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□ Mao Weitao
I had a dream. Dreaming of 1983, in the practice room of the Huanglongdong Art School, I looked in the mirror, the teacher stood next to me, and the sisters of "Little Hundred Flowers" stood behind me.
The face in the mirror looks like me today and like the past. I saw that I could see God, and suddenly, a voice shouted, "Teacher Mao! I subconsciously looked back and saw that there was no one around. The empty practice room, the teachers and sisters also disappeared.
So I looked back in the mirror, longing to return to the beginning of my dream. But that mirror is no longer the mirror of the past. In the mirror, only red seats and the silent theater are reflected...
In 1983, at the age of 21, I and 28 sisters from all over Zhejiang with an average age of 18 years formed the Hong Kong performance troupe known as the "Original Generation of Little Hundred Flowers" today, which I jokingly called "China's first girl group".
Our group of "country girls" went to Hong Kong for the first time, in order to make ourselves look "foreign", so we went to the most powerful Hairdresser's hairdresser on Yan'an Road at that time. I mistakenly thought that I looked a bit like an "urban person", and when I arrived in Hong Kong, I realized that "fashion" and "weird" were just a line apart.
Fortunately, our business capabilities are much more reliable than "hot heads". At the Shin Kong Cinema in Hong Kong, we performed 14 days and 15 consecutive performances with "Five Daughters Worship Shou", "Han Palace Grievance" and "Double Jade Cicada", setting a record for the tightest schedule of Hong Kong opera performances, and the venue was sold out. Since then, Beijing and Shanghai have toured one after another, and a whirlwind of "Little Hundred Flowers" has blown across the country. On May 21, 1984, the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government decided to retain this group and officially established the "Zhejiang Xiaobaihuayue Opera Troupe". In October of the same year, at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture, we participated in the 35th anniversary of the founding of New China and watched the ceremony, and we were fortunate to be received by Mr. Deng Yingchao, who was affectionately called Grandma in the Zhongnanhai Xihua Hall, who personally wrote an inscription: "Only by not being proud and dissatisfied can we make progress; we will strive for excellence and catch up later." ”
The era when thousands of people rushed to watch the drama in the empty alleys was our "glorious years", and the audience and we all thought that everyone would always be together. However, the world is uncertain, and even in the year of obedience, I still can't get used to parting. I often wonder – if everyone hadn't been separated, would the "Little Hundred Flowers" have another look? But I can only think about it.
In 1984, Deng Yingchao, who went to Beijing to report on the performance, received the leaders and teachers of the "Little Hundred Flowers" troupe and all the cast members in Zhongnanhai for a group photo
In 1999, at the age of 37, I put down the drama studio named after myself and officially became the head of the "Little Hundred Flowers". I once compared myself, who served as the leader of the "Little Hundred Flowers" for 18 years, to the eldest daughter who guarded the "old house". With a bunch of keys in my hand, I guarded the mansion full of memories, and walked around all day. The windows are broken and need to be repaired, and the wallpaper should be replaced when they are old.
Fortunately, "Little Hundred Flowers" did not live up to the expectations of Deng Yingchao's grandmother, did not forget the mission of being a state-owned theater troupe, and under the care and guidance of several provincial party committee and provincial government leaders, it gradually became the top theater troupe in the traditional Chinese theater industry, and also the theater troupe with the most international exchanges, and in 2013, it was awarded the 39 "National Local Drama Creation and Performance Key Theater Troupes" by the Ministry of Culture.
I am in charge of the key to the "old house", and at the same time keep countless "agreements", and I dare not slacken off at all. Uncle Gu Xidong, one of the founders of "Little Hundred Flowers", once said: "Little Hundred Flowers had better have a theater of their own." "It took 18 years for this, and we finally did it.
Mao Weitao and Uncle Gu Xidong (photographed in 1986 to perform in Singapore)
In 2019, Xiaobaihuayue Theater was officially opened to the public. Appointed by the party group of the previous department, I stepped down from the post of head of the "Little Hundred Flowers" regiment, referred to the model of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, served as the chairman of Baiyue Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd. as a "company leaving the post", and began to embark on an exploration road of "crossing the river by touching the stones" to promote the further deepening of the reform of the state-owned academies and groups. Many people laughed at me for being "stupid" - not letting go of the well-off road guaranteed in the system, but choosing a bumpy road full of hardships and challenges; many people did not understand, thinking that Mao Weitao "went to the sea to do business" as an entrepreneur. I ignored these voices, because this was also an "agreement" - to find out whether there was a possibility of a third model in addition to the two most important models of state-owned institutes and regiments reforming the existing reserved business establishment and the transfer of enterprises.
However, unexpectedly, after nearly half a lifetime of drama, I have even been full of drama in my life. Just when I was busy making a new shop for the "old house" and planning the blueprint for the "front shop and back factory", I suddenly found that someone had changed the lock of the courtyard door. Since then, the "old house" has been separated from me and the road of exploration by a "lock" without a key. It is not that I have too much affection for the "old house", I am just sorry and worried that those "agreements" may not be able to continue to be fulfilled.
I wandered in front of the "old house" against the global COVID-19 pandemic. The "lock" that could not be opened in the first place appeared even more cruel and cold. "Saion lost his horse, and he knew that it was not a blessing.". When I left my comfort zone, became a passerby, became a bystander, and at the same time, on behalf of the Literary Association, approached the two new organizations and investigated grassroots theater troupes and private art groups, I found that I had a broader vision and saw more blind spots that were previously invisible.
The scene of the "Youth in the Drama" exhibition and performance of the Xiaobaihuayue Theater
29 April is World Dance Day. From the WeChat public account and small video sent by a young dancer and a young musical theater actor, I first learned the news that two well-known dance troupes announced their dissolution, one was the Tao Body Theater and the other was Yang Liping's "Yunnan Impression" performance team. In the small video, Hong Huang tells the situation of Tao's body with a crying voice.
All day after I heard the news, my heart was in a panic.
Having been a group leader for 18 years, I can feel more than anyone what it would be like to lose a group. What really hurts people is not the dissolution of a certain group, but the departure of a group of people gathered for their dreams. The Tao Body Theater is a group that truly pursues art. They have their own ideals, their own persistence, their own artistic style, as Hong Huang said: "They dance Chinese modern dance, showing the physical beauty and strength of Chinese." "Yang Liping's team is even more so, she is like a miracle, from the fields of Yunnan to the stage of the city, which sounds like the road that our predecessors of yue opera have walked." To lose them, there is only heartache, regret, and helplessness.
Tao Body Theater "4"
What makes me even more squeamish is that when the artists of the "two new organizations" had to weep and weep for abandoning their ideals, the state-owned courtyards in the circle of friends over there were "extremely busy." The contrast between the two compartments is extremely emotional.
Recently, various theaters and troupes have begun to apply for various art festivals, theater festivals and competitions. However, all kinds of participation and selection activities have a strict award system, which clearly stipulates that the participating works must complete the specified number of performances. So, how to deal with the problem of the number of games affected by the epidemic? Therefore, I used the "Eighteen Martial Arts" - to find an internal theater that is not constrained by epidemic prevention and control, face the lonely chair legs, and complete the number of performances in a "compressed version" of several rounds a day and get the "admission ticket" to the competition.
I couldn't find the right word for a moment, "admiration," to figure out how the "genius" who came up with this method was so "courageous." What kind of seeds will be sown in the hearts of the younger generation of literary and art workers? I remember that when I was in charge of the keys to the mansion, I also scratched my ears and scratched my cheeks for the completion of such a performance. The final solution for me and the team members was to enter the campus, enterprises, public welfare projects, including the school for migrant children. In this way, the number of performances was completed, and a new audience was cultivated, killing two birds with one stone. However, compared with today's phenomenon, I suddenly felt that I was a little "stupid" back then.
A few days ago, Brother Liu Heng sent a report, full of wisdom and positive energy, I praised his answer to reporters' questions, it is simply to create a "new Lu Xun style". When the reporter asked what was the difference between the Beijing Renyi version and the Deyun She's version of "Wotou Guild Hall" and whether there was any pressure to cooperate with the Deyun Society, he replied: "All the dedicated people, one of them is counted as one, and they are all masters who are accustomed to putting pressure on themselves." Not perfunctory, not a coincidence, bite and do not lie, the key is to be particularly smart. This kind of person can't do anything, and it is natural that he can't do anything. I think, in general, stupid people don't have any pressure to do anything, because he can't even tell the difference between up and down, left and right. Let's put it this way, there is pressure on those who work, and those who do not work specifically for those who pick faults are the least stressed. ”
Fortunately, according to Brother Liu Heng, I am not "stupid", it is "not perfunctory"!
Mao Weitao, then the head of the "Little Hundred Flowers" group, set up the first "Aiyue Base" in Hangzhou No. 2 Middle School to convey the beauty of art to students
I think that today, some state-owned institutes and regiments may be in charge of insufficient preparation for homework, and when the epidemic comes, they are in a mess and do not have the energy to sort out the business at hand. In fact, at the beginning of the establishment of our highest awards, they all have their own social significance and social value, such as the "Chinese Drama Plum Blossom Performance Award" is aimed at commending and rewarding outstanding young and middle-aged theater performing talents and prosperous development of the theater industry; the "Wenhua Award" of the Ministry of Culture is to encourage and promote collective creation; the "Five One Project Award" of the Central Propaganda Department is the construction of the spiritual civilization of the Communist Youth League. Established for purpose. Therefore, "perfunctory" and "deception" are not very good, sorry for the original intention of the award, and even more sorry for the trust and expectations of the party and the state.
They once said that "as long as you dance, there is hope", but in the end they are defeated by reality. But what is the impact of the epidemic not only Tao Body and Yang Liping's team? There are also many unknown groups that can only disappear silently... As far as the Yue opera genre I am familiar with, there were no less than 200 private theater troupes in Taizhou alone, and I recalled that last year, when I conducted grassroots research with the Drama Association, I learned that private theater groups had all stopped performing due to the epidemic. So, how are these actors and groups doing today? I have never thought that the actors of state-owned theater troupes are much more noble than the actors of private institutions and folk theater troupes, and in front of dreams, everyone is equal. Although the skill will be high or low, it does not hinder the effort and pursuit.
Last year, Shanghai once made statistics that the proportion of performances of the "two new organizations" has far exceeded that of state-owned theaters and troupes. This shows that the performance market of state-owned theaters and troupes that should serve the masses of the people has lagged behind the "two new organizations". Why is that? That's what I've been thinking about. When I worked with them and got closer to them, I found that it was probably just because many of the actors and creators of the "two new organizations" worked harder, loved more, and knew better what they were pursuing. Although they do not have golden awards, they have delicate and attentive performances; although they have no obligation to shoulder the heavy responsibility of enriching the spirit of the people, they face the spiritual needs of the people at present, and really let more audiences harvest happiness and happiness in their modern aesthetics and lifestyles and theater views.
State-owned academies and regiments, the two new organizations, the group cultural halls, and the non-governmental groups should perform their respective duties, and the market depends on opening up, not on running. If the largest proportion of state-owned academies and groups can only "occupy" the works that are "slow to sell" in first-tier cities, second- and third-tier cities, communities, and grassroots, then the space for qunwenguan and non-governmental groups to play will be dissolved. At present, the Internet space and new media space that people are most concerned about, but our state-owned academies and groups are seriously absent, and they cannot play the leading role that they deserve.
In today's world of consumerism and materialism, the sense of nothingness in the human spirit is a dilemma faced by the whole world. The spiritual world of mankind is being torn down by the material world, and art is not playing its rightful healing role. This is largely due, perhaps because our artistic creation has to be subject to the material world. Our creators are either running for money, defending their reputations, and even more so, operating in a dark box for positions of power. Art has become one of the many professional means of striving for material wealth in the material world, and has lost its function of healing the human heart and enlightening spirituality. We have more and more varied goods but few works of art. Although commodities can solve people's short-term needs and spiritual stimuli, they are difficult to bring lasting influence and inspiration for the development of civilization. And those creations that are created just to complete the task are not even as good as commodities. Because commodities at least have a circulation value, and those works that do not even have the attributes of commodities to solve the short-term demand have difficulties only at the level of circulation.
As far as my personal work is concerned, it does not satisfy myself. All I can say is that I have only been soberly and perfunctorily walking on the road of searching forward. I often ask myself, the works of our predecessors half a century ago still make us look up today, so will anyone remember our works today half a century later? Thinking like this, the phenomenon of state-owned hospitals that have been criticized in recent years has completed the new drama and put their guns into the warehouse is not a bad thing, at least it will not be passed down for future generations to "look up". Mr. Lu Xun once said: "If you kill the 'present', you will also kill the 'future'—the future is the era of future generations." ”
Tomorrow is May Fourth Youth Day. A hundred years ago, there was such a group of people in China who enlightened the people's wisdom with literature and art, and their stories were remade into the TV series "The Age of Awakening". May Fourth is to commemorate the days of their great thoughts and self-realization. Today, do we still have the strength to enlighten the minds of young people and make them firm in their convictions, ideals, responsibilities and missions? The higher the treatment, the greater the responsibility. The state-owned academies and troupes must come up with creations that are worthy of today's work. Don't be as spoiled as a spoiled child, seeking to boast without taking responsibility.
Tao Ye once said that every dancer is their "relative". In this regard, I think that artists all over the world are connected, as long as the art is there and the ideal is there, we are all each other's "relatives", and this relationship is simple and pure. In my opinion, a group like Tao Body Theater can insist on communicating with the spirit in the dazzling material world, and can adhere to its own style and pursuit in the entertainment-oriented art market, which is a kind of "artistic self-consciousness". Perhaps it is that the men in the historical drama have acted more, and unconsciously they have some of the mentality of "iron shoulders bearing morality" that women rarely have or should not have, and they have also added a sense of "self-cultivation and family governance and world peace". I don't know Tao Ye, I only watch him and his friends dance, and I want to say to him - the hero characters in our plays often say a line: Although death is still glorious...
Under the epidemic, the whole world is facing challenges. Baiyue, like all "two new organizations", is self-financing. The theater could not operate normally, and the friends began to take turns + work from home, and voluntarily chose to cut their salaries to tide over the difficulties. I don't know when it will pass! But even so, I have always believed that separated people will one day be reunited. I am also willing to believe that as long as anyone remembers the "agreement", one day we will still "come as promised". As the famous Austrian poet Rilke said: "Where there is any victory to speak of, holding on means everything." ”
I hope that I can continue to hold the theater and wait for the "relatives" to come home.
Mao Weitao
2022/5/3
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