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Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Engaged in drama production for more than 10 years, Yanghua Drama led by Wang Keran has contributed more than 20 excellent theatrical works to the Chinese theater market. He is a classicist, constantly innovating, and able to integrate world languages and Chinese stories to push the boundaries of theater.

In 2022, Wang Keran personally directed "You and Me, Seven Wonderful Steps of Theater", allowing the audience to quickly enter the dramatic context of Cao Yu-Wanfang; The "Theater Drama Festival" was planned to allow the audience to interact with the actors and experience the charm of theater from zero distance.

Like a theatrical knight, he moves forward with ideals, practices the original intention of theater with unusual passion and energy, and brings deep and long-term warmth, comfort and care to the audience. In his mind, drama is life, and the people are the audience.

Author| Zhao Yajing Editor| Lone Pigeon

For drama producer Wang Keran, 2022 is a year of reflection and action, a year in which the original intention of the drama becomes brighter, and a year in which the Yanghua drama led by him is "a year to make achievements".

Previously, the huge wave set off by "Dream Like a Dream" pushed Yanghua and Wang Keran to the tip of the wave. While gaining attention, Wang Keran is constantly reminding himself whether such a huge volume of voice will obscure the power of the drama itself, and whether it will violate his own original intention of drama. Therefore, he is reluctant to continue to replicate the successful model of "Dreamlike Dreams" in 2022, because he is "unwilling to let us become a theatrical creation concept with traffic as the core".

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Behind the scenes of "Dreamlike Dreams"

During the year, "You and Me, Seven Steps to the Wonders of Theater", directed and composed by Wang Keran himself, achieved a national tour. At the same time, the "Theater Drama Festival" planned by Yanghua for half a year will be held in January 2023. The former fuses fragments from Cao Yu and Wan Fang's seven drama works into one play, while the latter brings five Yanghua dramas to the stage in six days.

In Wang Keran's view, this is an attempt to achieve rapid influence, quickly break down the gap between the audience and the drama, and "push the classics of drama and the power of people forward".

As a private theater company, "Yanghua survives on one theater ticket after another". But it also has the ability to plan activities and marketing to promote the theater market outside the theater.

For example, the "Theatre Festival" includes, in addition to the classic reproduction, a theater-related art market and an art salon that breaks down stage barriers, where actors and audiences gather in the theater's second-floor corridor to sing, chant and toast together. In June, when the epidemic eased slightly, Yanghua launched the "Most June, the Most Literary and Artistic, the Most Dramatic, and the Immersive Live Show of Good Drama", which integrates rich content and forms such as script reading, keynote speeches, and rehearsal displays related to drama, and summons the audience to return to the theater.

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Both events have also been arranged to live broadcast the whole process online, which is Wang Keran's "keen sense of the development of the times". He has come all the way from the TV era, experienced the leap of the Internet and the popularization of new media, "at every stage I am aware of its characteristics in advance, let go of my previous habits, and use new things to achieve me."

In his opinion, this kind of acumen is a training and instinct that a producer should have. As early as 2008, with him as the producer, in the first drama work "Watch TV with Me" after the establishment of Yanghua, Wang Keran keenly captured the change of times - since the reform and opening up, "TV" has played a vital role in people's lives. Therefore, he chose the medium image of "television", found the relationship between television and people, and thus connected the great changes in the lifestyles of different characters on the stage.

This play also became the beginning of Wang Keran's "popularization" of theater practice. He explained this important theatrical concept as follows: "The drama I want to make never starts from the self, I want to do the drama experienced from the time in which I live, there is no false big space; It is the drama that people of this era really need, not preaching; It is a popular drama that affects the audience through the resonance of joy, anger and sorrow. ”

For more than 10 years, "popularization" as a principle has run through every drama produced by Yanghua. Wang Keran described the logic of Yanghua's drama as, "When the script is written in the third sentence, it is necessary to consider whether the audience can sit or not sit still in the second sentence." In the upcoming "Theatre Drama Festival", he once again put forward the slogan: drama is life, people are audiences.

In addition to the above-mentioned activities, Yanghua has many theatrical actions in 2022: in recreating the classics, Yanghua will move "Beijinger" and the Liantai dramas "Thunderstorm" and "Thunderstorm After" to the stage of multiple cities again; In terms of theatrical innovation, Yanghua launched two new musical theater works, "Time Travel in the Coffee Box" and "Young, Shakespeare's Brigade"; In terms of introducing foreign plays, Yanghua launched the project of Chinese version of the play "Les Miserables" to present French literary classics on the Chinese stage.

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

This time "Les Misérables" uses a script adapted by Victor Hugo's son Charles Hugo, and is directed by Eric Lacascade from France. Eric's connection with Chinese drama occurred in 2020, and at the invitation of Wang Keran, he directed the series dramas "Thunderstorm" and "Thunderstorm After".

In order to invite Eric to direct, in order to make a Chinese drama have a world language, Wang Keran spent a year and a half communicating with Eric to explain the meaning and greatness of "Thunderstorm". This is part of Wang Keran's theatrical ideal, "what is classic is the world". He wants to break down the barriers between countries and nations and truly demonstrate the "power of life". And "Les Miserables" is Wang Keran's favorite play in adolescence, which has a huge impact on him, he once described: "You feel that the sky is starting to light up, and high school life has a basis and light."

Peeling away his many qualities as a producer, you can glimpse Wang Keran's naked heart for drama.

In January 2022, Wang Keran's autobiography "Everything for Drama" was released. This is the "Working Methodology of Yanghua Drama Producers" written by senior cultural journalist Niu Meng who visited Wang Keran for more than a year. Wang Keran believes that this book is a serious summary of his own "more than ten years of theatrical work." From the establishment of Yanghua in 2008 to this year, Wang Keran has practiced the original intention of drama with unusual passion and energy, and he has constantly passed on his own ideas and methodologies in specific work affairs, hoping to promote the growth of every Yanghua person. "I don't want to become a century-old enterprise, I just want to lead a group of people to live well on one idea."

The following is the conversation between the blog world and Wang Keran——

First and foremost is a passion for theatre

Blog World: How do you judge an actor's love for theater and the fact that they can participate in it?

Wang Keran: Let me give you an example, last year Liu Kaiwei returned to the mainland from Hong Kong was very difficult, and it took a long time to quarantine. And he didn't answer anything all year, leaving only time for "Thunderstorm" and "Thunderstorm After". However, in the end, due to the epidemic, I couldn't perform for one month, couldn't perform for two months, and finally performed two stops last year. Last year was actually when the online drama took off, he refused, took out time, energy, and money. This is not called love, what is love?

Blog World: When these actors pay so much energy and even financial cost to realize a theatrical dream with you, how to solve the contradiction if it occurs? How do you balance the relationship between producers and actors?

Wang Keran: First of all, I have to clarify a few points myself: First, have you been communicating with the other party frankly? Have you ever hidden it? Without selfishness, there is a foundation for everyone's mutual understanding. Second, in the face of difficulties, did you find ways and did your best to solve them? Third, in the face of difficulties, can you give up the protection of your material interests?

For example, this year, "Thunderstorm" and "After Thunderstorm" are constantly affected by the epidemic during the tour, and this station cannot be performed, and that station cannot be performed. Arrived in a city, suddenly told you that there was a case in the city today, and everyone fled in a hurry. Then an actor asked, "Let's stop, we don't want to toss like this anymore." "But we actually arranged for the next three or four stops to perform, and each stop will allow us to recover a lot of money." Then we won't act, because considering everyone's emotions.

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Stills from "Thunderstorm" and "After Thunderstorm"

Blogger: How does this situation affect you? What should I do if my emotions are affected?

Wang Keran: Then I have to consider: first, you have to respect everyone's character and their difficulties at this time; Second, when your desires conflict with theirs, can you put your desires back? The "self" I mean is not just me; Third, is Yanghua still alive now? We can still live by the accumulation before, then there is no need to entangle it, there is no life and death involved.

Blogger: Are you good at letting go of your emotions?

Wang Keran: Of course I'm not good at it. But think clearly, where are your human interests? I tell the saying, do you want everyone to live together, or do you instinctively put yourself first?

Blogger: One of the things you portray in the media is that you look at people very accurately. For example, when it comes to hiring employees, you have your own criteria. How would you summarize the working atmosphere at CCTV?

Wang Keran: Yanghua is such an environment - not repressive environment. In my upbringing, people and human personalities are equal. There should be genuine kindness between people, not cold politeness feigned. I see people not only accurately, but more importantly, I can find the goodness and good that everyone has. Handling team work is to be fair, reasonable and legal.

Blogger: So how do you judge whether he is suitable for drama?

Wang Keran: First of all, passion, and secondly, theatrical thinking. Some people can be directors, some people can do production, and those who learn music can be placed in the dance supervisor link. This is a characteristic of different people, and you can cultivate it in different ways. What Confucius said was correct, there is no class in teaching. But the premise of all this is that you really want to see his qualities from his point of view, which is important.

Blog World: With the current team size of Yanghua, do you have the energy to take care of everyone?

Wang Keran: I am now going to force some of the most powerful people in this team out, and with the support of Yanghua, there can be a greater expansion of personal achievements. Yanghua cannot form a big socialist workshop. There are so many people in Yanghua, 10% of whom are no longer in Yanghua, but we will eventually launch 40% of them and give them resources to expand.

Blogger World: Is the purpose of this to make them eventually feed back to Yanghua?

Wang Keran: The ultimate goal is that if I leave Yanghua one day, everyone will be able to live well. Don't feed back, be yourself.

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Blog World: You have paid so much, created Yanghua, promoted Yanghua, why do you want to leave Yanghua in the end?

Wang Keran: Everyone dies, so why do you have to build immortality? None of us should have boundless desires. People are born to death, and everything will return to dust, you know? If you really understand, don't have so much desire, so much kidnapping of yourself.

I'm actually on the opposite side of "Dreamlike Dreams". "Dreams Like Dreams" should be eternal, reincarnated, and born from generation to generation. You see that Pandan is not alive well, the count is not alive well, so by the fifth day, he will not live either. I'm exactly not like that.

Perseverance will make people live happier lives

Blog World: In 2022, you served as the director of the play "You and Me, Seven Steps to the Wonders of Theater", are you going to start your transformation from being a producer to a director?

Wang Keran: In fact, in the five years before and after the epidemic, I had to do the director's work when foreign directors went back, but I didn't sign it. Now I have to put my name on because I'm going to be an independent director. It used to be someone else's play, and I carved it again. But from last year to this year, foreign directors can't come in. And our "Thunderstorm" has lost money so far, firstly, the performance cannot be performed, and secondly, the cost is too high. Half of this high cost is due to foreign directorial teams. We originally planned to spend 3 million yuan, and later the entire production cost of "Thunderstorm" and "After Thunderstorm" was nearly 10 million yuan.

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

"You and I, Seven Steps to Theater" poster

Blog World: Why did you think of finding a foreign director to direct the dramas of "Thunderstorm" and "After Thunderstorm"?

Wang Keran: Quite simply, I want to make Chinese classics the language of the world. Even if I guide, I don't have a world language to jump out of this thinking. The classic is the world, this is national self-confidence.

Blog World: In terms of your understanding of theater and theatrical ability, you can already serve as a director independently, why didn't you do it before?

Wang Keran: I am not right, in order to contribute my understanding of theater to other directors, so that it will be more successful in drama, so that you will not conflict with the big director you work with. He will be happy when he finds out that you gave him all your good things. The first time Eric met me, he said, "I, Eric, why should I go to China to direct one of your Chinese works?" On the day he finally decided to cooperate, he stood up and held my hand and said, "I'm very happy, you're a director, and we're going to work with the director." ”

So why didn't I be a director before? Quite simply, if you want to be a director, you have to steal the limelight with other directors. But you recognize yourself as a producer, so you attach a lot of your judgment of the play to the results of the director you have hired. For example, if I work with any foreign director, I have the first meeting with him after watching his play, and I record the things that need him to change on the basis of 10 pages. But this consensus has been established before, I am the producer, I am helping you make your play happen. I'm not trying to be myself, I want to be a drama before I die.

Blogger: How should your current identity be defined?

Wang Keran: Actually, I am better positioned now as the head of the troupe. But I don't want to call myself the head of the troupe, first of all, we are not a troupe, we are a company. Secondly, I prefer to highlight my professional status, such as art director and executive producer, and in terms of specific content, as director. But in fact, I am positioned in Yanghua, and I should now be a theater leader, that is, to drive everyone forward, to have better space, better development and better responsibility ability. If I hadn't been a producer, many of our producers in Yanghua would have had better room for improvement.

Drama Person of the Year Wang Keran: Not to achieve yourself, but to achieve drama

Blogger: The theater industry is not rich. Under realistic conditions, perhaps many young people will experience the process of their ideals being consumed and then leave. What advice would you give to young people who want to work in this industry? How can theatre people maintain that passion?

Wang Keran: I really don't dare. Everyone's energy is different, and not everyone should have it when they die like me. What I want to persuade him more is to grasp the policy well and grasp the business opportunities. But I was not reconciled, because that was not what the drama wanted, that was what a businessman wanted. So if I were to give a word of advice, it would only be to say that if you really think that ideals and your life values are one, then sticking to it may make you live a happier life.

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