Since the famous dramatist Mr. Cao Yu's masterpiece "Sunrise" was released in 1936, it has been put on the stage countless times in the past 85 years. Recently, Venus appeared at the Wuzhen Drama Festival with a new version of "Sunrise" directed and self-performed, and she used the form of dance + drama to perform a "very Golden Star" work for the audience on the inclined stage.
What is the Venus version of Sunrise? Is there a cure for Chen Bailu's tragedy? Why do dancers frequently cross borders? What kind of new face will "Venus Show" take on after a four-year absence? ...... With the usual determination and full confidence, Venus was interviewed by the yangcheng evening news reporter.
Talking about the play, this "Sunrise" is very "Venus"
Yangcheng Evening News: Why did you choose to create your own self-directed and self-acted first work based on Mr. Cao Yu's "Sunrise" script?
Venus: The script for Sunrise is very well written and extremely lifelike. Its span is very large, from Chen Bailu, a social flower of high society, to Cuixi at the bottom, there are expressions. So I am very grateful to be able to stand on the shoulders of giants and have such a good script to provide us with space for expression.
Venus plays Chen Bailu
Yangcheng Evening News: How do you evaluate this work of yours? What are the challenges of playing the roles of Chen Bailu and CuiXi? What do you think of audience evaluation?
Venus: This stage play is very "Venus" from music, choreography, costumes, limbs, lines to stage scheduling. There were a lot of broken words in the original script, I took it all off, and the unnecessary characters were all cut out, and I felt that it was enough to highlight the three-dimensionality of each character on the stage. After watching the show, some people put forward that "Teacher Jin's lines are not as good as drama actors." I fully accepted. But I think in my most natural way, even if it's a character with a bit of a Venus accent and a Venusian speed, it's okay to stand on stage. The most important thing is to reconsider and reconstruct the play with today's values.
Yangcheng Evening News: What part do you think best reflects the characteristics of "Venus"?
Venus: Aesthetics! How good is the aesthetic of this play, the music is good, the picture is right, the lighting is good, and the actors' costumes are accurate... I come from a dance background, and the fluidity of the stage in my play is particularly good, especially smooth.
Tilt the stage with props for small Trojans
Yangcheng Evening News: What kind of person is Chen Bailu in your eyes? On the stage, what is the meaning of the little wooden horse placed in her home?
Venus: Chen Bailu has her childish places, she is nostalgic for her childhood, childhood is her happiest moment, but this Trojan also represents her swing, inner uncertainty. The devices behind the Trojan horse were somewhat book-like, but they would fly again, much like the straw that had finally overwhelmed her in her life—the bill accumulated by desire.
Yangcheng Evening News: Chen Bailu, Cui Xi, Pan Yueting, "Little Things"... The characters in the play have their own tragedies, do you think these tragedies have a "solution"?
Venus: There is no solution. As a drama, there is no need to demand answers. I think the biggest charm of drama is "presentation", so that each audience has their own interpretation. Therefore, we did not deal with the death of "small things" so directly, and Chen Bailu's death was also diluted. I give the audience room to choose the answer, maybe they are not dead? The last time I went on stage, I deliberately performed Chen Bailu's back as old," which also gave the audience room for reverie—perhaps, Chen Bailu survived alone.
Talk about life to learn to control desires
Yangcheng Evening News: Many of your views are regarded as golden sentences by netizens, if you can give Chen Bailu a few life suggestions, what would you say?
Venus: I think she can give up something, don't want everything, and end up with nothing. In the face of matter, she is passive, in the face of feelings, she is empty. Therefore, in the end, she was completely suspended in the air, up and down, left and right, and did not lean on either side, which was chen Bailu's most pathetic place. She anesthetizes herself with a drunken fan day after day, but the reality is harsh. Debt is to pay off, she still has to face life, which is also the "last straw" that crushed her.
Yangcheng Evening News: Chen Bailu is deeply trapped in desire, which has led to the tragedy of life. How should modern people view or control their desires?
Venus: It's normal to have desires, and it's all right without desire. However, people in civilized society must learn to control their desires, transform their desires into different ways to express them, and master the "balance point". If you don't even have this ability to balance, you will be dumped by society, and your life will be chaotic.
In what way to balance the release? Too many forms to choose from, art, sports... I think that as long as people can control their desires, their lives will not be bad. If you're overwhelmed by desire, it's miserable.
Talking about cross-border, my position is "stage man"
Yangcheng Evening News: From "Dog Charm" to "Sunrise", I feel that your stage creation has been expanding in recent years, is it because simple dance can no longer satisfy you?
Venus: Maybe. I'm curious about life and don't think of myself as a dance factory where I have to create products every day. In two years, maybe I'll be able to sing jazz? It's possible!
Yangcheng Evening News: If your energy is so scattered, will it affect your status as a dancer?
Venus: I don't care! I never wanted to be a premier dancer in the dance world, not that ambition. But I know I'm very attractive, and that charisma is diverse, so I live a wonderful life. I've always said I'm a "stage person", on stage, whether it's dancing, talking about talk shows, or acting on stage plays... Each form can express the "Venus" side.
Yangcheng Evening News: Probably most people know About Venus, not through theater and dance, but through TV talk shows.
Venus: That's no problem. There are different channels for sharing ideas. Some people never go into the theater, and if because of my talk show, he became curious about me, learned that I also did dance and theater, and eventually walked into the theater, which is a good thing. I especially hope that everyone has the experience of going into the theater and being exposed to the expression of different art forms, which is too important. If art can be integrated into every corner of society, this proves that the whole society is a benign state of health.
Yangcheng Evening News: After a four-year absence, the "Venus Show" will return in January next year, what new changes will the show have?
Venus: "Venus Show 2022" will be a large-scale literary and art criticism program, mainly responsible for reviewing film and television dramas, stage works, and literary and artistic works. I think China lacks good literary and art reviews, in order to make my comments more textured and convincing, I want to act in stage plays, movies I also want to act, TV series I also want to act, I have to do it, I know how to speak. Why have you not acted and commented on others?
Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Ai Xiuyu
Photo: Yin Xuefeng
Editor/Bow Lifang