Exclusive | Chen Peisi: Rational Leading Actor in Comedy | Shanghai | Comedy

From July 7th to 23rd, during a 17 day period, 69 year old Chen Peisi starred in 12 shows of "Amazing Dreams" in Shanghai. This is the last stop of his 52 tours in 10 cities in the past 3 months.

"I used to be prone to insomnia during performances, but now my mindset has relaxed." Chen Peisi's support is his son Chen Dayu. In Chen Dayu's eyes, Chen Peisi is "particularly passionate and has artistic ideals". "If he wants to change his notebook, we have to stay up late. If he does, he doesn't want it anymore. If he wants to change the stage schedule, he thinks it's not good and needs to change it again."

In fact, both father and son have the same level of seriousness, with small cameras installed in the back seats of the audience for each performance. After the performance, there is insufficient summary and polishing of the video.

The stage is like an examination room, and actors are candidates. Chen Dayu said, "My dad has reached the stage of enjoying exams." Chen Peisi didn't see it this way: "Every play has its own life, and my previous experience is useless. The story is different, everything needs to change. To do comedy, you need to be mentally prepared to overcome all difficulties from the beginning."

Good plays never tire of being changed in a hundred chapters

Colleagues from the theater troupe said that Chen Peisi is always thinking: "On the high-speed train from Beijing to Shanghai, and on the car to the theater, he is changing the scene." Actors love to say "go through the scene once" during rehearsals, but not on Chen Peisi's crew, only "perform the scene once". Co actor He Yu described Chen Peisi as "low-key, disciplined, and the acting is bigger than the sky."

Photo by Wang Xiaoxi

Looking at the news: You once said that you would drink three bottles of mineral water with physiological saline for each performance, but it still remains the same now?

Chen Peisi: Water should not be lacking at all. Drink two bottles, sometimes three bottles of saltwater. Come back with some nutrients every morning and evening. If you don't have enough, it's easy to lose energy.

The 12 performances in Shanghai are divided into three parts, with one day off and four days off in between. Faced with such a good audience in Shanghai, I had to go all out. Compared to my age, every scene is a struggle.

I first came into contact with comedy during the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, where a 15 minute sketch required actors to mobilize all their energy and carry their spirits to compete. After getting used to this rhythm, I found it a bit difficult to allocate my energy when performing big plays. It took me a long time to slowly adjust.

Looking at the news: After decades of acting, will the tension at the beginning of the premiere relax a bit?

Chen Peisi: 20 years ago, I starred in "Childcare". After each scene, I threw off my armor and my state of mind was inconspicuous. Chen Dayu always said that my acting skills are too strong, and I put in all my efforts to perform everywhere. A play should be at least 90 minutes long, and I demand that the 90 minute play be based on the spirit and spirit of a 15 minute sketch. He says every day, "When it comes to acting, you have to take it back." But there are some places where I can't take it back, and acting there unknowingly puts more effort into it.

Looking at the news: Over the past 20 years, your stage plays have been performed in the hundreds. What adjustments have been made to the third visit of "Dream of Shock" to Shanghai?

Chen Peisi: The performance changes every day. At noon, we were still discussing. The emotions of the characters are fuller and more complex than before. At the beginning of the rehearsal, there was a sense of regularity, but now it has become personalized. Many details have disappeared while playing. Which one is better? A work is not achieved overnight. Despite meeting the audience, being recognized by the audience, and being recognized by society, we know that there are still many shortcomings. It may take a year to realize that some understanding is not enough and needs to be adjusted.

Our play is dynamic. "The Stage" has been playing for seven years and is also changing. A significant difference can be observed in the performance between the first year, the third year, the sixth year, and the seventh year. I consciously correct my character creation and performance issues. Young people may like rough things, but as I am older, I prefer meticulous things, grinding an iron pestle into a needle.

Looking at the news: "As you act, it's gone." What does that mean?

Chen Peisi: Some things and flavors from the first round of performances have disappeared. The first time I met the audience, the actor had a sense of freshness. After a long time, there was indeed inertia, and they skillfully acted out what they knew. And particularly good actors often intentionally bring out unknown freshness.

So I also need to rehearse with people, control the water words, control the rhythm, and emphasize where to play out the unknown. After a long performance, the actor may have a lot of their own understanding, and they may not be able to change many words. However, they may add things between words or emotional expressions. Over time, if they become formal words, the rhythm of the play will change.

On the news: Every round of the tour, the crew undergoes lineup adjustments. What are your criteria for selecting actors?

Chen Peisi: First of all, if he wants to be able to act, he must be able to take on the role. Secondly, the image is close to the character's requirements and has good physical strength. If the tour is not in good physical condition, it is difficult to stick to four performances a week. Finally, there is also the sound. We cannot wear a microphone during our performance, and the sound must meet the standard. Wearing a microphone is initially very convenient, but over time it can disrupt the sense of stage space. The sense of space is precisely the most charming core part of stage art, and we cannot waste our martial arts skills.

If the above basic conditions are met, the actor will try out a few scenes from the play and then improvise. The candidate does not know the performance content, so they are given a script at the last minute to see if they can quickly grasp the character traits and find the performance style.

Looking at the news: Everyone on the crew said that Chen Peisi strives for excellence and pays great attention to polishing details.

Chen Peisi: The actors, including myself, have also gradually come to understand this play and the performance standards we need to master.

This time I adjusted the closing ceremony again. Generally speaking, when an actor returns to their true self, it is the actor themselves who bid farewell to the audience. I intuitively feel that the atmosphere of the story is still present in this episode of "The Amazing Dream", and it should be the characters coming to bid farewell rather than the actors. At first, everyone didn't adapt to this kind of adjustment. After the play was completed, they naturally returned to their usual happy state, accepted the cheers of the audience, and enjoyed the success of the play. I am always in control. At the end of the entire drama, they still need to maintain the character's state.

Watch the news: Are actors willing to accept this kind of change? How do you persuade them?

Chen Peisi: I'm not the commander. I have to think and give roundabout suggestions to make everyone comfortable with the performance. At the beginning, the actors thought the curtain was over, so why continue to act. I told them not to be happy or sad, to look forward or casually, to walk quietly and sway onto the stage, and I don't know if it will be successful. But after trying it once, the audience agreed and immediately felt the atmosphere: it was not the actors in front of us, but the lives in the play that were no longer there, scattered like clouds and smoke. The audience will generate some important emotions until the big screen is pulled up.

Three Generations of Chen's Comedy

In 2018, the 400th commemorative performance of "Childcare" marked the first time Chen Peisi and Chen Dayu performed together. Originally, there was no matter with Chen Peisi, but there was a temporary shortage of a security guard. The crew encouraged Chen Peisi to go up. At the beginning of the stage, Chen Peisi covered his face, and the audience did not react until they shouted "squat down", and the whole audience burst into laughter. "My dad stole all the tricks," Chen Dayu said.

Looking at the news: You have collaborated with your father Chen Qiang on more than ten film and television dramas, including "Two Sons Opening a Shop". Now, you are partnering with your son Chen Dayu, like a reincarnation.

Chen Peisi: A long time ago, I thought that a father son relationship was not good, and it would make others think that you were going through the back door and taking care of your son more. Actually, I overthought and distorted the audience's thoughts. I found that everyone thinks this is a continuation of artistic blood. My dad and I are not comfortable creating together and often argue. It's natural to argue with my son now.

At home, there is also a reprinted version of Stanislavski's "The Self Cultivation of Actors" left by my father. The book was left there, and I read it before I entered the industry. After entering the industry, I looked back at books and found that without practice, it still wouldn't work. In the future, I don't have to watch "The Self Cultivation of Actors" anymore. I just know what actors are all about.

Looking at the news: What kind of person is your father Chen Qiang in your memory?

Chen Peisi: My parents are all generation with ideals and have always maintained a passion for artistic creation. In the revolutionary war era, they disguised themselves as Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and Zhao Zilong in rural areas to gain public support. Farmers are illiterate and only watch plays. They know the people in the plays. Who is justice? Liu Bei represents orthodoxy and is the embodiment of morality, while Cao Cao is evil. We need to follow this train of thought to let the people understand what kind of team they are and what their purpose is.

My father's generation grew up in acting and never learned what acting is. Let's write a play together, you can't even imagine how long the story is, what it looks like. Gradually, the characters become more refined, and you know how to win the audience. Everything is exploring.

Looking at the news: Will you think of your father at any moment at work?

Chen Peisi: He Yu performed exceptionally well during this tour to Xi'an. When he waved his hand and got off, I felt like my father had walked past here.

At the curtain call, when I saw the actor playing the Shandong soldier, it suddenly reminded me of my father-in-law. He is also a soldier who participated in the Anti Japanese War, Huaihai Campaign, Korean War, and even suppressed bandits. When writing the script, I told the screenwriter Yuyue the story of his father-in-law, and as he continued to tell it, he visualized the father-in-law into his characters. At the end of the curtain call, I looked at the "Shandong Soldier" on stage, still with his back, and bowed to the audience. Oh, I couldn't do anything at once - as if what I saw was my father-in-law.

Watch the news: Will your father guide your child on how to act?

Chen Peisi: Acting methods? He doesn't pass on. In the new era of comedy and movies, no one has a fixed performance method. My father always asks me to walk on my own, he only guarantees that I will walk on this road, takes me to play with him, and helps me get into the industry. He hopes to help and support me, so that I can go further and better in the field of performance.

Every time I come to Shanghai for a performance, I feel very nervous. "Balcony" has been performed for hundreds of times, and before the opening, I still need to recite the lyrics, otherwise I won't be down-to-earth, like aiming at each point and organizing an attack. Other directors who graduated from science classes are very skilled at their first moves. I have nothing, I have to lay out the story first, soak it in water, and everyone will discuss and walk slowly. If not, I will overturn it. This is the experience I learned from my father.

Looking at the news: After acting with Chen Dayu, did you better understand your father's feelings back then?

Chen Peisi: I am in the comedy industry, and Chen Dayu is also in this industry. In the future, there may still be people in my family who continue to do comedy. Even if no one does it, we are already cultivating other children to do comedy. Anyway, inheritance is very important. Civilization is like fire, passed down from generation to generation. We play Shakespeare's works, play European dramas such as "The Seagull" and "The Cherry Orchard", which are certainly good, but who will burn our own civilization and culture? It depends on the efforts of generations.

Looking at the news: Do you think your achievements have surpassed those of your father?

Chen Peisi: The audience will compare father and son together, and in my mind, there is no such competitive relationship. Our generation is definitely going to surpass our predecessors, because the number of artistic practice activities we have now far exceeds that of our parents. But it must be admitted that my father brought me into the field of comedy, and it took me decades to keep moving forward, constantly striving to practice and explore.

Shangguan News: You and Chen Dayu often shoot small Tiktok videos, with more than 10 million fans. How does father and son work?

Chen Peisi: Tiktok is very similar to TV skits. It needs to rely on the experience gained by actors on the stage and spread through digital media such as TV and mobile phones. I live to almost seven, and I don't care about the number of fans or likes. Tiktok's account "Chen Peisi's father and son", I just participate in the performance, and they can cut as they like. Sometimes I listen to feedback that "this episode is good" and search online, but I can't find it yet. I have to use Chen Dayu's phone to watch it.

Crush the script and show it to everyone

Chen Peisi said, "The happiest thing in my life is seeing a good notebook."

"Childcare", born in 2001, is Chen Peisi's first stage comedy work, which revolves around marriage childcare and tells the story of honesty and deception. "Balcony", which was released three years later, was his first self written, self directed, and self starring work. A lot of misunderstandings and comedic techniques drove six characters and three clues to go hand in hand. In "Old House", the audience is also actors, and through the large screen, they can see their performance in real time. "The Stage" and "The Dream" are both part of the "Stage Trilogy" and are also works of "joint efforts and culmination".

Photo by Wang Li

What are the criteria for choosing a script?

Chen Peisi: It must be a script that I understand and others definitely don't understand. No one has been in this industry for as long as I have been. Whether a play can be done or not depends on my notebook. Throughout the process, there were many unknown things inside. When the script is likely to take shape, the whole person seems to see light and transparency, which is the happiest time for me.

Looking at the news: Only you understand good scripts, and others don't understand them? But you also said that we need to make the play understandable to all viewers.

Chen Peisi: These two are not contradictory. Acting is about chewing up a script and showing it to everyone. This time, "The Amazing Dream" was performed in Shandong, and some people brought children to the theater. Even children aged eleven or twelve can understand the play. But children understand differently from adults, and there are also countless differences between adults. Everyone uses their own experiences to see and interpret. The same goes for "The Stage". Some of my peers at the age of me, after watching "The Stage", sat by the roadside and cried loudly.

Watching News: Have you been involved in script writing?

Chen Peisi: It's true comedy, no one can replace actors. This is the case all over the world to this day, where famous comedians participate in their own creations. As soon as Chen Dayu entered the industry, I asked him to try to correct any problems with this scene as much as possible. He must start writing on his own, think about how to break through and complete the humor points, and gradually develop creative habits.

A good comedy must be highly skilled. Behind every laughter lies a tragic element, like pouring a bunch of sugar juice on a dish. When you reach a place without sugar juice, it's a mix of flavors. Entering the theater, everyone has different feelings due to different details. The scenes of hunger, separation, and war are reflected on oneself, creating a contrast with reality. The story is told well, and the audience interprets the characters and the story with their own emotions.

Looking at the news: You have always said that comedy is a rational creative process that requires strict design and precise expression to be completed.

Chen Peisi: Romance dramas require sensibility and the rendering of emotions. In comedy, on the contrary, I perform very rationally on stage and have absolute control. The emotions of the audience poured out like a flood, and the actors on stage still had to control themselves. They couldn't lose control of the rhythm, couldn't laugh just for the sake of laughter, tried hard to find baggage, and instead lost the story.

When doing "Balcony", I found that comedy has a deep tragic connotation. Without comedy conditions, tragedy cannot be formed. A group of characters in "The Amazing Dream" must follow their own destiny, leaning towards sadness and seriousness. If they follow the direction of comedy, they may not be profound enough and lack strength.

Looking at the news: You are the backbone of the theater troupe. Apart from Chen Dayu, who else would provide feedback?

Chen Peisi: Many people. For example, in "The Stage", Yang Lixin completely rejected my performance and had particularly strict demands on me. Sometimes we have to argue for a long time about whether to move or not. I followed his direction and first found a compromise solution, gradually trying to stabilize myself.

Looking at the news: Have you had any unforgettable memories of working with screenwriter Yu Yue multiple times?

Chen Peisi: We have known each other for a long time. When I was 18 years old, I played the role of bandit A in "Thousand Waters and Mountains", and he played bandit B, which was my first collaboration. Our life experiences complement each other, the creative atmosphere is particularly good, and we argue every day. From "Stage" to "Dream", one scene after another overthrows and one scene after another changes.

During the process of making "A Dream", the two of them made up their minds to go to Dali, Yunnan to revise a script. The place where we live in Yunnan is particularly beautiful, but we haven't gone anywhere. I don't even know what's on the other side of the lake. We watch the clouds in Cangshan every day, continue to argue for more than half a month, and the last word remains unchanged.

Looking at the news: The two of you have a friendship that we don't know each other. How did you finally grind out the drama?

Chen Peisi: Our work experience is different. Yuyue has been a screenwriter and editor all his life, dealing with scripts throughout the year, much more than what I have read. In terms of text, he is an expert, but he has not played any roles and has limited experience in comedy. I have been doing comedy for so many years. We just practiced little by little, slowly grinding out the script.

Firstly, you must acknowledge the literary creation of the screenwriter, fully squeeze him out, and not trust yourself too much. I have only attended school for six years in total. The script I read is about crossing a bridge, while the script others read is about walking. There's so much difference, don't you believe him? I cannot surpass him in literature. Perhaps I have some ideas and knowledge about comedy that can help him supplement. Everyone has different creative methods and division of labor. I can participate, but I cannot replace the screenwriter.

Comedy is laughter

Chen Peisi has always attached great importance to the cultivation of comedy talents, and after the actor training camp, he also opened a screenwriting class. In his view, comedy is different from ordinary performances: "Every year, many young people invest in this industry, and in practical application, he is likely still a newcomer." Even highly accomplished actors may feel unfamiliar on the comedy stage for the first time. "I need to help him adapt to the comedy environment and train each character one by one."

Looking at the news: Your comedy creation training camp has been going on for a full 11 years. How many graduates from the training camp are currently on the crew?

Chen Peisi: To be honest, there have been quite a few students trained in the past 11 years, and there are not many who can truly debut, probably more than one-third. The path of being a comedian is not easy to follow, and there are not many people who can persevere. Many people have not continued to be actors, and they continue to work behind the scenes. I think it's also good, and this is a legacy.

On the news: It is said that Chen Peisi's comedy creation training camp starts with long-distance running, and students run 10 kilometers a day. It takes a month for them to meet the stage physical fitness requirements.

Chen Peisi: Some young people have poor physical fitness and are not suitable for stage performances. They are unable to speak loudly and loudly with dantian qi. The diet is soft and delicate all year round, and facial muscles such as chewing muscles have degenerated. In addition, due to the habit of using microphones, stage expression is limited to a certain distance. Some young people, from childhood to voice transition, and then to adulthood, have a tense throat and weak muscles when speaking, causing their entire body to be unsuitable for stage dialogue. When they come to class, I demand to run first to enhance my physical fitness.

The inheritance of young people is more important than my performance on stage. We have finally picked up the tradition of comedy, and if we don't grasp it, we will discard and interrupt it. The same goes for screenwriting training, where laymen cannot read comedy scripts or see the structure. Only when the script structure is beautiful, the edges are removed, and then it is narrated fluently, can it appear mature.

Looking at the news: What experiences have you imparted to young people in the screenwriting class?

Chen Peisi: Over the years, my comedy has no longer had any intention of shaking the burden, which is also progress. I have given up deliberately using comedy techniques, such as shaking the burden, or intentionally reversing the rhythm here and there. These routines have disappeared. Our creation is completely rooted. Comedy is laughter, and we start from the most basic point of creating laughter.

Looking at the news: Chen Peisi's comedy has always been a box office panacea. Have you ever encountered setbacks in your acting?

Chen Peisi: I have been working in theater for over 20 years, and I entered the industry during the lowest point of the performance market. When we came to Shanghai for a performance, the roof of the theater was made of iron sheet. It rained heavily and made a loud noise, with the sound of rain covering the stage speakers. Playing "Childcare" is particularly bad. Actors have to wait for the thunder and rain to pass before continuing their performance. And no one watches the play, there are song and dance nightclubs everywhere, who watches the play? That is to say, we are struggling with the market and walking step by step.

In recent years, you have filmed online short videos, participated in live broadcasts, and promoted touring dramas. Does online platforms have a significant impact on stage performance?

Chen Peisi: The internet is helpful for us, establishing a powerful communication platform with the audience through the internet. Once we get to know each other and the audience has feelings for you, they will know that when you perform in this city again, they will actively buy tickets, which is beneficial for the box office.

I work on a computer, but I'm not used to using my phone to browse the internet. I mainly listen to stories and lectures. I can't distinguish between microblog, video number, Tiktok number and Kwai number. I will watch whatever links my friends and relatives push me.

Looking at the news: Will not looking too much at your phone affect the freshness of comedy content?

Chen Peisi: Maintaining sensitivity and freshness in creative work is different from scrolling through a phone. Firstly, I