Pengpai News reporter Pan Yu
"We need medical scientists to overcome the plague, and we also need drama artists to dissect human nature and cure people's mental illnesses. I want to meet you in the theater on the day of the premiere of " Othello ". "
htmlOn the evening of July 9, the all-female star drama "Othello" produced by Chen Xinyi Art Center and Hangzhou Performing Arts Group was officially premiered on the Shanghai People's Congress Stage. On this day, director Chen Xinyi wrote a letter with his own hands and sent an invitation to a special ordinary audience.
Director Chen Xinyi
This is the second classic creation work produced since the Chen Xinyi Art Center settled on the People's Congress stage in April last year. It is also the first all-female version of this classic drama by Shakespeare on the domestic stage. Actors are not only transgender, but mostly cross-border. The role of Osero is Oriental TV host He Qing , and Wu Qun, a well-known veteran actor from Shanghai Yue Theater, starring the role of Iagu in the play. The heroine Tess Demona is played by another Oriental TV host, Wantini . In addition, host Zheng Lin , entertainment blogger Gesang, senior theatre actor Zhang Mingyi, host Zhu Yijing, well-known modern dance artist Jiang Fan, and ballet dancer Hou Yingya also participated in the performance.
That night, the answer was revealed. Dr. Zhang Wenhong appeared in the theater, and he was the audience specially invited by director Chen Xinyi. Before the performance, 82-year-old Chen Xinyi invited Zhang Wenhong to the stage and stood side by side.
Director Chen Xinyi read the letter to Zhang Wenhong on the spot
Facing Zhang Wenhong, Chen Xinyi smiled and said, "I don't know him, but I pay attention to him every day. Especially when I saw a speech from him, he said at that time that the artists proposed to move the theater outdoors, which was a great distrust of our anti-epidemic achievements. Therefore, I was very excited and especially hoped to invite him to the theater to spend the first performance with us. . For this reason, I wrote a special letter to ask him to watch the show. "
Zhang Wenhong said, "In fact, I am very busy every day and I just worked in the hospital. But I came to the theater tonight because I received a letter from Teacher Chen, which touched me very much. What's important is that she kept asking me what the epidemic in China has reached and whether our culture will be interrupted because of the epidemic. And I have been thinking about a sentence from Shakespeare, to be or not to be?”
He said that he is here to "enjoy" the results of the fight against the epidemic today as an ordinary citizen. "In fact, China's phased victory over the epidemic is certain. Our degree of control over the epidemic allows us to carry out a new normal life. We wear masks when watching the drama to keep social dramas away. You can continue your life under the new normal. I am not here today as an epidemic prevention expert, but Teacher Chen's letter deeply touched me. As an ordinary citizen, I want to come to the theater to watch a drama. On the one hand, I am moved by the old artist's pursuit and respect for culture, and on the other hand, I also want to enjoy the results of the fight against the epidemic."
At the scene, Chen Xinyi and his old friend Guan Dongtian read this letter to Dr. Zhang Wenhong on the spot:
"Shakespeare was born in the year of the outbreak of the Black Death - in 1564, one-quarter of the people in the world died of this disease. He also experienced plagues many times in his life. In 1592 The Black Death in London spread and the government closed all theaters. This closure lasted for a year. Just in February 1594, after the theater opened, Shakespeare completed his first published work, "Tites Andronix". The good times did not last long. In 1603, the epidemic broke out again in the UK, and the theater was closed indefinitely, but Shakespeare never put down his pen and ushered in the turning point of his personal fate after the epidemic, writing "Othello" and "King Lear" , "Macbeth" and other famous dramas, the epidemic has almost accompanied Shakespeare's 52 years of life.
We need medical scientists to overcome the plague, and we also need drama artists to dissect human nature and cure people's mental illnesses. In our lives, there is a kind of person who hurts people's spirits, like a virus, that is Iago of "Othello". I believe that with our medical scientists, we will not let us close the theater.I believe that on the day of "Othello" premiere, I will make an appointment with you in the theater. "
2020 new coronavirus rages. I think Iagu is like a virus surrounds us. We can't see it, but once we lose physical resistance, it will invade our bodies, make us sick, and even fatal. Iagu makes our mind lose antibodies, and drama, especially Shakespeare's drama, is to increase people's mental resistance and teach people to prevent Iagu's vaccine. What the audience sees is Shakespeare's human nature dissection with a scalpel, and pursues the perfect human nature that combines the purity of reason and great passion under his guidance.
Although we are in two fields, we all have the same responsibility."
So, Zhang Wenhong, who was moved by a letter and "same responsibility", appeared in the theater as promised that night.
Full-female class "Othello" set photo
Chen Xinyi's sixth edition "Othello", the actors in the whole class are better "accept aesthetics"
Chen Xinyi's letter "Othello" mentioned in her letter is Shakespeare's classic tragic work, which is still popular after four hundred years. The story tells the story of Othello being deceived by his subordinate Iagu, who is good at making trouble, and mistakenly thinking that his wife Desdemona cheated, so he strangled his wife to death in anger, and regretted it after the truth was revealed, and finally committed suicide.
Chen Xinyi's feelings and creation for Shakespeare have run through her entire artistic career . And "Othello" also has an unusual "complex" for her. In 1986, "Othello" directed by Chen Xinyi won the first Shakespeare Festival in China and won the Golden Lion Award for Drama, becoming a phenomenal performance at that time. Chen Xinyi also became famous in one drama. This time, "Othello" of the all-female class is already the sixth version of Chen Xinyi's directorial career.
Regarding the unique and bold performance form of "all-female class", Chen Xinyi said that this idea began with a lecture in the UK five or six years ago, when he visited a school specializing in training Shakespeare actors. "When I walked into the room, I saw that all the girls were half a head taller than me, and there were several black girls, all of whom were so tall and strong, and their voices were particularly beautiful. I was shocked at that time and thought it would be great to have a female version of "Othello". "
In five or six years, the crew was established that died in the middle. After the establishment of Chen Xinyi's studio, the female version of "Othello" was re-arranged on the creative schedule. The candidate for "the male lead" Othello was also "falling from the sky". Because she had worked with the heroine Wantini before, Chen Xinyi hoped that she could help find a taller female host to play the judge "Mentello" in the play. So, He Qing, a 170-year-old female anchor, was invited to Chen Xinyi chatted at home. Unexpectedly, the script handed over to He Qing became the line of the male protagonist Othello.
He Qing's Othello, Wu Qun's Iagu (right)
In Chen Xinyi's view, Othello, who is a female actor, has a unique aesthetic. "Because I am aesthetic, maybe my outlook on life is liberal, and the view of drama is aestheticism. The ideal of drama is to impart the most beautiful things to the audience like religion. For example, our Chinese Peking Opera is aesthetic art, and beauty is the highest principle. In this drama Othello, men will perform better than women nowadays, but drama is still an acceptance of aesthetics. In terms of aesthetics, I think this is more attractive. ”
has directed 6 versions of "Othello" so far. Chen Xinyi said that because this drama is "commoner", "he is not like "Macbeth", "Hamlet", and "King Lear", all belong to the imperial level. This drama is very common. Every family, every couple, and every lover may encounter such misfortune. "
In this version, Chen Xinyi also tried to add some comedy factors. "Although this is one of Shakespeare's four major tragedies, when I was watching my drama in 1986, I suddenly felt that there were many comedy factors in it, even a satirical comedy for Othello."
Chen Xinyi said that her Chen Xinyi Art Center will rehearse a Shakespeare drama every year in the future. The biggest intention is to cultivate the actors and train the entire creative team.
female hosts cross-border cross-gender challenges Shakespeare dramas. Guan Dongtian taught to perform
0 Shakespeare dramas step by step, which is a challenge for any drama actor. And this time, most of the actors in the crew are non-professional. "The world is a female host, entertainment blogger, fashion magazine anchor, etc. So, the "challenge" doubled exponentially.
He Qing's Othello, Wantini's Tessedmona (right)
The female host He Qing, who plays Othello, all admitted: "Before, Grandma Chen asked me to participate in this show, and I always felt unreliable. Until I entered the rehearsal hall and the end of the first day, I felt that this was real, and I felt like I was having a dream. "
He Qing, who was acting in a drama for the first time, tried a female version of Othello. The difficulty index can be imagined. She admitted that she was very nervous, but she was also very satisfied. "I finally understood why so many famous and big actors who became famous finally returned to the stage."
As for her first performance on stage, she wanted to create a particularly masculine male character. He Qing smiled and said, "Many of my friends often say that I feel a sense of heroic spirit, but I actually don't think so at all. Then it was not until Grandma Chen asked me to play a role that I began to reflect on myself. It turned out that it was really so feminine? Although we still have a lot of room for improvement in the performance major, we will interpret our understanding. "
Wu Qun's Iagu, Zheng Lin's Casio (right)
Yue Opera female veteran Wu Qun plays the villain Iagu, who is like a "virus" in the play. She may also be the actor with the most stage experience in the crew.
In addition, the other two female hosts, Wantini and Zheng Lin, in the play, have worked with Chen Xinyi in "The Sentinel under the Neon Light". Entertainment blogger Gesang is also the first time he has appeared on stage to perform a drama.
Zheng Lin plays Casio, Gesang plays Emilia
It is worth mentioning that this year, Chen Xinyi Art Center launched an "Actor Club" for drama lovers. Therefore, the first batch of applicants participated in the performance, including Yang Yang, a fashion magazine editor-in-chief of 183cm, Zhou Ying, a foreign company executive, and Ling Peiwen.
Although all participants are passionate about stage performances, they "lack performance experience". "Experience is also a common problem that everyone encountered. During the nearly two months of rehearsal, in order to accurately shape the figures and expressions of male characters, the actors went through repeated careful thinking and hard practice. Guan Dongtian, a Peking Opera performing artist and artistic director of Chen Xinyi Art Center, also came to the rehearsal hall every day and became the general director of everyone's performance. After watching the rehearsal every day, they even taught performances step by step for everyone.
Guan Dongtian said that this play is very difficult, and most of them All people have done a good job, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. His biggest job is to teach these cross-border actresses more stage experience, including how to master the stage space, feel and follow the rhythm of music, communicate with other actors, etc.
Editor in charge: Liang Jia
Proofreading: Liang Jia
The Paper, no reprint without authorization. News report: 4009-20-4009
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-