Or the happy smile in the memory, or the tolerant and humble attitude in the memory... Cross-talk actor Zhao Yan ushered in his 50th anniversary of his career in the arts this year, not long ago the China Broadcasting Arts Group Rap Company held a huge seminar and celebration performance for him, although he appeared at the event site, although he is almost 70 years old, he is still the appearance of the audience's memory, which makes people feel very kind.
Cross-talk performances should have the spirit of craftsmanship
In the 1980s and 1990s, Zhao Yan and Mr. Ma Ji partnered to perform works such as "Bragging", "Five Senses Striving for Merit", "Eating Research", "I Am Used to Him", "Seeking Fame and Heart", and won the title of "Top Ten Laughing Stars", and the influence inside and outside the circle naturally cannot be questioned.
Jiang Kun, Zhao Lianjia, Li Jindou, Li Zengrui, Li Lishan, Li Weijian and other famous cross-talk actors and many descendants appeared at the seminar site. Hao Aimin, Wang Qianxiang, Li Zengrui, Feng Gong, Li Jindou, Li Jianhua, Liu Wei, Dai Zhicheng, Zheng Jian, Wu Bin, Fu Qiang, Jia Xuming, Li Ding, Dong Jianchun, Jin Fei, Chen Xi and other old, middle-aged and young cross-talk celebrities such as Hao Aimin, Wang Qianxiang, Li Zengrui, Feng Gong, Li Jindou, Li Jianhua, Liu Wei, Dai Zhicheng, Zheng Jian, Wu Bin, Fu Qiang, Jia Xuming, Li Ding, Dong Jianchun, Jin Fei, Chen Xi and other old, middle-aged and young cross-talk celebrities all appeared on the stage, and the famous singer Yin Xiumei also crossed over and sang to help the fun.
Singer Yin Xiumei attended the celebration party and sang to cheer
Such a large-scale celebration is rare among cross-talk peers. At first, Zhao Yan was also a little resistant, "I originally felt that there was no need to do this, everyone had a number of my personality and art, why should I express it at the meeting?" I'm afraid of becoming a good person and a good deed. But in the eyes of the regiment, this event is not only to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his career in art, but also a call to tradition. The cross-talk performance of the Rap Group of the China Broadcasting Arts Troupe, from the beginning of its establishment, is different from other groups, and is known for its fresh and elegant performance, which has been vividly expressed in several generations of famous cross-talk artists such as Hou Baolin, Ma Ji, and Zhao Yan, and the discussion of Zhao Yan's artistic career is also hoping to set a benchmark for young people and make this performance style better inherited.
The celebration party is divided into three chapters of inheritance, responsibility and inheritance, which not only reviews Zhao Yan's artistic path, famous works, and behind-the-scenes fun, but also provides direction for young people through his versatility, old age and mijian, highlighting the craftsman spirit in cross-talk performances, "so that young people can see that only by striving for excellence and being serious and responsible can they be outstanding in your professional field." ”
What makes Zhao Yan happy is that the seminar is not only a summary of his personal art, but also the quyi cross-talk performing artists and critics attending the meeting have expressed their academic expressions, and conducted an in-depth discussion on what direction the cross-talk performing arts should adhere to, "So many people can come to this activity to say that it is my feelings to be small, and to a large extent, it is actually the importance of the cross-talk cause." ”
The teacher spares no effort to "bring the old to the new"
Summarizing the fiftieth anniversary of his career in art, Zhao Yan mentioned three words of "thanks, gratitude, and touching", of which his most important thing is gratitude to his mentor Ma Ji, "It can be said that without a teacher, there would be no me today." ”
From the beginning to the peak of Zhao Yan's cross-talk performing arts career, as well as today's "Mo Dao Sang Yu Evening", you can see the shadow of Mr. Ma Ji. Zhao Yan, who has been the backbone of literature and art since childhood, went to the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps at the age of 17 to become a tractor driver, and later became the literary and artistic backbone of the construction corps with his literary and artistic talent, and attracted Ma Ji's attention in a national literary and artistic performance in 1975. At that time, Ma Ji, who was thirsty for talents, specially went to the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps to perform for more than a month, and his throat was congested, just so that he could tell the commander of the corps at that time to mobilize Zhao Yan and Jiang Kun to the rap troupe.
However, who undertook that Jiang Kun found it at once, but Zhao Yan had been transferred to the Pipeline Bureau of the Ministry of Petroleum in Langfang, and worked as a worker in the auto repair department of the transportation company's overhaul workshop to repair the battery. Because he did not understand where he went, Ma Ji in the northeast also arranged for the staff of the regiment to go to the front door of Langfang Toutiao and Ertiao to find him, and only after looking around did he know that he was in Langfang, Hebei. To this end, Ma Ji went to Langfang to find the leader of the Pipeline Bureau of the Ministry of Petroleum to transfer him. After a big round of tossing and turning, this is to transfer him back to Beijing and officially become a member of the China Radio Rap Ensemble. It seems hard to imagine that a famous ancestor worked so hard and laboriously for an unknown hairy boy, but this is the dedication of that generation to art.
Mr. Ma Ji not only transferred him back to Beijing, but also paved the way for him to develop. In order to let the young people grow up as soon as possible, at that time, the regiment arranged "old with new", with Li Wenhua partnering Jiang Kun and Hao Aimin partnering Zhao Yan. Soon, Jiang Kun came to the fore, but Zhao Yan grew up a little slowly, and Ma Ji simply came to take him by himself, "In order for a young man to grow up as soon as possible, he always spares no effort to work hard and find a way." Zhao Yan's original name was Zhao Dianxie, and Ma Ji personally changed the two fire "Yan" characters for him in order to make him fire.
Ma Ji and Zhao Yan teachers and students cooperate, the two are one master and one pair, one teasing and one praise, which should be mainly based on teachers. But Ma Ji felt that Zhao Yan had a good voice and a good image, and hoped to give him more space to show his strengths. When they made the cross-talk of "Bragging", they were designed as a mother-daughter, giving the actors more room to play. Later, many of their works were "mother and son", and a generation of comedians grew up in this way. "How can you not remember such a teacher?" Not grateful to him? Zhao Yan was excited as he spoke.
As a cross-talk actor in the new era, Ma Ji did not like the old way of prostrating himself to the teacher in the qu art line, so it was not until 1990 that Zhao Yan and Jiang Kun and others officially worshiped Ma Ji as a teacher with a performance of "Xie Shihui".
Crosstalk innovation is inseparable from life
After the sudden death of Mr. Ma Ji, people rarely saw Zhao Yan on TV. He said bitterly that because the teacher died too suddenly, he really couldn't accept it for a while, and he was silent for a while, but he never gave up the art he loved. Although it appears less on TV now, Zhao Yan has not performed and taught many offline, and he can perform more than a hundred times a year across the country, and has also trained several apprentices.
In the face of the current popular network live broadcast and other new media communication methods, Zhao Yan bluntly said that although some people also look for him to live broadcast and bring goods, he has not yet figured it out, and needs to digest and digest well, "I do not reject new media, you reject it, it will abandon you." He also encouraged young people not to let go of such an opportunity, to dare to go out, the basis is not to forget to create, "Ma Ji teacher told us, a real cross-talk actor to learn to cook for themselves, you launched a good work, the next work must be able to catch, this is difficult, but still have to work hard. ”
Speaking of creation, Zhao Yan is not impressed with the current practice of some cross-talk actors who are keen to collect passages on the Internet and use online strips to piece together works, "If cross-talk is to be innovative, it cannot leave life." He said they spent a third of their year on stage, another third of their time in deep life, and a third in creative rehearsal. At that time, his Chinese radio rap troupe had many living bases in Yantai, Shandong, Taoyuan, Hunan, and Xuchang, Henan. There, he and his colleagues went deep into the lives of the people while looking for creative materials, and many of his works came from the style. "Our family is a bragging company; our family is a bragging big trust..." The work "Bragging" comes from the observation of society, and they found that in the early days of reform and opening up, there were many leather bag companies in society, and there were many exaggerated businessmen.
Now many young people always want to become famous overnight and get rich overnight, but in Zhao Yan's view, the growth of an actor is the emergence of a good work that takes a long time to run in. He said that it took two years from the initial idea of "Five Senses Contending for Merit" to be seen by the national audience on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala. "Five Senses Competition" was originally a counterpart, but in one performance after another, Ma Ji found himself playing the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth at the same time, some were too busy, Zhao Yan helped him share some of it, and later with the addition of Feng Gong, Wang Jinbao, and Liu Wei, one person played an organ and became a group of cross-talks. This structural arrangement not only makes the performance loose and natural, but also makes the theme more distinct, and also lays the foundation for it to become a classic.
Zhao Yan, who participated in the first CCTV Spring Festival Gala, can't say how many times he has participated in the Spring Festival Gala, he only hopes that he can make achievements in the academic theory of cross-talk in the future, "Now the development of the cross-talk industry is subject to the lack of theory, and more efforts should be made in this regard." He also hopes to tell young people engaged in this industry through his own experience, to know how to advance and retreat, to know how to respect and culture, and not to think about how to make the audience happy without trade-offs.
Source: Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Niu Chunmei
Edit: Guan Yiwen
Process Editor: Wu Yue