Chapter 23 Part 1

Yu Jianqing was dumbfounded, and it took him a long while to find his voice: "...Mr. Ji, do you want to come down and talk?"

Ji Shuangyu: "I just like speaking from a high place; it makes me seem more reasonable."

Yu Jianqing: "..."

Principal Sun came back to his senses. He had only asked Ji Shuangyu for his opinion because he felt Ji Shuangyu might know something about Western theater history, and that his set designs were not without ingenious mechanisms. He hadn't expected the man to not only have an opinion but a very strong one at that!

As an outsider, what he heard was clearly very correct, so he was the first to applaud, "That makes sense."

Yu Jianqing also quickly recovered. Among those present, he was the one who had done slightly more research into theatrical theory, having read a bit about foreign theater history. He was also the first to propose that the Spring Thunder Drama Club should try a more popularist route.

Yu Jianqing looked up and sighed with emotion, "I never thought Director Ji could spot the crux of the problem with new dramas at a single glance. Sometimes, standing on the opposite side might actually give you a clearer view!"

In fact, the logic Ji Shuangyu presented wasn't hard to understand, but it was like when he had pointed out the size of the Changle Theater's stage and the concept of "propriety." The problem with the Spring Thunder Drama Club was also a matter of propriety, but because they had a shorter history of development than traditional opera, the concept was more nebulous.

Coupled with the fact that everyone had been momentarily dazzled by Ji Shuangyu's identity, now that they thought about it, the students of the Spring Thunder Drama Club all nodded, "What the teacher says is right."

"Director Ji has studied old dramas in depth, and he understands new dramas just as clearly."

As they spoke, they had already begun to thank Ji Shuangyu, saying they would consider how to make their performances more natural and rethink their script selection process.

But the matter of his job application seemed to have never happened. After all, even if he was right, it didn't mean he was competent for the job. In everyone's minds, his identity was too fixed, practically synonymous with traditional xieyi painting.

This was a man who used traditional brushstroke techniques even when writing with a fountain pen!

Ji Shuangyu was speechless. "...Wait, I really want to join your drama!"

Everyone: "???"

Hearing the word "drama" come out of Ji Shuangyu's mouth was yet another shock...

Having been shocked once by "director," Zhou Siyin was relatively calm. In fact, he was even more inexplicably certain than Principal Sun that perhaps Ji Shuangyu truly did know something about new drama.

Yu Jianqing was stunned for a moment, then he understood. "I've read an interview with Mr. Ji before, where he said he only dared to be an extra because he's tone-deaf. Rest assured, in our new drama, anyone can be an actor on stage. There's acting without singing. If you're also interested in new drama, you're more than welcome! We're in dire need of actresses, and male actors who can play female roles are also urgently needed!"

As he spoke, he stared a few more times at the way Ji Shuangyu was holding the child.

Ji Shuangyu: "............"

...That was going too far!

'Why does he think I must have a dream of being on stage? And besides, who wants to cross-dress as a male mother? As if I don't understand that look he's giving me!'

"I don't want to be an actor," Ji Shuangyu pointed at the stage behind him and said eagerly, "I'm talking about the eight hundred lah..."

Everyone: "??"

Ji Shuangyu realized he had accidentally spoken his true thoughts, and his face reddened as he said, "Ah, no, I meant being a director. Old and new dramas each have their strengths, but both are ways to warn the world, change customs, and spread ideology and civilization."

"New drama may seem easy, but it actually places great emphasis on method and requires thought and knowledge. This difficulty has led to your current bleak box office, which is worse than old dramas and even worse than those so-called civilized modern plays that only pursue commercialization and attract people with comical mechanisms."

"I am willing to work with all of you, to dedicate myself to spreading advanced ideas and forging a new method for drama!"

Everyone: "............"

If he had said this before the "eight hundred" slip, it would have been quite persuasive...

Yu Jianqing thought for a moment. Although Director Ji seemed to be salivating over that eight hundred yuan, every sentence he spoke hit the mark. "Seemingly easy but actually difficult, hard to enter the hearts of the common people"—this was indeed the difficulty new drama faced.

People who hadn't acted in it, including those from old opera, mocked new drama for having no barrier to entry, for being something anyone could do. But those who were in it could already vaguely feel that it was truly difficult to perform new drama well.

It was also truly difficult to get the common people to watch their works without becoming vulgar.

Yu Jianqing said solemnly, "I wonder what brilliant ideas Director Ji might have?"

When Ji Shuangyu heard him address him as "Director," he knew the man was swayed. From his perspective as someone from the future, the difficulties encountered along the path of modern drama's development were crystal clear.

"Sir, I know you don't want to treat drama as a form of entertainment, but there's a saying: drama that has completely lost its entertainment value is no longer drama."

The teachers and students of the Spring Thunder Drama Club were all speechless for a moment!

In fact, they were already struggling with their ever-narrowing audience and reflecting on the need for reform and popularization. But Ji Shuangyu's words were too harsh, too absolute, leaving them—who had often lamented being too highbrow for the masses—unable to speak.

Yu Jianqing let out a deep breath. He had been clamoring for popularization, but what he was thinking of was how to use magnificent sets to attract people, while being reluctant to change the content. What Ji Shuangyu said—about being rooted in the soil of Huaxia and about entertainment value—weighed heavily on his heart, yet at the same time, a vague picture truly began to form in his mind.

Yu Jianqing asked with an even more respectful attitude, "I generally understand Director Ji's meaning. Director Ji said that we absolutely cannot perform Western classics. May I ask what we should perform for our public shows? Should it be stories like the modern-dress or Western-dress plays that those civilized plays are performing now? It can't be family dramas, can it!"

Ji Shuangyu smiled. "It's precisely family dramas! Things like detective dramas and biographies of current news figures have some box office appeal. But have you ever thought about what has the broadest mass appeal, what is closest to life? It's not Western classics, not detective legends, it's 'The Temptation of Goin' H...' ah no, family disputes!"

Everyone: "............"

...Once again, at a loss for words!

The two plays Ji Shuangyu had directed before were both aesthetically beautiful mythological dramas. And now he was talking to them about family disputes?

There was no big data analysis back then, but Ji Shuangyu had historical data in his mind as proof. What got the highest ratings, what was the best entry point, how things could decline... all of this had been proven in the course of Huaxia's theatrical development.

Ji Shuangyu said, "I'm not talking about dwelling on domestic trivialities, otherwise we'd reach a dead end just the same. Drama should move the audience, but it must never pander to the audience!"

Those who were about to retort were stopped in their tracks by this sentence from Ji Shuangyu.

Move the audience, but never pander to the audience? Yu Jianqing mulled over this sentence.

Ji Shuangyu said, "What I mean is to use this as a medium to convey ideas. The family is the smallest unit of the nation. All problems can actually be revealed and a correspondence found within it. It is also the form of expression that ordinary people can understand best."

"If you truly want to perform for the masses of Huaxia and improve social mores, then you should be more realistic, and represent Huaxia's society and the lives of the Huaxia people. Otherwise, no matter how good your acting is, no matter how realistic your sets are, it will still be Western new drama, not Huaxia new drama!"

"Only after taking the first step can you cultivate an audience and have more genres in the future. You must be down-to-earth to be disseminated, and you must have depth to last."

The students of the Spring Thunder Drama Club felt as if they had experienced a revelation.

Putting the content aside, just look at Director Ji's commanding presence from on high—truly so persuasive, so imposing!

"I wanna go up too, I wanna go up and play too!!"

Lulu stomped her feet below the stage, jumping up and down several times.

Ji Shuangyu quickly sat down and scooped her up onto the stage as well. After standing up, he patted the hem of his clothes and resumed his haloed expression.

The students: "............"

...When did he turn on the footlights??

Principal Sun praised, "Last time at the charity performance, when Gourd Elder briefly mentioned the developmental path of drama after the Western Renaissance, I felt that Gourd Elder's attitude towards new drama was not that of an ordinary person from the opera world. I didn't expect that not only is that true, but he also has very strong viewpoints."

Zhou Siyin glanced at Ji Shuangyu and also chimed in, "Director Ji once brought the film technique of Montage to the opera stage; he is skilled in the art of integration. I suppose when one method is mastered, all methods are mastered. The difference between old and new is but a state of mind."

Needless to say, not just the Renaissance, but members of the club who were film enthusiasts had also heard of Montage theory and began to whisper among themselves.

Spoken after the fact, the words of Principal Sun and Zhou Siyin lacked any suspicion of incitement, yet they served as another dose of reassurance for the Spring Thunder Drama Club members who had already been swayed by Ji Shuangyu—their feelings were not wrong. Ji Shuangyu, though part of the old drama camp, was truly an innovative and enlightened figure!

The members of the Spring Thunder Drama Club looked at one another, feeling their hearts pound.

Director Ji is really good at talking, and he seems to know so much. He even sounds more expert than the foreign set designers they've met before. Perhaps it's because he, as a Huaxia native, has a different perspective, which is why he could speak of a "Huaxia new drama."

They didn't watch much old opera, but they had heard that Ji Shuangyu's xieyi stage designs rarely used mechanisms, but they did exist and were quite innovative, which further proved that he understood scientific principles.

What to do, they were already starting to feel like giving him their money...!

Ji Shuangyu saw their familiar, mesmerized expressions and knew he was about ninety percent there.

Yu Jianqing was naturally one of those conquered. This theory fit with what he had been thinking, and it was extremely mature. He couldn't fathom how Ji Shuangyu, living in Jingcheng, could speak of theatrical theory with such a commanding, comprehensive perspective, seemingly even more thorough than the new drama practitioners in Hushang with whom he often communicated.

His eyes lit up as he asked, "Hearing Director Ji's words, you must have unique research into theatrical theory. I, Lulin, am deeply impressed. This is exactly the guidance we need! However, forgive me for being blunt, but do we still need to hire a separate set designer?"

—Even if they weren't staging Western classics, the sets for new drama were done in a realistic style, completely different from Ji Shuangyu's specialty, xieyi sets.

Ji Shuangyu, however, shook his head with a light laugh. Although he was famous for his xieyi sets, realistic style... how could he not understand it?

"Have you seen Temple of the Spiritual Official and The Record of Sympathetic Joy, which I directed?" Ji Shuangyu immediately used the operas he had directed to compare and analyze the so-called realistic sets of today.

The sets of most new dramas now, though called realistic, were only realistic in their painting style, using painted hard flats and large props.

All the backgrounds were painted on flats. For an indoor scene, they'd paint tables and chairs; for an outdoor scene, they'd paint pavilions. It was fine if the painter handled the perspective well, but if they didn't, it was laughable.

Even if it was handled well, a flat surface was still a flat surface. If an actor stood too close to a flat, they could appear larger than the painted house on it, completely throwing the scale off. The two simply didn't exist in the same space.

This so-called realism resulted in a stage space riddled with perspective errors, entirely superficial, completely flat, with a mess of color coordination, and no knowledge of how to use lighting.