from the drama stage, but even more from their images in past film and television dramas that everyone is talking about. In the future, young actors will take over "Teahouse". Their stage experience and acting skills may be sufficient, but they are not famous enough and are not well-known among the general public. How can they continue to attract audiences?
Feng Yuanzheng: Nowadays, drama actors born in the 1985s and 1990s have almost no chance of becoming famous collectively. There are fewer dramas, and the platforms have changed. In the past, it was TV stations, and now it is various online platforms and video platforms. Like when we were both famous and profitable by starring in film and television dramas, that era has passed. Therefore, they should return to the theater and do their job well in theater performances first.
Turn back to the actors of our generation, Pu Cunxin, Yang Lixin, Liang Guanhua, Wu Gang, He Bing, me, Chen Xiaoyi, Xu Fan, etc. There are so many actors in Renyi who are famous outside, or even famous. But the reason why we are famous is that we first honed our acting skills in human arts. Only when we have acting skills can we seize opportunities. So I think young actors can only grow up slowly if they return to the stage and act more. At the same time, the theater is also actively using our online platform to promote some outstanding young people. In the past two years, many young actors have stood in the center of the entertainment stage. It can be seen from the artistic assessment of young actors that they are good and their abilities have grown.
Stills from the 2023 revival of the drama "The Proud Son of Heaven". Liang Guodong plays Cao Pi (left), Gong Yuquan plays Cao Zhi (middle), and Huang Qiyuan plays Cao Zhang (right). Three post-95 actors (among them Huang Linyuan was born in 2000) are in this film They all appeared in the historical drama and played the main roles.
In 2024, "See you in Shanghai!"
The Paper: What new plays will the Beijing People's Art Festival launch in 2024? As dean, how will your work priorities change?
Feng Yuanzheng: We will definitely launch original dramas this year, and there will also be restored dramas. But the pace of the performance will be appropriately slowed down, and the camel will not be able to perform at the same level as in 2023. Last year, we deliberately tested how much pressure we could withstand when four theaters opened at the same time. Even though I got the job, to be honest, the internal friction was quite severe and there were not enough staff. The actors sometimes had to rehearse and perform two or three scenes at the same time. Some viewers have already complained to me, how could you use actors like this (laughing).
Last year, Beijing People's Art Theater performed 35 dramas, 11 of which were newly created plays, which were performed 503 times. The number of plays, the number of performances, the number of new plays and box office revenue all reached the highest level in the theater's 71-year history.The creation of these 11 new plays includes realistic dramas like "The First Son" and others that emphasize exploration like the new layout of "Hamlet". I think this is the style that a large theater should have, letting a hundred flowers bloom and allowing different styles of dramas. Born and performed in this theater. Our pursuit of art is endless.
Stills from the new version of the play "Hamlet"
This year, of course, there will still be plays performed in four theaters at the same time, but we will return to a relatively normal performance state, allowing everyone to breathe a little and adjust. Here, I would also like to convey a message to the audience in Shanghai through The Paper: In October this year, five works of the Beijing People's Art Festival will be performed in Shanghai in succession. This is also our largest tour in recent years. "Teahouse" and "Under the Red Flag" are all included in this batch of tour repertoire.
In June 2023, Beijing People's Art "Friends of People's Art" event was held
The Paper: one piece at a time, the way of civility and martial arts. Having mentioned the pace of this year’s performances, I’d also like to hear what you think of the pace of change in the arts and crafts since you took over as dean.
Feng Yuanzheng: The reform of Humanities and Art is to make the theater develop better, not to change for the sake of change, nor to change every year. Zhang Juzheng's reforms took ten years, and not all reform measures were implemented in one day. I feel that the revolution in human art has taken the first step, so we need to see how this step goes. It may take a year or two to see results. If any problems arise in the process, which ones can be overcome and which ones need to be adjusted in time? This will take time to verify and then consider the next step. Rather than simply "crossing the river by feeling for the stones", it used to be possible, but now it is no longer possible.
I hope everyone can understand why these changes are made. Of course, we must work hard to repay the love and expectations of the audience. At the same time, we must also let ourselves see hope, have a sense of happiness and gain in this job. Now that things have changed, we need to move forward one step at a time, taking ten steps at once. Sooner or later, we have to make up for the nine steps in the middle. This is history. Beijing People's Arts is at a critical point in history. We are now letting young people start to take the lead, and we also need the support of old actors. The artistic assessment is that old actors are supporting young actors to move forward.
The Paper: After listening to your reform philosophy and value judgment, I think it is not so much reform as what you are implementing in Renyi as a kind of "improvement"?
Feng Yuanzheng: We will let changes happen in , as long as we don’t make it “cooler” with more changes (laughing).
The Paper: Finally, I would like to ask another personal question. After the news that you took over as the dean was announced the year before last, teacher Liang Danni once jokingly said that she had already thought about your life after retirement, and you could do the things you like, such as teaching or traveling together. It seems that these "conspiracies" "They're all bankrupt. At this moment, what do you want to say to Teacher Liang?
Feng Yuanzheng: I just took the opportunity to send a WeChat message to Dani and helped her order takeout (dinner). She actually had no complaints, but she felt that after I became the dean, I had no time to spend with her, especially no time to cook at home. Neither of us likes to eat out, we especially like to cook at home, and I usually cook more. On the day I didn't have a performance last week, I cooked a meal at home. She felt it had been a long time coming and ate it all.
Stills from the drama "The Player", Feng Yuanzheng and Liang Danni play the couple
