Recently, the original drama "Days of Future Past", an original drama for people with disabilities, came to Nanjing for two performances. On the evening of March 24, it also won the "2024 Nanjing New Drama Collection Award-Best Drama Award". More than 60% of the performers in the performance team are people with disabilities. This group of young people from all walks of life perform for free. They are happy and confident. They also throw to the audience speculations about disability and health, technology and ethics, morality and law.
took a leave of absence to perform in Ningbo. The props were borrowed.
won the "Best Drama Award"
The judges believed that this drama was the best among the new dramas in Nanjing this year in terms of the depth of the script, the skill of the performance and the significance of the theme. Eye-catching, "Although the director has made great efforts just to let the actors complete their movements on the stage, without sincerity, firmness, and belief, we would not have been able to reach this point. Your sincerity has covered up the professional flaws. "
The creators of "Days of Future Past" were very excited when they went on stage to receive the award, "Why are we called the 'Happy Theater Company'? Because all our disabled friends are happy to perform, and I hope you are also happy to watch it. Are you happy to watch it?" The audience echoed them There was a chorus of shouts - "Happy!"
The birth of the Happy Theater Company originated from the play "Days of Future Past". Screenwriter Gao Yuan and theater troupe founder Sun Yaoyao both belong to Leyirong Social Work Office, a non-profit organization in Beijing that serves women with disabilities. Last year, they came up with the idea of creating a drama that integrates disabilities.
There was a drama first, and then there was a theater troupe. After the script was completed, director Ma Yan held a drama workshop for the disabled community and ordinary people, and recruited actors through interviews. "We selected 20 actors from 100 recruited actors. What was surprising was that the performances of people with disabilities were even more appealing than those of amateur actors." It took about three months from selecting actors to participate in rehearsals to performances. time.
Previously, "Reversal of the Future" had been performed five times in Beijing for charity, and was selected for the 16th Beijing International Youth Theater Festival last year. Different from ordinary performance teams, the Happy Theater Company, which relies on public welfare projects, not only has no fees for actors, but also volunteers who come to help every day. This time I was invited to go out of Beijing and perform in Nanjing for the first time. There are 18 members with disabilities, and they also need to take time off. Although the play has stage design, there is no financial support, so it presents a "minimalist stage". The only props on the field, three chairs, were borrowed from the canteen downstairs of the theater. The performance was about to begin, and the way they high-fived each other backstage was full of drama and tension.
60% of the actors are disabled,
they also have a fight scene
The story is a science fiction theme: in the distant future, full of pollution and radiation, humans establish immigrant villages on Mars, struggling to continue the civilization of the earth. The immigrants to Mars were also violated by alien groups. Some people on Earth advocated retaining the civilization of the earth and fought fiercely against the invading alien colonists. These people were called "Earth factions"; while other people on earth who were brainwashed, They accepted body modifications from the Sam tribe, and these people were called "reformers."
The "reformists" believe that only a mutilated body can make a person's consciousness complete, while the "earthists", that is, those who are healthy and unable to resist, are gradually being withdrawn and marginalized by the entire planet. An "Earth School" boy named Luo Tianran has a dream of mathematics, but is on the edge of society because of his sound limbs and sharp eyes and ears. After being accused of murdering his father, he faced the trial of "uselessness" and "guilt" in court. As the truth of the case was gradually restored, it triggered speculation on disability and ability, technology and ethics, morality and law. The boy's mother in the play is deaf and an "Earth" historian. From her mouth, she conveys a thought-provoking view that every child is born complete. We should create opportunities for them to integrate into society instead of condemning them for their incompleteness and asking them to transform themselves.
In "Days of Future Past" presented by the Beijing Joy Theater Company, more than 60% of the performers in the performance team are people with disabilities. On the side of the stage, someone translated into sign language throughout the process. The large Chinese subtitles on the back make it easier for the audience who cannot hear the actors' expressions to intuitively understand their expressions.The actors in this play include people with multiple disabilities such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disabilities, etc., as well as able-bodied people. Bai Ma and Li Ning, who play the roles of Luo Tianran's parents, are visually impaired and hearing impaired respectively. The former cannot see the latter's sign language, while the latter cannot hear the former's voice. However, they performed a fight scene together.
executive director Zhao Chunyue experienced a car accident and underwent knee surgery before entering this creation in July last year. He directed this performance in a wheelchair, which gave him a more personal understanding of the difficulty of actors with disabilities. "How a visually impaired actor wielding a chainsaw performs a fight scene with a hearing-impaired actor without hurting each other requires a tacit understanding brought about by countless running-in." After constant running-in, the creative team figured out their own method of acting. . After the visually impaired actor finished speaking, he squatted down to prompt the hearing-impaired actor to react; the hearing-impaired actor patted the ground after finishing the performance so that the visually impaired actor could continue his lines; the visually impaired actor used his steps to measure the distance between the stage and practice walking repeatedly. I know the performance venue by heart.
Integration of disabled people,
Enjoy drama life with equality and diversity
Baima, who cannot see due to acquired eye disease, plays the role of Luo Tianran's father in the drama. During the interview, the guide dog accompanying Baima lay quietly at his feet. In real life, Baima is a talk show host who works for a company that specializes in social mobile games for the visually impaired. He said that drama is a field that he has never tried before, and he is very happy to be with everyone. "Although I don't have children, this show reminded me of my own parents. This father may be a bit extreme, but behind many disabled people there are dedicated parents who gave up their jobs for their children to grow up with them. My mother, because of me, didn't Have another child."
In fact, many people in life don't know much about the visually impaired. Baima said, "Actually, people have misunderstandings about us. They think that because you can't see, you will have food in your nose when you eat, and you don't know how to divide it into normal clothes when you wear clothes. On the other hand, in fact, every visually impaired person will create images in his mind. In a strange environment, every time we walk on stage for a performance, we will have images in our minds and slowly remember the position." Baima said that he liked the atmosphere of the troupe very much, "No People treat us as people with problems. We get along casually. Sometimes my friends know that I am better at taking care of myself and say to me, 'Baima, get me a glass of water.' This kind of atmosphere is one of the reasons that attracts me."
The able-bodied actor who plays the villain police officer in the drama told reporters that people with disabilities "helped" him a lot. "Before I came to the troupe, I rarely saw disabled people around me. I used to think that disabled people needed help, but when I came here, they brought me a lot of spiritual strength. Sometimes young people are confused, but they are very optimistic and confident. The strength and vigorous vitality infected us. It was snowing heavily and we went out to rehearse a play, and they arrived early." She also told reporters, "I saw a disabled daughter during the performance. She said that her mother had not been out since she became disabled, and she felt that the drama These have long been far away from them. After watching this play, I was very moved. Disabled people can not only watch performances, but also act in plays. Everyone can enjoy the theater life equally and diversely."
screenwriter Gao Yuan said that in a world where people with disabilities are integrated, Just get along normally and don't treat them as a special group of people. "The younger generation of people with disabilities have diverse interests. Some of them are engaged in the production of audio novels, as well as designers and programmers. They have a wide range of hobbies and are willing to try them. They have their own ideas and do not even want others to take special care of them. They may experience it in advance We have learned about things we will experience in the future, such as being in a wheelchair, so don’t treat them too deliberately.”
Yangzi Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Zhang Nan
Proofreading by Tao Shanggong
