At the end of the play, the actors took a curtain call, the lights on and off the stage were lit up, and the thunderous applause in the audience lasted for a long time. At this time, director Shi Bufan breathed a sigh of relief.
On April 27, "The Song of Jiao Yulu", one of the book dramas of the "Immortal Monument" series created by Zhongyuan Publishing and Media Group, was successfully premiered, attracting widespread attention from the society.
"Special thanks to Zhongyuan Publishing and Media Group, especially the creative team of Henan Innovation Practice Education Co., Ltd., which belongs to the group, without the professional planning and all-round leadership of these editorial teachers, and without the persistent exploration and determination of Zhongyuan Publishing and Media Group to explore integrated publishing, there would be no this drama and the previous two dramas, and there would be no other dramas in the future. After the performance, Shi Bufan said with emotion.
How did the book play "The Song of Jiao Yulu" come out? What is the story behind the stage design that amazed the audience? Recently, this reporter interviewed Shi Bufan and asked him to tell the story behind the creation of this play.
Director Shi Bufan
Acousto-optic holographic technology reproduces "Jiao Yulu"
"For one term as an official, for the benefit of one party, the business was leveled. The green me trickles, and it will be clear and blue. ”
At the performance scene, accompanied by the collective recitation of the actors on the stage, the curtain in front of the stage slowly fell, and when Jiao Yulu's image appeared on the screen through holographic projection technology, the audience burst into tears. 60 years after his death, Jiao Yulu once again "lived" in this form of stage art.
The book drama "The Song of Jiao Yulu" is one of the "Immortal Monuments" series created by Zhongyuan Publishing and Media Group under the guidance of the Propaganda Department of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and the Henan Provincial Department of Education.
The play is based on a series of books about Jiao Yulu published by the publishing house of Zhongyuan Publishing and Media Group, with a number of classic events of Jiao Yulu in Lankao as the entry point, and five original songs such as "You Listen" and "You Look" as a series, showing the audience a soft and friendly image of a public servant of the people in the form of an immersive musical.
This is an innovation on the stage: at the end of the curtain, the light shines through the screen to a "big bowl" in the center of the stage, and Jiao Yulu's image appears in the light, from the audience to the actors, from the screen to the center of the stage, the space of light and shadow allows the audience and the actors to merge into one, and it is impossible to distinguish whether they are on or off the stage.
"This 'big bowl' is very important, on the stage, it is not only our 'big screen', but also a door has opened on it, and several actors have to get on and off the stage from this door. Why is it designed as a 'bowl'? The people of Lankao once had to flee the famine with a bowl to ask for food, but now it is a cornucopia, containing the happy life of the people of Lankao. Referring to the creation of the play, Shi Bufan first introduced the "big bowl" standing in the C position of the stage.
With the first two dramas "The Legend of Mountains and Rivers" and "Red Flag Canal Water to My Village" in front of Zhuyu, how should "The Song of Jiao Yulu" be innovatively expressed?
Shi Bufan said with a smile: "Artistic innovation is to break the convention, and we hope to find innovation in art form this time." ”
Under the leadership of the creative team of Henan Innovation Practice Education Co., Ltd., "The Song of Jiao Yulu" adopts holographic projection, immersive video content and other expressions, and uses a combination of virtual and real scene settings such as high and low sub-stages, atmospheric veils and other scenes, and a new attempt of audio-visual experience, so that the audience feels as if they are there.
Create a play that belongs to young people
In reality, from movies to TV series, from Henan Henan Opera to literary works, there are many things about Jiao Yulu's artistic creation, how to present a different "Jiao Yulu" for the audience? Henan Innovation Practice Education Co., Ltd. and Shi Bufan gave a common answer, focusing on young people.
How to present a Jiao Yulu who makes young people feel relatable? This is the most troublesome part of the creative team.
Shi Bufan, who won the first prize in the non-professional group in the 4th CCTV Crosstalk Competition, has his own set of "methodology" for artistic creation: "Creation is actually connected, and observation is the basis of all creation. ”
In order to restore the story of Jiao Yulu and enter the spiritual world of Jiao Yulu, Shi Bufan and the main creative team of Henan Innovation Practice Education Co., Ltd. found a book about Jiao Yulu published by the publishing house of Zhongyuan Publishing Group and plunged into it.
Zhongyuan Publishing & Media Group has achieved fruitful results in red-themed publishing. From "The Story of Jiao Yulu - Forever Keeping the Original Heart" and "Jiao Yulu Spirit" published by Henan People's Publishing House, to "Jiao Yulu's Family Style" and "Jiao Yulu's Song" published by Henan Literature and Art Publishing House, to "Ode to Jiao Yulu in Five Continents" published by Wenxin Publishing House, and "Jiao Yulu's 470 Days in Lankao" published by Zhongzhou Ancient Books Publishing House...... Shi Bufan said that they spent more than three months reading these Yu edition books, and then systematically combing through them to select suitable stories.
A book drama is only about 40 minutes long, how do you find the right content from the massive amount of information?
Shi Bufan's idea was to focus on new stories, which should also be suitable for presentation on stage.
"For example, the third act, which tells the story of repairing the bridge, is a very small story that I have not seen in my previous artistic creations, but I was particularly touched after reading it. Shi Bufan said, for example, this story is about Secretary Jiao who couldn't bear to see the villagers stepping on ice and wading across the river to do farm work, and built a bridge with branches and soil on the spot, "I think we have played it well and made it clear, and the bridge between the party and the masses has also been built, and the image of Jiao Yulu will be 'live' in this drama." ”
So, in the book drama "The Song of Jiao Yulu", Secretary Jiao sat on Uncle Xiao's kang head and sat on the land by the river, talking and laughing with the villagers, chatting and even joking, "In our play, Secretary Jiao is a soft, cordial, and living image." Shi Bufan said.
Use 5 "love songs" to express the thoughts of Secretary Jiao
With content, there must also be a good form.
"We have been thinking about what young people like, especially in the current fragmented communication environment, how can we let everyone watch a drama in its entirety? ”
When choosing songs, there must also be a breakthrough.
In Shi Bufan's view, only a "love song" can "express the people's thoughts about Secretary Jiao".
After brewing for a long time, Shi Bufan spent two and a half hours to create five sets of lyrics of "You Listen", "You Look", "You Say", "If" and "I Think", and invited Song Qing'an, a famous young composer and winner of the "Du Fu Award" in Zhengzhou, to compose the music.
In the last scene of the play, when Jiao Tong on the holographic projection begins to sway, the song "I Think" slowly sounds:
"I think, like the pines and cypresses, never wither by your side. Bloom green in the cold winter and sing with the snowflakes......"
This is the inspiration that Shi Bufan got from Jiao Yulu's diary, and he expressed Secretary Jiao's sincere feelings for the people in a way closer to ordinary people, which made many audiences cry again.
Directing "The Song of Jiao Yulu", Shi Bufan felt that he also had a deeper understanding of Jiao Yulu's spirit. "Jiao Yulu doesn't know how to plant paulownia trees or black locusts, but he uses various positive methods to mobilize the villagers. Shi Bufan said: By going deep among the masses, mobilizing the masses, and relying on the masses, we can learn this point, and many problems can be easily solved.
Shi Bufan felt that he was happy. Under the overall planning of Zhongyuan Publishing and Media Group, he is engaged in the creation of red IP book dramas, participates in the exploration of integrated publishing, and can contribute to the spread of the red spirit, which he said is "a very good thing".
Source: Henan Youth Times, Dongfeng News
Reporter Cai Lin Xu Duhan / text Zhao Mobo / picture
Edited by Zhang Lei
Proofreading by Li Chuanhong
Reviewed by Tian Zhen