The Chinese film industry is known as the "fifth generation of directors", referring to the directing students who entered the school in 1978 and graduated from the Beijing Film Academy after 1982, if this concept is expanded to the field of drama, it is necessary to mention Wang Xiaoying, who graduated from the directing department of the Central Academy of Drama in the same period.
After graduating from the famous "Guide 79 Class" of Chinese opera, Wang Xiaoying successfully entered the China Youth Art Theater and began his career as a professional director, and later served as the vice president of the National Drama Theatre. He has been in the industry for nearly 40 years, and has won many national awards such as the "Five One Project Award", "Wenhua Award", "Cao Yu Drama Award" and so on, and enjoys special government allowances.
Although he has retired now, Director Wang Xiaoying's career path has not stopped.
01 《Copenhagen》
In April Fangfei, the modern drama valley famous drama exhibition organized by Shanghai's Jing'an District will be held in Shanghai, and the theater director Wang Xiaoying will participate as the chairman of the "2021 One Drama Awards Final Jury", and his classic representative work "Copenhagen" will also participate in the performance activities.
Poster of Copenhagen
The drama "Copenhagen" tells the story of the German scientist Heisenberg, the Danish scientist Bohr and his wife Margaret, who met after the death of three souls, recalling the scene when Heisenberg came to Copenhagen to visit the two in 1941 during World War II, and discussing the development of the atomic bomb, the far-reaching impact of its actual combat, and the topic of scientific ethics and humanistic spiritual choices.
Rehearsal photo of "Copenhagen" in 2003
It is worth noting that "Copenhagen" has been rehearsed since the "SARS" period in 2003, and has been performed for seventeen years now, and it is still often performed.
"Because the classic is classic, the points that move, touch or inspire people are not a fleeting, not a short-term act, always touching some of the deeper places of people, so they are not affected by time." Of course, there is another very important factor, that is, to do it with quality, whether it is the script itself or stage production, or the actor's performance, in the art of quality, it is possible to let people perform for a long time, let the audience watch it over and over again. ”
02 Pear Garden House
Wang Xiaoying childhood photo
Director Wang Xiaoying was born in the Liyuan family, under the influence of his parents, he was exposed to the field of drama since childhood, so the seeds of art were buried in his little soul early. After graduating from high school, he worked as an actor in the Chizhou Literary troupe for four years.
Wang Xiaoying with his father
"I grew up watching my father crawl around in the rehearsal hall, and I knew how much hard I had to go through as an actor, how much effort I had to put in, how to practice over and over again, and how to practice. My parents also told me at most that it was possible to act seriously when acting, whether it was a big role or a small role. When there is no role to play, the things around you, you can do as much as you can. ”
Wang Xiaoying's martial arts appearance in the Chizhou Literary and Labor Troupe
In 1977, the college entrance examination resumed enrollment, the then 20-year-old Wang Xiaoying also signed up, although the year did not successfully enroll, the college entrance examination years that lasted for three years also seemed quite tortuous, but it was also the so-called "good things and many grinding", many years later Wang Xiaoying went back to review this important journey in his life, he also directed the drama "1977", with drama to commemorate that special and unforgettable years.
03 Campus time
Young Wang Xiaoying
The little boy who watched his father perform on stage at the age of 5 would not have imagined that the small seeds planted at that time had grown into towering trees with deep roots and unshakable leaves. Giving up his good science and engineering, giving up a precious admission letter, and giving up the great future that has been handed to him, Wang Xiaoying hardened his scalp, held the determination to break the boat and fight a battle against the water, and went to the dramatic road he loved.
"You know an actor who wants to act and compete for roles. When I want to go to college, at this time I had better not act, let me review it myself, when acting, you can't go without a job, participate in the change of scenery, why? Asked me to change tables, I set the table on the side of the curtain and read a book there by the light on the stage. As soon as the light went out, I knew the table should be moved, and when I came back, I stood and watched. ”
In the end, Wang Xiaoying's harvest did not live up to his efforts, and in 1979, as the first batch of directing students after the resumption of enrollment in Chinese opera, he entered the campus of his dreams and began another journey of his drama life here. However, in the midst of a group of experienced classmates, he also experienced a period of confusion.
Chinese opera "Guide 79" class graduation group photo
"All the people are older than me, I am the youngest one, and all the people are more experienced than I have in life. Some people are already very mature actors before that, some people have published novels, and all the homework you do is not as good as others. For a while I felt like I couldn't learn anymore, and people were in that extreme depression, even thinking of committing suicide. ”
Fortunately, director Wang Xiaoying, who was depressed, met a good teacher, and a long conversation with the teacher made him suddenly cheerful. He began to let go of his anxiety about homework and develop good qualities and mental states. In this way, Wang Xiaoying had become the leader of the class in the third grade.
04 Metamorphosis boosted
Drama "Rubik's Cube" related reports (intercepted)
After graduating from Chinese opera, Wang Xiaoying successfully became the director of the National Theatre, and as a fledgling, he boldly rehearsed the avant-garde drama "Rubik's Cube" and became famous in one battle. "Rubik's Cube" is composed of nine parts, such as "Black Hole", "Pop Color" and "Advertisement", and is run through by a host, with innovative forms, extremely tense performances, questions and reflections on life and society and even the universe, making it a leader in drama creation in the 1980s.
"I graduated in 1984, and it was in 1985 that an undergraduate student was able to rehearse the play independently in the second year of the National Theatre. To a large extent, it has a lot to do with Teacher Chen Yong, who is very enthusiastic about supporting young people. ”
Wang Xiaoying with the German audience Doris
Wang Xiaoying's "Rubik's Cube" not only caused strong repercussions in the domestic theater industry, but also made foreign audiences unforgettable, a German audience was deeply moved after watching the play, and also warmly invited director Xiaoying to his own country to see their plays, Wang Xiaoying was invited to go, so under the nourishment of the deep theater soil in Europe, he completed another transformation.
"I know almost nothing about foreign drama, she introduced me to the circle of mainstream German drama, but the stage creation of German mainstream theater is already very fresh and very avant-garde for a young Chinese director, which makes me feel like this, there is a strong stage impact, audiovisual impact, and at the same time there are very deep ideas and emotions behind it." I came back with that awareness and went to rehearse the play. ”
Stills from "Blood Beauty"
The three-month trip to Germany made Wang Xiaoying gain a lot, and after returning to China, he began to rehearse "Blood Beauty", whether it was talking about drama, rehearsal, stage processing has changed a lot. And this change has continued to this day, allowing him to always work on a mainstream theater stage full of experimental spirit and innovative spirit.