British writer

The founding father of the United States, Lu Shi, sat in the front row.

Also in the same row were Eliot, Theodore, Wodehouse, and the deans.

"Huh~"

Wodehouse breathed a sigh of relief;

"Even though I know the plot, the feeling of watching it live is different."

The others nodded.

Elliott mused: "Professor Lu's creation has a lot of foreshadowing. For example, in the first scene, Jimmy steals the guest's hat, which reminds me of the scene in the middle of the plot where Jimmy steals a stone. The two actually echo each other. It can portray character, implying that Jimmy has the guts and brainpower to make a move.”

Everyone was stunned,

"I see."

Eliot couldn't help but smile and said: "Actually, that's what a good play is. All kinds of foreshadowing are indispensable, but not obtrusive, and moisturizing and silent. Just like "A Doll's House"..."

What follows is a long list of sharings.

Everyone: "..."

Move your eyes to the stage.

After a while, Theodore asked curiously: "Professor Lu, why do you let Jimmy's father-in-law discriminate against white people...hiss...discriminate against white people...how do you say this, how weird is it...well, it's so weird."

It seems like ten thousand ants are crawling on me,

It's too absurd.

Lu Shi chuckled and said: "It's very simple. I wrote it this way to relieve the moral pressure of the protagonist. At the same time, it can also give the reason for the conflict between the two parties, that is, the white people took the Chinese people's jobs."

Isn’t this the trigger for the Chinese Exclusion Act?

Of course, in the play, it's completely reversed.

The plot progresses,

Another protagonist, the Anglo-American painter Sam, played by theater actor Gary Kevin, officially appears.

He needs a coachman and bodyguard to tour the United States.

For the sake of money, Jimmy decided to do a good job and start this tour westward.

This ends the first act.

The curtain slowly closed.

Lu Shi turned around and saw that the back of the auditorium was still dark.

This "drama" was more popular than expected.

Elliot said: "A few people left. But don't worry, Professor Lu, I wrote down their names in a small book. There are only two students whose names I really can't remember, so there's nothing I can do."

Lu Shi was speechless,

I didn’t expect that this old man is really a vengeful person, very American.

"That would be nice," he said.

Elliot nodded.

"I think so too. Those who can watch the first act will probably not leave later. Judging from the number of people, "Upside Down" is undoubtedly a success."

I just don’t know what the students’ evaluations were after watching it.

Lu Shi stretched himself.

"I'm going backstage."

Elliot took out his pocket watch, looked at it, and said, "Only fifteen minutes."

Lu Shi said, "Don't worry."

He stood up and walked backstage.

At this time, the backstage was in a state of hustle and bustle. The people who set the stage, made up, and changed costumes were all busy with their own business.

After a while, someone noticed Lu Shi.

Li Dai walked quickly,

"Mr. Lu! Did I perform well?"

"Forehead……"

Lu Shi was a little hesitant and even forgot what role the other party played.

After a while, he remembered that the girl played the role of a female singer in the nightclub in the first act, singing an excerpt from "The Drunken Concubine", and then said: "Very good! You performed very well!"

stare--

When Li Dai looked at Lu,

The girl's sixth sense told her that what Lu Shi said was not entirely true.

After a moment, she sneered,

"Forget it, forget it~"

After speaking, she looked at Lu curiously and asked, "Mr. Lu, how did you come up with the idea of ​​building a world that is completely opposite to reality?"

This question has been asked before, but Lu Shi did not answer it directly.

In fact, this creative method is very common in modern times.

For example, "The Man in the High Castle" tells an alternate reality story in which the Axis powers won World War II, the United States was ruled by Germany and Japan, and Germany began to conquer the solar system, while a Man in the High Castle was writing a book about the United States' victory The story of World War II,

Similar settings are common in science fiction novels, film and television dramas.

Lu Shi spread his hands,

"I just feel that pure satire is too mild to hurt people."

Li Dai stared at Lu Shi,

Suddenly, she said: "What Zhou Zhou said is quite right."

Lu Shi was puzzled.

"What's the meaning?"

Li Dai smiled and shook her head, pushed Lu Shi out from the backstage, and said to others: "Mr. Lu, don't worry, everyone was a little nervous at first, but now they are in the mood. There will be no other performances in the following performances. questionable."

Lu Shi looked at the busy backstage again.

"Okay, I won't make any more trouble."

He returned to the stage and sat down.

At this time, Eliot came over and said in a low voice: "Professor Lu, people from Yale said that they also want to perform "Upside Down" at the school."

Lu Shi was stunned,

"Yale?"

Elliot nodded.

"Didn't I tell you about the Ivy League before? There are many people from the school at Harvard now."

The old man is a man of action and moves quickly.

On the other side, Wodehouse also pricked up his ears and said with a smile: "It turns out that the one just now is a representative of Yale University. Mr. President, you have done a good job keeping it confidential."

Eliot spread his hands,

"It's not good to announce anything that hasn't been finalized yet."

Now that things have developed to this point, finalization is inevitable.

Lu Shi pondered,

Unexpectedly, my proposal of global university rankings actually promoted the development of capitalization and conglomeration of higher education.

I don’t know whether this leap forward is good or bad.

He pondered for a moment and said: "This drama can't be put on the big stage, and I can't make much income from it. Since there are no profit considerations, I will support any university that wants to do it."

The matter was settled just like that.

While we were chatting, the second act of the play began,

The theme of this scene is simple -

conflict.

In other words, it is "discrimination".

In "Upside Down", there is serious racial segregation in the American West;

From dining to lodging, Angsa people have designated places.

In the exhibition hall of the first exhibition, the signboard provided by the organizer was not the model required by the contract, and it was full of pig heads. This shows that in the eyes of those people, the Ansa people are not worthy of the art of painting;

Sam went to a bar to drink and was besieged by a group of Chinese gangsters. He was ridiculed because of his white skin;

During the tour, Sam went to the bathroom, but the owner of the exhibition hall said that there was a toilet in the wild, and whites and Chinese could not share the toilet;

During a fitting, Sam was asked to go to a different fitting room;

When Sam swam in a swimming pool at night, someone reported him, and the police absurdly arrested him and put him in a cell because it was a crime for white people to swim;

…

There is too much content.

At the beginning, there were some occasional discussions in the auditorium.

But gradually, silence fell, and only the Chinese actors on the stage performed in substandard English.

Time passes minute by minute,

However, a silent curse was imposed on the scene, and no one spoke.

All the students were watching "Upside Down" with rapt attention.

I don’t know how much time passed before the second act ended.

"Huh~"

Theodore breathed a sigh of relief.

He said: "I don't know why, when I watched the scene just now, I felt like I was being tortured. It felt like being nailed to a cross, painful and shameful..."

Lu Shi looked over,

I saw Theodore's sincere expression,

It is indeed rare for a politician to say "ashamed".

Lu Shi smiled,

"Mr. Vice President, is that what you think?"

Theodore sighed;

"Yes, that's what I think. Unfortunately, the United States is not suitable to deal with these problems now. This is not the mission of our generation."

Humans have limitations,

Even a far-sighted politician like Theodore could not have imagined what the future of the United States would be like.

He can only focus on the current giants and trusts.

Theodore laughed at himself: "Besides, I'm just an ordinary vice president."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh,

Theodore's phrase "I'm just an ordinary vice president" is considered a unique American humor.

Just then, someone came over,

"Professor Lu."

Lu Shixun looked up and found that it was the theater actor Gerry Kevin who played Sam. He couldn't help but be surprised and said: "Mr. Kevin, are you... aren't you busy backstage?"

Kevin said: "The arrangement of the third act is not complicated, it is mainly about performance."

He bowed to Lu Shi and said, "Thank you for choosing me as the lead actor in "Upside Down"."

Lu Shi said "Huh?"

"Didn't you thank me many times before?"

Kevin replied: "Yes. I have thanked him many times. But, Professor Lu, only when I actually stand on the stage and play the role of Sam can I feel the charm of this character. A white man who is discriminated against by Chinese Americans... the improvement of his acting skills is too much." Big.”

No matter how many times I hear it, it's still ridiculous.

Lu Shi said nothing.

Kevin continued: "Unfortunately, this "Upside Down" cannot be performed in the theater."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"There is nothing to regret. If you perform in a large theater, you will definitely have a hard time in the future."

Kevin asked curiously: "Why?"

Lu Shi said: "As you just said, you play 'a white man who is discriminated against by Chinese Americans' in the play. I think that in the context of the Chinese Exclusion Act, your playing such a role will be regarded as betrayal." "

Therefore, it is still a commonplace argument,

Heretics are more hateful than heretics.

Kevin couldn't help but remain silent,

a long time,

"Professor Lu, no wonder you were able to write "Upside Down"."

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"Mr. Kevin, the third act is about to begin. Go back and prepare."

Kevin returned backstage calmly.

Looking at his back, Elliot couldn't help but sigh and said, "Professor Lu, you see the nature of 'discrimination' more clearly than we do. Its essence is actually a distinction between you and me, and it has nothing to do with skin color. "

Lu Shi shrugged,

“‘Distinguish between us and you’ is still too mild. Perhaps we should use ‘distinguish between ourselves and the enemy’.”

Elliot was amused and said: "Not really~ not really~"

At this point, the third act begins.

The third act is the last scene of the play. In this scene, Sam no longer submits and begins to fight back against the unfair treatment of him by the Chinese.

He and Jimmy became close friends,

At the end, Jimmy invites Sam to sit at their family dinner table.

The drama ends here,

The curtain closes.

Theodore said: "Watching "Upside Down" is like going on a hunt, which is exhausting both physically and mentally."

This sounds like a compliment,

Lu Shi said: "It seems that Mr. Vice President likes it very much."

Theodore shook his head;

"It's not just me. Listen."

Everyone listened attentively.

Almost all Harvard students are discussing the plot,

"Jimmy's portrayal is very good. He is sophisticated, smooth, clever, grumpy, uneducated, and most importantly, he discriminates against white people!"

“Is that really discrimination?”

"Why doesn't it count!?"

"In order to make money, he can work for white people; in order to get wages, he can also make friends with white people; when he is provoked, he can even help white people fight..."

"Ah this..."

…

The two sides discussed the plot, which was quite intense.

Elliott said: "Professor Lu's handling of Jimmy is indeed very advanced."

Wodehouse asked curiously: "How do you say this?"

Eliot explained: "This kind of drama usually has pros and cons, or as Professor Lu puts it, 'distinguish between friend and foe'. It's a very simple principle. For example, when you talk about the abused person, you must talk about the abuser." ; When talking about the person who has been infringed, the infringer must also be involved.”

Wodehouse nodded,

"Yes, this way of portraying the dramatic conflict is sharp."

Elliot asked, "So is Jimmy a real racist?"

You can figure out this answer with your knees,

no.

Elliott continued: "That's why Professor Lu's handling is advanced. The two protagonists of "Upside Down" are not opposites. The real conflict comes from the environment created by "Upside Down", namely the "Exclusion Act". "

The others nodded,

Jimmy is indeed not a villain in the traditional sense.

Theodore looked at Lu Shi,

"Professor Lu, there is a section in the plot where Jimmy and Sam were arrested by the police, and Sam escaped after sending a telegram to a big shot. Could this be based on your personal experience?"

Lu Shi laughed loudly,

"Mr. Vice President really likes to ask questions knowingly."

While they were chatting, the actors came out from backstage and took their curtain calls one by one.

There was loud applause in the auditorium.

I don’t know who stood up first, leading others to stand up and applaud.

Warm atmosphere.

Eliot smiled and said: "Professor Lu is still modest. To say that you are the creator of 'Absurd Theater' is not an exaggeration at all. This "Upside Down" has toured several universities in the United States and will soon become popular. .In the future, I don’t know how many people will be influenced by this master of absurdity."

Just as Lu Shi was about to say something, he heard someone in the crowd shout:

"Lu!"

Then, more people joined in,

"Lu!"

"Lu!"

"Lu!"

…

Eliot said: "As a playwright, Professor Lu, what can you say?"

Lu Shi had no choice but to walk onto the stage,

He raised his voice and said, "Actually, I hope you can remember the characters, not me or the actors."

So, the students cooperated and shouted:

"Jimmy!"

"Jimmy!"

"Sam!"

…

Lu Shi pressed his hands down to signal them to be quiet, and then said: "Everyone here is an elite in the United States. I am very honored that you like my drama."

He looked around,

"I firmly believe that what can really move others is not the absurdity of this play, but the spirit of resistance permeated in it. Of course, the form of absurdity is also important. Without it, the play cannot have a unique charm."

The students smiled good-naturedly.

Lu Shi nodded,

"Thank you everyone for your likes. That's all I have to say."