The literary era since 1979

Chapter 191 People's Art Theatre Stage

People's Art Theatre is located on Wangfujing Street.

Fangyan appeared at the theater entrance on time as agreed with Wan Jiabao.

Then an old man came out of the mail room, calling himself "Uncle Zuo", smiled and said:

"Mr. Wan and Dean Yu specifically told me that if you come, they will take you directly to the office."

"Please."

Fangyan took out a cigarette from his pocket.

"Don't worry, I've already quit. Smoking hurts my throat."

Uncle Zuo waved his hand and said, "Teacher Fang, come with me."

Fangyan put away the cigarette and followed closely.

As we walked, I listened to him telling me that although I am just a gatekeeper, the magical thing about the People's Art Theatre is that "everyone can act and everyone can go on stage", whether they are in stage design, administration or even a cleaner, everyone has gone on stage to perform in a drama.

Uncle Zuo said excitedly: "It is because I admire Mr. Jiao Juyin that I took the initiative to apply to work as the gatekeeper of the People's Art Theatre."

Fang Yan sighed, "It's a pity that the old gentleman has passed away. I don't have the chance to meet him. What a pity."

Uncle Zuo sighed, and said that he wanted to have some traces of Mr. Jiao, so he changed his stage name to "Zuo Juhen".

It turns out he is still a sweeping monk!
Under his leadership, Fangyan walked into the theater, which had a special "front yard and back stage" design.

This small space has a mailroom, ticket office, dressing room, rehearsal room, backstage...

Uncle Zuo took me to a small office and knocked on the door. A voice with a strong Beijing accent came from inside:

"Please come in."

As soon as he opened the door, what caught Fangyan's eyes was not only the very familiar Wan Jiabao and Wan Fang, but also a person sitting opposite them with a long face and sharp and deep eyes.

Take a look at "Shopkeeper Wang" in "Teahouse".

After Wan Jiabao introduced them to each other, Fang Yan and Yu Shizhi greeted each other.

"I heard that you've made a big splash in the film industry recently?"

After he sat down, Wan Fang couldn't help but make a joke.

Facing the gazes of Wan Jiabao and Yu Shizhi, Fang Yan smiled faintly: "It's just a minor fight."

"How can such a big event as the establishment of the 'Youth Film Crew' at Guixi Factory be considered a minor event?"

Wan Fang said that the news spread like wildfire, especially among the film units in Yenching University.

Fang Yan said: "Guixi Factory wanted to grow stronger and stronger, and took the opportunity of adapting "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" to ask me for advice. I gave them this idea. After all, if a small factory wants to catch up with the big ones, it will not work if it sticks to the old ways."

Then he looked at Wan Jiabao and said, "Only reform, only talent, and only destruction before construction, can we find a way out."

"Only reform and talent can lead to success..."

"Teacher Fang's words directly point to the essence of our play."

Yu Shizhi exclaimed: "No wonder he could write such a masterpiece as "The Splitting of the Great Qin"."

Wan Jiabao was quite pleased and said, "He has nothing to say. He was the first one to suggest that the play Shang Yang should introduce young forces and have three generations of people living together."

Fangyan smiled and said, "Isn't this also in line with the principles of youth, knowledge, specialization and innovation?"

"Haha, you have such a big mouth."

Wan Jiabao and Yu Shizhi looked at each other.

The atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious. Wan Fang poured water for everyone, and suddenly she heard Wan Jiabao mention, "Comrade Muqiao came to see me a few days ago."

Humuqiao!
Fangyan immediately became serious, but when he heard that Grandma Yihao and others would most likely attend the premiere of "Shang Yang", a hint of shock appeared on his face.

Yu Shizhi's expression became serious, "Then the meaning of this play will be very different."

"Literature and art are the clarion call for the advancement of the times and are the most capable of leading the trend of an era. Just like "In the Silence", this time "Shang Yang" shoulders a major mission and also contains huge risks." Wan Jiabao looked at his old friend on the left and at Fangyan on the right.

"You know, I have developed my courage through practice."

Fangyan couldn't help but recall the stormy waves and violent winds when "The Splitting of the Great Qin" was published.

“These things need to be made clear to the comrades participating in the drama.”

Wan Jiabao said solemnly.

Fangyan suggested: "Why not hold a mobilization meeting after the roles are selected?"

Yu Shizhi's eyes lit up: "That's great! How about setting it before the script reading?"

Seeing Wan Jiabao’s serious face, it is obvious from the dialect that "Shang Yang" is no longer just a simple drama.

The storms that will be caused will probably be big, not small.

The National Theatre of China is a big stage, come if you’re brave!
…………

After coming out of the office and walking for a while, I arrived at the rehearsal room. The most eye-catching thing in the whole place was the four big words "Drama is more important than life" on the wall.

At this time, there was a group of people standing on and off the stage.

Sitting in the audience were the judges for this casting.

Fang Yan was immediately attracted by Ouyang Shanzun, who was wearing a beret, and his eyes immediately moved to the person next to him.

He is tall, with big eyes, but he doesn't like to talk and rarely smiles. His personality is as deep as his voice.

Blue sky night!
This guy acts during the day and fights spy wars at night!

"Clap clap."

As Yu Shizhi clapped his hands, a group of people immediately rushed over. Wan Jiabao introduced them to everyone in dialect:
"This is the original author of The Great Qin Splitting, Fang Yan, a disciple of Mr. Mao."

Fangyan bowed and got to know them one by one.

Zhou Zheng, Shu Xiuwen, Niu Xingli, Wu Guiling...

All of them are veteran actors of the National Theatre of China.

Next came the students from the People's Art Theatre's performance class. They looked around and their gazes stayed on Liang Guanhua and Song Dandan for a few seconds.

These people are actors who have been selected through layers of selection by the National Theatre of China to perform in "Shang Yang".

Drama is different from movies. Once the show starts, the director cannot stop it and the stage is entirely handed over to the actors.

The quality of the actors determines the quality of a play, especially the characters, which are created by the actors.

Therefore, after a drama script is completed, it is impossible to keep it unchanged. The screenwriter has to revise and adjust it repeatedly based on the results of the actors' rehearsal, polishing the lines section by section and over and over again, and finally determine the presentation result on the stage.

This requires a lot of time, and summer vacation is the best time to rehearse.

Teachers and students of the Central Academy of Drama and the Beijing Film Academy can guarantee a 100% attendance rate and do not have to worry about delaying their studies.

"People from the Central Academy of Drama are here."

Looking in the direction of the voice, Fang Yan saw Ruan Ruoshan leading the team, followed by Bao Guoan, Jiang Wen, and Chen Daoming.

As soon as Bao Guoan met them, his face was filled with excitement.

Fangyan was in a trance for a moment, and couldn't get rid of the image of "Cao Cao" in his mind. He always felt that the way he looked at himself was like Chen Gong.

"Teacher Fang, thank you for your recommendation."

Bao Guoan said: "Since I received the notice, in addition to reading the novel repeatedly, I have been working hard to collect historical documents about Qin Xiaogong. I was originally planning to write a few papers, but unfortunately there is too little information, only a few hundred words."

Fang Yan smiled and said, "That is why you need to use your abilities to fill Qin Xiaogong's flesh, blood and soul."

Bao Guoan promised that he would do his best to perform and would ask him to test his results later.

Jiang Wen noticed that Teacher Fang's eyes fell on him, and he shuddered and grinned: "Hey, Teacher Fang!"

"Be good later."

Fang Yan patted him and Chen Daoming on the shoulders, then turned and walked towards the judges' seats.

There was a small bell on the table with a small button on top. Yu Shizhi tapped it lightly, and a "ding" sound rang throughout the rehearsal room.

The stage was left to the teachers and students of the Central Academy of Drama. Fang Yan cleared his throat and said, "Please start your performance."

On the stage, the actors recited their lines with full passion, and habitually added some body movements and facial expressions.

"The Bao Guoan you recommended is quite good."

Wan Jiabao commented leisurely.

Fangyan curled his lips and said, of course, this is Cao Cao!
After Bao Guoan, it was Jiang Wen's turn. Wan Jiabao said, "The kid you recommended is a bit self-centered."

Fangyan asked, "What do you think of his performance?"

"Fortunately, my cleverness was used in the right place."

Wan Jiabao smiled and said, "The ones you recommended are all good. The young comrade named Chen Daoming has a very upright attitude. Even though he only played a small role, he didn't mess around."

"I think they are all good. Is that the decision?"

Yu Shizhi cast an inquiring look.

Wan Jiabao smiled and said, "No hurry, have the people from Beijing Film Academy arrived yet?"

…………

The National Theatre of China arranged for the Beijing Film Academy to arrive half an hour later than the Central Academy of Drama, so that when the Central Academy of Drama was almost done performing, the Beijing Film Academy could just connect.

Fangyan scanned the people one by one, and there was a stranger among the familiar faces, who turned out to be Li Chengru, who had hair.

Listening to their self-introductions, Ouyang Shanzun said unhappily, "Why are you bringing a student from an amateur training class?"

Yu Shizhi reminded: "Ahem, he is a disciple of Master Dong Xingji."

Ouyang Shanzun suddenly realized that it was one of their own.

Wan Fang said, "Since he's here, give him a chance. The fact that he was brought here by Teacher Xie shows that he has good abilities."

Xie Fei replied that after going through layers of screening within the Beijing Film Academy, two people were selected from the acting training class.

One is "Zhang Guangbei" and the other is "Zhu Lin".

Then, he took out photos of the two people from his briefcase, handed them to everyone, and said that the two people were now in Yanjing and available at any time.

"This Zhu Lu seems to be suitable to play Ying Yingyu."

Wan Fang looked at him for a while and said, "Yanzi, what do you think?"

Fang Yan said calmly, "Not bad."

Xie Fei spared no effort to recommend them, especially Zhu Lin, after all, he had works such as "The Small Courtyard" and "The Traitor".

Wan Jiabao looked at Fang Yan: "Xiao Fang, what do you think?"

Fang Yan said calmly, "I remember the role of 'Ying Yingyu' has been decided, right?"

Yu Shizhi said that the person he had chosen was Wang Ji from the performance training class of the People's Art Theatre.

Fang Yan said, "In my opinion, why not let two people come over and try it out? Only the talented can be promoted. Only by comparison can we see who is better."

(End of this chapter)