The basic technical task that an actor faces when creating the image of the character he plays is the task of re-embodiment. To measure the level of an actor's performance, the most important thing is to look at the actor's ability to embody the role and shape the image. In his long-term artistic practice, Jiao Xiaochun has gradually come to understand and pay attention to this problem. During the period when she was maturing artistically, in addition to acting more, she paid special attention to fine acting. It is under the guidance of this kind of thinking that her masterpieces "Yuanmen Chop" and "Huluyu" have reached the current height after years of performance and refinement.
For example, when acting in the play "Yuanmen Chop", she firmly grasped such a principle, that is: Yang Yanjing was the marshal of the Song Dynasty guarding the three passes, and his identity was definitely different from that of ordinary generals. Yang Yanjing made such a decision to uphold the dignity of the laws of the Song Dynasty, not to treat it as child's play. However, the marshal beheaded the son encountered many resistances, and She Taijun interceded with the Eight Sages Wang Cidi, which made Yang Yanjing very difficult. Therefore, in the face of Tainiang's intercession, Yang Yanjing could not lose the demeanor of a marshal, nor could he ignore the affection of mother and son. In the scene of "Seeing Tai Niang", when Jiao Xiaochun sang the sentence "When it comes to the barbarian slaves, they should be killed and hanged, and they can't wait to boil the reverse oil pot", from the facial expressions and performance actions, Yang Yanjing is both angry and helpless. In the face of the oppressive intercession of the Eight Sages King, Yang Yanjing could neither give in, nor could he ignore the relationship between the monarch and the minister, but fought with reason and tried to subdue the people on the throne. In this scene, Jiao Xiaochun's sentence "How dare the tiger fight the dragon" is sung both humorously and deeply, and the singing and performance are very measured.
constantly improve something
For example, when acting in the play "Huluyu", Jiao Xiaochun worked hard to create the character of Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang at the time of the burning of Huluyu was on the eve of "dying before leaving the school", Zhuge Liang wanted to use a strategy to shame Sima Yi, but he did not expect Sima Yi to vomit to death if he planned to kill Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang failed to fight wits and became ill in anger. After years of performance and pondering, Jiao Xiaochun has ingeniously designed a set of singing voices to express the image of Zhuge Liang at this moment. In the scene of "Sacrificial Lantern", Jiao Xiaochun sang a large part of the scene with Yin Si Adagio, giving the audience the impression that the singing has a strong sense of rhythm and clear ups and downs. When she sang the two sets of lyrics "Xiahou Dun was so bitter that Cao Mengde led 830,000 soldiers" and "One by one the meeting halls were uneasy, Sun Zhongmou cut off half of the public case", she took the last sentence of the two groups of lyrics as the key sentence and expressed it in a high note, which often won the applause of the audience. In the scene of "Toyin", Jiao Xiaochun sang a "double hammer" in one breath with her freely used singing voice - "There is Kong Ming sitting in the hall with tears streaming down his face, watching the general of our battalion sitting in front of the tent. The old general's name Ma Dai can kill and fight, and the young general's name Yang Yi is in his youth. Guan Wei Yan's old thief has been rebelling for a long time, and my disciple Jiang Boyu is full of civil and military ......" This paragraph is sung clearly and the rhythm is bright, especially when singing "Guan Wei Yan's old thief has been anti-for a long time, my disciple Jiang Boyo is both civil and military", the former sentence is sung in a strong high note, and the latter sentence is performed in a euphemistic singing voice, which clearly shows Zhuge Liang's love for monks, expresses Zhuge Liang's regret for his unfinished business, and also expresses Zhuge Liang's expectations for the generals of Shu State.
Jiao Xiaochun has lived on the theatrical stage for more than 30 years. For more than 30 years, she has not only created many characters in classical dramas, leaving a deep impression on the audience, but also created many characters in modern dramas, such as the old poor peasant she played in the modern drama "Jiao Yulu".
Jiao Xiaochun's artistic achievements are gratifying, and his artistic experience is precious. Now, Jiao Xiaochun has retired due to illness and left the theater stage. I hope that she can seriously summarize her artistic achievements and stage experience, pass on her valuable experience to the younger generation in the Qinqiang Art Garden, and make more contributions to the enrichment and development of Qinxiang art!
Ren Yingrui Mao Qinglu excerpt from "After Years of Tempering, Finally Becoming a Great Tool".
Originally published in Xi'an Drama, No. 4, 1983
Editor/Liu Jun