1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Zhou Yan looked around the students of the 1993 acting class and sighed inwardly. He didn't expect that Xin Baiqing, Li Naiwen and Wang Qianyuan were the ones with good looks in their class.

Especially Wang Qianyuan and Xin Baiqing, these two guys are quite fashionable, at least they have good figures.

There are 20 students in their class, and the ratio of male to female is exactly one to one. There is no one who looks particularly eye-catching among the ten girls, including Zhu Yuanyuan.

However, Zhou Yan and his team don't choose actors based on their appearance, but mainly on their professional level.

Xiao Can was explaining the general situation of the role to the students in front, and Zhou Yan was whispering to Tian Youliang in the back.

"Teacher Tian, ​​what are the students rehearsing?"

"They are rehearsing an original play of their own."

"Graduation work?"

"That's not the case. They started working on this work when they were freshmen. It is already quite mature. They rehearse it when they have nothing to do. Director Zhou, you know that drama changes a lot over time."

Zhou Yan nodded. What Tian Youliang said was right. This is also the charm of drama.

The same drama, even with the same cast, will have different changes in different performances.

On the one hand, the director and the actors may take the initiative to make some adjustments between different performances. This is a common thing. After a performance, if the director thinks there is room for improvement, he may do it immediately and show it on the stage in the next performance.

On the other hand, the actors' states may also be different.

Many actors themselves also said that their moods are very different in different performances and facing different audiences. With different moods, what they show is definitely different.

It may be different after only one performance. Their class has performed a drama back and forth for three or four years, so there must be a lot of changes.

Zhou Yan estimated that the current appearance of their play was completely different from the beginning.

"What is the name of this play?"

"No name."

Zhou Yan was stunned, "No name? They have been performing this play since freshman year, but it still has no name? How do they communicate in daily life?"

"Haha, it's not that the play has no name, but the name of this play is "No Name"."

Tian Youliang laughed. From his expression, it was clear that people must have often misunderstood him in the past.

Just now, Tian Youliang only said the four words "No Name", and he also deliberately wanted Zhou Yan to misunderstand.

Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows, "Is this name just a joke, or is it really relevant?"

"It's still quite relevant. This play mainly tells the story of a person without a name. It's probably like this..."

Tian Youliang quickly summarized the story of "No Name" to Zhou Yan. The play mainly tells a person who suddenly appeared in a village. Everyone in the village seemed to know him, but no one called out his name.

He lives in the village as usual like other people in the village, but no one takes the initiative to communicate with him.

Even if he talks to the villagers, they just give simple replies with "hmm" and "ah".

After listening to Tian Youliang's introduction, Zhou Yan was a little confused. He didn't know whether this play was really that simple or Tian Youliang omitted too many things.

If this play was really that simple, it should be an experimental play.

Experimental works are often so headless.

Of course, you can also say that it is not experimental, but a tribute to works like "Waiting for Godot".

Its significance lies in how much the audience will interpret it.

Many experimental works are like this. If the audience does not interpret them, they are nothing. Once the audience interprets them, the artistry comes out.

The key is that the creators themselves should not take the initiative to interpret.

Because if the creators interpret them themselves, they will directly draw a circle around the possibilities of the work and limit it.

Therefore, the creators must maintain a sense of mystery, so that the audience can interpret more things.

Of course, sometimes, the audience is also quite strong, and they will ignore the creators even if they have given their own answers.

Because after the work is created, it no longer belongs to the creators themselves.

There are a thousand Hamlets in the eyes of a thousand people. In other words, the Hamlet in Shakespeare's eyes is only one of the thousand Hamlets. The other nine hundred and ninety-nine Hamlets are not under Shakespeare's control, and they don't have to be the same as that one Hamlet.

"How long?" Zhou Yan asked.

"A four-act play, about one hour and forty minutes."

"Oh, it's not easy."

One hour and forty minutes is the normal length of a play. Most plays are between one and a half hours and two hours. If it is too short, it is not enough to watch, and if it is too long, the audience can't stand it. However, the plays of ordinary students are not so long.

Zhou Yan has seen many plays made by students themselves, which are basically completed within ten minutes, and many of them are not divided into several acts.

"It wasn't this long at the beginning. It was a one-act play at first, less than fifteen minutes, and then it slowly expanded to this length."

"It seems they are still ambitious."

Since the duration has been extended to this length, there is hope that it can be performed on a formal stage.

"Would you like to see their performance later?" Tian Youliang asked.

"I want to see the performance, but I also need to see the students from the 94th and 96th grades later."

"It doesn't matter. After you finish watching them, it won't be too late to come back. Today they have to leave completely."

"That's okay." Zhou Yan nodded.

The two of them were chatting here, and Xiao Can had already told the students about the character's general situation.

After hearing what Xiao Can said, the students were also very excited, because according to Xiao Can, he wanted a lot of actors this time, maybe seven or eight, and they were much more likely to be selected.

"Is anyone interested?" Tian Youliang asked.

After he asked, all twenty students in the class raised their hands.

Xiao Can glanced at Li Naiwen and said, "I would like to remind everyone that these characters are not the protagonists, and some characters have relatively few roles."

He said this not only to Li Naiwen, but also to other students in the class who had acted, such as Zhu Yuanyuan.

Li Naiwen played the "fourth male lead" in a "big production" such as "Space Traveler". He should be noticed by other producers later and will no longer be short of filming.

Not to mention Zhu Yuanyuan, she has acted in several TV series and movies.

In their situation, there is no need to participate in Xiao Can's new movie and play a supporting role.

However, after Xiao Can reminded them, no one put their hands down.

Tian Youliang said to class monitor Wang Qianyuan, "Since everyone is interested, Qianyuan, you and Director Xiao will leave each other's contact information in a while, and you will be in the middle to contact us about the audition."

"Okay, Teacher Tian." Wang Qianyuan nodded.

Because of Wang Qianyuan and the others, Xiao Can no longer has to ask students to write application forms one by one. He nodded to Wang Qianyuan and then said, "The specific time for the filming of the movie has not been determined yet, but when you go to audition, it will probably be Once it’s confirmed, you can determine whether you can participate based on the time.”

Next summer, the students in this class will graduate and go their separate ways. Many of them may not be able to stay in Yanjing.

If you are far away, you may encounter all kinds of troubles if you want to participate in the show.

And even if I am willing to do so, my employer may not be willing to let him go.

Tian Youliang said again at this time, "You have to work hard today. Later we will take Director Zhou and the others to see your junior brothers and sisters, and then come back to watch your rehearsal. The three great directors are here today, which is a rare opportunity. , be sure to let the three guides guide you.”

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. Tian Youliang was worried that they wouldn't come back soon, so he just left his words here.

If they don't come back, they will have to come back.

"Teacher Tian was joking, we learn from each other."

"Director Zhou, you are just joking. You are a great international director."

"At least I have to learn from you when it comes to acting."

"You are too modest." Tian Youliang smiled and said, "Then let's go and see the other two students without further ado."

At this moment, he was anxious to take Zhou Yan and the others to see the other two classes of students, finish it as soon as possible, and come back to watch the students of their class rehearse.

…

The 94 performance class had just ended. Huang Dingyu took them there. The process was similar to before.

Zhou Yan looked around and saw Duan Yihong first, then Yin Xiaotian, Gao Hu and Ji Chenmu.

As for the girls, there was only one Wang Ning and Zhou Yan who looked familiar.

Tian Youliang said next to Zhou Yan, "In this generation, there are two girls, Gong Beibi and Tao Hong, who are doing well. They have been filming outside recently. But even if they are here, I am afraid they will not participate in Director Xiao's project. Gong Beibi has signed company."

These days, it is relatively rare for someone to sign a job with a brokerage company before graduation. Most students still hope to join an agency after graduation. After all, they can still act after entering the agency, but if they sign with an agency by themselves, their future development may not be stable.

I was able to sign with the company, naturally because it was developing well and there was a brokerage company that offered better conditions.

Hearing Tao Hong's name, Zhou Yan nodded. Tao Hong should be the first to become famous this year.

She received a lot of attention earlier when she participated in "Sunny Days". That movie was the Chinese box office champion that year.

If Zhou Yan remembers correctly, Tao Hong won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress right after graduation, so she started off very high.

Counting the time, "Dark Eyes", the film in which Tao Hong won the Best Actress Award, was filmed probably this year. I don't know if Tao Hong is filming "Dark Eyes" now.

Tian Youliang is right. In this situation, Gong Beibi and Tao Hong will most likely not be able to participate in Xiao Can's movie.

"Tao Hong didn't sign the company, right?" Zhou Yan asked.

"That shouldn't happen. If nothing else happens, she should work in the Experimental Theater after graduation. She is different from ordinary students. She was part of the system before."

Tao Hong is indeed different from ordinary students. She was a member of the national synchronized swimming team, won the national championship, and also ranked in the world championships.

Zhou Yan was not surprised at all when he heard that Tao Hong was going to the Experimental Theater after graduation. After all, with Tao Hong's reputation, she would definitely be a person that various units would grab in advance.

Although Tao Hong will not graduate until the year after next, it is normal for her to be booked by her employer in advance.

The reason why Zhou Yan asked Tian Youliang was because he wanted to sign Tao Hong. However, under the current situation, people may not be willing to sign Tao Hong.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Yan looked in the direction of Duan Yihong again, "What's the name of the boy sitting at the end of the second row?"

"He's called Duan Long. He should be the best in their class. He comes from the countryside and is quite introverted."

Zhou Yan said with a smile, "Teacher Tian, ​​you know the students in other classes quite well."

"There are only so many students in the acting department, and the school is so small. I basically know all of them. Duan Long, this boy, may look ordinary and quiet, but he has a strong understanding and is very down-to-earth. He is a natural actor."

Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect Tian Youliang to give Duan Yihong such a high evaluation.

Just now, he also praised several students in their class, but none of them gave such a high evaluation.

This is different from Zhou Yan's impression. Although Duan Yihong is not a late bloomer, he actually became famous quite late, and he is completely incomparable with other actors of the same period who became famous earlier.

When "Soldier Assault" became popular, it was already ten years later.

There is another thing Zhou Yan didn't expect, that is, Duan Yihong is now called Duan Long.

It has to be said that the name Duan Long is indeed not as good as Duan Yihong.

It is said that changing one's name is like changing one's fortune. Maybe after Duan Yihong changed his name, his fate also changed.

"What dramas has Duan Long acted in?"

"I haven't acted in any TV dramas yet... maybe this is his first time."

Zhou Yan smiled, "It depends on whether he and Director Xiao have a destiny."

Except for Duan Yihong, Zhou Yan didn't pay much attention to the others, such as Yin Xiaotian, Ji Chenmu and others.

After Xiao Can finished the process here, the next class was about to start, so Zhou Yan and others turned to the classroom where the 96th grade acting class was taking classes.

Just now when Zhou Yan and others were looking for the 94th grade, Chang Li had already gone to the classroom where the 96th grade acting class was taking classes. She went over to tell the students about the situation.

When Zhou Yan and others arrived at the door of the classroom, they happened to meet Gao Jinwen who was rushing to class.

Seeing Zhou Yan and the others, Gao Jinwen was also confused, "Director Zhou, Director Xiao, Director Huo, why are you here?"

Zhou Yan joked, "Of course I came here to listen to Teacher Gao's lecture."

Gao Jinwen didn't believe it at all, "What nonsense, you are here to give me a lecture."

Tian Youliang smiled and said, "Teacher Gao, Director Zhou and the others are here for casting."

"Casting?" Gao Jinwen was even more confused, "Director Zhou, are you going to shoot a new movie again?"

"No, this time it's Director Xiao's movie."

"Oh, it's Director Xiao's movie, congratulations, congratulations, Director Xiao." (End of this chapter)