On March 18, the first Macau International Comedy Festival came to an end. During the nine days, "half of the Chinese comedy industry" participated in this festival, discussing cutting-edge comedy topics in the form of dialogues, performances, etc., and also bringing the latest comedies at home and abroad. Excellent works are recommended to audiences in the Greater Bay Area.
Sketch, cross talk, stage play, musical, talk show, short video, multiple categories of "joyful" content enrich people's leisure life. In the 2024 Spring Festival, which just broke the record in film history, comedy movies contributed the majority of the box office, which also proves that laughter is an important part of life. Happy Twist actors Shen Teng and Ma Li starred in " Fast Life 2" and " Article 20 " respectively. They are currently the actors and actresses with the highest box office starring movies in Chinese film history.
This comedy festival is jointly organized by Happy Twist and Damai. Over the years, Happy Twist has become the most well-known comedy brand through stage plays and movies. However, it has always been more recognized by the audience for its "Northern language" comedy content. This time, Happy Mahua held a comedy festival and chose the location in the south, which aroused many people's curiosity. Recently, Han Mei, CEO of Happy Twist and co-founder of the Macau International Comedy Festival, accepted an exclusive interview with China Business News. She responded to the reasons for the comedy festival to come to Macau and introduced the future plans of Happy Twist and the Comedy Festival.
Exploring the international market
As a company that has been deeply involved in the field of comedy for 21 years, Happy Mahua has always had plans to take its works overseas and communicate with international peers. Han Mei believes that in the vertical field of comedy, only by communicating with domestic and foreign comedy creators can we continuously improve our original capabilities and promote the emergence of innovative themes and masterpieces.
In 2018, Happy Twist teamed up to participate in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2019, they tried to organize troupe performances in Australia, New Zealand and North America to introduce Chinese humor to overseas audiences. However, due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, plans to go overseas have been temporarily shelved.
In 2022, the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau and the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Macao led cultural enterprises to Beijing for investigation. As one of the enterprises under investigation, Happy Mahua had its first contact with them. Han Mei remembers that the topic discussed at that time was "Can Happy Twist's play be performed in Macau?"
Subsequently, Happy Mahua conducted a survey on local theaters, drama types and audience composition in Macau. Macau is a Cantonese-speaking city with an international flavor. Happy Twist's repertoire must be integrated with local culture in order to be better accepted. "We thought at the time that the residency might not mature quickly, and we needed an opportunity to test whether different forms of content could be implemented in Macau." As a result, the planning of the Macau International Comedy Festival was put on the agenda.
In an interview with the media during the Comedy Festival, Liang Huimin, Director of the Macao Cultural Affairs Bureau, said that Macao is an international city, and it is also an inclusive and happy city. The International Comedy Festival is in line with the characteristics of the city of Macao. More importantly, the holding of comedy festivals can help the industry launch. The performances of different domestic and foreign groups, as well as the experience sharing of directors and actors, can stimulate the participation and creation of local young people, thereby promoting the development of the cultural industry.
In a short period of time, Happy Twist and the Drama School of the Macau Academy for Performing Arts co-organized the first comedy training class. The creators and actors of the Cantonese version of "Crazy Barber Shop" participating in the comedy festival are all trainee students. "Crazy Barbershop" was also the fastest sold-out show at this comedy festival, giving the Happy Twist show confidence to launch in Macau.
Support new comedy talents
In recent years, Happy Twist has been seeking growth across dialects. Happy Twist has created the Sichuan-style comedy "Kuanzhai Renjia" in Chengdu, trying to integrate Sichuan dialect and Twist comedy. A dialect version of "The Son-in-Law is Ready" was created in Tianjin. "When this show toured East China, everyone loved it very much. In Shanghai, we also tried a show with Shanghai style characteristics." Han Mei said, Happy Mahua has been paying attention to Cantonese To expand regionally, we have established subsidiaries in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but before that we were not confident enough to try an all-Cantonese version of the play. “The Comedy Festival is a good opportunity to test how far a play with an all-Cantonese cast can go.” Far."
Talking about the creation of the Cantonese version of "Crazy Barber Shop", Han Mei revealed an episode to China Business News. This immersive interactive suspense comedy that is popular in many cities in the mainland is adapted from international IP, and the original version is in English , has been performing at the Boston Little Theater in the United States for more than 40 years. When it was introduced to China, the creative team localized the IP. However, when adapting the Cantonese version, the screenwriter spent a month, but it was difficult to advance. In the end They took out the full English script and re-translated it into Cantonese. Han Mei thought: "Maybe it's because the culture of Macau is more international than that of mainland cities. In the future, how to adapt original mainland scripts into Cantonese versions will be our next topic. "
"Crazy Barber Shop" producer Lin Weiqi is the first employee of Happy Twist Macau Company. "We want to hold a comedy festival in Macau, develop here for a long time, and contact many local friends in Macau. Lin Weiqi is a very representative one and the driving force that encourages us to do a good job in performing arts in Macau. " Han Mei told China Business News.
When in contact with young people in Macau, Han Mei found that many people love literature and art and cultural creation, and have organized various clubs such as dance and drama. However, because Macau has not yet formed a large-scale In the cultural industry, most of them can only create in their spare time. Lin Weiqi graduated from the University of Macau with a major in law. She loves literature and art, and the troupe she organized has performed in the mainland and is somewhat famous. When Happy Mahua contacted her, her troupe warned For a period of time, I am also considering the follow-up development. As a young man who is very familiar with Macau culture and loves stage creation, Lin Weiqi has become the best choice to produce the Cantonese version of "Crazy Barber Shop".
Lin Weiqi had an experience in Shanghai a few years ago A study tour experience. In her opinion, Macau and Shanghai are similar: "Shanghai is an international metropolis and has attracted many domestic and foreign actors or groups to perform. Macau is also an international window, a city where Chinese and Western cultures blend. Lin Weiqi felt that Shanghai has a strong cultural and artistic atmosphere, and she was deeply impressed by the fact that the fallen leaves of the parasol trees in autumn left a deep impression on her. "This is the embodiment of urban culture on the streets. After I returned to Macau, I was also thinking about how to be different from mainland cities." comminicate. Macau also has a very charming culture, such as Cantonese culture, small fishing village culture, etc., which nurture our growth. "
In Lam Weiqi's view, Macau audiences' demand for drama is relatively small, and the development of drama is slightly later than that of the mainland. It will take about five to ten years for the performing arts industry to mature, but Macau also has its own advantages, that is Domestic and foreign exchanges are more convenient. “For Macao performing arts practitioners, what they desire are opportunities, platforms and resources to communicate more with artists and groups, bring the essence back to Macao, develop local art, and let everyone feel that Macao Not just a small city.
A stage for comedians to meet their creativity.
Zhang Chen, the founder of Happy Twist and the initiator of the Comedy Festival, talked about the original intention of the comedy festival, which was to provide a communication platform for comedians from all over the world and to discover and cultivate local comedy talents through the implementation of plays. Bring more excellent comedy works to Macao, promote the integration of culture and tourism, let more audiences enter theaters and cinemas, and help build Macao as a performing arts city. In his view, comedy is an art that brings wonderful enjoyment to people: "Some people say that comedy gives people hope and tragedy gives people strength. I want to say that comedy gives people hope and strength at the same time. I think both of them are It is indispensable."
As a platform, this comedy festival brings together a group of comedians who are eager to inspire each other's creations and bring laughter to the audience through communication. Ma Li said that it is not easy for comedians: "You have to devote all your strength and energy to make the audience laugh and still feel the depth of the work. Comedy festivals can let more people understand comedy and appreciate high-end Comedy, let more young people use this platform to gain more audience recognition."
This year is the first Macau International Comedy Festival. Despite the tight preparation time, the results achieved so far exceed expectations in Han Mei's opinion: “Letting more people understand the charm of comedy is the long-term hope of all comedians in the industry.This time, in an environment where Chinese and Western cultures blend, I also experienced challenges. "In terms of program invitations, the Comedy Festival takes into account both diversity and internationality. Two international avant-garde comedy works, two Cantonese dramas, and an original play that has become very popular in recent years have transcended language and cultural barriers and allowed people from all over the world to come to the festival. The audience felt the charm of comedy.
Han Mei revealed that in the process of preparing the content, they also examined comedy content other than dramas and movies such as comics, talk shows, short videos, etc., but due to time constraints, they could not implement it: "Formally, Innovation requires a longer preparation period because creation requires very serious interaction. "Having received support and recognition from many people inside and outside the industry makes Han Mei feel gratified. At the same time, she also looks forward to inviting more comedians and works to be performed next year. Han Mei hopes that in the future, she can reach long-term cooperation with Macau in the comedy industry and continue to Let’s continue the comedy festival. “The first three-year plan has been completed. Whether we can add more sub-venues in the future, we can also gradually communicate and promote it. ”
Macao explores diversified economic development
Macao, as a world heritage city and tourist destination, is gradually regaining its vitality. During the Golden Week of the Spring Festival in 2024, Macao recorded a total of 1.358 million inbound tourists, and the average daily inbound tourists increased significantly, returning to close to 2019 The average level of the Spring Festival Golden Week in 2023; compared with the same period in 2023, the average daily tourists increased sharply by 163.8%. In 2023, Macao's annual inbound tourists will be 28.213 million, returning to 71.6% of 2019.
Today, large-scale cultural events have become the driver of the local cultural tourism economy An important engine for development. Last year, Macau proposed to build a "city of performing arts." In addition to the Comedy Festival, international cultural events such as the Macau International Music Festival and the Macau Chinese-Portuguese Culture and Arts Festival were also held. On March 24, to celebrate Macau's return to the motherland On the 25th anniversary, the 2024 Macau International Parade was also held. In addition, the first Macau International Short Film Festival is also being held.
According to Zhang Zheng, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Tsinghua University, Macau has been following a path of diversified economic development. As a popular vertical category in the cultural industry, the comedy industry has broad room for growth: "Laughter consumption has a broad market base today, spanning age, education, and social class. "
's constant visits to Macau during the two years of organizing the Comedy Festival also gave Han Mei a deeper understanding of the city. In her opinion, the overall culture of Macau is relatively relaxed, and the locals are gentle and serious. From the perspective of the development of the cultural tourism industry , with the proposal of the concept of performing arts city, the composition of tourists and leisure methods are also changing.
“The population purely for tourism has increased. There are internet celebrity check-in spots at various attractions, as well as a variety of Michelin restaurants, and there are more and more family tourists. "Han Mei learned from the Macau Tourism Bureau that they are considering attracting more Asian tourists and tourists from Portuguese-speaking areas. Next year's Comedy Festival, they are also considering introducing some Portuguese-speaking comedy projects for cooperation, "to reach out to more creative personnel. , you will feel that the world can be more open. "
