One day in 1992, there was an atmosphere of joy and busyness in the Shanghai Repertory Theatre. After layers of selection, the troupe decided to send a group of outstanding actors to the United States for a one-month visit to the United States.
This is also the first batch of drama actors in Shanghai to be invited to perform in the United States since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. For these dramatists, it is a rare opportunity to be able to appear on the stage of the distant United States and show the charm of Chinese drama to local audiences.
The list of performers in the United States was quickly determined, with a total of more than 30 people. They are the backbone of the repertory troupe and have won many performance awards in China.
There are many old artists in the team, and there are also a few young and promising newcomers. Everyone felt honored and deeply honored to start their upcoming visit to the United States, and also deeply felt that the mission was arduous. For a time, the entire troupe worked together to prepare for this cultural exchange activity.
The screenwriter stepped up to revise the script, the director racked his brains to conceive the performance, and the actors entered the state and rehearsed repeatedly. Everyone is dedicated to showing the virtuosity and style of Chinese artists in a foreign land.
In this way, the repertory troupe lasted two months to prepare for a stop, and a group of more than 30 people packed their bags and stepped on a plane to the United States......
After more than ten hours of flight, the members of the Shanghai Repertory Theatre finally arrived in the United States. The fatigue of the long journey was quickly overpowered by enthusiasm, and everyone was pleasantly surprised to find that the American audience was eagerly anticipating their arrival.
The repertory troupe is scheduled to tour several major cities on the east and west coasts of the United States for a month. The first stop is the hot Big Apple - New York.
Dramas from Shanghai have accumulated a lot of buzz here, and on the day of the premiere, the theater was full. The audience was fascinated by the unique charm of the oriental narrative and frequently responded with warm applause.
The actors were also infected with the audience's passionate emotions, and the whole performance was mesmerized.
The second stop on the tour is Los Angeles, a film city that also gathers audiences fascinated by oriental culture. They spoke highly of the Chinese philosophical wisdom conveyed in the drama, believing that it has built a bridge for cultural exchanges between the two countries.
In San Francisco, the Repertory Theatre completed the final performance of the tour. Slightly different from other urban audiences, the audience here appreciates the unique stage language of this oriental art.
They were impressed by the superb performance and the rich plot.
After the tour, the crew members were ready to return to China, but found that most of them were reluctant to leave......
Surprisingly, more than 20 of the more than 30 crew members who were supposed to return together decided to stay in the United States for development, and only a few people returned to China.
The reason is not complicated, most actors are deeply impressed by the American stage culture and are reluctant to leave. During their brief tour in the United States, they realized that there was a lot to learn from Xi Eastern and Western stage cultures.
They dream of continuing to hone their acting skills here, and perhaps more creative inspiration can burst out. Other actors are full of yearning for the American way of life and think that it is more suitable for their development.
The crew leader was surprised and regretted by everyone's thoughts. He painstakingly persuaded everyone that they should retire after the away performance, and returning to China is the right way.
But the stranded people insisted on their own opinions, and the persuasion of the team leader ended in vain. In desperation, the team leader could only buy air tickets with a few actors who were willing to return to China. Before leaving, he was still not at ease, and repeatedly told several old friends who insisted on staying in the United States to pay attention to safety, and hoped that they would not forget their motherland in a foreign land.
When the plane left the airspace of the United States, these returned actors looked at the sea of clouds in a daze. They don't know that at the moment of breakup, there will be a long wait to reunite with old friends.
In the first few years after returning home, the team leader and several actors often cared about their old friends who were stranded in the United States, worried about their well-being in a foreign country. However, after many contacts, the results were disappointing, and there was no response from the other party, whether it was a phone call or a letter.
As time passed, people gradually gave up trying to connect. At first, they would often think of their old friends, but later these memories gradually faded out of their lives.
Busy work and life took up their time, and that visit to the United States felt like a lifetime ago. In the blink of an eye, dozens of spring and autumn seasons have passed, and the gray-haired ones have long since left the stage and retreated behind the scenes one after another.
Sometimes when they mention their trip to the United States, they can't help but feel a lot of emotion, and they have also been lying in bed tossing and turning, wondering how their old friends who are stranded in the United States are doing now. But time cannot be traced, leaving only a little melancholy and regret.
Until one day, a phone call broke the silence for many years, and it turned out that the crew members who chose to stay in the United States more than 20 years ago did not live as smoothly in a foreign country as they imagined. One of the biggest problems is that the lack of English is a huge obstacle to their life and work.
In the United States, they struggle to find decent and stable work, and most of them barely make ends meet by doing manual work. Due to the language barrier, they are also unable to integrate into the social circle of the United States, and often have to rely on each other for their lives and live in isolation.
In addition, they are constantly worried about criticism and disappointment from family and friends. It is really difficult to speak that their families had such high expectations for them before they went abroad, but they ended up staying in the United States without saying a word. Therefore, over the years, they have rarely contacted their hometowns, for fear that their families will ask about their plight in the United States, and they will not be able to deal with it.
After working hard day after day just to make ends meet, they gradually lost their original passion and dreams. Life in a foreign country is not as free and easy as imagined, but rather restrictive.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, 20 years have passed since that tour to the United States. The two veteran actors, whose lives in the United States have finally been on track, decided to take time to return to China to visit their families.
The moment they stepped on the plane, they remembered how shy and young they were back then, and they couldn't help but sigh that the years had changed too much. However, the grass and trees of the homeland are so familiar and friendly, and they have not been eroded by the traces of time.
The family members who had not seen him for a long time had gray hair and were so excited that they could not speak. The gummy grandson climbed up to his knees, and his innocent smiling face made people feel good. Only then did they realize that they had missed too much precious time.
When the neighbors heard about their return, they also came to visit. Everyone, you and I tell the story of those years word by word, and the topic is always endless. The two veteran actors felt like they had returned to the lively troupe of the past, but their hair was gray and there were fewer people.
The taste of hometown is so fragrant, and the friendship of relatives is so warm. And they finally found the self they lost many years ago. While chatting with their families, the two veteran actors couldn't help but recall the beginning and end of their stay in the United States 20 years ago.
It turned out that the decision to stay in the United States was not all due to the love of the stage or the yearning for American life, but because of the curiosity and yearning of young people for adventure and the unknown.
They aspire to make a name for themselves in a foreign land. The imagination of the United States seems to be endless, and they do not want this rare opportunity to slip through their fingers.
The passions and impulses of the time blinded them and blinded them to the difficulties ahead. Now recalling the reckless decision back then, the two old actors can't help but smile, feeling that they were like birds that had just broken out of their shells, blind and naïve.
However, the most unpredictable thing in life is what I thought when I was young. After all, they did not make a name for themselves in the United States as they imagined, but spent the most difficult years in a foreign land. After returning to China to visit relatives, the two veteran actors decided not to return to the United States, but to stay in Shanghai to live.
Compared with other places, the familiar city of Shanghai has an indescribable attraction for them. There is their native language and culture that allows them to really relax; There is also a modern pace of life similar to that of the United States, so that they do not feel outdated and pedantic.
More importantly, they feel that life is too short and that the stage will eventually come to an end, and they want to find peace of mind in the last stage of their lives. When I return to my homeland after many years of wandering, everything is so familiar, as if the changes in the world have nothing to do with me.
Looking at the bustling flow of people outside the window, the two old actors couldn't help but sigh that after going through ups and downs, they finally found a place to return to their lives. Although the country is small, it is a unique place of incense in this world.
Please correct my problems with logical expression, thank you very much, I will continue to improve.