Chinanews Client Beijing, August 9th (Reporter Song Yusheng) "When the curtain call ended after the performance, I was standing on the stage. In the two-story theater, there were a lot of empty seats upstairs and some people were sitting on the floor. A lot of seats were vacant, and some people were seated. From that perspective, I haven’t seen it for too long... At that moment, an actor next to me couldn’t help turning his head and started crying. He kept crying and crying all the time. I can Understand, because it's been too long."
On the evening of July 21st, Tong Xinyu's drama "Flying over the Madhouse" was staged in Hangzhou. This was the first time he returned to the stage after six months of work stoppage.
"Flying over the lunatic asylum" tour site. Photo courtesy of Guangwei Drama Photo by lanso
Anxiety and busy
After 7 months, everyone from the director to the actors was in a mixed mood. Looking back at the first half of the year, many people felt dreaming.
Tong Xinyu, who was about to start working after the Chinese New Year, rarely got a holiday, and her life suddenly "slowed down". As a result, when facing reporters' questions, his impression of that period was "too anxious to do nothing."
When everyone was quarantined at home, travel was restricted, and theaters were closed, most theatrical performances did not even have actors and had to be cancelled.
Unlike their directors and actors who have no play to direct or act on, at the end of January this year, theatrical performance companies and theaters became extremely busy almost instantly.
Some practitioners bluntly said that from the moment the new crown epidemic began to attract public attention until March and April, everyone was "busy with changing contracts and refunding tickets," and they didn't even have time to think about what to do next.
On March 6, the number of new local confirmed cases nationwide fell below 100, and fell to single digits on the 11th of that month. However, when theaters and other performance venues can resume opening, it is still far away.
During this period, Tong Xinyu pulled Li Chunfeng, who produced Fang Guangwei's drama online, "always chatting," and the content of the chat was "probably sharing anxiety with each other."
During that time, an actor next to him left the house and returned to his hometown. Someone went to sell insurance. An actor he knew got a job as a counter in a fast-moving chain store.
Data map: Wuhan passenger ferry will resume its service on the day when Wuhan is "unblocked". The picture shows passengers scanning the code and entering the station at Wuchang Zhonghua Road Terminal. Zhang Changshe
By April, the situation began to improve. From April 8th, Wuhan City lifted the 76-day Li Han Li Hubei passage control measures, restored external traffic in an orderly manner, and gradually restored normal production and living order.
This seems to be a signal. For practitioners who still stick to the drama performance industry, hope is not far away.
The opening play of the Nanjing Theatre Festival "White Deer Plain" was staged at Nanjing Poly Theater. Photo courtesy of respondents
Twists and turns
In May, the Market Management Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the "Guidelines for the Prevention and Control Measures for the Reopening of Theaters and Other Performance Places". Among them, it is clear that under the condition of adequate epidemic prevention measures, commercial performances can be held in low-risk areas. The number of spectators in theaters and other performance venues should not exceed 30% of the seats in the theater. Seats should be separated and a distance of more than 1 meter should be maintained.
On June 11th, Nanjing Poly Theater performed its first performance since the epidemic, which was a special show for condolences to the medical personnel fighting the epidemic. On June 19, the theater’s first commercial performance since the epidemic, and also the opening play of the Nanjing Drama Festival-Shaanxi Renyi’s "Bai Lu Yuan" was staged.
"Better than expected" was Gong Shenglin, general manager of Nanjing Poly Theater, who felt the most about the performance. "The original plan for "White Deer Plain" was to perform two performances, but the demand from the audience was too great, and we temporarily added another one."
He told a reporter from Chinanews.com, "Although there are only 30% of the audience, we feel that there is 300% applause. This is also to convey confidence to everyone."
The opening play of the Nanjing Theatre Festival "White Deer Plain" was staged at Nanjing Poly Theater. Photo courtesy of respondents
But the resumption of the theater has not been smooth sailing.
On June 11, the day the Nanjing Poly Theater opened and resumed work, Beijing added a new locally confirmed case, and the epidemic repeated. In the following week, more than 100 confirmed cases were reported in Beijing, and the emergency response level for public health emergencies in Beijing was also adjusted from three to two.
Tong Xinyu, who had just started preparing for the drama "Flying over the Madhouse", was in Beijing. The preparation work was interrupted again.
"Everyone is really difficult." Tong Xinyu said, "The most difficult thing is that the identity that we are proud of cannot be restored, and the identity of the desire to complete a work with the audience through emotional resonance cannot be restored."
Data map: On June 13, Beijing Xinfadi Wholesale Market was temporarily closed, and the police carried out traffic control on the surrounding area. Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yu
Fortunately, just a week later, on June 18, Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist of the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced, "The Beijing epidemic has been brought under control."
At the end of June, "Flying Over the Cuckoo's Asylum" finally started rehearsing. Li Chunfeng, the producer of the drama, still remembers that many actors at that time still pulled their suitcases after receiving the notice, "They also returned to Beijing for the first time this year."
Confidence comes from the audience
"Everyone's first reaction is to finally start rehearsing, and finally rehearsing this thing back to life. For many people, this should be the norm, even if the rehearsal fee is actually not much, even if you go wherever you go, you must scan the code. , Everywhere I went, I was "shot" with a temperature measuring gun, but the whole group was very angry. Everyone felt suffocated and wanted to return to the stage again."
Tong Xinyu recalled, “The first time I asked an actor to clean up the costumes and props, I couldn’t control it at all. I said it would be completed within half an hour, and no one cares about you, just like a cat that just moved. Check all corners. The smell of the floor, the rust of the boom... everything smells good."
Starting from July 4, low-risk areas are no longer required to hold a nucleic acid test certificate when leaving Beijing.
"Flying over the lunatic asylum" is about to start the tour, the first stop in Hangzhou. In order to ensure the health and safety of everyone, the actors and staff were quarantined in Hangzhou for another 14 days.
The result was dumbfounding. "Because of the isolation, everyone orders takeaways in the house every day, and we can only organize online copybooks. So when I saw the actors again, I found that everyone was fatter, not only when interviewing actors, but also rehearsing in Beijing. Times are different." Tong Xinyu said with a smile.
Finally, on July 21st, this drama opened the first stop of this year's tour.
"Flying over the lunatic asylum" tour site. Photo courtesy of Guangwei Drama Photo by Liu Yixuan
Since then, the situation has improved quickly, which surprised many people in the industry. Tickets for the performance of "Flying Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in Nanjing sold out on July 26; tickets for the performance in Shanghai on August 5 were once again hard to find.
Gong Shenglin, general manager of Nanjing Poly Theater, told reporters that under the premise of a 30% current limit, several dramas in succession "have a phenomenon that a ticket is hard to find", and even the ticket sales of children's dramas that he was more worried about before are only " Slightly worse than previous years, but better than expected."
He can feel the enthusiasm of the audience. "For a good performance, everyone is looking forward to it, and everyone can feel the enthusiasm of the audience."
For this reason, Gong Shenglin has confidence in the drama performance market. This confidence comes from the audience who walks into the theater.
The theater before the performance. Photo courtesy of Guangwei Drama
The future of drama
Everyone's life is returning to normal little by little.
But it is undeniable that everyone's lives and lifestyles have also been changed more or less due to the epidemic.
For practitioners in the theatrical performance field, until today, the audience does not exceed 30%, the health code must be presented when entering the venue, and the auditorium seats are kept at a safe distance. These are still mandatory requirements of various theaters.
"But if you can act, it's very satisfying." Tong Xinyu said.
At the same time, many theater practitioners have begun to think about the future of drama in this change. When people are used to watching online, will the emerging technologies such as 5G and VR dilute people's attention to drama?
Gong Shenglin feels that the current performance market in Nanjing has actually given the answer-audiences are still looking forward to high-quality programs, and they are also willing to enter the theater. "No matter how online, the feeling is completely different from the feeling of sitting in a theater. As long as it is a high-quality performance, the audience will walk in."
But how to understand the word "quality"? How to grasp the taste of the audience?
Li Chunfeng feels that after the epidemic, there may be breakthroughs in drama content. "Everyone will need works of art to release emotions. This is also an opportunity for local drama. We hope to explore some newer models and see what else is possible in drama."
At the end of drama content, Tong Xinyu has already begun to experiment with new possibilities for drama. He made "2333 Impromptu Comedy Classroom" with the actors he had worked with before, hoping to give the audience a new experience in the form of improvisation.
Data map: On July 31, a fragment of the playwright Wan Fang's "Winter Journey" was staged at Beijing Poly Theater. The picture shows a still from "Winter Journey". Photo courtesy of the organizer
Just a few days before the reporter conducted this interview, the National Grand Theater in Beijing and the Beijing Poly Theater successively ushered in their first performances after the resumption of work.
Drama is gradually returning to people's daily life. (Finish)