#王耀庆千字长文#Hey guys, how's it going?
#王耀庆千字长文#Hey guys, how's it going?
I'm Wang Yaoqing, and I'm here to chat with you.
Today is May 5th, 2024. The solo play "Contrabass", starring Wang Yaoqing, has successfully completed 21 performances.
We started rehearsing from February 29th and continued until April 10th, spending almost 10 hours a day on rehearsals. We polished every detail, from lines to stage management, and even dealt with colds caused by temperature changes.
The official performances ran from April 12th to May 5th, with a break on Mondays. We spent 1785 minutes and 21 shows together on stage. I want to thank you for putting down your phones, pausing short videos and live streams, and stepping into the small theater. Please believe me when I say that all the experiences in the small theater belong only to you.
I really love performing in plays, or rather, I love being on the theater stage. It's a magical place that constantly responds to the audience's emotions. Even in the darkness, I feel like I'm breathing with you.
I want to thank the scriptwriter and director Yang Yi for inviting me to create and perform in this play. The joy of being a creator cannot be described in words, because we often go crazy. So, there's no behind-the-scenes footage for you to see, haha.
The most famous work of the original author Patrick Süskind is "Perfume". I remember seeing it on the bestseller list next to the bookshelves at Eslite Bookstore, and I stood there and read the entire book.
Who would have thought that fate's wheel would be so interesting? "Contrabass" (原名 Der Kontrabass) is his debut play, published in 1980. It premiered in Munich in September 1981 and has been staged in many theaters since then. I feel honored to be part of the Chinese version of the performance.
I recommend reading the original work. Based on artistic creation, we made some cuts to make it look gentler.
Teacher Shen Li used a wooden surround structure to enclose the stage, choosing the material to create a feeling of being in a symphony hall. It also complements the climax of the whole play, "doing something great in the concert hall". The entire stage structure represents the body of the contrabass.
When the main character exits, the iconic soundhole shape emits warm light from above, which is a big metaphor. The visual center of the entire stage is also where the contrabass is placed. In fact, he has always lived in the life of a contrabassist.
Many people think that learning the violin is the most difficult part. Maybe I have some talent in it (here, cue Director Yang's eye-roll). The first section of the performance, the breakfast scene that makes everyone's mouth water, took the longest time to polish. We worked on everything, from the main character's state as a chronic insomniac to whether he shaves or has dark circles under his eyes. Should the pajamas be well-fitting? Should they be made of cotton or linen? And so on.
The convincibility of the character's personality needs to be established in the first section.
When it comes to actually making breakfast, it's a dense combination of lines and choreography. You have to remember the lines and the movements in your hands, as well as time the work of these electrical appliances. And of course, the eggs must not be overcooked. It requires countless rehearsals to make yourself fully believe that you are the protagonist, living every morning day in and day out.
Every time the bell rings, it means the main character is pulled back into reality. He completes his standard actions before leaving the house, going through the repetitive routine under the tyranny of time.
How many of us long for love but don't know how to express it? We hope for attention but often get the opposite. After being beaten by life, we come up with many reasons to justify ourselves. In complaining, we learn self-acceptance and to embrace the current situation.
This is the life of most people. It's plain and unspectacular, far from a glamorous reversal of fate.
A young director friend of mine watched the play and messaged me, asking why the entire play didn't just end after the main character gets shot. He thought the current ending wasn't ruthless enough, and it should have been followed by a scene of the protagonist taking on a mighty mission.
I replied to him: Living a plain life is already a brave thing.
Perhaps young friends may have difficulty understanding this statement.
1. Every fall is real, and it really hurts.
2. The fancy bottle-flipping when making breakfast is to kill time while waiting for the kettle to boil.
3. The pajamas are intentionally old-looking and oversized. I originally wanted to wear my own old clothes. A single guy at home doesn't care about appearances.
4. The costumes worn during the performance are the work uniforms of the theater troupe and are not meant to fit well.
5. Sitting on the couch and muttering to oneself, the two pillows represent the father and mother.
6. Tiffany is not just a simple fantasy object but the embodiment of all the longings and desires for the future. The segments with Tiffany have a sense of dialogue, representing the conflict between the current situation and the aspirations.
There seem to be many more things to say, but in fact, what you see is what you get.
Alright, clichéd as it may sound, I want to express my thanks once again to all the friends who came to the theater. I'm glad you spent nearly an hour and a half of your precious time with me.
I'm happy that someone told me I can now go from the "tyrant" track and make a breakthrough on the "pathetic" track.
So, let's live well.
There will always be surprises in life.
May 5th, 2024
D6 Space, 288 Anfu Road, Shanghai