In 1952, at the beginning of the establishment of the Beijing Art Institute, the "Big Four" Cao Yu, Ouyang Shanzun, Zhao Qiyang, and Jiao Juyin gathered to discuss the famous "42-hour talk": At that time, the Capital Theater had not yet been completed, and the four founders In the courtyard of No. 56 Shijia Hutong, the people discussed the construction of the theater for 7 days. They talked for 3 hours in the morning and continued to talk for 3 hours in the afternoon for 7 days in a row. Finally, they drew this blueprint. ——Beijing Renyi should be built into a high-level cultural theater with its own national characteristics, a unique style and theoretical system, and a world-renowned cultural theater like the Moscow Art Theater.

From right: Cao Yu, Ouyang Shanzun, Zhao Qiyang, Jiao Juyin Picture from the official website of Beijing Renyi

How Renyi determined the development direction by a "42-hour conversation"; how Renyi practiced people's nature and created together with the audience; in what ways did Renyi's rigorous governance spirit show; "Beijing Taste" opera, and other works of various themes, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign; how the art committee of Renyi plays a gate-keeping role in art production, and how to become a good actor, are all concentrated in the series of lectures between performances show.

Cao Yu's speech for the third anniversary of Friends of Renyi Picture from the official article of Beijing Renyi

In a word, how can Beijing people and art stand up, and why is it so strong? Looking forward to the future, the red sun is rising, and its path is bright; the future is like the sea, and the future is long.
Since 1986, the theater has formally established the "Friends of People and Arts Association" in the form of folk friendship. Since 2004, many actors, directors and stage art workers of Beijing Renyi have entered the community and school, "rehearsing plays for the most ordinary people, we have always been with the audience." Dean Cao Yu once wrote about this. "I will never forget that at the entrance of the Capital Theater, whether it is late at night or dawn, there are always audiences waiting in line to buy tickets."
Performance artist Lin Liankun also said: "Dear audience, I love you. You are so sincere, kind, and holy. You are born to love the truth, the good and the beautiful, and you also instinctively reject the false and ugly. Let’s create together. I’m going to be honest, you nurtured me. Dear audience, I love you.”

In the performance of "Thunderstorm", sound designer Feng Qin (first from the right) directed the "rain and thunder" effect behind the scenes

Gu Wei, director of Beijing Humanities and Arts, introduced in an exclusive interview with The Paper not long ago that before the start of the full play of "Thunderstorm", several thunderous sounds grabbed the attention. "In the use of thunder and rain, I have always insisted on handwork - there are 12 staff in the background playing the thunder board. This is how it was performed in the past, and we have kept it now." How come the sets and props in every play look real? "Our faucets can produce water, people can stand on the roof of the house, and it can snow and rain at any time on our stage. This is what it's called, pay attention."
"This kind of attention is everywhere on the stage of Beijing People's Art. In addition to the superb skills of the stage artists, the help of experts and scholars in the society is indispensable. For example, when rehearsing historical dramas, the theater has repeatedly asked for advice. Mr. Shen Congwen. For the play "Wu Zetian" alone, after reading the script, the gentleman listed 10 pages and 64 references on ancient costumes and costumes. After watching the townhouse, the gentleman gave 36 specific comments came out," said the four young cross-talkers proudly.

A still from "The Death of a Famous Celebrity", Yan Rui (back) plays Liu Zhensheng and Li Xiaomeng (front) plays Liu Fengxian. Still photography Li Chunguang

There is no doubt that, different from the art of the director, the stage of the drama is the art of the "corner". Just like in the drama "The Death of a Famous Actor", a famous actor Liu Zhensheng often said, "Do you want to be a corner? It takes a sweat bead to fall to the ground!" Let's listen to an excellent Beijing artist The actor's "self-cultivation" - he must have four conditions: rich life experience, profound knowledge, skilled acting skills and abundant creative energy (Beijing Renyi's older generation actor Ye Ziyu).
Therefore, the actor once asked himself: "Actor, I must mobilize my 'heart' to share the joys and sorrows with the character. At the same time, there must be a 'he' in the heart of the actor - we read it over and over again After reading the literary script, carefully observe life, repeatedly experience the theme and ideological intention of the play, ponder the writer's words, and recall the various scenes in life. Only when 'he' can live in my heart can I be like him. 'Life'."
Experience life is the magic weapon for actors to create characters. Actor Tong Chao believes that "getting the sense of self of a character lies in the accumulation of life, but also in the actor's accurate analysis and profound experience of the character." Actors Lantian Ye and Zhu Xu are the playwrights and drama critics of the Republic of China. Hong Shen's famous saying is regarded as a guideline: as the saying goes, "Those who can't act, act; those who can act, act as people."
It is precisely in the long-term artistic practice that the artists of Beijing Renyi adhere to the realistic creation method, and jointly summarize the art of "creating a vivid stage image through profound inner experience on the basis of profound life" The law of creation plays a decisive role in unifying the creative method of the theater director and forming the artistic style of the theater.
70 years of Renyi is created together with the audience.

70th Anniversary Celebration Poster

All the actors perform collectively for the curtain call

It is also worth mentioning that the commemorative performance on the evening of June 11 ended after the actors made two curtain calls. After the reluctant audience gradually dispersed, all the cast and crew reassembled on the stage to record a birthday video for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the hospital. The surging journalists captured this precious scene on the spot:
Actor Pu Cunxin, who is in the middle of the second row, volunteered to conduct the scene. After several previews, everyone shouted: "See you tomorrow! See you tomorrow! See you tomorrow! Happy birthday to Beijing Renyi! Come on!"