The actors of the Ichikawa Theater Troupe perform "Beszel Cave View" at the Qinghui Theater Theater. Photo by Liang Hongyuan, reporter of Nanchong Rong Media Center
Li Nicheng (left) performs at the Qinghui Drama Club. Photo by Luo Hong, reporter of Nanchong Rong Media Center
Tang Yilun is performing. Photo by Luo Hong, reporter of Nanchong Rong Media Center
● Nanchong Rong Media Center reporter Luo Hong
"Let's go, go to Qinghui Pavilion to watch a play, go to the ......" This year's "May Day" holiday, go to the Qinghui Drama Club in Qinghui Pavilion to drink gaiwan tea and watch Sichuan opera, which has become the choice of many citizens. Qinghui Theatre is the first small opera theatre launched by the Ichikawa Theatre Troupe, and once it was launched, it was warmly sought after by fans.
During the "May Day" period, 12 classic excerpts such as "Watching the Scenery of the Separate Cave", "Nanyang Pass", "Killing the Dog and Shocking the Wife", "Yang Guang Asking the Sick", "Hanging Paintings" and "Autumn River" were staged one after another, and 36 "post-00" young actors from the Nanchong Ichichuan Opera Troupe made a stunning appearance, Hua Dan, Xiaosheng, and Harlequin...... They "sang, read, did, and played", and won warm applause from fans with their professional skills.
A: Study hard and practice hard, the 20-year-old guy shines on the stage
On the morning of May 2, "Autumn River" was staged at Qinghui Drama Club, and the scene was full. This year's 20-year-old Sichuan opera actor Tang Yilun plays the role of the captain, who is optimistic, funny and enthusiastic to help others, and has won the love of fans.
In order to play this role well, Tang Yilun began to prepare as early as a month ago. "This drama tells the story of Chen Miaochang in order to catch up with his beloved Pan Bizheng, came to the Qiujiang River, and met the warm-hearted and witty captain, who carried Miaochang to chase Pan Bizheng in the process, the story that happened between them." Tang Yilun said that the captain he played was an old man, not only had to lower his voice to imitate the old man throughout the whole process, but in order to fit the image and movements, he also always hunched his waist and squatted during the performance. The scene lasted about 35 minutes, and he was often rehearsed and his waist and legs ached.
Although he was a little tired, this immersive performance with a distance of less than three meters from the audience made him very "up". "An action and a demeanor can immediately get feedback from the audience, which makes the actors very excited and excited, and they can perform more enthusiastically and hard." Tang Yilun said that during the "May Day" period, he also participated in the "May Day" mass cultural activities of the Four Seasons Qinghui National Tide Talent Festival in Nanchong City in 2024, performing the Sichuan opera "Three Forks", and the martial arts drama of rolling and fighting was also loved by the audience.
In fact, the love for traditional opera was shown when Tang Yilun was a child. When other children like to watch children's channels, Tang Yilun has a soft spot for opera channels, and he learns from the actors on TV "babbling", which often makes parents laugh. When he was 12 years old, he learned that the Ichikawa Theater Troupe's intangible cultural heritage class had begun to enroll, and he immediately signed up. Although he had no foundation before, he worked hard and tirelessly in his studies, and the teacher saw his specialty and let him learn the martial arts "Little Flower Face".
"Wu Chou is actually quite difficult, not only to practice his voice and his tongue, but also to practice kung fu, and it takes a lot of hard work in the design and presentation of actions to surprise the audience." Tang Yilun said that recently he was rehearsing the northern Sichuan lantern opera "Haunting God's Club", and the role of "City God" played by him was quite challenging, requiring him to stand on the bamboo pole carried by two people to perform some kung fu, such as jumping in the air, swinging waves left and right, etc. In order to bring the audience a better experience of watching the drama, he has been practicing diligently, striving to present a perfect work.
B studied for many years and was deeply impressed by the charm of Sichuan Opera
......On May 9, in the rehearsal hall of the Nanchong Campus of Southwest Petroleum University, 24-year-old Li Nicheng was rehearsing the classic play "Iron Cage Mountain" under the guidance of her teacher to prepare for this year's Sichuan Young Sichuan Opera Actors Competition.
Li Nicheng played the role of "Queen Du" in "Iron Cage Mountain". "For me, it is more difficult to grasp and present how to perform Du Hou's mental state and highlight the inner world of the characters, as well as the skills of water sleeve gong, water hair gong, turning 180° to turn a hard man, and grabbing the back from high to low, I am also actively practicing." Li Nicheng said.
It has been eight years since she studied and performed Sichuan Opera, and Li Nicheng's love for Sichuan Opera is getting deeper and deeper day by day. "My father is an actor in the Peng'an County Sichuan Opera Troupe, so it can be said that I grew up in the opera garden, but I only listened to it before, and I didn't learn it seriously and systematically." Li Nicheng said that when she was 16 years old, she was immersed in the study of early childhood education, and heard that the Ichikawa Opera Troupe's non-genetic class recruited students, and with the encouragement of her father, she signed up for the exam, and finally passed successfully. Later, with the in-depth study of the system, she found that she loved this traditional culture more and more, and was deeply impressed by the charm of Sichuan Opera.
During this year's "May Day", Li Nicheng performed "Killing a Dog and Shocking Wife" in Qinghui Drama Club. She played Jiao's brutal and short-tempered, and then woke up when her husband killed the dog's police wife and her mother-in-law's intercession. The wonderful performance made the audience "love and hate" her.
She has participated in the 2018 Hundred Opera (Kunshan) Festival, the 2019 Spring Festival Opera Gala of China Central Radio and Television, the 4th Jialing River Lantern Opera and Local Drama Art Festival, the 2022 Global Overseas Chinese Spring Festival Gala, and the first Sichuan Opera Performance in Sichuan Province.
C Weekend Theater Allows Theater Fans to Have a "Drama Addiction" Offline
"Nanchong has not had such a small theater for a long time. In the past, many theater fans always came to me and asked me where to watch the play, and I couldn't answer because there was no fixed performance venue and there were not so many actors. Li Hongbin, secretary of the Party branch of the Ichichuan Opera Troupe, told reporters that in recent years, a group of "post-00" actors have been trained through the Sichuan Opera Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop, which has injected fresh blood into Nanchong Sichuan Opera. At the same time, the Ichikawa Theater Troupe is also actively striving for performance venues, and after many investigations and designs, there is the current Qinghui Theater Society.
On May 9th, the reporter walked into the Qinghui Drama Club and saw that the theater was antique, with wooden tables and chairs scattered and delicately carved under the eaves and wood. Here, the audience can experience the charm of the performing arts and the stage in an all-round way.
"During the 'May Day' period, I specially took my children to watch the two plays of "Hanging Paintings" and "Autumn River"." Wang Qi, a citizen, said, "I have always been very interested in traditional opera, and I used to suffer from the lack of local theater performances, but now I heard that the 'Qinghui Drama Society' has performances, which is a big surprise for theater fans, and I will definitely support more performances." ”
"In order to meet the cultural needs of the public to a greater extent, the Ichichuan Opera Troupe plans to perform at the Qinghui Opera Troupe every weekend, with not only the 'post-00' young actors on stage, but also the artists of the Mesozoic generation and the older generation of Sichuan opera masters to perform on stage. For information about the performance, you can follow the WeChat public account of the Ichikawa Theater Troupe or go to the Qinghui Theater Society offline. Li Hongbin said that in addition to Sichuan Opera and Northern Sichuan Lantern Opera, it is planned to introduce talk shows, Qingyin, cross talk, double reeds, etc., to bring more wonderful performances to the audience.