To visit Ma Shaohua, the actor of Cai Yuanpei in "The Age of Awakening", the theme of the chat is only two words - "performance", which is a big and endless topic, but because he has a wealth of education, decades of accumulated performance experience, coupled with his extremely infectious expression (sometimes even with speech and performance), the conversation is wonderful and relaxed, making people feel that time has passed.
Photo by Zhou Xiaohua
Cai Yuanpei's robe
The TV series "The Age of Awakening" Douban scored 9.3 points, popular social platforms for young people, and has been frequently on the hot search since its premiere in March this year, which is the effect that the previous main theme works have not achieved, and the audience loves Cai Yuanpei's role a lot, and the direct call is simply from the history books.
Drama critic Li Xingwen commented on him: This should be Ma Shaohua's best role in recent years, he played Cai Yuanpei with the cheerful wisdom of the elders of the Xinhai Revolution, the old and sophisticated former Qing jinshi, and the literary popularity of the momentary forgetfulness after the completion of the work (singing with a beat).
Let's start with this play. Asked him if this role was mastered after portraying a series of historical figures such as Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Zhang Daqian and so on.
He answered: Every time I create a character, it is a rebirth for me. There is no ready-made, no old food, you have to start over every role, cai yuanpei is the same. Before you are reborn, you still have to know what his fetus is, what his bones are - what kind of person he is, what kind of things he does, why did he become such a person, why did he do such a thing? How he talked, how he walked, how he ate, drank, and slept... Only when you have studied people thoroughly can you use your bones and blood to show him truly and accurately, and only then can you act. You don't even know where his fetus and bones are, how to get rid of it? How to change? But what is the end of the study of man? Everyone is different, Cai Yuanpei is Cai Yuanpei, Deng Xiaoping is Deng Xiaoping, the migrant workers on the construction site and the peasants during the War of Resistance, can they be the same?
Receiving the role of Cai Yuanpei in "The Age of Awakening", he immediately threw himself into the work of early researchers, "I not only did the homework of Cai Yuanpei's role, Lu Xun, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao, as well as Feng Youlan, Fu Sinian, Qian Xuantong, these contemporaries, their relevant materials, I have read." Not only do they pinch the relationship between them, but they also capture the commonalities of these people. ”
There is a difference between his appearance and the real Cai Yuanpei, and the people of that era have almost no dynamic images to refer to, how can they find the character's spiritual world and the character's "god"? He then went to Cai Yuanpei's former residence in Shaoxing, Zhejiang At his own expense.
Cai Yuanpei's former residence in Xiaoshan Street, Shaoxing City, is a Ming and Qing Dynasty Taimen building with Shaoxing characteristics, and it is also the only memorial hall in China dedicated to the deeds of Cai Yuanpei's life, he was born here, not only spent his youth time here, but also lived here after returning to his hometown.
At cai gong's former residence, Ma Shaohua felt the building with a very pious attitude, felt the people who had lived in this building, and according to him, he was "absorbing true qi". The bluestone pavement in the courtyard, the brick carvings on the courtyard walls, the carvings on the wooden window ledges, the lonely study, the stove room that has long been devoid of fireworks... He felt, felt what kind of "mortal" he was after he removed the label of "academic hero and model of the world"—his footsteps, his laughter, his breath...
He stared at every old photograph in the showroom for a long time, and talked to him in his heart, until in the black and white photograph, the gaze under the round glasses had a temperature, and there was a faint smile on the tight lips, "I want to see him alive, I want to reproduce his flesh and blood with my flesh, I use the cells in my body to reproduce his dead cells, let them come alive." ”
From Cai Yuanpei's point of view, empathy for shaping this role, he is not to play a character's shell, he wants to reflect the inner world of the character. As an actor, he feels that he is interpreting the role and expressing it through the role.
In "The Age of Awakening", Cai Yuanpei's speech when he was inaugurated as the president of Peking University was prepared for more than two months: "Practicing every day, that is, practicing this paragraph, is not simply memorizing lines, nor is it a real speech, it is said in the stomach every day." 'After reading the book a hundred times, its meaning appears on its own', when I spoke hundreds of times, I slowly became more and more deeply enlightened, and the whole passage was rotten and rotten, (was) chewed up thoroughly, then it was no longer Cai Yuanpei's speech, it was me myself who spoke, and it came out of my heart. That day, when I was filming, for more than ten minutes of speech, I looked into the eyes of the audience below and told them how I felt, talking about what Peking University was all about, how I should be a Peking University person, 'Since I came here, I want to get rid of those distractions, one is not to enter the university to become an official; the other is not how much money to make'... Every point I talk about has a picture in my heart, that is, the so-called words have things, really tell the story, and the heart is very solid. The crew, including the cameramen, the lighters, the extras from Hengdian, were there to listen, and when I was done, they all applauded. ”
"The foot-washing singing scene was not originally there, why was it changed?" I want him to be more than just an academic, to unload all kinds of identities, he is also an ordinary person, so that he will be close to the audience immediately, because he is vivid and vivid. For this reason, he specially went to learn a period of Shaoxing old drama "Hanjinkou".
Zhang Yongxin, the director of "The Age of Awakening", also mentioned in an interview: The person who communicates and communicates with me more is Teacher Ma Shaohua... He is very persistent about performance, often send me a very long WeChat, the longest WeChat on the mobile phone screen to see half a meter bar, all text typed, and he once had a record of 12 phone calls to me one day, are discussing the role, and even figurative to what a bag is old to do, the clothes worn, leather shoes need to be sprinkled with ash.
In the details, it is Ma Shaohua's consistent style. He felt that the dress represented the style of an era, and the applied objects also reflected the personality of the characters. He took the robe worn by Cai Yuanpei as an example: "In that era, when you go to take a picture of the Republic of China, [the robe] is not covered with feet, it is all here." He stood up and compared it above his ankles, "It's so easy to walk, it doesn't tie its legs, and it's the flavor of that era." So I suggested to the costume group that I wanted to shorten my robe, and after shortening it, I put on the scribble and stood, and the white socks and shoes under my feet were exposed, and that feeling was right, compared with the real (photo) of that era, the same. ”
He pointed to a wall of bookshelves, "You see, I've been ordering Old Photographs (magazine) for many years. I often go through these materials, look at old photos of different eras, and then compare what era should be dressed and what kind of taste. This is true, these places you can not be artistic, you can not make changes to look good. For example, in the war movie, the New Fourth Army fought in the Taihang Mountains, how bitter, the shoes worn by the chiefs were all torn, and those soldiers were still wearing white shirts, and they were all so white? If I act, I will wear that coarse cloth gown naked, don't look at this, it will be different, take out a pair of old photos, real. You have to take responsibility for your role, you have to be more serious. Yongxin director can not shoot a scene in the morning for a prop, you are more real, you can shoot fine products; you are more real, the audience can take the work seriously. ”
Costume props are externalized to help shape the character, and the shooting should enter the state of the character at that time. He talked about the basic method of physical performance: "The first thing we learn in the acting class is no physical object, such as cutting an apple, when you cut an apple, you have this apple in your brain, you have a knife in your hand, you know where the apple is cut, where the skin is placed, your attention at that time is concentrated, your breathing, the muscles of your body, you still have a relaxed state, because in life you can't cut the apple with all your strength, this is the most basic thing of performance." Up to now, what I want is nothing in the characters, how does Cai Yuanpei cut the apple? How does Cai Yuanpei write? Does Cai Yuanpei wash clothes? How did he take his robe to the sun and put it on duster and go out? So every time I play a role, I will look for the character's non-physical object when I am on the scene, and I will do it myself to find his realism. This one is to keep my attention focused, and the other is to calm myself and slowly enter the role. ”
Although it has been two years since "The Age of Awakening" was completed, he is still chewing on the role of Cai Yuanpei: "I have a lot of dissatisfaction, I am still picking faults, if I have the opportunity to play this role again, can I still play it more realistically and more flavorfully." At the same time, I also look at other characters, such as Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu, and wonder if I play these roles, how should I play them? They're intellectuals of an era, they have very different personalities, but they also have commonalities, and you have to study that commonality. ”
Young Horse Shaohua
The highest task of the actor
"Every time I act, create a character, no matter if he is a big person or a small person, no matter how much of his role, I ask myself, what do I want to give to the audience in this play? I want to know the central task of this play, that is, what is the highest task, and if you find this, you can perform and create. ”
"Supreme task" is a term for the Stanislavsky system in theater, referring to the true goal of the intention to create a work. I was very unfamiliar with the word, and I asked him for advice, and he borrowed the roles he had played to explain it to me.
"You say I play a role, it's dumb, and that play is called 'Hitchhiking'. What am I going to give the audience in this play? I understand that it is necessary to present the greatest kindness of a person to the audience, and this is the highest task. ”
The TV series "Hitchhiker" is adapted from the Taiwanese film of the same name, telling the love between a pair of dumb fathers and orphan daughters, Ma Shaohua played an ordinary and ordinary deaf and dumb father in the play, from beginning to end in the play, he relied on sign language to "say" lines, but he touched countless audiences with his silent performance.
"So how do you find this supreme task?" I thought first of all he was deaf and mute, so I went to Yizhuang, where there was a company that recruited deaf people, and I went there to experience life. As soon as I came into contact, I found out that they were kinder than normal people, especially kind, and they were also sensitive to the kindness you released, as long as you showed a little, they would return a lot to you. For example, if I wanted to learn sign language, they were very enthusiastic about teaching me. Then I put in the role of "Hitchhiking", you know why he picked up the child to raise himself, preferred not to get married, and gave his whole life to this child, why he can achieve this level - kindness. Normal people may not be able to do this level of kindness to the 'axis'. With this good root, you can know why this father has such a choice, and when you play, you can mobilize everything to complete this task. ”
In the early years, Ma Shaohua played the corrupt county magistrate Wang Yuhe in the TV series "The Chief Justice", and this villain role did not play a heavy role in the play, but his performance left a deep impression on the audience that the little corrupt official who was morally upright, vain and vicious, and obedient and treacherous left a deep impression on the audience. He mentions the role, but says the highest task he has to accomplish is "the power to convey righteousness."
Asked him, why should such a task be accomplished through a corrupt and problematic petty official?
He laughed: "There are many such people in life, and I hate and even hate such people." I often observe them, imitate them in the play, and gather all kinds of 'bad' in this type of person and put them on this Wang County Governor. When he was in front of the assembly, his moral appearance was calm, and in private, his dirtiness, I externalized his words and deeds, exposing his two-sidedness. Because in my heart, I take integrity and kindness as the criterion, and I want to pass this kind of thing to the audience as the highest task. The good is therefore good, which is the background of evil; the opposite of the positive, is evil. You have a right heart, Wang County, you just have to act in reverse, that's accurate, right? ”
Farming is in the scoop, reading is talking, learning art is thinking. Although he successfully portrayed historical figures such as Huang Xing, Sun Yat-sen, Deng Xiaoping, and Cai Yuanpei, although he played migrant workers, peasants, corrupt officials, policemen, doctors, deaf and mute people, and played what was, he never lay on his past roles and ate the old books, let alone stopped learning. Because he knew that there was still a long way to go between finding the highest task of a play and finally completing it with a performance. To shorten this distance, one must constantly improve oneself through learning.
In order to play Deng Xiaoping, he repeatedly listened to and watched the recordings and video materials of Deng Xiaoping's speeches: "I put all the recordings I could find from him in MP3 to listen, and at that time I didn't listen to anything, there was no radio or television, and what entered my ears was his voice." As a result, the purity of his Sichuan-tone lines made the crew scream up and down.
In "Migrant Workers of Survival", he played The Elder Xie is a Henan native, he went to learn Henan dialect; in "Yimeng" played Shandong old farmer Li Zhonghou, he and the locals began to learn Shandong dialect from pronunciation; "Hitchhiker" played the deaf and dumb old father, he and the deaf and dumb group lived and worked together, learning sign language, more than 40 episodes of the play, he all sign language, did not open his mouth, the audience watched, thinking that the actor is dumb; in order to make Cai Yuanpei more lifelike, he added a foot-washing and singing play, what can be sung more in line with the character? He also went to learn a period of Shaoxing old drama "Hanjinkou"...
In addition to acting, reading, and watching films, his mind is also like a radar to capture everything in life and serve his character creation. For those characters fictionalized in literature, after he got the script, he even learned to adapt the script into a novel to make himself more aware of where the characters came from and where they went.
Ma Shaohua talked about the Peking Opera Wusheng Taidou Gai calling tian, saying that he often faced the green smoke of sandalwood alone, carefully observed, experienced the changes in the smoke in motion and stillness, and enriched the experience of observation and experience into the performance. Gai Called Tian's "Wusong Dadian", the action of the martial arts drama is as agile as green smoke, changing and ethereal, but it is effortless, as quiet, calm and stable as the smoke of sandalwood. That's how he realized the character that all the contingencies in life triggered his imagination, and then he flexibly applied them to creation. So as long as you are careful, all people and things in nature can trigger you, that is to say, you can 'Dao Fa Nature'. These learnings are endless. ”
Played Cai Yuanpei in "The Age of Awakening"
He played Sun Yat-sen in many film and television works
Deng Xiaoping in "Deng Xiaoping at the Turning Point of History"
Engineer of the soul
"When I entered the university in 1978, my teacher said that we are engineers of the human soul in this profession. At that time, I didn't understand it at all, couldn't find it, and couldn't find it for decades. When filming "The Age of Awakening", I realized from Mr. Cai Yuanpei that I was almost seventy years old, and I knew why this profession was an engineer of the soul. So I say that the role is nourishing me, every role is, I have played Sun Wen, played Deng Xiaoping, from this point of view, what I want to interpret is not a specific Cai Yuanpei, can be Zhang Yuanpei, Li Yuanpei, I want to praise this kind of people, to perform them, hold them in both hands, borrow them to influence more people. ”
He often put himself in the role, Cai Yuanpei is the president of the university, and once was the chief of education; he was a Hanlin in the Qing Dynasty, and he also studied in Germany, such a scholarly person, but he is humble to anyone around him, so where the word "everyone" comes from, from his noble character as a support for the inner world. "Sometimes, compared to him, I suddenly feel that I have too much selfishness and distractions. I want to reflect on myself, learn from him, learn from his love for his students, for his school, for his culture, and for his country. ”
"Why am I acting?" He often asked himself this question.
"Some say acting is for awards, others say it's for money. I act mainly because this is my favorite career, even if the role is small, I don't care, I try to dedicate myself to the audience. If I still want to get something in return, that's what the audience said about me, and as long as you say that you did a good job, I'm very pleased. When I was a child, I sang Peking opera along the road to school, and my heart was very happy, at that time I loved this profession, very simple, you would not want awards, nor would you think about money; until now I not only love this industry, I also feel that this profession is very noble, it presents the beautiful things of human beings. ”
He thinks every day about how to be a good actor. In the past, he practiced the acting methods and means taught by the Drama Academy, and pondered the methods and means of acting from excellent actors at home and abroad. But after filming "The Age of Awakening", he had an epiphany: "As an actor, how can I give good works to the audience?" To be a person from the usual time, to start from the roots, technical things are only one foot, and things that exceed technology are infinite. I like to look at those big trees, the trees grow well, the roots are important, right? Deep roots can be leafy, this root is your own cultivation, I go to create a character, I must find my root, and then the role to be charming. A good actor, first of all, depends on whether you have cultivation, you do not have a good cultivation, how can you create a good role? ”
"I often go to see the documentaries of scientists such as Huang Xuhua and Qian Xuesen, and compared with them, I feel that I am too small, you look at the 'two bombs and one star' meritorious scientists, people have made so much contribution to the country, retired like the people." I'm just an ordinary actor, doing my job, what's worth showing off in front of people? Our country's industry, science and technology, and economy are developing in all aspects, and culture must naturally flourish. As a speck of dust in this industry, I feel that I have this responsibility to contribute a small contribution. ”
Speaking of the images of intellectuals seen in the documentary, who have infiltrated their education into life, he gave an example:
"There is such an old couple, in that documentary, they are all in their eighties, old, not on top, commanding, they are deeply reclusive, and they love each other, the mutual concern of the young couple and the old companions, and the cultivation that has been precipitated into the bones... It's watching TV, the old wife pours water for the old man, it's different. I studied acting, and such details touched me very much and kept them in mind. ”
As he spoke, he performed live: first played the old wife, held a virtual teacup in both hands and gently placed it in front of the old man, leaned forward, touched the old man's knee very gently and very slowly with the back of his hand, smiled with pity, and then whispered: "Well, drink some water, drink some water." ”
He sat back in his chair and became an old man, his head stretched forward, as if the person behind his ear was trying to hear the sound of the TV, and his mouth was answering his wife, holding up the tea cup that did not exist in front of him, slowly nodding his head in thanks, sipping tea...
A few simple actions suddenly put me into the "play". At this time, there was no Ma Shaohua in front of the trance, only a loving couple who accompanied each other for half a lifetime, known to the white prime minister, and only the quiet and beautiful sunset red in the world.
(Original title: Ma Shaohua: Nourishing Each Other with Characters)
Source: Beijing Daily
Author: Zhou Xiaohua
Process Edit: L061
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