Chao News Client Reporter Shang Zeyang Wu Yue
"Singing is not only in the live broadcast room, but also has to carry the bedding at the entrance of the village" - this is Fan Shengnan, a "post-90s" Henan opera actor and the leader of a folk Henan opera troupe. Talk about it, but put it into actual actions. In 2023, her Henan Opera Troupe performed more than 600 performances and gained more than 700,000 fans online.
It is precisely because of their persistence and love for traditional Chinese opera that Fan Shengnan and her troupe have moved a large number of netizens. As a result, she gradually became popular on the Internet.
In the new year, the troupe has a huge number of bookings, and the performance schedule is scheduled to May - this makes Fan Shengnan, who has had to face "the brink of extinction" twice, feel more and more emotional in this new year: after surviving the cold winter, spring will bloom. .
Fan Shengnan was interviewed. Photo by Chao News reporter Wu Yue
"Recognition" from half a bottle of vinegar
2023 is the first year that Fan Shengnan moved the Henan Opera performance from the live broadcast room back to the rural stage.
She said: "Tired".
But after a pause, she said again: "Happiness."
This year, the actors of the Henan Opera Troupe worked hard and kept spinning. It is this busyness that gives them a long-lost "feeling of intimacy."
"Performed in Henan in the evening, and had already rehearsed the show in Shanxi early the next morning." Fan Shengnan said that her Anyang Youth Henan Opera Troupe performed more than 600 performances in 2023, with footprints all over Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui, Shandong and other provinces.
troupe performance scene. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Intensive performances also mean that the troupe has opera to sing, people to watch, and income.
To this day, Fan Shengnan still vividly remembers the first performance after the epidemic control was relaxed - it was in the spring of 2023, in a small village in Hebi City, with more than 1,000 spectators in front of the stage; she was so excited that her whole body felt like Trembling slightly. Because this scene is of great significance to them, "It was the first performance after the epidemic control was relaxed. The performance level of the troupe and the audience's recognition are directly related to how many plays the troupe can receive in the future."
Fan Shengnan for She worked hard for this scene for a long time. From the arrangement of the song, to the movements and demeanor, and even the few steps she needed to take from behind the scenes to the front of the stage, she practiced repeatedly. She wanted the audience to feel that the live performance was more exciting than watching the online Henan Opera performance while lying in bed.
When the performance began, Fan Shengnan appeared on the stage in costume, and the audience burst into thunderous applause. Looking at the expectant eyes of the audience, she felt that all the efforts and perseverance were worth it. From the beginning to the end, as long as the actors sang, the audience sang along with them. Before the actors even said the words, the audience had already sung.
In the past 2023, the performance that impressed Fan Shengnan the most was in Shanxi. At that time, it was her seventh consecutive day of performance in Shanxi. That morning, an 80-year-old man came to Fan Shengnan and gave her half a bottle of vinegar. The old man told Fan Shengnan that he rode an electric bike 60 kilometers back and forth every day to watch the theater for six days in a row. This half bottle of vinegar was brewed by him at home, which was a small token of his appreciation.
"A half bottle of vinegar is the people's love for opera and the support for opera performers." So far, Fan Shengnan has not been willing to taste the half bottle of vinegar, but put it in the theater troupe so that everyone can feel the recognition and encouragement from the people. , thereby motivating them to go further.
On the verge of "annihilation" twice
Fan Shengnan, 32, has shown talent for Henan opera since he was a child. When he was a child, he often climbed up the small ridges on the roadside to perform Henan opera for neighbors and relatives.
When she was 10 years old, she entered a vocational school and studied under Liu Aiying, a disciple of the famous Henan Opera performing artist Zhang Baoying, thus becoming the fourth generation successor of the Cui School of Henan Opera. At the age of 14, Fan Shengnan began to perform on stage, and later became a leading actor in a private theater troupe.
As she grew older, Fan Shengnan realized that due to her height, she might not have the chance to become a "pillar" in a state-run theater troupe. In order to realize his dream of standing center stage at any time, with the support of his parents, Fan Shengnan, who was only 21 years old at the time, founded the "Anyang Youth Henan Opera Troupe".
What Fan Shengnan didn't expect was that the 700,000 yuan of entrepreneurial capital only lasted a month in her hands: buying costumes and props, renting a venue, and paying wages. The first question facing Fan Shengnan is how to survive the troupe of more than 40 people. "The daily expenses of more than 40 people are at least 8,000 yuan, but the performances he receives sometimes only earn 10,000 yuan for three to five days. It can be said to be a money-losing performance."
In the winter of 2013, after Fan Shengnan bought groceries for the members for two days and paid them their wages, he only had 42 yuan left in his pocket. She and her husband did not dare to stay in the troupe, fearing that the troupe members would see through the fact that the troupe had no money. He lied about going out to run business but in fact he only dared to hide in the car. "It was snowing that day and the car ran out of gas and couldn't turn on the heater. We bought a bucket of instant noodles to make do with it."
Fan Shengnan recalled that night She called several friends and wanted to borrow 2,000 yuan, but was declined. It wasn't until 3 o'clock in the morning that she suddenly got an urgent job - performing 9 performances in 3 days, which allowed her to get through the most difficult moment.
troupe performance scene. Photo courtesy of interviewee
The sudden outbreak of the epidemic in 2019 has severely damaged the operating conditions of many theater troupes in Henan. The same is true for Fan Shengnan's troupe. The number of performances dropped sharply from six to seven hundred performances a year to dozens. In order to make ends meet, Fan Shengnan and her husband had to set up a stall on the roadside. Some of the group members went to the Southern Electronics Factory to make screws, some ran takeaways, and some worked as security guards. During that period, Fan Shengnan felt that her dream was about to be shattered, and she was already in a state of depression.
But even in the most difficult times, Fan Shengnan still maintained his original love for Henan Opera and his determination to move forward. During this period, she turned her attention to the online live broadcast rooms that have gradually emerged in recent years, so she tried to "move" the Henan Opera Troupe into the live broadcast room. To this end, she made phone calls one by one to invite troupe members who were working outside to come back and participate. The
theater group started its live broadcast from zero fans. On the first day of the live broadcast, more than 700 people came. After more than a month of persistence, the number of viewers of each live broadcast reached 7,000 or 8,000, and the total number of viewers reached 20,000 or 300,000. people.
Not every road is smooth. In order to supplement income, the troupe tried to bring goods while live broadcasting. Unexpectedly, there were only more than 100 people left in the live broadcast room with tens of thousands of people. Fans cursed, "At that time, the company Various doubts began to appear on the screen, saying that selling goods in the name of art only cares about immediate interests and does not respect art." Fan Shengnan said that everyone shed tears that day and insisted on finishing the performance of "Striking the Golden Bough". Later, she and her group members held a special live broadcast, neither singing nor bringing goods, specifically explaining to netizens the reasons for bringing goods, "After telling everyone about these situations, fans began to understand. Through that night , the fans are rising in a straight line."
That's not all. Once in the live broadcast room, an actor kept forgetting the lyrics when he challenged a new role. He found that he couldn't sing anymore, so he lay on the table and cried. Some viewers who didn't understand the situation were annoyed by this. But the rule left by the older generation of actors in Henan Opera is that they must continue to sing once it starts. Fan Shengnan told the actors at that time that no matter whether it can be broadcast tomorrow or not, and whether their troupe will still be there in the future, they must sing this show first. over. More than ten minutes later, they started broadcasting again, but they didn't start right away. Instead, Fan Shengnan talked about how to overcome various difficulties and save the Henan Opera Troupe, which was once on the verge of destruction. From this live broadcast, Fan Shengnan discovered that netizens began to support their live broadcast.
At that time, when the live broadcast room had the largest audience, there were more than 20,000 people online at the same time.
theater, and
fans have increased in the world. The list is available, which also means that a theater troupe can survive.
In the past, everyone carried quilts and pots on their backs and lived wherever they sang. A tent and a bed of bedding were the "home" of the troupe. Now, conditions have improved and each actor has a separate tent.After the lights were turned off, there was a dim light in the tent. They looked through the performance videos recorded on their mobile phones dozens of times: some were looking for shortcomings, some were thinking about how to create new ideas in martial arts, and some were trying to make a gesture more emotional... …
However, the live broadcast room is not where the actors of Henan Opera want to stay. They know that “the audience needs live performances.”
troupe performance scene. Photo provided by the interviewee
Although Fan Shengnan dreams of having a stage that will not be demolished again, and actors do not need to run around in the wind and rain, just let them stand in the center of the stage and a play can start. However, she also knows that those who truly love Henan Opera are not limited to the theater. Even at the entrance of the village, between heaven and earth, and in the vast rivers and lakes, I am obsessed with drama and never leave.
During the Spring Festival, Fan Shengnan and the entire troupe were very busy - the Henan Opera Troupe came to the village, which was a great event for the elderly. They would call the children who went out to work and tell them to go home. For the elderly who stay in the countryside, sending operas to the countryside is not only a "festival bustle" throughout the year, but also a kind of companionship.
Therefore, in the eyes of these young actors, Henan Opera sings about people's disapproval, good and evil, loyalty and traitor, about not rubbing sand in the eyes of the people, and about the traditions and values engraved in the bones of the Chinese people.
"Anyone who can persevere cannot avoid two words: love." Fan Shengnan said that even in heavy snow days, the villagers would travel twenty or thirty miles to watch the show. This scene made them know, "Henan Opera" , what to sing for."
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