"Zhu Xinyu, pay attention to your voice!"
There are still two days before the official performance, and the English version of the musical "The True and False Princess" is in full swing for the final stage synthesis. One person plays the two roles of "Anastasia" and "Anya". Zhu Xinyu, who plays the "real and fake princess", and the entire cast have been rehearsing on the stage for 7 hours continuously. They speak fluent English and complete Fuhua Road highly restores the Broadway classic. It's just that the production team backstage is a little worried, "I forget myself when I get on stage. The heroine has the most arias, so I have to advise her to take it easy."
For most of the actors, this is not their first time performing this play. As early as 2021, "Juxin Musical" formed a team of localized actors, and after three months of rehearsals, they polished the first version of "The True and False Princess." After two rounds of internal test performances in two years, the play was finally scheduled to be staged at the Shanghai Majestic Theater from March 1st to 3rd this year, making its debut on the domestic commercial stage.
On the domestic musical stage this year, we have seen many works created in China and performed in English by Chinese and foreign actors, such as the Broadway classic "Natasha, Pierre and 1812" which premiered at the beginning of the year "The Great Comet" and "Lady Macbeth" which will be released in May. What is slightly different from these dramas is that after purchasing the copyright, "The True and False Princess" was all created by a local creative team and actors.
Can local actors perform well in English dramas? This is the issue that the audience is most concerned about. In this regard, we interviewed the production team of "The True and False Princess". "In the past, we always thought that English dramas should be played by foreign actors. It is still relatively rare for local Chinese actors to try all-English musicals in the market, and the audience has not yet become accustomed to this model."
During the casting process, they It was found that many professional colleges in China require students to be exposed to and perform a large number of English plays in their curriculum, and many actors with professional backgrounds have such abilities. "We hope that through this bold attempt and future in-depth development, we can fill this gap, reverse people's stereotype that Chinese actors cannot perform well in original English dramas, and cultivate more of our local actors to step onto bigger stages. Perform more roles."
is about to officially meet the audience. The female lead Zhu Xinyu has been rehearsing in the theater for several days. In addition to polishing her singing, she also pays attention to the status of her fellow actors. "This is the first time that our show has officially opened its tickets to the public. It is about to face the test of the audience. It is inevitable that some actors will feel anxious." The attentive Zhu Xinyu can always detect the emotions of his partners at the first time, even if it is dark after the rehearsal. At night, she will still take extra time to start the "Intimate Sister Chat" mode to help everyone relieve stress.
It may be hard for you to imagine that this "little sun" who maintains high energy on and off stage now had a rather passive stage performance experience in the first place. When she was studying at the Shanghai Foreign Language School, she was just a "little transparent" among the crowd. She liked to sing when she played with herself, and she was quiet and reserved most of the time. Once, the drama club in the school planned to arrange an English version of the musical "Seussical". The English teacher persuaded Zhu Xinyu several times and encouraged her to participate in the actor recruitment because "this child will shine when singing."
Sure enough, as the English teacher said, her voice impressed the director during the audition, and he repeatedly praised her as the seed of a "future soprano", so Zhu Xinyu became the heroine ignorantly. Everything started out very well, but during rehearsals, because of her shyness, she was unable to truly release herself into the situation, and her performance was always unsatisfactory.
In fact, Zhu Xinyu was very "proper" in her heart. It was not that she could not play the role well, but she just felt a little embarrassed to perform decently for everyone before the drama environment was created. "At that time, I always said that I would perform well on stage, but no one could believe it." In order to prove her ability, she always practiced singing at home alone, and the results were actually very good.When her mother found out, she took advantage of her carelessness to shoot a "Reuters" video and sent it to the crew, which dispelled the director's concerns. During the official performance of
, Zhu Xinyu hid in a small box in the center of the stage 10 minutes in advance according to the plot, and jumped out from it as soon as the show started, presenting an appearance that surprised the audience. Perhaps it was because of the realistic scenery and dramatic atmosphere of the stage. Throughout the performance, Zhu Xinyu performed exceptionally and fulfilled her promise of "doing well on stage". The audience burst into applause, giving her a full sense of accomplishment.
After this "battle", the originally unconfident girl discovered the charm and energy of music and stage art for the first time. Zhu Xinyu was no longer timid when facing the stage, but learned to fight bravely and to argue for peace. The director talked about the play, and everyone became active. Later, she became the founding director of the Musical Theater Club of the High School Affiliated to SISU, and rehearsed the English musical "High School Musical" with her members; she also appeared on the stage of the Shanghai Grand Theater Chinese Theater and played the leading role in "The Little Mermaid" Contributed wonderful high notes. Zhu Xinyu said, "From then on, I finally got what I wanted."
As early as 2012, 7-year-old Zhu Xinyu followed the public welfare project "Lighting Up the Heart" and visited many schools in remote mountainous areas in Yunnan and Jiangxi. Playing with the children and sharing each other's lives was the only thing she could do at the time.
"When I visited in the early years, I could really feel the hardship of many local families." Every time they went to the mountains, Zhu Xinyu and her friends would sit up from the plane, then transfer to trains, buses, and minibuses, almost trying After using all means of transportation, we finally arrived at a school on the top of the mountain. Over the past ten years, Zhu Xinyu has gradually felt the qualitative changes in poverty alleviation. There are fewer families with financial difficulties and she has grown up. So in addition to simple companionship and interaction, she began to want to bring them spiritual help.
Last summer, the charity project went to the mountainous areas of Guangnan County, Yunnan Province to hold a summer camp. Zhu Xinyu took the initiative to become the team leader. Different from the past where she just played games and participated in labor practice, this time she also used her musical theater performance experience to conduct a one-man camp. As a producer, director, actor, and performance coach, he rehearsed a 30-minute special version of the musical "The Sound of Music" with the children there.
As early as half a year before the opening of the camp, Zhu Xinyu began to form a creative team, adapt the script, and recruit young actors by soliciting demos. All the stage design, props, costumes and other equipment required for the performance were purchased in advance by the creative team in Shanghai and transported to the local area over many days. Everyone set up the stage and planned the implementation by themselves.
The summer camp lasted less than a week, and Zhu Xinyu was with the children all the time. In the play, she is a "teacher" who is loved by children with her song "do re mi"; outside the play, she is also the director and instructor of local young actors. In that remote Miao Village, children naturally have a strong interest in singing and dancing, but few know what musicals are. Some children are slow to get into the mood, and they are often nervous because they have to sing unfamiliar plays. Zhu Xinyu always accompanies them patiently, "In them, I can see the introverted and sensitive myself. So I hope to use this kind of musical, Let them gain happiness, interest, confidence and healing."
On the day of the performance, there was a sudden heavy rain in the local area. The villagers came to watch in the rain. The actors' faces were covered with rain and sweat, but everyone's face was full of rain and sweat. Smiling with excitement. That scene also brought back Zhu Xinyu's familiar and long-lost memory.
Of course, as her participation in charity becomes more and more intense, the children in the mountainous areas are no longer distant, conceptual objects to be donated to Zhu Xinyu. To her, they are distant friends and her peers. People or younger siblings. "The children there love singing and dancing so much. That musical performance experience lit up a path to their dreams. The visible loss on some children's faces before leaving made my heart tighten. That week was so wonderful. It's too short, like a dreamy bubble.After we left, everything returned to normal. They saw the beauty but couldn't really own it. Would this be a greater harm? "Zhu Xinyu couldn't help but start to think about how to use the stage that had healed and opened her up to have a long-term and sustainable impact on friends in the mountains.
"We are and will always pay attention to the places we have traveled and slowly Slowly expand the scope and not leave behind every child who has helped. Children who have participated in the summer camp can also participate in the rehearsal of more plays with us next time. I am also discussing with several actors of "The True and False Princess", and I want to use the income from our performance to continue to support local children, so that children who like singing and dancing like me can receive artistic influence and enjoy the stage performance. Come heal and become a more confident and positive person. "
Helping people to fish is better than helping people to fish. Zhu Xinyu is also doing his best to raise more social resources to realize this idea together, so that the stage can heal more delicate hearts and continue to move forward with more people's dreams. .
