Caption: Stills of "Like a Dream"
This article is the preface to the new book "Everything for Drama" by Zhang Yue, a famous program host of CCTV, a representative figure in the Field of Chinese Stage and the founder, artistic director and production director of Yanghua. This book is Wang Keran's work method and theater concept sharing for more than ten years. From the perspectives of how to view the relationship between the audience and the stage, how to cooperate with the director and cast members, how to lead a good theater team, etc., combined with the creation examples of important theatrical works of Yanghua such as "Dream like a Dream", "Jewish Town", "Thunderstorm", "After the Thunderstorm", supplemented by a large number of stills and pictures of the scene of the rehearsal, the analysis of the professional qualities that the theater producer should have, the listing of work skills worth learning, and the telling of many behind-the-scenes stories of cooperation with actors and directors. It expresses the cognition, judgment and expectation of China's theatrical creation and theatrical market.
The big drama behind "Like a Dream"
Text | Zhang Yue
Source | New classic
"Everything for Drama" is one of the pioneers in expanding the world pattern of Chinese drama, the first book of Wang Keran, a producer of Central Chinese drama, written by Niu Meng, a teacher at Tsinghua University and a senior industry reporter, deeply disclosing the work method and stage operation insider, sharing the work concept and practical experience as a theater producer, involving creation, actors, directors, markets, brands and other aspects, such works are relatively rare in domestic publishing.
Who is Wang Keran? He is the head of Yanghua Culture, a private drama organization, and a series of popular dramas "Like a Dream", "Winter Journey", "Jewish Town", "Thunderstorm", "Thunderstorm · After" and other producers, a person who talks about the current Chinese drama, can not fail to mention.
Wang Keran
Nearly twenty years ago, Wang Keran worked in a television station and had intersected with me, but I didn't know him at that time. Later, he left the tv media and ran to the theater circle that was on the verge of being marginalized at that time, but I got to know him. It can be seen that people must have light in their favorite industries.
The first time I talked to Keran, I remember that in a huge and empty environment, I listened to him talk about an afternoon of drama: Why do you want to do drama? How do I do drama? What is the current state and future of theatre? ...... To tell the truth, I didn't understand much, I just remember the light in his eyes when he spoke, such a person usually has energy in his heart, I was vaguely infected by his energy, agreed to participate in his theatrical activities, and later looked back, I felt like he had photographed Hanako.
Since the beginning of "Treasure Island And a Village", for more than ten years, I have participated in the promotion of every play of Yanghua. In this process, I witnessed Yanghua grow from a small company with an unknown name to a private drama institution with the strongest production capacity in China today, and build and promote China's theater market bit by bit, brick by brick, which is really a thrilling process. Wang Keran, a young man with no background, no funds, no resources, with two or three children who are more dazed than him, began their theatrical adventure in the era of theatrical recession.
Stills from "Watch TV with Me"
They can rely on a love of drama, a meticulous mind, an indomitable body, and an indomitable willpower. They can also rely on drama, an ancient art that has accompanied mankind for thousands of years, whether it has gone through changes in production patterns or political changes, whether it is in war or plague, drama has never disappeared! This art form, which condenses the joys and sorrows of the world, the fate and difficulties of mankind, and performs them ritually in a limited time and space, is an important part of the human spirit.
What they can rely on in particular is that China, an ancient agricultural country, is undergoing a process of industrialization and even informatization, the rapid expansion of the city, the sharp increase in the number of citizens, the rise of the urban middle class, after the accumulation of wealth, after the pace of life continues to accelerate and exhausting, after the social changes are too drastic and confusing, people need to explain, need to vent, need to soothe, art and other spiritual products the opportunity has come. Wang Keran recalled that his university teachers once told them that society is accumulating wealth and needs, they should accumulate knowledge and ability, and after ten years, they will have the opportunity to do something. Sure enough, after that, China's cultural industry was like the sails of a big ship full of wind, the sky was high and the sea was wide, the wind and waves were rolling, summoning the tide to the bow of the ship... Man in the crowd, man in the course of history. When the camera pulls away from Wang Keran and Yanghua, from yesterday of ancient Greek drama to today of the great development of China's cultural industry, this is what I see.
Stills from "Like a Dream"
Back to the first time I talked to Keran, he talked to me about the human nature of the human heart, and talked about the relationship between drama and the human heart, and the service of the human heart. Whenever I said, "I can't do your job, I'm not a theater student," he always said, "I don't need you to study theater, I need you to understand people." "He exalts what grows out of life, what grows out of his heart. He observes people, tastes people, and grasps the psychological state and inner needs of the current crowd as accurately as possible, which is the basis for his drama. Therefore, he rejects all cruel, dark, and desperate scenes, no matter how good the work is. I had an argument with him over whether a good work like this was a good one, and I slapped the table. In fact, I agree with his persistence.
Once, I tried to put him in a certain theater camp that I knew, for example, was he a high-profile professional or an artistic youth who was keen on small circles? He's not! He opposed "tone", opposed the "circle" of drama, and opposed "professional barriers", all of which he believed were stubborn diseases that hindered the development of theater and kept theater away from the audience. So he's going to do commercial drama? In reality, there are also such plays, low ticket prices and low costs, catering to the interests of the audience, teasing the poor and poor. Nor is it, he is adamantly opposed to blindly pandering to the audience, believing that this kind of small cleverness that only has immediate interests is harmful to the drama. He wants to meet the psychological needs of the majority of people, and there are high-level stage presentations of theatrical works, the former can bring more people into the theater, and the latter ensures that the audience's spiritual food is delicious and nutritious, so that the drama and the audience can nourish each other, so that both sides can be healthy and healthy.
Rehearsal photo of "Jewish Town"
It was, of course, difficult, especially for a private theater troupe that sold tickets to support itself, but he did it knowingly and with all his might. This often reminds me of my favorite French director Eric Hou Mai said: "A person's pursuit of modernity, that is, when he pursues fashion, it is easy to become obsolete and will soon die." I don't chase specific events, but I do within my time. "Resonating with the times and empathizing with human beings, this creative principle is of course correct.
I often wonder what Wang Keran is doing. Of course, he was a theater producer. He studied directing and acting at the Shanghai Theater Academy and understands business; he also studied art management at Beijing Normal University and understands operations. So he became the most comprehensive and hard-working producer. Choosing a script, communicating with the director and actors, these are the tasks of artistic creation; team management, capital operation, ticket sales, work promotion, and the maintenance of cooperative relationships, he also has to manage... Several new plays were launched in a year, and 200 or 300 performances were performed all over the country a year, and he demanded that he must arrive at the scene to stabilize the military's morale and ensure the quality of the performances. In inspirational terms, he lived alone as a team. In my words, he is the old man, the old mother and the listener of this unit, and he does not live a human life. This is not enough, he also held the International Drama Summit Forum, organized the incubation of young theater talents, and even convened more than a hundred ordinary people of different ages and occupations from all over the country to read the script in the ancient villages of southern Anhui... All these huge efforts in money and energy cannot be replaced by box office in the short term, probably not in the long term. Wang Keran and Yang Hua are going to do it! Because he never cares about the success of one play after another, he also wants to improve the level of the industry, cultivate theatrical audience, bring a hot theater market, and create an artistic atmosphere...
I've met a lot of theorists, and I've seen a lot of hard-working "screws", and they're not a kind of person. Wang Keran is the only person I have ever met who can combine the two into one. He has the creative ability to plan and build patterns, and he has first-class action power, which can be implemented vigorously while thinking carefully. Therefore, Yanghua can not only do projects, but also do situations.
Stills from "Thunderstorm" and "After Thunderstorm"
Interestingly, I have never heard Wang Keran talk about the word "ideal" in my life, although he is more idealistic than many people who love to talk about ideals, and he can suffer and even be humiliated for what he wants to do, but he does not seem to intend to fool others into fighting for his ideals. His favorite words are "safe" and "decent", to give everyone a safe creative environment and a decent life. In response to a reporter's question about "ideals", he said: "You can't live with everyone by ideals, and you can't rely on ideals to let everyone play with you - you have to maintain this sober understanding." We must first respect the desires of each collaborator and respect his relationship with the ideal work you have constructed. It's a very real methodology to base everyone's life desires on your ideal chessboard. However, if there is no idealism in front of the lead, it will make other people's desires wander, and if you can't make him feel identified, he will not be easily attracted to it. Therefore, we first satisfy the desires of the collaborator, and then stimulate the relationship between his desires and values, which is a compulsory course for producers. "Look, that's what a sober producer thinks.
A folk theater producer who does anything wrong can be doomed. He must observe the public opinion environment, assess social pain points, predict the risk of the epidemic, and taste the subtle nature of human nature; bear huge economic pressure; and promote arduous artistic innovation. In addition, Wang Keran also wants to pull the development of the industry and enlighten the theater audience... He did! As a psychology enthusiast, I often wonder: What does someone look like? What kind of interaction did he have with his upbringing and environment? And Wang Keran, I can't find him as his basis in any way from his upbringing, that is, I don't know where he came from. This reinforces one of my judgments: there are some people who come into this world with a mission, and they must fulfill their mission! However, I never thought that a dramatist would be so bitter and tired, it was like desperate. I asked him more than once, "How much do you really want to die?" He replied, "What does it mean for me to be alive if I don't do this?" ”
Stills from "The Village" and "Ponzi Scheme"
When I learned that there would be a book about Wang Keran, I immediately laughed at him. I thought it was an autobiography. In my prejudice, in addition to the autobiographies of the parties to major historical events with some research value, most of the celebrity autobiographies are narcissistic works, and most of their memorable experiences and feelings have nothing to do with the public, and they should be written into a diary and placed in their own drawers, and they do not have to be printed out for everyone to see. Later, I learned that this was a book on "how to be a theater producer", and I enthusiastically supported it, because in my reading horizon, there has never been such a practical book in China.
Looking at the manuscript, I think the book makes sense for at least three types of people:
One is young people who want to be theater producers. This book is almost hand-in-hand, can take them into the industry, and lay a good foundation for future careers.
The second is all ordinary audiences who are interested in the art of theatre. Through this book, they will understand how the dream of the stage was created.
The third is everyone who struggles to live in the present. This book will teach them what concentration is, what sustained concentration will win them, and what they can create for the world.
Of course, I don't recommend that everyone work like Wang Keran, and it is enough to be able to do half of it.