Huayu: Starting from managing the Mahua FunAge Theater Troupe

July 29th, Thursday, around 8:00 AM.

There are still more than 30 hours left before the first national performance of "Crazy Stone".

Beijing Exhibition Theater.

Shen Teng and the others were busy completing the final preparations.

Shen Feiyang watched them work from below the stage.

The stage play and film versions of "Crazy Stone" are very different.

Although the story framework is the same, the content and interpretation style are completely different.

The stage play tells the story of Lao Xie, the director of a jade factory, who has a magical stone that can dissolve on its own, causing a sensation in the global medical community and thus becoming priceless.

Three bumbling thieves, a hired foreign thief, and a greedy doctor all wanted to get their hands on the gallstone.

The main character in this version is Xie Xiaomeng, played by Shen Teng, not Bao Shihong from the film version.

The role of Xie Xiaomeng requires someone who is "handsome, suave, and a good actor," and Shen Teng is the only one who can carry the role.

In the stage play version, Bao Shihong is an important comedic character and supporting role, played by Huang Bo.

Shen Feiyang decided not to cast Huang Bo as Hei Pi because he considered that if Huang Bo played the same role in both the stage play and the film version, it would diminish the audience's expectations for the stage play and the subsequent film version.

Another reason is that Huang Bo is the oldest male actor in the troupe, so playing a middle-aged man is very suitable for him.

The three thieves are played by Wei Xiang as Dao Ge, Ai Lun as Hei Pi, and Zhou Dayong as Xiao Jun.

The hired foreign thief Mike is played by Li Jian.

The greedy doctor is played by Huang Nina.

The bespectacled character who is blinded by greed is played by Qi Kui.

A new pair of characters, ninja twins, have been added, played by Jiang Yan and Yu Shasha.

The female lead, Jingjing, Daoge's girlfriend, is played by Xiong Naijin.

Compared to the movie version, Jingjing has a lot more screen time.

Other supporting roles were played by extras who were paid per scene.

Besides the actors performing on stage in front of Shen Feiyang, there are also many backstage staff.

Shen Tengjian is the director, and Peng Damo and Da Gui are the executive directors.

Jiang Haibo was responsible for managing the storage and transportation of props.

The stage technology team and the costume and prop team are all outsourced professionals.

The front desk and operations teams drew on administrative staff from the company to take on the work.

The production and coordination team was mainly led by Shen Feiyang and Yu Kai.

The publicity and media team is handled by the company's public relations department.

As of now, Happy Twist has 25 employees: 3 in the finance department, 2 in the human resources department, 10 in the administration department, and 10 in the public relations department.

The old office in Hepingli could no longer accommodate so many people.

Some time ago, after the first revenue share of 1.1 million yuan from "Chinese Comedians" arrived, Yu Kai set about upgrading his office environment. He moved from the crowded Hepingli to the 12th floor of Zijin Building in HD District, temporarily renting half a floor, more than 700 square meters of office space, plus some basic decorations left by the previous company, for a monthly rent of more than 80,000 yuan.

The company has moved all the dormitories it rented for its employees from Dongcheng District to HD District.

drop by drop...

Shen Feiyang took out his phone.

Caller ID: Yu Kai.

"Hey, Lao Yu." Shen Feiyang put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Mr. Shen, Wang Zhonglei, the CEO of Huayi Brothers Taihe Film & Television Investment Co., Ltd., just called to ask if our company has any plans to purchase the stage adaptation rights to 'A World Without Thieves.' 'A World Without Thieves' is a work by Feng Xiaogang. I heard from Wang Zhonglei that it seems to be released during this year's Lunar New Year holiday."

Yu Kai then added, "I think he might want to get a quote from us and then resell it to other potential buyers at a higher price."

Although Yu Kai did not know Wang Zhonglei or what kind of person he was, he understood basic business logic.

Happy Twist is currently a leading company in the stage play industry, and the price it offers is equivalent to the industry's guide price. Huayi has spread the word that Happy Twist has also set its sights on the stage play adaptation rights of "A World Without Thieves," and the price of the adaptation rights could be at least 20% higher.

Shen Feiyang nodded slightly: "You guessed right. Huayi is a terrible company. We don't need to associate with them."

"Okay, I understand."

"Hmm." Shen Feiyang then asked, "Are the communications with performance agencies and venues in various locations going smoothly?"

The national tour of Happy Twist was organized rather hastily, with planning only starting in late June. Later, relying on the network of the Women's Federation, they gradually contacted local performance agencies and venues to finalize the schedule. Yu Kai is currently on a business trip, signing contracts with performance agencies and theaters in various places.

"The process went relatively smoothly. The comrades from the Women's Federation provided a lot of help. In addition, the comrades from the Women's Federation were also very supportive of the Baby Come Home Project that we initiated."

The "Baby Come Home" plan was proposed by Shen Feiyang after he returned from Yunnan.

From now on, whenever there is a performance by the Happy Twist Troupe or the Miyun Society, a row of missing children's notice boards will be set up at the performance venue, with information and photos of missing children posted on the notice boards.

It doesn't cost much, but it significantly improves the brand image.

For example, comrades from the Women's Federation Secretariat will come to the venue tomorrow to inspect the implementation of the "Baby Come Home" project and watch the performance.

This kind of official recognition is very important for private performing arts groups.

It has at least deflected a lot of malicious reports.

Yu Kai had never imagined that such a win-win situation could be achieved in this way.

Having witnessed Shen Feiyang's many ingenious ideas, he now only wants to work hard at Happy Twist until retirement.

Shen Feiyang chatted with Yu Kai for a few more minutes, telling him to take care of himself and be careful on his way back, before hanging up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Shen Feiyang looked up at the stage.

He was unconcerned about the rising popularity of stage plays in the market.

Just like the short drama industry in the future, once it suddenly becomes popular, people from all walks of life rush into it, but 99% of them end up as cannon fodder.

The stage play market will only follow this development pattern.

On the one hand, the market size is inherently small, and on the other hand, there are far too few good comedians.

Comedians cannot be systematically trained; they rely entirely on talent and aptitude.

However, most talented and perceptive actors are formally trained, and they tend to act in serious dramas and movies, following the orthodox acting path, such as Deng Chao, Lei Jiayin, Guo Jingfei, and so on.

Only when you really can't make a living will you turn to being a comedian.

Shen Teng was an exception; he genuinely loved comedy.

I wonder how many rare cards I'll get from this recruitment drive.

Shen Feiyang looked at Shen Teng on the stage and pondered for a moment.

Let's extract Ma Li first.

Shen Feiyang calculated the time and concluded that Ma Li should have been admitted to the Lin Zhaohua Drama Training Program at the Peking University Drama Institute by now.

Ma Li was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in 01 and graduated in 03.

After graduation, because her personal image was not popular in the film and television industry, she could not find a stable job. So Ma Li was admitted to the Lin Zhaohua Drama Training Program at the Peking University Drama Institute to study drama performance.

Shen Feiyang felt the training program experience was quite important for Ma Li, so he didn't try to recruit her beforehand. Now that she's been accepted, he can naturally recruit her...