"Anyone can do it, as long as they are willing to work hard. In the rehearsal hall of the Opera House of the Guangzhou Grand Theatre, with the soothing and beautiful melody sounding, the three actors of the musical "Lion Boy" Ajuan, Chen Keming, Fang Shujian, and Guo Hongxu appeared in turn, singing excerpts from the play, presenting three different styles of Ajuan.
The musical "Lion Boy", adapted from the phenomenal Chinese comic film IP of the same name, will have its world premiere at the Guangzhou Grand Theatre from January 11 to 14, 2024. A few days ago, this musical, jointly created by the main creative teams of the mainland and Hong Kong, held a media visit and unveiled the mystery for the first time.
The film and television song Sanqi Greater Bay Area brother Chen Xiaochun joined in and starred in the former lion king salted fish strong. The first time he rehearsed a musical with young people, Chen Xiaochun felt very fresh, "Everyone Xi together, fun and happy." Participating in the musical, he said that it was very challenging to build a tacit understanding of mutual trust with all the actors on the same stage. After joining the group for more than a month and a month to perform, Chen Xiaochun admitted that he was very nervous, and it was too difficult to challenge the lion dance, so he could only practice and try every day, hoping to better present the Lingnan lion dance culture. He also humorously said that he wanted to play Salted Yuqiang in Chinese, "Salted Yuqiang in the play seems to be not very standard in Mandarin", he quipped, "Maybe you can have a 'Cantonese guy' accent when you say your lines."
Fang Shujian, Guo Hongxu and Chen Keming, three popular actors who are active on the musical theater stage, will play the role of Ajuan, a teenager who still adheres to the dream of lion dance in his heart after many hardships, as musical theater actors, they are Xi to dance and sing on stage, but it is the first time to dance a lion on the stage.
"Our generation of literary and artistic practitioners should have this responsibility to inherit traditional culture," said Fang Shujian, who said that traditional cultural themes are the biggest reason for his participation in the play, and in recent years, Fang Shujian has been fond of original Chinese musicals, "The lion dance represents the cultural symbol of Lingnan, and the story itself is very inspirational." In order to get closer to Ajuan and enter the role state in advance, Fang Shujian had a flat head of the same style as Ajuan very early, "My friend also laughed and said if you offended the stylist." After receiving intensive training after joining the group, Fang Shujian felt that the lion dance was the biggest challenge, "I will do this when I lie in bed before going to bed at night (compared to painting lion dance movements)." ”
Guo Hongxu (right).
At the rehearsal scene, Guo Hongxu's emotions were sincere and delicate, and he sang the teenager's feelings of missing his parents. In Guo Hongxu's understanding, Ajuan has an internal strength, he plays Ajuan more from the heart, hoping to show Ajuan's character change from a sick cat to a lion, he said that Ajuan runs hard in order to achieve the goal, which is very similar to himself. Tall and broad-shouldered, he will deliberately adjust his posture to make himself look thinner on stage.
"When I heard that I could dance a lion on the stage and be on the same stage with my idol Brother Xiaochun, I was crazy!" Talking about being on the same stage with Chen Xiaochun, Guo Hongxu became a fan of his brother's face in seconds, and in order to dance the lion head well, he specially bought some weight-bearing equipment, and practiced every day whenever he had time. When his companion talked about his injury while practicing plum blossom stakes, Guo Hongxu understated, "Learning lion dance is bound to climb high and climb, and if you want to really have a good presentation on the stage, you must have this kind of psychological preparation." ”
Chen Keming.
Among the three Ajuan actors, Chen Keming is an authentic Cantonese, he thinks that his thin appearance is very close to Ajuan's "sick cat" image, and he describes his Ajuan as naïve, full of expectations for new things, cheerful and lively wild children. As an authentic Cantonese person, although he often sees the lion awakening, he has never touched the lion head, he found that the lion dance pays special attention to the coordination of the lion head and the lion tail, so in addition to core training, he will strengthen the practice of Xi jumping, "If you jump high, the lion tail can be lifted higher and can be better made as a lion head." He also added his own small ideas to the performance - adding some Cantonese elements to the lines to make the character more grounded.
Fang Shujian.
At the scene, the three "Ajuan" also shared their favorite middle school in the play. Chen Keming's favorite theme song "Lion Boy", "It is very burning, condenses a lot of the essence of this drama, and shows the enthusiasm of the characters, the difficulties and setbacks they have suffered vividly." Ajuan's "City Roaming" after experiencing the tempering of reality moved Guo Hongxu the most, "It is very in line with my growth path, and it is very good." Fang Shujian has a soft spot for "Enough" sung with his master and parents, "I burst into tears when I listened to the demo, and I believe it can arouse the audience's resonance and memories." At the interview scene, the three "Ajuan" sang a few words, which made people look forward to the official presentation of the musical "Lion Boy".
Chen Rui, Deputy General Manager of Guangzhou Grand Theatre and producer of the musical "Lion Boy", said: "Lion dancing is a common cultural symbol in the Greater Bay Area, and the musical "Lion Boy" is based in the Bay Area, hoping to promote in-depth exchanges of artistic creation and rehearsal in the Greater Bay Area through the creation of repertoire. ”
Written by: Nandu reporter Li Chunhua
Photo: Courtesy of Guangzhou Opera House