Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 107: Already got 4% of the charm of "Tea House" ( monthly tickets plus more)
"Yushu, this is amazing! Your Xu Lingjun is really amazing! How could he write such a good script?"

When they met the next day, Tao Yushu was surrounded by several classmates outside the classroom, and they spoke to her with excitement on their faces.

Tao Yushu certainly knew that her husband's script was good, but she still felt that everyone's reactions were a bit exaggerated.

"He had this idea before, and this time I begged him to write the script, so he wrote it by the way."

After listening to Tao Yushu's explanation, everyone's expressions became even more exaggerated.

"By the way? Can this be written by the way?" Wu Yingfang waved the script in her hand, making a rustling sound.

"Yushu, your teacher Xu... no, your teacher Lin is a great talent! A great talent that we all look up to!"

Li Luyang pushed the crowd aside and said excitedly: "He is more than a great talent. Lao She would be no more than this if he were alive. Yu Shu..."

Before he could finish his words, he was stopped by his classmates.

Class was about to start, and he was surrounded by classmates. Everyone understood his feelings, but if he made such a public statement, it would definitely attract criticism, so they quickly told him to shut up.

The bell for class rang. After being held back for the entire class, the few of them finally got out of class. Just as they were planning to speak freely with Tao Yushu about their amazing feelings after reading the script last night, they were interrupted.

"Jade book!"

Huang Huilin did not have a class this morning, but she appeared at the classroom door at this moment.

"Teacher Huang, why are you here? Do you have something to talk to me about?" Tao Yushu left a few classmates and ran over.

Huang Huilin took out the script he borrowed yesterday, his face full of admiration.

"I've finished reading the script, it's truly amazing!"

"You flatter me."

"No, no, no." Huang Huilin shook her head. "I'm not being polite or exaggerated at all. I think this play is a top-notch work even on a stage like the People's Art Theatre. My wife said that this play has the flavor of Mr. Lao She..."

While she was talking, a few people who were just left behind by Tao Yushu came up. Hearing this, Li Luyang couldn't help but shout, "Great minds think alike, Teacher Huang!"

The others hurriedly pulled him back. Huang Huilin smiled and said, "It seems that everyone has the same opinion."

She continued, "I see the script has three acts and four scenes. It's quite a lot, so it must be very stressful for you."

Huang Huilin's words were very tactful, and translated roughly means: This game is too high-level, you are not worthy of it.

Tao Yushu heard her hidden meaning and asked, "This is our first time to do a three-act play. It is indeed very difficult. How about you come and give us some guidance?"

Tao Yushu was not being polite, but was sincerely inviting and asking for help.

Anyone who knows something about dialogue drama knows that asking a group of students who have never practiced it to create a three-act drama is almost as difficult as asking a middle school student who can't even write an 800-word essay to write a novella.

When Lin Chaoyang was writing the script, Tao Yushu was worried about this problem, but seeing how dedicated her husband was, she felt embarrassed to interrupt his creation.

After the script was completed, Tao Yushu was pleasantly surprised by its level, but at the same time troubled by its difficulty for college students.

Originally, she was thinking of inviting Chen Jiangong and his group to exchange experiences with everyone, and slowly try to figure it out. Now that Huang Huilin has stepped forward and shown his willingness to help, she naturally couldn't ask for more.

"Okay, we are engaged in dramatic literature and dramatic literature research. We have learned a lot of theoretical knowledge and taught a lot. It's a good opportunity for me to take this opportunity to practice, learn from each other and make progress together."

Tao Yushu was delighted by Huang Huilin's joining. The others were also very happy when they heard Tao Yushu just say a few words and asked the teacher to help.

Tao Yushu looked at everyone and asked, "We have nothing to do right now, how about we study the script?"

Everyone nodded, impatiently.

The formation and rehearsal of a drama crew often starts with familiarizing themselves with and reading the script. "The World's Number One Restaurant" is a three-act play with many scene changes, many main and supporting roles, and a large number of lines, any of which is a huge challenge for college students who are amateur drama actors.

Because of yesterday's familiarity, when we read the script again today, we felt more deeply about its content and had more meaningful discussions.

"Lu Mengshi is a character that is so vivid. When I look at him, I am reminded of Wang Lifa. Both of us are shopkeepers, and both have distinct and complex personalities.

In him, you can see the shrewdness and cunning of traditional Chinese businessmen, as well as the self-respect and self-improvement of people from the bottom of society. He has a strict side and a warm side to his subordinates.

But at the same time, he is at the intersection of tradition and reform. You can see his enterprising spirit, but you can also see his helpless compromise and endurance of humiliation.

The tragedy in him reminds me of Qin Erye, the cruel collision between ambition and reality.

No matter how hard people try, they cannot completely escape the constraints of the times on their personal destiny. Even short-term success cannot withstand the impact of the changes of the times. "

Li Luyang's mind has been churning ever since he finished reading the script last night. He has a lot to say. Even though he and his classmates have discussed it for most of the night, he still has endless things to say when they are reading the script together.

He loved this script so much, and he loved every living character in it even more. As the highlight of the whole play, Lu Mengshi became a character in his heart that was comparable to Wang Lifa.

"What Lu Yang said is very right. I also feel that the script of The World's No. 1 Restaurant has a strong flavor of Teahouse. Not only is the style similar, but even the level..." Wu Yingfang paused here, and said after thinking: "I think it is at least 50% of the level of Teahouse."

"Fifty percent is too little, I think 70 percent is better. The No. 1 Restaurant in the World has captured the spirit of Teahouse, 70 percent is not much." Li Luyang turned into a "teahouse fan". Li Zhenyu at the side couldn't stand it anymore, "Stop, you are exaggerating more and more. The classic of Teahouse lies not only in the script, but also in the wonderful performances of the actors of the People's Art Theatre. I agree with Yingfang's 50 percent. If you can make a breakthrough in writing, directing and acting in the future, it won't be too late to raise it to 70 percent then."

After he finished speaking, Li Luyang immediately expressed a different opinion.

"What Yingfang said about 50% is correct, but that's because our group is not good enough. If it were actors and directors from the People's Art Theatre, I would say 70% is conservative."

"If we give people art, what should we perform?"

Wu Yingfang asked a soul-searching question, which immediately silenced Li Luyanggan, who had been so passionate just a moment ago.

Everyone burst into laughter. Seeing that everyone was laughing and only talking about their own thoughts on the script without talking about the business at all, Tao Yushu couldn't help but speak up:
"Let's stop talking about these useless things and decide how to arrange the play first. Who wants to play a role?"

After she asked this question, everyone fell silent in unison.

Don't be fooled by their loud shouting. None of them have ever performed seriously except at parties. Now, if they are asked to play a role in a three-act drama, no one dares to say that they have the confidence.

Especially since everyone just praised the script so highly, and it has to be performed by someone of the level of the National Theatre of China, who would dare to volunteer so easily?
No one spoke. Tao Yushu was depressed. Before, everyone was clamoring to put on a drama, but now that the script was ready, they were actually backing off.

She was about to speak when Huang Huilin spoke.

“The Yushu couple contributed a great script to us, and we all feel pressured, but you should also think that if we can successfully stage this play, it will definitely make a sensation in the entire Yanjing college community.

No, it will probably cause repercussions not only in colleges and universities, but also in the drama world.

Everyone says this play has the flavor of Teahouse and Lao She, don't you want the director, screenwriter, and actors of the National Art Theater to come and support you?"

Master! Absolute master!

Tao Yushu watched as Huang Huilin's few words stirred up the passion of the students who had been hesitant and nervous just now. Everyone's face was filled with longing as they envisioned the scene of the future performance of the drama.

"That's right. The script is the foundation of a play. Now that we have such a good script, we are halfway to success." Li Luyang said enthusiastically.

"Well, we have to be serious about everything. We have such a good start, there is no reason not to work hard and try to launch a big satellite to shake the city of Yanjing!"

With blood boiling, everyone became more and more excited as they talked.

Huang Huilin knew that morale could only be boosted at this time, not lowered, so he added, "Okay! It's good that everyone has this attitude. However, 'The World's No. 1 Restaurant' is a big play, and we can't do it alone. Next, you have to mobilize the power of our entire Chinese department, and even the entire school. I will first give you a guarantee. I will apply for funding from the school and treat this play as a project to escort you all."

Everyone cheered immediately, and the atmosphere was very excited. They were full of passion to do something great, and they were determined to make the National Theatre of China a benchmark.

For a student play, no matter how good the script is, it is nothing but a pipe dream to want to use the People's Art Theatre as a benchmark.

Of course everyone is aware of this, but as the saying goes, if you aim high, you will get something in the middle; if you aim in the middle, you will get something below; if you aim below, you will get nothing.

It doesn’t matter if you set your goals high, as long as you execute them step by step with your feet on the ground, the results will definitely be good.

That night, Tao Yushu returned home and told Lin Chaoyang about everyone's comments on the script. Lin Chaoyang nodded.

He was not complacent about everyone's evaluation of him, but he admired the taste of these students.

The script he wrote is a classic repertoire of the Yenching People's Art Theatre in later generations. The story takes place in the summer of 1917, when the Republic of China was just established and the political situation was turbulent. The pigtailed general Zhang Xun led his troops into Beijing, leading to the restoration of the small court and chaos inside and outside the capital.

Lu Mengshi took over the troubled Fujude at the dying wish of the old shopkeeper. With his wisdom and perseverance, he turned the tide and saved Fujude at the critical moment, making Fujude quickly famous in the capital.

But behind Fujude's prosperity, there are constant worries. The two young masters left by the old boss, one is obsessed with Peking Opera, the other is obsessed with martial arts. They can't help at ordinary times, but they are good at meddling in the business and hindering it. The troubles they cause from time to time make Lu Mengshi exhausted.

During this period, there is the restlessness of the chef Luo Datou, the extravagant hope of the waiter Chang Gui to send his son to learn the craft, the conspiracy of the sinister villain Ke Wu, and the exploitation of the people by the police and the detective team...

Lu Mengshi's own ideas conflicted with reality again and again, and the turbulent political situation made Fujude's originally good situation once again in jeopardy.

At the end of the story, the master chef Luo Datou, who had always been at odds with Lu Mengshi, was framed by Ke Wu and the detective team. Lu Mengshi risked his life to save him and was imprisoned. The ending was full of a sense of fate, "I saw him build a tall building, and I saw it collapse."

This script seems to tell the story of a roast duck restaurant, but in fact it is a human tragedy and comedy that everyone can understand. It also reflects the social outlook and cultural characteristics of that era.

The drama caused a sensation in the city of Yanjing when it premiered, and made the screenwriter He Jiping famous overnight. He became the object of many film directors' collaboration. He later wrote classic film and television scripts such as "New Dragon Inn", "Legend of the New White Snake", "The King of Western Chu", and "The Warlords".

The drama even set a record of being performed 150 times in a row in the year of its premiere, becoming a revival work of Yenching literature and art.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre of China, this play was listed as one of the five selected dramas along with "Tea House" and "Thunderstorm".

Lin Chaoyang wrote this drama at the request of Tao Yushuo. Compared with the version he saw in later generations, Lin Chaoyang felt that the script he wrote still had too many shortcomings in the details.

The "Fujude" in the script is actually the "Quanjude" in reality. In order to write the script, He Jiping experienced life in Quanjude in Qianmen for several months. Every detail in the script is full of reality.

My version of the script has good character creation and conflicts, but it lacks some details and is less interesting.

However, this level is more than enough for students to rehearse and perform.

Especially when he saw Tao Yushu's energetic expression when he talked about the preparation of the drama, he felt that it was all worth it.

(End of this chapter)