Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Having just undergone Feng Yuanzheng's rigorous training, the students couldn't help but feel intimidated when they saw the teachers from the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

Everyone stood up in unison and respectfully called out:

"Hello, Teacher He Bing!"

He Bing wore a simple dark gray coat and flashed her signature smile.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. There are no leaders here," he said in a standard Beijing accent. "I'm just someone who studies plays."

As he spoke, he walked to the center of the hall, sat down naturally on the floor, and patted the floor beside him:

"Come on, everyone, don't be shy, sit closer together. Let's chat for a bit on the first day and get to know each other."

The students looked at each other. At first, Teacher Feng Yuanzheng joked and played games with them, appearing very kind.

Could this be a common tactic used by teachers at the Beijing People's Art Theatre?

Zhang Qilin didn't think much of it and sat down next to He Bing first.

In his view, these teachers don't care what kind of faces they use, as long as they are willing to teach them real skills.

He Bing saw Zhang Qilin sitting next to her and her eyes showed approval. She looked up at the others with encouragement in her eyes.

Seeing someone take the lead, the others slowly moved to gather around, eventually forming a loose circle.

Once everyone was seated, he relaxed as if he were in his own living room and jokingly said:

"You kids are too timid. Young people should be bold and adventurous. When I was facing the old man, I wasn't as reserved as you are."

Zhang Qilin interjected:

"Teacher, isn't the Beijing People's Art Theatre known for its strict adherence to rules?"

Zhang Qilin did this on purpose.

During his divination, he received information about He Bing: He was a person who was dedicated to art, kind to younger generations, and liked to teach according to their aptitude.

The others on set were too nervous to interact with He Bing, so he acted as a lubricant.

He Bing's smile remained unchanged, her eyes filled with encouragement:

"Of course, the Beijing People's Art Theatre follows rules; it's the foundation of our existence. Tell me, what is the ultimate purpose of establishing those rules?"

Zhang Qilin answered seriously:

"Rules teach us how to be a person."

"That's right," He Bing nodded. "To act well, you have to learn how to be a person first. If you can't even be a good person, how can you act? Acting, in the end, is about acting as a person."

"The older generation of artists didn't tell us how to move or how to deliver our lines, but they taught us not to act, but to become the character itself."

As soon as He Bing began explaining, Zhang Qilin opened his notebook and started taking notes.

He Bing watched Zhang Qilin taking notes with a satisfied smile on his face.

Looking at the other students, they were all staring at him, listening attentively.

He Bing said something on the surface, but inwardly he couldn't help but shake his head.

He stood up, walked to the window, pointed to the alley outside, and said:

"Do you see those alleyways? That's where real life is. I hope you can observe the vendors in the market and record their micro-expressions. This isn't to torture you; it's to let you know what life is."

"Besides documenting life, I hope you can read more books in your spare time. Without the support of literature and understanding, you can't perform; all you'll be left with is loud talking or an outpouring of emotions."

"Remember, the core of acting is behavioral logic. When you talk to your colleagues at work, you need to know what you need to do and what the other person needs. It's the same with acting. Don't get carried away by the high point of the emotion and forget who you are and who you are talking to at this moment."

"In addition," He Bing said, walking over to Zhang Qilin and picking up his notebook, "I hope everyone develops the habit of taking notes."

He looked at the neat handwriting in the notebook, his eyes revealing admiration.

After handing the notebook back, he took out a thick, old notebook from his bag and showed it to everyone:

"I write things in it every day, not in a diary, but in my insights about the performance. Teacher Zhu Xu also has this habit. He believes that copying the script once is the same as memorizing it once, so before rehearsals, he will copy the script stroke by stroke into his notebook."

He opened the notebook, which was filled with dense writing:

"Look, this is my understanding of each character, this is the subtext, this is the inspiration for impromptu creation. The older generation of artists didn't pass on their knowledge and skills by giving you a manual with rules like 'one, two, three, four...' written down. They relied more on verbal instruction and personal example."

"Do you understand?"

"Understood," everyone answered in unison.

He Bing sat back down on the floor and looked around:

"Tell me, what do you think is the most difficult part of acting?"

A girl spoke timidly:

"I think it's because I can't let go. I can think things through properly offstage, but I become stiff as soon as I get on stage."

"Okay," He Bing nodded, "Anything else?"

Another boy wearing glasses adjusted his glasses:

"I think it's because I can't quite grasp the feeling of the character. I can understand what the character is like by reading the script, but when I try to portray the character myself, I always feel like there's a layer of distance between us."

The students gradually started talking at once.

He Bing listened with a smile throughout, occasionally jotting down a few notes in her notebook.

He waited until the sound stopped before speaking:

"What you're saying is all correct, but you're all still focusing on my words. How should I act? How should I express myself? How can I not be nervous? The hardest step in acting is precisely forgetting this 'me'."

"I'm telling you that you might not be able to understand, so now everyone please act out the emotion of fear."

"Not the kind of scary fear like ghosts and monsters, but real fears in life, like the fear of having hidden secrets revealed... You have a few minutes to prepare."

A few minutes later, He Bing called out a few people.

Some people acted out waiting for the surgery results, while others acted out walking alone at night—all were obvious externalizations of fear.

When it was Zhang Qilin's turn, he walked to the center of the circle without looking at any of his classmates.

He suddenly made a movement, took a deep breath, raised his shoulders and then slowly lowered them, as if he were pushing open a very heavy door.

He didn't make any exaggerated expressions, and his voice was even more steady than usual, but he spoke a little slower, as if he was carefully considering each word:

"Teacher Li, this is my newly revised script... yes, it's the third version."

His voice paused, his eyes unfocused, as if he were observing the other person's reaction.

"Last time you said the ending was too idealistic, and I thought about it for a long time... Actually, it's not that I didn't consider a tragic ending, it's just..."

Here he paused for a longer time, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

"I'm just a little scared... scared that it will turn into a tragedy, like admitting that I can't do anything about it."

After saying this, he suddenly lowered his head, then quickly raised it again, forcing a clearly vulnerable smile:

"Let me revise it again, I'll give it to you tonight."

The performance has ended.

The entire room fell silent.

The other students seemed to understand but not quite, but He Bing was deeply moved.

He hadn't expected Zhang Qilin's acting skills to have reached this level.

Zhang Qilin's performance wasn't about fear itself, but rather about concealing it.

This is precisely the most complex state of human beings in real life.

As He Bing looked at Zhang Qilin, a thought involuntarily formed in her mind.

If they can be properly trained, they will have the pillars of the Beijing People's Art Theatre for the next few decades.