Accompanied by Tchaikovsky's beautiful music, a "white swan" dances on the shoulders of the "prince"... As the closing ceremony of the 7th Silk Road International Arts Festival, the acrobatic ballet "Swan Lake" was staged in Xi'an on the evening of December 6.
This also marks the official end of the 7th Silk Road International Arts Festival. A series of timeless artistic classics were presented in a concentrated manner, which filled the major theaters in Xi'an. For a time, Xi'an created a warm atmosphere for entering the theater.
As we all know, theater is the cultural window of the city, and theater culture, as one of the important contents of urban culture, plays an important role in the creation of social and cultural atmosphere. Compared with other forms of art appreciation, theater has become one of the popular choices for the public with its strong sense of presence and better interactive effects. How to cultivate theater culture is a long-term proposition for Xi'an.
Thick planting art soil small theater mode can also "four or two strokes of a thousand pounds"
The 7th Silk Road International Arts Festival came to a successful conclusion.
The plot of the drama "Lu Yao" has ups and downs and shocks people's hearts. The opera "Zhang Qian" has a unique style, and the music is high-pitched and exciting... Under the epidemic situation, despite the many difficulties faced, this year's Silk Road Art Festival is still not lacking in popularity. It is understood that this year's art festival has benefited more than 13 million visitors through the combination of online and offline. Let shaanxi elements "go out" and let overseas classics "walk in". The festival has made classic works deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and also made the major theaters lively.
From traditional opera to modern drama, from opera and dance drama to symphony concerts, Xi'an's performances are full every year. As we all know, Xi'an, due to its special cultural consumption market, does not lack the soil of theater culture, and the performances of major theaters are often difficult to find, and the attendance rate is very hot. But it is undeniable that the number of coliseums is limited after all, and the high ticket prices of some performances will also "dissuade" many audiences. In today's era of lightweighting and immersion, a "marathon" performance may be a feast for enthusiasts, but it will not become the first choice for most people. Faced with such a situation, the "small theater, fine production" model may become a good choice.
The Small Theater Theatrical Movement first arose in Europe at the end of the 19th century and was the product of the active experimentation and exploration of Western theater. Since director Lin Zhaohua put the small theater drama "Absolute Signal" on the capital theater stage in 1982, China's small theater drama has gone through nearly 40 years of ups and downs, and the influence of small theater drama has quietly penetrated all over the country.
Shaanxi Renyi Small Theater. (Infographic)
In recent years, small theater dramas have continued to grow and develop in Xi'an. In 2003, Xi'an's first small theater drama "The Accidental Death of an Anarchist" was staged. In 2012, Shaanxi Renyi officially launched the small theater drama performance project and successfully staged the first play "Desire Bar". In the following five years, at least 20 small theater dramas were introduced and original by Shaanxi Renyi, and such a high-yield small drama laid the foundation for Xi'an citizens to watch dramas.
Small theater performance, as the name suggests, is relative to the traditional large theater performance, its characteristics are first, the performance space is small, the second is that the actors are close to the audience, and the third is that the pioneer is strong. The small theater has few seats and small venues, the actors and audiences are more interactive, and its art is more diverse, more avant-garde and experimental.
Because of this, the ticket price of small theater performances is relatively close to the people, and the audience can watch it for less than 100 yuan. At the same time, the small theater, like museums and cafes, builds a social interaction space for people to meet the spiritual needs of people to accept, express and create. And became the cradle of young artists.
Although Xi'an's small theater model started late, in recent years it has continuously presented various forms of performances, including traditional opera, cross-talk, talk shows, children's dramas, etc., to meet the needs of audiences of different types and ages. In terms of location distribution, it is also diversified, and it is distributed in the Grand Theater, in the commercial area, and in the cultural area, and different forms of performance are carried out according to different audiences.
From the well-known Qin-style modern drama to the hard-to-find popular talk show, in the spare time of work and study, Xi'an audience is gradually "returning" to the theater. And the artistic power in the theater is also infiltrating every audience. It can be seen that the small theater model has become a breakthrough and an important carrier for the cultural development of Xi'an theater. However, how to make this model operate healthily is a question worth thinking about.
Establish a clear positioning of small theaters so that the "circle" will become bigger and stronger
As we all know, the venue of small theaters is generally smaller, which also leads to a lot lower investment than that of large theaters. However, due to site limitations, the benefits proportional to it have also become a burden. Sometimes, even if the operation team is full of enthusiasm, it is difficult to resist the iron law of the market economy.
Taking stock of China's small theaters, we have to mention Nanjing. Lanyuan Small Theater is located next to nanjing Chaotian Palace, the theater is not large, only 7 rows of seats. Backed by the mountain of Kunqu Opera in Jiangsu Province, Lanyuan Small Theater has been cultivating Kunqu resources for many years, making it a "paradise" for Kunqu lovers. The small size of the theater creates an acoustic environment, which allows the audience to better appreciate the beauty of Kunqu opera, and gradually becomes another cultural landmark in Nanjing.
Small theater of the Yi Folk Society. (Infographic)
The success of the Lanyuan Small Theater also provides a reference for Qin Cavity. In November this year, the Regulations on the Protection, Inheritance and Development of Qin Cavity Art in Shaanxi Province were officially promulgated. It is mentioned that the representative inheritors of Qin Cavity art will be given support such as venues and funds to ensure that they carry out inheritance and dissemination activities. A strong policy will provide support for the revival of the Qin Cavity, create a number of theaters with Qin Cavity characteristics, and build a "paradise" for Qin Cavity enthusiasts.
Therefore, it is very important to clarify the direction of development and clarify the style positioning of the repertoire. A theater without positioning, a theater that performs everything, it is difficult to cultivate the audience's viewing habits, and it is difficult to develop a stable audience.
Internet publicity + policy guidance The cultivation of theater culture has a way and confidence
The audience group is the foundation of the formation of theater culture, and it is particularly important to make the "circle" bigger and stronger. Nowadays, the Internet is developing with each passing day, and short videos and streaming media have sent film and television culture and television culture to thousands of households. In this context, the market for theater culture is gradually squeezed.
However, the characteristic of immersion can also become a weapon for theater culture to use the Internet to promote itself. On the major O2O and OTA platforms, some talk shows and cross-talk performances in Xi'an are quite popular, and some tourists regard them as punch card projects for tourism in Xi'an. On the short video platform, the live pictures and funny strips taken by the talk show team have become hot topics. Using the Internet to promote themselves and attract audiences to enter the theater and feel the scene has become the preferred way for many teams.
"Xi'an "14th Five-Year Plan" Cultural and Tourism Development Plan" (Source: Xi'an Municipal People's Government Official Website)
In fact, in terms of policies, Xi'an City has also given a lot of support. The "14th Five-Year Plan for The Development of Culture and Tourism in Xi'an" released in November this year proposes to promote the construction of cultural and tourism consumption infrastructure such as regional cultural centers, cultural blocks, cultural squares, small theaters, and theatrical performance theaters. And through digital empowerment of the cultural performance industry, create new performance formats, develop new forms of performance, realize the upgrading and optimization of performances from form to content, and continue to build "China's Performing Arts Capital". It is believed that with the blessing of policies, Xi'an will have more confidence and self-confidence to promote the inheritance and development of theater culture.
Although television and movies are becoming more and more popular at present, the experience brought by walking into the theater is still impossible to give on electronic screens. The audience enters the theater and watches the performances whether they are customary or elegant, and the starting point is people and life.
As a famous cultural city, Xi'an is constantly exploring through small theaters, art festivals and other forms to cultivate theater culture, integrate theater into urban life, and become a part of the daily life of citizens. (Text/Xin Sijie Li Weihan)
Editor: Li Weihan