Li Danping, trainee reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network.
Reporter Guo Shaoming.
A small theater repertoire is 'out of the circle', and it is difficult to find a ticket" "xx creates a small theater repertoire performance brand and launches hundreds of performances" ......In recent years, small theaters seem to be quite popular, so that the city is full of "plays", and at the same time, it is also constantly exploring the production and performance methods of dramas, operas, ** dramas, children's dramas and other artistic categories, enriching the audience's viewing experience.
Recently, the reporter interviewed director and playwright Li Liuyi, talking about the phenomenon of "small theater booming", Li Liuyi said that 80% or even 90% of the so-called "small theater drama" in the current market cannot be called "small theater drama".
In 1982, the drama "Absolute Signal" directed by Lin Shaohua premiered, marking the entry of contemporary small theater drama into the Chinese theater stage, which has a history of 42 years. Li Liuyi also began to explore the repertoire of small theater 20 years ago, and in 1998 he launched the drama "Very Mahjong" in the Rainy and Sunny Year, and in 2002, he directed the small theater opera "The Story of the Puppet".
In the course of the interview, "common sense" was the word that Li Liuyi said most often. He believes that many of the problems that often occur in theaters today are common sense mistakes that could have been avoided, and the cognitive bias of "small theater drama" is one of them. "The most common sense mistakes people tend to make, and we tend to pay attention to the 'high' content and ignore the understanding and learning of common sense. ”
Now we lack real critics or artists, and we rarely think about 'what is theatre'. He said that the problem is not only the lack of drama, but also the lack of appreciation, and many people don't know what a good drama looks like.
When he was young, Li Liuyi often admonished himself to be "down-to-earth and lawless", that is, his creative attitude should be down-to-earth, and his creative methods should be "lawless". In order for art to be criticized and subverted, "creators need to have a certain understanding of history and innovate on the basis of integrity."
Li Liuyi hopes to see some bolder works in the future, "This is the vitality that young people should have." "However, these are just my personal opinions, and I can't point fingers at others. He said that real art needs creators to play and create according to their own views, and it is not necessary to do what the people who came before said, "just keep the original intention, and it is better to defeat the people who have come before."
Director: Li Liuyi. Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
China Youth Daily: Compared with 20 or 30 years ago, what are the new characteristics of today's small theater dramas?
Li Liuyi: After hundreds of years of development, the concept of small theater has gradually changed in the West, and has been gradually developed and improved, forming a series of concepts. Modern Chinese drama is influenced by Western drama, and if you want to understand Chinese small theater drama, you must have a certain understanding of the history of Western small theater.
In the big picture, drama includes Chinese opera. In ancient times, opera was performed in a small space, and the church and the goulan were small theaters, but the concept of theater had not yet been produced at that time. Therefore, we also need to understand the history of opera. After the reform and opening up, China's culture and art entered an important stage of development, and this history is equally important.
There are many small theaters in society now, is it really a small theater? Is a play performed in a small space a small theater play? Not. The reason for this cognitive bias is that we do not ask or understand "what is drama" and "what is small theater drama", so it is difficult to judge whether drama is valuable or not. Only when the creator has professional knowledge can his drama influence the audience and establish a connection with the audience.
China Youth Daily: What kind of drama is a small theater drama?
Li Liuyi: To put it simply, small theater drama should be revolutionary, experimental and critical. After hundreds of years of development, the traditional mirror-framed stage of the Grand Theater has many constraints due to cultural and contemporary reasons, which makes it lack vitality. Drama is a synthesis, and from which angle of revolution we must experiment and explore step by step. When the small theater repertoire is revolutionary and experimental, it must be subversive, and it naturally produces criticism.
The framed stage has formed an inherent relationship between spectators and performers, and has a complete set of theories and methods. If you continue to use this method of performance in a small theater, it is just a play from a large theater in a small space. Although some plays are innovative, 99% of them are performances on a mirror-framed stage, and they are still looking for changes within this framework. It is a matter of common sense that innovation, revolution, experimentation, and the development of art cannot be talked about without changing the most basic relationship between spectators and performers.
China Youth Daily, China Youth Network: Immersive drama has changed the relationship between movie-watching, does it belong to small theater drama?
Li Liuyi: Many immersive dramas have changed the relationship between spectators and performers, but they have not changed the performance method of the mirror-framed stage of the Grand Theater; The form has changed, but the essence of the performance has not changed, and it still cannot constitute a revolutionary change, which does not conform to the essential connotation of small theater.
The reason why "Absolute Signal" can become a symbol is that it has changed from literary writing to drama, including performance, space, time, viewing and performance relationships, ** and many other contents, all of which have changed from tradition, and each category has new elements.
In 2000, my rehearsal drama "The Wilderness" used 3 cameras and 24 TVs to switch in real time, which has far exceeded the amount of information now. A lot of shows in the past have been linear, and this one is non-linear. The television set on the stage seems to constitute a "symphony", showing the diverse existence of the actors' different states of consciousness through the switching of cameras and the projection of television.
Small theater plays must be experimental, and this experimentation lies in your understanding of small theater. Returning to the most basic elements, if the small theater repertoire is not subversive, revolutionary, experimental and critical, then its artistic and contemporary nature is not valid, and it just seems to be lively.
China Youth Daily: Creators' perception of art is biased, which will also mislead the audience.
Li Liuyi: After the audience is misled, the appreciation system established by this will be skewed, thinking that they have watched a small theater drama before. When the real small theater play comes along, he thinks it's not right. If there is a problem with enlightenment, it is very difficult to correct the problem if it becomes a habit.
However, if we recognize the problem, we can solve it slowly. Just like reading, if you can't read 1,000 words, you can start with 500 words, and slowly you can see 1,000 words, 30,000 words, and then 300,000 words. For small theater dramas, you have to use an artistic way to let everyone slowly feel the beauty of small theater. One or two may not work, but after three or five times, he may be able to enjoy himself.
China Youth Daily: What are your expectations for these small theater dramas in the future?
Li Liuyi: There are also a lot of people who are making a lot of fun and exploring, but I sometimes think, why do young people lack courage now? The reason is that they don't know the history and don't know what to inherit and what to throw away.
I hope that young people will be bolder, move faster, and have more knowledge of history. However, we are not qualified to dictate to young people now, but we just hope that artistic creation will flourish, and the more styles and styles the better, and the more individuality the better.
*: China Youth Daily client.