He continued to explore Shanghai stories in "Classmates", after "Flowers"
Beats are used as trumpets, strings are used as blades, and youthful songs in the flames of war are endless. The original drama "Classmates" was recently formed. It is based on the historical fact that students from Bile Middle School, which caused a sensation in Shanghai, signed up to join the Chinese People's Volunteer Army at the same time. It is scheduled to premiere during the school season from September 6th to 10th.
"Classmates" is directed by Ma Junfeng and stars Wang Wenna and Xu Lei. It focuses on several young people who volunteered to go to North Korea to fight in the war. With their tempering and growth in blood and fire as the core, they write the great era through the flexible processing of time and space. The smoke of fireworks under the sky highlights the resonance of the warm tone and the responsibility of the family and the country.
"In order to avoid the indiscriminate bombing by US military aircraft, the troops usually set off in the evening, traveling under starry nights, and could not rest until dawn the next day. They marched 30 kilometers at night every day, and the soldiers had blood blisters on their feet. They were really tired. , we just dozed off while we were on our way." "When the army was resting, I wrote two letters home, both of which were to report good news but not bad news, 'Everything is fine here, don't think about it.' In fact, everyone is ready to sacrifice for the country at any time. "Ideological preparation"... Li Jing, the documentary author who discovered the theme of "Classmates", graduated from the Shanghai Theater Academy. She said that the prototypes of the characters in the play are closely related to the opera, and it is even more special for the team from her alma mater to put them on stage.
"The protagonists of "Classmates" are all teenage junior high school students, and I am also the mother of a junior high school student. Writing their stories, I have many different feelings. When they came to the battlefield, they used literature and art as a weapon. As a teacher who has worked at Shanghai Theater for 25 years, I have always believed in the power of literature and art. "Screenwriter Qian Jue emphasized that the script of "Classmates" highlights "family" and "love", showing the feelings of family and country of the volunteer soldiers who participated in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Perseverance and high spirit.
Ma Junfeng, the director of "Classmate", has directed Shanghai-related stage works such as "Flowers" and "Outpost". "The courage and pride of the young people in the play touched people's hearts. This is a story with Shanghai characteristics."
In 2008, Ma Junfeng came to Shanghai for further study and work. When directing the drama "Flowers", he once said, "It's hard to explain what is Shanghai. It is just a feeling and a knowledge without a strong theoretical inheritance. The details that Shanghainese take for granted have become our creative themes. Purifying Shanghai’s mood, texture, and behavior, such as Shanghai’s pictorials, architecture, and streets, will all affect the creation.”
"Starting from "Flowers", Shanghai's urban life penetrated my body so closely that I couldn't help but want to understand the past and present of this city. After "Flowers", I have a wish to do more Shanghai-themed films. Turn my works into a timeline, stringing together a small Shanghai universe, and connect my understanding of Shanghai and my respect for this city in my works.”
"Flowers", "Outpost" and "Classmates" tell stories about Shanghai in different eras. Ma Junfeng said, ""Classmates" took place in the 1950s, and we can relive those passionate years. The protagonist is not very old, but he is He made a very bold decision. People of the same age today may still be protected by their parents, grandparents, and grandparents, but they have gone to the battlefield to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, and they all came back alive. Shanghai has the genes to breed such people. They have ideals and a family. feelings."
""Classmates" originated from the memories of an octogenarian, and is filled with the hottest and most intense emotions of his boyhood, like the remnants of a flame." Ma Junfeng and Qian Jue are both students of Professor Xiong Yuanwei at Shanghai Opera, " We hit it off immediately to complete this work. The main creators are all middle-aged. When planning "Classmates", we will recall the passion and edge of teenagers, and their exploration and desire for the unknown world."
The drama "Classmates, Young Boys" has multiple parallel plots, including the protagonists' experiences on the battlefield of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, their responses when faced with huge difficulties, as well as the worries of their relatives at home in Shanghai and their eagerness for their safe return. The details that touched Ma Junfeng deeply were the influence of the teachers on the protagonists. "Their teachers were only in their twenties or thirties at the time. On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai, the teachers often taught songs such as "You are the Lighthouse" and "The Sky of the Liberated Area" on the rooftop balcony. Later, I learned that those teachers had secretly joined the Communist Party: Principal Yang Shanji was the captain of the Shanghai People's Security Team to Welcome the Liberation, music teacher Sun Shen later served as the chairman of the China Music Association, drama teacher Xi Lide went to the China Welfare Institute Children's Art Theater to take up a new post on the Council of the Academy, and Chinese teacher Ji Liankang was transferred to the People's Record Factory as the first director. Shortly after the liberation of Shanghai in 1949, more than 30 of the 150 students in the school followed the army south." A student who went to the battlefield to resist US aggression and aid Korea brought a violin given by Hu Zhihong, secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Theatre Academy, which made Ma Junfeng sigh at the power of music and art. "These young people used art to boost morale, which affected their own lives and also affected us. The crew of "Classmates" has just completed the stage design communication and will start rehearsals in July."
"Classmates" is jointly produced and produced by Shanghai Theater Academy and Huangpu Culture and Tourism Group, showing innovative measures of school-enterprise linkage. It is based on the rich educational resources, artistic heritage and production experience of Shanghai Theater Academy, and relies on the strong operation of Huangpu Culture and Tourism Group Strength, strong alliances, two-way empowerment.
