I'm just an actor

Chapter 427 Taiping
The street lamps stood quietly on both sides of the cold road. Xu Rong drove the car, listening to the aimless chatting of the family members sitting in the back row, and the restless emotions gradually calmed down.

In the past, his few memories of traditional operas were mostly the opera stages at temple fairs during festivals and festivals. He has no exact impression of how many temple fairs he has attended, but he has never heard of a single opera either, because There are so many interesting and beautiful things at the temple fair, such as ringing or watching the fortune-telling of the old man in the next village who has eaten his last meal but never finished his meal. These are more interesting than watching a theater. The most attractive thing in the temple fair is Nothing is better than the closed shed that looks like a yurt but is much larger. It is said that it is used for acrobatics.

Even after many years, he still clearly remembers that after sneaking into the acrobatic shed with his fellow villagers, he realized that what he was performing was not acrobatics at all, but a body art exhibition that made people blush and heartbeat.

But at that time, he never imagined that going to the theater would be such a tortured experience.

Although his body sat comfortably in the theater for the past three hours, his mind was as restless as if he drank ten cups of coffee in a row.

Teacher Shizhi once gave a piece of advice to young people who are engaged in performing work: Young people should not learn traditional opera.

The basis of traditional opera is stylization, that is, "establish a certain standard formula as the law", that is to say, there must be a certain standard for performance, which runs through "singing, reading, doing, hitting" and "hands, eyes, body, etc. For example, the relatively simple body movement of "mounting a horse" has different performance standards in different professions. A military general mounts a horse like riding a horse. The range of motion for mounting a horse is large and the legs are raised high to show the spirit of the general. , civil servants mount their horses like riding a dog, their leg heights are moderate and natural, and their movement ranges are moderately relaxed to show the refined temperament of literati. .

Although opera has the saying that "one program is ever-changing", it proves that its highest pursuit is the same as film and television drama performance, but its method is quite different from film and television drama with "reality" as its core.

And the typical characteristics of opera "walking all over the world in three or five steps, six or seven people and a million soldiers, making a career in a short time, and abbot covering thousands of miles." It deviates from the "three uniforms" and "fourth wall" principles of drama.

The Trinity requires that drama creation maintain consistency among time, place and plot, that is, it requires that the story narrated in a play takes place in one day or one day and night, the place is in one scene, and the plot is subject to one theme.

The fourth wall means that on the proscenium stage, there are three walls in the realistic interior scene, and there is a non-existent wall along the proscenium, which is regarded as the "fourth wall" to separate the actors from the audience, so that Actors try to forget about the audience as much as possible.

Compared with other Western dramas, traditional operas are similar in nature to the popular Apple products. Its comprehensive, virtual, and stylized features run through all levels of the four merits and five methods. It is completely self-contained and difficult to learn from.

"Grandpa, parents, how are you? Is today's show okay?" Xu Rong smiled and looked at the whole family from the rearview mirror, "I heard that Geng Qichang and Li Weikang sang better in this play, but they I won’t be on stage now, and in half a month, there will be a show between Yu Kuizhi and Li Shengsu, and Xiao Zhang will bring you to watch it.”

"Haha, she's not willing to come. When she came to watch the show with me, she either ran out for a long time to find no one, or slept from beginning to end."

The father-in-law explained with a smile: "Young people don't like this now, they like to go to concerts and disco."

Grandpa looked at Xu Rong's back and said, "Yeah, let's not talk about that. In the past, when we held temple fairs, the crowds were filled with people. If we went there later, we couldn't find a place to go, but these few years... , all the people watching the opera are old men and old ladies, no one listens to the opera.”

"Not all of them. I think there are a few who are about the same age as our little Xu."

"Yes."

Xu Rong heard the sudden silence in the car, took over the conversation, and said unhurriedly: "Actually, I think there are two reasons why we don't like going to the theater now. One is that the pace of life is too fast, let alone going to the theater. I can’t wait to watch TV dramas twice as fast. How can I enjoy this kind of drama that turns three times in one sentence? Secondly, the idea is different. Today’s young people talk about freedom and money first, while operas seem to be telling fairy tales Stories, such as the filial piety advocated in "Fishing for Gold Turtles", the etiquette and righteousness advocated in "Chisang Town", the loyalty and trustworthiness advocated in "The Case of Beauty", the resourcefulness in "The Meeting of Heroes", and the loyalty culture in "The Dragon Robe after Yuhou" Wait, it can be said that both in form and in content, Chinese opera has not kept up with the times.”

"Look, isn't there still someone who listens to the opera? It makes perfect sense."

"Hahaha."

After returning home, Xu Rong helped his grandfather into the room, and was about to go upstairs when his grandfather stopped him and asked, "Are you in a hurry?"

Xu Rong turned his head, looked at the old man suspiciously, and asked, "No, what's the matter?"

The old man pointed to the wooden chair opposite, and said, "You are busy every day with your head not your head, your feet not your feet, talk to me."

"That Jin Fangfang is not an ordinary woman." As soon as Xu Rong's butt touched the chair, his grandfather's words cheered him up.

In the middle of the night, Grandpa didn't sleep and deliberately left him to talk to Jin Fangfang, probably for no reason.

He laughed dryly, and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything, because the relationship between him and Jin Fangfang was pure cooperation, which was innocent and there was nothing to justify.

"I'm not talking about what's wrong with Jin Fangfang, but there are too many women around you. If it was in the past, it would be difficult to feed children, and you might die with a headache and fever. In order to carry on the family line, it is legal for a man to have three wives and four concubines. But now it is illegal and impolite. Besides, Xiao Zhang has nothing to say to you. You go and ask, whose daughter-in-law is willing to serve her parents-in-law? Let alone my unacquainted grandfather, I am old. But I'm not stupid, she is willing to serve me, it's all for your sake, before you do something wrong to her outside, you'd better ask your conscience if you should, these words, others don't like you Say, but you have to be careful."

Xu Rong responded, not knowing how to answer for a while.

Grandpa paused, then asked, "I think you look like a monkey with your butt burned tonight. Is there something on your mind?"

Xu Rong shook his head instinctively, seeing his grandfather smile, he also smiled, and nodded twice, saying: "It's a little bit, but it's not particularly important."

Grandpa nodded lightly, and said: "The villain bullied you, you never said a word to me, now that you have grown up, you still haven't changed a bit, no matter how much hardship you suffer outside, how tired you are, when you get home, you will be happy." It’s a good word, you’re afraid that I’m worried, you’re afraid that Xiao Zhang is worried, you think we’ll only be worried if we find out, you won’t be able to sleep because of fear, and it won’t work, but you have to know that you can hide it from others, you really think Can you hide it from me, Xiao Zhang?"

Xu Rong heard Xiao Zhang talk about some small habits in her life, and she was even clear about the emotions concealed by certain tones. He was not surprised that his grandfather saw his irritability, and said: "Actually, it's nothing. Trouble, didn’t you always say that Li Xuejian’s and Chen Baoguo’s dramas were good before, I also eat this bowl of food, of course the goal is to surpass them, but recently I discovered that maybe when I reach their height, I may have to be more than 50 years old.”

The old man listened quietly. Affected by traditional thinking, he rarely praised Xu Rong face to face, but he was always satisfied with the energy in his heart.

Those who know Xu Rong mostly think that he is steady and down-to-earth, but such a steady and down-to-earth person has greater ambitions and ambitions than those who are not down-to-earth. It is the process of realizing aspirations and ambitions.

The old man is not very educated. He has only studied in a private school for a few years, but he understands that people who have achieved lofty ambitions in the past have always kept silent, or the slogans they shouted were never "aspirations" themselves, because ambitions are often self-interested, while slogans are often altruistic. .

He didn't interrupt him. As Xu Rong became more and more busy, there were fewer and fewer opportunities for the grandfather and grandson to chat like this.

"I heard that many seniors said that they have benefited a lot from drama, but my eyes are almost sore today, and I don't think there is anything to learn from."

The old man pondered for a while, and said: "I often hear Xiao Zhang say that acting is a skill. I don't know what the skill is, but since some people act well and some people don't, it must be right. I have something to ask you, what is this play about today?"

Xu Rong opened his mouth, his focus was not on the plot.

Seeing that he couldn't answer for a long time, the old man said: "Look at you, and you said you went to the theater, but you didn't even understand what was said in the play, and you still hope to learn something?"

Xu Rong hesitated for a while, and argued, "This is not what I want to learn."

"I don't know if I'm right or not. What do you think? It's like when you see that other people's corn grows well, so you take a handful of corn seeds and study them over and over again to find out how much it has applied. How much fertilizer, how much water was poured, and when and which pesticides were applied, that would not work at all. On the other hand, you go to learn other people's dramas, but in the end you don't even understand what the drama is about. You still want to learn something, then It’s too natural.”

Seeing that Xu Rong didn't defend himself, the old man said, "You feel that your play is different from their play, but I think they are all the same. You are all telling stories. Since you are telling stories, who can tell them clearly?" , I will listen to whoever has an interesting talk.”

"But what about you, since you sat down, you jumped up and down like ants on a hot pot, scratching your ears and scratching your cheeks, wishing to jump on the stage, what can you learn?!"

Xu Rong nodded thoughtfully, and at the same time felt that Grandpa could hardly talk while standing up without pain in his back.

It is roughly equivalent to starting with "Leave the facts aside" before speaking.

"Since others say that you can learn something, you must be able to learn it. If it doesn't work, you should take a rest."

"Ah."

Xu Rong responded, and he felt that this sentence came to his heart at once. If others can, he must also be able. His life creed has always been to regret, but never regret.

"Go back to sleep."

"Okay, you also rest early."

Xu Rong closed the door softly. At this moment, a strange thought suddenly popped up in his mind. If his biological parents hadn't abandoned him, what kind of person would he be?

But after all, there is no if.

"Crack."

He turned off the light and went upstairs.

Early the next morning, Xu Rong ate something hastily and hurried out the door.

And at 07:30 in the evening, he dragged his tired body to the theater again.

A little different from yesterday, today he didn't bring a notebook, nor did he bring any determination and sense of urgency to learn something.

When he came here today, he didn't impose any tasks on himself, and he didn't even stipulate what time he must go home. He watched a play with the most relaxed and entertaining attitude.

Opera is a form of entertainment.

This is the answer he came up with after learning a little about the development of opera.

People who watch operas have never thought about what to learn or appreciate from operas. The biggest use of their listening to operas is to pass the time and kill the boring life.

He plans to understand the non-material culture of opera from the perspective of an ordinary audience, and see what kind of stories it tells.

As for how to say it, it is not within the scope of his attention.

Today's play is called "Battle of Taiping". It tells the story of the general Huayun guarding Taiping City in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty.

As the curtain slowly opened, amidst a burst of fast-paced musical instruments, the show began to be commercially performed.

"Hey."

"Brother Wang raised the account."

Xu Rong sat quietly under the stage, looking cheerfully at the unhurried actors on the stage, and couldn't help feeling how idle the ancients were. Compared with modern dramas, which quickly set up contradictions, paved the way, and then pushed forward to the climax , Traditional opera can only use music to render the atmosphere for five or six minutes.

He didn't observe the skills, and he didn't look for the beauty of art anymore. Just like an ordinary person, he quietly watched each character come on and off the stage, carefully distinguish the identity of each actor, the content of the speech, and pay attention to it thoroughly. The focus is on the story itself, not the form of storytelling.

When Hua Yun committed suicide on his deathbed and the actors called their curtain call, Xu Rong applauded along with the audience.

He doesn't know what the real history is like, but today's "Battle of Taiping" does tell a touching story.

Afterwards, he didn't stay long, and he didn't communicate with the actors of the performance. Like other audiences, he quietly exited the stage and walked out of the theater gate.

When I got home, I found that classmate Xiao Zhang had already fallen asleep. He cleaned up lightly, and fell asleep within a few minutes of lying on the bed.

(End of this chapter)