Actress of Guoguang Opera Company—Xin-I Di

Interviewing actress

1.How did you walk onto the Chinese opera actor path?
Ans:I entered the opera school since 5th grade of elementary school. My mom sent me there because I had been learning dancing between 1st grade and 4th grade. Besides, I was outgoing. But, when I went to the opera school, I did not know that I was going to learn Chinese opera, so I went there without knowing the real situation.

2.How long did you spend to practice indigenously to become a formal Chinese opera actor?And what are the requirements to be formal actor, such as basic gong fu, using of properties, and facial make-up, and so on?
Ans:I spent 8 years to work hard to practice gong fu between 5th grade and senior high school. Later, I studied in college for academic subjects, and less practiced martial arts. Later, I entered the Guoguang Opera Company and worked here for 7 years. So you may say that I passed 8-year hardship of practice to become a formal actress.To become a formal Chinese opera actor, I feel the most important thing is the solid basic gong fu. In the stage of practicing gong fu, teacher would teach you one step by another. When you become actor, like enter into opera company, all you have learned has to transform to understand how to integrate the basic gong fu and gradually and deeply to comprehend it. So, basic gong fu is vitally important to Chinese opera actor.

3.There are various roles in the Chinese opera, whether it is the experienced actor that can take any role?
Ans:I don’t think it will work. Because in the Chinese opera, there are sheng, tan, ching, and chhou. In terms of sheng, there are elderly sheng, martial sheng; for tan, there are ching I, Hua Tan, martial tan, and dao mao tan; there are literary ching and martial ching; and literary chou and martial chou. Why I said not proper? Because everybody since little was trained by teachers, and from the process to discovered which profession you are suitable on earth, and then practice gong fu through that direction. For instance, a person learning martial tan who practice gong fu more than anybody else; should the person have to play literary opera, sitting in the middle of the stage, holding the belly to sing for an entire day, he is not able to do that. And hua facial make-up and chou should be played by boys, because the facial make-up is complicated, different from that of the girls. Vocal lines and positions are different from those of the girls. So, if you said a girl to play hua face is very difficult, unless she learned it ever since she entered the opera school when she was very little. So, it is not that with the Chinese opera experience, one can play every role.

Actor is making up

4.Prior to performing Chinese opera, how long does it take you to read the script? How you think of the role and to play it vividly?
Ans:In the past, in opera school, we learned and performed by way of teachers taught orally and with their minds. Now in the Company, because often have newly-adopted operas, it takes one some one to two months to study the script. Director would tell you which role is suitable for me to act, and then you need to look for or conceive the personality and inner world of the role from the books and all kinds of data. When it come to rehearsal, if director feels that you are not quite ready, he will point you to another direction, and tell you or offer you another books or video tapes for you to learn.

5.Please briefly explain which role made the most impression to you during your performance of Chinese opera, and why?
Ans:In fact, each performance I felt impressive. Let me take two examples. One is Hu Family Village. Because I played martial tang, and her easy-going character likes mine. Sometimes, I am straightforward, and talking without thinking at first. Because the role is too much like me, so in interpreting the role makes me impressive. Another play called “Ku Lu,” it is the role of Qing Er, that is the green snake. I learned the play with a Mainland teacher by going to ShangHei opera school. The play is the fairy monster one of martial opera. There are plenty special skills in it, such as I just performed to you the “kicking out of hand.” Because of this opera, I stayed in Mainland for one and a half months, and performed and practiced with schoolmates over there. We grew up together. It is a very special experience for me.

6.Have you faced bottleneck or challenge during your career as Chinese opera actor?
Ans:I feel that each performance is a challenge. Especially coming in our Company, which is a very strict company. From the President top down to our actors, everybody wishes the performance zero error. However, the issue zero error is not a problem of any individual. Just like the opera we just performed, it involves many technical stuff that take everybody to overcome and to cope with in order to develop the best team work. But there are always various difficulties in the performance needed to be practice. What should we do? Certainly, don’t feel discourage, and do one’s best. Even if it is because oneself or other’s mistake that led to the imperfection of the entire performance, we still need to trust one another, and encourage one another. So, during the practice process, we always face difficulties, and often challenge them.

Actress is performing

7.Please briefly explain if somebody would like to work as Chinese opera actor, what is your suggestion?
Ans:If anybody wants to perform Chinese opera as a profession, I would think it is a good thing. But the person has to be industrious, and take hardship and trainings. If one wants to be actor, it is better to be trained from a little kid at the opera school. Because it is better for your body flexibility be practiced since little. Definitely, if you wants to practice Chinese opera profession, it is not necessary to be actor, you may also become playwright, and after-production actor and so on. In general, to become a Chinese opera actor, you have to endure hardship.

8.Please briefly explain your expectation to the future development on the Chiense opera.
Ans:I certainly wish the development of Chinese opera gets better and let more people like it. We need to grasp the roots, and let more children, no matter elderly or young and male or female, all like this profession. So our Company constantly launched performance that suits age of all groups. Among them, there are for children. We also sent the opera to the door, to each school, or invite children to the opera school to watch our performance. Once cultivated the interest from a small child, you will bring more friends to the theater to watch the show when you grow up, and let the Chinese opera art be part of your life.

Reference: research team interview of Actor of Guoguang Opera Company—Xin-I Dai
Source of Photos: photography by the research team

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