Another way to open Douban's annual number one Chinese novel, riding on this "submarine" story | Submarine at night | A kind of
"This is a story in a loop style, telling the story of a boy around 2000 how he bid farewell to his adolescence, from his personal emotions to the emotions of the audience. The theme is somewhat sad, but not 'mourning', but rather tranquility, tranquility, and nostalgia." On July 14th, screenwriter and director Zheng Tianran introduced the new drama 'Submarine at Night' during a tour.
The single act drama "Submarine at Night" produced by Shanghai Theatre Art Center will premiere on July 21st. The drama is adapted from a novel of the same name by young writer Chen Chuncheng. It was once named one of the Top 10 Novels of 2020 by Asia Weekly, and was ranked 68th on Douban Reading's 2020 Chinese Literature Top 1.
"Submarine at Night" tells the story of "me" - Chen Turner, who used to be an imaginative teenager but later voluntarily gave up his imagination in the face of real pressure. Chen Chuncheng portrayed a young man's gradual detachment from his own imagination with his unique and light imagination and gentle and long strokes. The imagination, which was regarded as an astonishing talent in childhood, under the discipline of being a "normal person", is like a vigorous flame weakening, extinguishing, and turning into a wisp of smoke. Writer Yu Hua commented that "it is both elegant and solid, with a very rich imagination, and the realistic part is also very solid. The transformation and connection are done very well."
The single act drama "Submarine at Night" revolves around the story of Chen Turner, with young actors Bai Zhuoming and Zhang Weilun taking turns to star. There is only one actor in the entire drama, who narrates in the first person the story of the protagonist's imagination from childhood in the midst of all things, and from a young age in his room, he fantasizes about designing, constructing, and operating a submarine to explore the deep sea, until he realizes that his time is thrown into the void of the sea, and his parents are also aging. This imagination gradually fades away from him due to the pressure of reality and is difficult to find again. In Chen Tianran's eyes, Bai Zhuoming and Zhang Weilun, who participated in the script polishing together, have many ideas, different personal charm, and understanding of the script. "They have their own growth backgrounds and performance styles. Bai Zhuoming has a sense of youth, while Zhang Weilun has a sense of playfulness. Different people have different presentations."
"It is very difficult to perform a solo performance on stage alone, without support from peers, relying entirely on oneself." Bai Zhuoming said that it is necessary to rely on "proficiency" to solve the awkwardness of acting alone. "Proficient enough to have a clear understanding of every step of the performance, filling all the time, rather than reciting."
Zhang Weilun's first performance as a solo actor, "I never expected to be on stage for so long. The actors are awkward, and the audience knows all about it, so I remind myself not to make assumptions and emotional preparations." As a musical actor, Zhang Weilun rarely acts without singing. This time, when he switched to the stage of a drama, he said, "The logic of the score is the logic of speaking, and it needs to stimulate the inner and enrich the external rhythm. The novel" Submarine at Night "is brilliant and psychedelic. As long as the imagination is realistic enough, it is another kind of reality." Zhang Weilun created the theme song for this drama, and the audience can hear the complete version of the song during the closing ceremony. ".
Chen Tianran has collaborated with Shanghai Drama Art Center multiple times. She adapted the Chinese version of "Every Wonderful Thing," injecting local elements and meticulous emotional portrayal into the drama, and was praised by many viewers as the "Best Small Theater of the Year" and "One of the Most Successful Localized Works.". The original play "Room", which focuses on the living environment of women and the relationship between mother and daughter, was written and directed by herself. After its premiere, its reputation continued to rise, and it was even more difficult to obtain tickets in the later stages of the performance.
Chen Tianran said, "The Submarine at Night is a very private story, and everyone will have similar experiences in their teenage years - not necessarily the disappearance of imagination, but some things we have to abandon in the process of growing up when facing reality, such as emotions, edges, and ways of doing things. We hope that the theme expressed in this play is to expand commonality, not just about imagination."
At the founding meeting of "Submarine at Night", producer Wu Jia said, "It will be a small and beautiful single person drama with a strong style. Style refers not only to the dramatic structure and vocabulary of the main creative structure, but also to the actors' different performance techniques, presentation methods, and understanding of the play. This is exactly what makes the work very interesting."
When Chen Tianran and Chen Chuncheng discussed the script together, Chen Chuncheng left a deep impression on Chen Tianran with a passage about why he wrote "Submarine at Night". "He said that when childhood comes back to his room, he can feel a sense of peace and tranquility." This is the purpose of the dance and beauty team to create the "common childhood room" stage for the 80s and 90s. Globe, world map, homework book, adjustable angle desk lamp, plush toys... lead the audience and actors to reminisce about the past together. The stage is not only a childhood bedroom filled with memories of a generation, but also turns into a deep blue sea with my imagination. Therefore, my room also undergoes a transformation from reality to virtuality, making the connection and transformation between novel imagination and reality visible and within reach.
The entire stage is wrapped in transparent bubble paper. Chen Tianran introduced that when discussing design plans with dance designer Zhu Yushuang, he came up with the element of transparent bubble paper. In addition to being a "stress relieving tool" for modern people, it is also very common in express packaging. It serves as a wrapping and protection function, reflecting "my" imagination, which actually largely protected "my childhood.
