Beijing Film Academy teachers and students launch a new drama "YOU | Theater | Stage" on the Shanghai stage
Starting from June 30th, the play "Building 8 in Xiangyangli", jointly created by more than 20 outstanding teachers and students from the School of Performance of Beijing Film Academy, will be staged at YOUNG Theater. As the second work in the "Xiangyang Series" of Beijing Film Academy, "Xiangyangli Building 8" vividly presents the scene of Beijing's people's livelihood in the 1980s, with Xie Song and his family living in the Guanzi Building as the main characters.
In "Building 8 in Xiangyangli", Xie Song, his family, and two other households live together in the unit room of Building 8 in Xiangyangli, each occupying only a dozen square meters and sharing a kitchen and toilet. One day, the news that the unit was going to split houses disrupted the original balance. The three families are secretly rubbing their hands and hoping to obtain this unique allocation indicator.
"In the same era, many things were common. In the early stages of reform and opening up, the material life of the whole country was at the same level. In terms of living conditions, big cities in China were crowded at that time, and audiences in Shanghai could easily resonate." Cui Jianyu, screenwriter of "Building 8 in Xiangyangli" and teacher of Beijing Film Academy, introduced that during rehearsals, students could find the shadows of the characters in the play on their parents and elders, or find the images and feelings of the characters from documentary and other visual materials. Under the guidance of the teacher, everyone also studied the background of the era of "Building 8 in Xiangyangli". "As a mirror, the teacher points out the distance between the students and the characters. In every scene, even every action, every sentence, we give students specific opinions on the grasp of the characters and the deviation in understanding the events. We watch the students grow little by little on stage, gradually approaching the characters, and finally becoming living characters standing there. This process is very interesting and very fulfilling."
When it comes to my thoughts on performing in Shanghai, Wang Yiwei, the lead actor of "Building 8 in Xiangyangli" and a 2002 graduate of Beijing Film Academy, has a deep impression: "After three years of waiting, we are finally able to stand on stage and come to Shanghai to perform" Building 8 in Xiangyangli "for everyone. The participating teachers, students, and staff behind the scenes have put in tremendous effort and dedication. This also indicates that opportunities may come late, but they will definitely come."
In the future, YOUNG Theater plans to further deepen cooperation with Beijing Film Academy. Both sides will carry out deep integration and collaborative development of industry and education in multiple fields such as teaching practice, artistic creation and exchange, academic discussions, and industry academia research. Wu Song, the planner and lead actor of "Building 8 in Xiangyangli" and a 2015 graduate of Beijing Film Academy, said, "I have known Mr. Bao Rongrong, the program director of YOUNG Theater, for many years. YOUNG Theater is truly a 'theater for young people', so I was wondering if I could have the opportunity to collaborate on a youth drama, perform in such a vibrant and new theater, and hope to achieve long-term cooperation." Building 8 in Xiangyangli "is precisely this very important beginning."
