Do you know how the heavens and the earth came into being? Do you know how man was born? Do you know the story of the sun, which hangs high in the sky every day and gives infinite light to the world? Everything has to start from ancient times, from the source of Chinese civilization, when the heavens and the earth were yellow, the universe was desolate, and rare and mythical beasts appeared one after another.
This is a world full of fantasy and mystery, which is the earliest writing of oriental civilization, the record in the first strange book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" through the ages, and an ancient adventure led by contemporary children in the parent-child physical drama "Fantasy Dream of Mountains and Seas". On April 12, 2024, the parent-child physical drama "Dream of Mountains and Seas", a project funded by the Zhejiang Culture and Art Development Fund, premiered at the Hangzhou Canal Grand Theater.
"Mountains and seas" fall into dreams, immerse themselves in ancient civilizations, and cultivate children's "Chinese eyes" in dreams.
Facing the world audience, tell the new story of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas".
On the afternoon of the 12th, the main creators of "Fantastic Dream of Mountains and Seas" gathered, and the new play press conference was held at the Canal Grand Theater. Yu Bin, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Performing Arts Group, Secretary of the Party Branch and General Manager of Zhejiang Repertory Theatre, and Producer of the Play, Tu Yuanyuan, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Repertory Theatre and Director of the Play, Zhao Miao, Director of the Play, Tang Eve, Screenwriter, and Cao Lu, Stage Designer, shared the story of the creation and rehearsal of the play with the audience.
Yu Bin, the producer of the play, first introduced the repertoire. As early as 2021, Zhejiang Children's Art Troupe launched the creation plan of "Fantastic Dream of Mountains and Seas", based on the ancient myths and legends in the ancient Chinese book "Classic of Mountains and Seas", and strives to create a physical and creative children's drama that not only has the charm of traditional mythology, but also has a contemporary and international character, contains the concept of entertainment and education, and reflects the characteristics of ancient Chinese culture. Zhejiang Children's Art specially invited director Zhao Miao's team to work together to make "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" a languageless physical drama suitable for audiences of all ages, facing the world, and can be used for international performances and commercial tours.
As a 36-year-old domestic senior children's art troupe, Zhejiang Children's Art Troupe has produced a number of excellent national style children's repertoire with the theme of promoting the excellent traditional Chinese culture, such as "Mulan", "Confucius" and "Chinese Culture Troupe". Director Tu Yuanyuan said that the original intention of creating the Classic of Mountains and Seas is to create a work with a contemporary, international and high-quality level, through the creative concept of no language and pure limbs, to achieve the purpose of improving the artistic ability of the Zhejiang children's art team as a whole, and also to allow the team to launch works that go abroad on the basis of having a certain influence in China, and truly open up the international market.
Screenwriter Tang Eve shared her creative process from the perspective of the play. In order to tell the story of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" in the present, the play enters the ancient era through the perspective of contemporary children, so that the two time and space of the present and the ancient can be deeply watched and participated in through the "eyes" of contemporary children, and a deep connection is made. Although it is a pure physical drama, the screenwriter needs to set up the picture when conceiving the plot, characters, and scenes, and tell a good story without a single line.
In terms of stage design, Cao Lu, the stage designer of the play, worked hard to create a mysterious dream for the children. Cao Lu said that the biggest feature of this play is the stage action design, that is, the play of a scene, which does not rely on the specific image of the scene on the stage, but allows the actors to have a close connection with the stage scene, which gives birth to a peculiar theatrical expression.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" is undoubtedly a classic with oriental mysteries and traditional Chinese aesthetics, and it is one of the best entry points to lead children to glimpse the ancient civilization of China. Director Zhao Miao's "Classic of Mountains and Seas" is very unique, but the story of "Classic of Mountains and Seas" is beautiful, kind, and brave, which is a common quality all over the world. Zhao Miao said that this play can be performed in any country in the world, and we hope to impress the small audience and influence the big audience, so that after leaving the theater, they can re-see Chinese mythology and become interested in traditional culture, and also hope that when this play is brought to the world in the future, foreign children will be moved by the beauty conveyed in the play, which is also the mission of this play.
At the press conference, a boy was running and frolicking in the theater while listening to the sharing of the creators. Accompanied by the sound of running, Director Zhao Miao said with a smile, it's good, our play also hopes to let children run in the myth of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" and explore the secrets of the world.
Extreme physical expression, interpreting the origin of Chinese civilization
At 7:30 p.m., when the children and adults sat down in the theater, the curtain opened, and the "mountains and seas" fell asleep.
"Fantasy Dream of Mountains and Seas" tells the story of a fantasy adventure journey of the boy Leo who crosses borders, travels through thousands of years, and immerses himself in mountains and seas. During this journey, he was deeply immersed in the vast Chinese culture, witnessed Pangu's pioneering creation of the world, experienced the love and dedication of Nuwa to create people from the soil, save the world and make up for the sky, and joined hands with Hou Yi to face hardships and bravely fight the ten suns, and finally learned to be brave, selfless, creative and dedicated.
A total of 12 actors and actresses auditioned for more than 20 roles on the stage, presenting a 68-minute physical performance, which was eye-opening and beyond imagination. In this play, the body is the language, the plot, and the story carrier, and the body is also aesthetics, poetry, and the story itself.
When Hou Yi shoots the sun, the ten suns are ten golden crows, which can spread their wings separately, and they can all be combined into a big golden crow and rise up on the stage......
The theater has become a spectacle space for imagination, the actors are tossing and turning on the stage, their feet, bodies, and eyes are exquisite, and the director has integrated elements such as opera, martial arts, and folk dance into the physical training, so that the limbs can more present poetic oriental aesthetics, with unlimited power and expression, which can break the barriers of age and culture, and build a world of mountains and seas in the hearts of the audience.
The theater is a spectacle of light and shadow, creating a myth for contemporary children
Another way to present the magical world of "Dream of Mountains and Seas" is through visual expression, where a "sky" is created on the stage and the "sky" is broken, and a "sea" is created on the stage and the "sea" is dried. The origin of all things has become a mystery and unknown suspense, waiting for children to enter the play to explore.
In the 68 minutes of exploration, the expression of Chinese aesthetics is highlighted all the time. The overall stage front and ground of the play are square, and the scenery in the sky is circular, implying that "the sky is round and the place is round", echoing the ancient Chinese cosmology and philosophy; the costume design, especially the presentation of the ancient mythical beasts, are meticulously studied, carrying colorful imagination; the whole stage space is smart and interesting, changeable, through the change of light and shadow and the performance of the actors, in the sound of electronic music, leading the children through the sky, the sea, wind and rain, thunder and lightning, the scorching sun, On a snowy day, the universe has changed from chaos to sunrise and moonset, and the world has gone from having only gods and beasts to the birth of humans. In 68 minutes, the children saw where a nation came from and how a civilization was born.
Perhaps, when children enter the theater, they not only understand the story of "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", but also cultivate a pair of "Chinese eyes" with Chinese aesthetics by watching a play. These eyes are the most romantic imagination and wanton longing of contemporary Chinese children for the ancient world, and they are also the window for foreign children to look at China, feel the historical writing of Chinese children about love and growth, and form a cross-ethnic and cross-cultural dialogue between ancient and modern.
This is the myth of the contemporary child and the myth of the world. "A Dream of Mountains and Seas" will start a national tour after its premiere, and I look forward to meeting the children in the theater and going to a dream for a thousand years.
Source: Today's headlines