Xiang Guai was only excited for a few seconds, and that enthusiasm quickly faded.
He said wearily: "What does it have to do with us to choose the male protagonist in "Out of My World"? The male protagonist is only 11 years old. Even if he chooses, he should choose it from the freshmen who have just entered the school."
Guess has watched this "Out of My World" many, many times. Not only does he recite the plot, but he can even sing the classic episodes with his mouth open.
In the play, Little Billy rebelled against his father for the first time, put on ballet shoes for the first time, and raised the bar to be a Batman for the first time... His longing, yearning, shyness, and pursuit of ballet are all the same as Xiang Gu's back then. The mental journey is the same.
Xiang Chai also fantasized about being able to play the male lead, combining what he once loved with what he has learned now - but he is 17 years old, six years older than the character in the play, and there is no possibility at all.
But another way of thinking, if time went back five or six years ago, if someone put this great opportunity in front of him at the age of 12, he would definitely dismiss it, thinking that participating in a musical was a waste of his dancing practice time.
As soon as Xiang Gu's words were out of his mouth, Chen Ziran, who was sitting in the back row, pounced on him scratching his head.
He put his arms around Xiang Guai's shoulder from behind, and said eagerly, "No no no no! This time it's not a remake of the original drama, but a transplanted rehearsal!! The director wants to move the entire story background to China!! The changes are very big. , changed from the Great Strike in the 1980s to the wave of laid-offs in China in the 1990s; the older brother in the play became an older sister; the age of the male protagonist was adjusted accordingly—" Chen Ziran's voice was getting louder and faster, "—The male protagonist is changed to 15 years old!! Xiang Gu, you have hope!!"
It is not uncommon for foreign musicals and dramas to undergo "major surgery" after the introduction. In order to better suit the appreciation of domestic audiences, some changes are unavoidable.
In addition, there is a lack of musical theater cultivation soil in Europe and the United States that "starts from a young age". There are child stars who can act, children who can sing, and children who can dance, but it is difficult to find a combination of the three.
In the end, the director and chief producer decided to change the age of the male lead, changing him from an 11-year-old child to a 15-year-old boy.
The age of 15 is when children have the most rebellious spirit. High school students of this age are faced with severe challenges to enter a higher school. Words such as "life" and "future" gradually appear in their thinking. At this age, they are also the most likely to have conflicts with their parents.
The producer has a wide network of contacts in the musical industry. While adapting the script, he contacted the principals of many dance schools in Huacheng, Shanghai and Liaocheng, and brought other main creators to cast roles.
Chen Ziran is well-informed and has friends all over the world. He heard from friends who used to learn Latin together that the main creators of "Out of My World" have gone to several schools, and other characters have been chosen seven, seven, eight, eight, but the protagonist can pick and choose. There is also no end result.
The Middle School attached to Huawu was their last stop.
"Xiang Gu, this role is for you!" Qi Ji was excited, her cheeks flushed, "You have to be able to sing, perform, and dance... If you can't choose this role, then No one else can choose!"
Chen Ziran and Qi Ji both encouraged Xiang Guai with the same eyes as "taking things out of the bag", but Xiang Guai was heavy, not as optimistic as they thought.
… If the director and the producer really plan to choose people from the Huawu High School, why not come to their class, but go directly to the ballet department
※
"Mr. Song, I think we still have to discuss this matter." Outside the glass door of the dance classroom, the director of "Leap Out of My World", Tang Fengyu, looked at the producers beside him with some embarrassment.
Beside him, producer Song Lin stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes fell on the group of energetic ballet boys in the dance classroom.
Tang Fengyu said: "This is a musical, and the focus should be on singing. Whether you dance well is not the only criterion for judgment. Why do you have to choose people from the ballet department?"
Take the original version of the West End of London as an example, "Out of My World" has been on for 11 years. There are seven or eight different versions of the male lead, and everyone's focus is on singing. Although it is a "dream ballet", the male protagonist's ballet posture is not standard.
Song Lin shook his head: "It's not the same. The original male protagonist is 11 years old, and he has just started dancing, so even if he is not good at dancing, as long as he has potential, his family is willing to train him."
Song Lin added: "But our male protagonist is already 15 years old. At this age, if he can't show his strong dancing skills, he can't fight against his father. If I choose an actor who stumbles and stumbles on the stage, even A single-leg rotation can't hold up, so in the eyes of the audience, he gave up his normal education to practice dancing, and the story is unconvincing."
Regarding the age of the male protagonist, he did not decide to revise it as soon as he slapped his head. The main creative team got together and met countless times and did a lot of audience surveys.
This is also related to national conditions - for the vast majority of domestic parents, they cannot understand why 11- and 12-year-old children are rebellious. Because in their eyes, 11-year-olds are still "children", how can children have rebellious thoughts? Hehe, they don't even have an idea!
Therefore, if the crew were to copy the original setting and write a story about an 11-year-old boy who escaped after-school cram school to learn ballet when his father was laid off, it would not resonate with the audience.
But if the age is extended to 15 years old, extended to the freshman in high school, and the protagonist and his family are placed in the stressful environment of the college entrance examination, the whole story will become more in line with the national conditions.
But on the contrary, the male protagonist must have a solid ballet foundation, otherwise it will be unconvincing.
Because of this, producer Song Lin insisted on choosing a dance student.
The boys in the ballet department were in class when they entered the dance studio. Because of the different dance moves and required physical qualities, the professional courses for male and female students are separated.
In the room, more than a dozen young boys stood in two rows, tall and straight, light, dancing to the music, and every move was so pleasing to the eye.
Even Tang Fengyu had to admit that they danced perfectly, far better than the seedlings I had seen in Shanghai and Liaocheng before.
They have to stay in the Huawu High School for half a month, carefully examine the ballet students aged 14 to 18, and select those with a good voice after the voice change period, and then proceed to the next stage of the sight-singing assessment.
"That's right." Song Lin suddenly remembered and turned to look at the head of the ballet department, "I heard before that there is a 'little prince' in your ballet department, and he also represented the school to communicate with the Vaganova Ballet School in Russia. Ever? Has he graduated, and if he doesn't, let him come over and try the mirror."
Speaking of his former apprentice, the head of the department paused and said in a low tone: "You mean Xiang Gu, right? He should have graduated this year, but something unexpected happened and he took a year off. Now he has changed departments, I went to the singing and dancing major."
"Song and dance major?" Director Tang Fengyu's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Isn't that right? Our musical needs a male protagonist who is good at singing and ballet!"
If they can find this student, then they don't have to be in a dilemma anymore!
Song Lin was also very interested in "Oh?" and said, "Then call Xiang Guai and let us see it. Let's talk about it first - although we are old friends, I am very strict in choosing actors. Ah! If you don't dance well, I won't open the back door for you!"
"... I'm afraid he can't meet your requirements." The head of the department was a spirited old lady with silver hair tied into a tight bun. She smiled wryly and said, "He had a traffic accident last summer, and he almost couldn't stand up. During the year he dropped out of school, he did four before and after the operation. If it wasn't for this, how could I be willing to put this The good seedlings should be sent to other majors."
Hearing this answer, Song Lin raised his eyebrows in surprise, and said regretfully, "This... This is too regrettable. Was the driver drunk driving?"
The head of the department shook his head heavily.
"It's not an accident - it's a deliberate revenge." The head of the department lowered his eyes, covering the red blood in his eyes, "His parents owe a lot of gambling debts, and they still can't pay. Those underworld... can do anything."
That young man with a bright future, his youth was suddenly frozen in that evening.
The perpetrator was particularly rampant. Relying on the darkness and the lack of surveillance in the rural town, the driver not only knocked him down, but even deliberately crushed his feet with the wheels and then sped away.
Xiang Chai fainted in pain, and woke up in pain again—his feet couldn't use any strength, so he clawed on the ground with both hands, and crawled to the side of the road with difficulty, one by one, until dawn when someone passed by, he was stunned. was rescued.
The crime scene was bloody. Two long bloodstains dragged on the gravel road, extending all the way to the soles of his rotten feet.
He could have jumped out of his future on his feet—but that night, he lost it.
His parents have long since disappeared because of the debt. After the accident, the school leaders came forward to help him arrange the surgery, and the teachers paid for the surgery.
His then head teacher knelt down directly in front of the attending doctor, begging him to make Xiang Guai better.
The middle-aged man in his forties burst into tears: "Doctor, he is only sixteen years old, and he will be a dancer in the future!"
The doctor said, "I understand your feelings very well, but he is in a very serious condition now, with comminuted fractures in both feet. We will definitely try our best to treat him, but we can't guarantee anything right now. If he doesn't recover well, he may be in danger for the rest of his life. Only in a wheelchair."
He had done many sessions before and after the operation, and Xiang Gu would even cry of pain in his sleep.
But what hurts more is the rehabilitation - the boy was already thin, and after a major disaster, he lost another 20 pounds, and his bones were thin. Every day, he insisted on practicing walking while holding on to the handlebar. Even if he was sweating and trembling, he would never stop.
The teachers took turns to visit the hospital, and Xiang Guai greeted them with a smile. He smiled and his chin became more pointed, but those eyes were bright, as if they had been washed by the spring rain.
He would go out of his way to ask every teacher if he could still dance ballet in the future.
The teachers patted his head, coaxed him to deceive him - but how long could the lie last
After Xiangchai completed his rehabilitation, he returned to school, but his feet could no longer support him to complete the high-intensity ballet training. The principal could only regretfully send him to the singing and dancing major.
The matter of changing departments was discussed by the head of the ballet department with Xiang Guai.
Xiang Guai looked at the paper transfer notice, was silent for a long time, and suddenly got up and bowed to her.
"thanks."
Then the boy straightened his back, picked up his schoolbag, walked out of the ballet department, and walked in the other direction.
The author has something to say: I want to say a lot, so I should not say it.
Hug my guess.
(In fact, the copy also wrote that parents are addicted to gambling, but it seems that everyone has not noticed the keyword orz... )