[Explanation] Recently, in the rehearsal hall of the Gansu Opera Theatre, actors crawled out of the crude nests. They performed the scene of the "six old men" buried in the nests during sand control.
The play "Eight Steps of Sand" uses the true stories of the three generations of "six old men" in Gulang County, Gansu to control desertification and afforestation.
The director Liu Yuejun of the group B of the play said frankly that in order to truly interpret the hardships of sand control, the actors approached the sand control people, ate and lived with them, worked together, explored stories in exchanges, and tasted the characters through observation.
[Concurrent] Liu Yuejun, director of group B of the drama "Ba Bu Sha"
At that time, all the actors in the theater, we went to (Gu Lang) to experience life, (seeing the six old men) digging a nest, which is two or three square meters, just a few people squeezed here to sleep, very hard, they live there. For a few months, then carry dry food from home, which is unthinkable.
[Explanation] Babusha, located in the Hexi Corridor, is a desert on the southern edge of the Tengger Desert and the largest sandy mouth in Gulang.
In the 1980s, six villagers more than half a hundred years old, unwilling to be swallowed up by yellow sand, rolled up their blankets and advanced into Babusha, writing a green miracle here in the spirit of contemporary Yugong.
In March 2021, the Gansu Opera Theatre started the creation and arrangement of the drama "Ba Bu Sha", which was performed in Beijing, Lanzhou and other places. However, in the pursuit of reality, it went from the presentation of drama conflicts to the expression of stage language, to music, lines, etc. The details are still being rehearsed and revised.
[Concurrent] Liu Yuejun, director of group B of the drama "Ba Bu Sha"
For example, (the area of governance) 75,000 mu, which was not available in the past (the script), but I got this data and think it’s good. There are only six old men who need to control more than 70,000 mu of desert. This is unthinkable. The numbers are more specific, and the audience may feel more clearly.
[Commentary] Liu Yuejun said frankly that the past 40 years of desert control experience was performed on stage for two hours. They selected plots of buried nests, sheep-husband incidents, black storm attacks, and the dispersal of forest farms from a variety of materials. Through artistic means, Deduct it out.
In the drama, Du Junzhe, who plays the shepherd, rehearsed until the corners of his mouth bubbled in order to play the negative role.
[Concurrent] Du Junzhe, actor in the drama "Ba Bu Sha"
(I'm in the play) Not to say, against them.
Because, the sheep herder must be herding sheep (for a living), this is the way I make a living, so every time the conflict intensifies, it is because of me.
[Explanation] Among the participants, Liu Yiyao is the youngest. For her, the most important way to play a good role is to feel it in person. Through the comparison between the past and the past, she has a new understanding.
[Concurrent] Liu Yiyao, actor in the drama "Ba Bu Sha"
The (six old men) are great, because they can manage so many deserts. They have made the deserts especially beautiful now. There are also flowers and trees, which is very different from the original eight-step sand.
[Commentary] Liu Yuejun said that "Ba Bu Sha" is an original drama in Gansu. In addition to reflecting the desert control experience, it also conveys changes and development to the outside world.
Ai Qinglong Song Zixin reports from Lanzhou, Gansu
Editor in charge: [Li Ji]