Editor's note: In this periodical, we will create “Ice Flowers” column, which will focus on the small plays with a view to planting a bud on the land. The bud is always immature and so it is full of vitality and hope. It is the future of the play. For its beautiful future, the predecessors and friends in play area are expected to pay more attention to the small flowers in the early spring atmosphere.
A
Time Any age
Place An old village entrance
Characters Xinxian; Zhuzi
Old tree Stick
[Curtain up:
[Dreamy rising and falling music.
[On the stage, clouds of colorful fog are rising.
[A few girls in white shirt are walking through the fog. And the most beautiful was the passionate and imaginative girl- Xinxian.
Xinxian (Gentle, sweet and dreamy) My friend, you will be amazed at my beauty as the old village people who love me a lot. You may not know that I am an imaginative girl. The endless fantasy is like pearls and colorful clouds, which cannot be caught or touched. But the fantasy is a permanent power that attracts and encourages me to pursue a better life. And my story begins with fantasy. Look, my Mr. Right is coming.
[The music slowly stops. The other girls get off the stage. The lover of Xinxian rushes to the right stage and she comes over to him.
Xinxian Brother Zhuzi! Are you here to send off me?
Zhuzi I am going to ask you to stay. Are you sure to leave the old village where we were born? Our hometown is so good.
Xinxian Darling Zhuzi, I also love our village. But I want to go outside. It is said that the outside world is very big that you can go anywhere you want to go without walking. And…
Zhuzi Where did you hear of these weird things?
Xinxian I dreamed of them.
Zhuzi Xinxian, you are perfect if you stop dreaming.
Xinxian (Purse her lips) Let me leave. After all, there are many beautiful girls in the village.
Zhuzi (Hold on to her shoulders anxiously) Who said that I did not like you? Actually, I love you because you are different. (Grasp her hand) I like your dream too. (Lower his head) But I hate to part with you.
Xinxian (She says in coquetry to herself while hanging on to her neck) I will miss you. And I will come back soon. Do not be so stupid!
Zhuzi Really?
Xinxian (Nod her head heavily) Definitely.
Zhuzi When will you come back?
Xinxian （Shamefully）I will not leave you any more when we get married.
[With fog clearing gradually, the rising and falling music is on. The two people face each other silently. The light surrounding him and her makes a sense of beautiful charm of youth.
[They move their feet with music. Staring at Xinxian, Zhuzi wants to kiss her as he is totally attracted by her beauty.
[A burst of thick cough suddenly interrupts the music. They quickly separated from each other and surprised to look to the direction of a voice- an old elm tree.
Old tree You are Zhuzi, right? In the future, you should be in charge of keeping an eye on the village entrance.
Xinxian (Turn to Zhuzi) Will you keep an eye on the village entrance?
Zhuzi Yeah. I will be here to pick up you early and see the road along which you will come back.
Xinxian (Hold on to his hands with emotion) Darling Zhuzi!
Old tree Our purpose is for safety and happiness.
[A turbid baritone echoes in the forest: “Our purpose is for safety and happiness.”
Xinxian (Unwilling to let go of Zhuzi) Darling Zhuzi, please be careful.
Zhuzi Take care too.
Xinxian Then I am leaving.
[Xinxian gets off the stage. Zhuzi jumps to the stump beside the old tree, looking at the distance and waving his hand.
[Light off and the stage is dark.
A gloomy dark light is on the old tree on the right side of the tree. Sitting on the stump, Zhuzi is playing a weed and humming a song.
[A quivering voice is coming.
[Zhuzi is still humming a song.
Old tree (Vigilantly) What voice? Zhuzi!
[Zhuzi jumps off immediately and listens to the voice carefully. The voice is weakened instead of disappearing.
[A gold light is shining on the front left table. Wearing beautiful clothes and colorful flowers, Xinxian carries a basket and enters the house. She firstly takes out a cactus from the basket and puts it on the table. Then she takes out a mirror and looks at herself.
Xinxian (Step back exclamatorily and joyfully) Ah! I am so beautiful! The mirror is so useful that everyone should use it too. I will take it back to village. (Thinking of the flowers on the hat, she immediately takes it off) I will also take the flowers back too as the villagers never saw it.
[All of a sudden, the quivering voice is louder. So she stops and listens to it carefully. Zhuzi at the right side of the stage is looking around.
[Xinxian thinks of something suddenly, and slapping her hands: “It should be my ordered books coming”. Then someone cries behind the stage: “Xinxian, there is a call from the bookstore!”
[Xinxian runs off the stage: “I am coming. I am coming!”
[The gold light is off.
[Zhuzi searched the table inadvertently, knocking the table as if he is knocking a small tree.
Zhuzi Alas, it is just a hedgehog. I thought it was a sort of monster.
[Zhuzi comes in relax.
Old tree Beat it to death. Do not let it enter the village. It is full of pricks that it will stab the grain seeds or even the eyes of children.
[Zhuzi is unwilling to do that.
Zhuzi It was harmless as I played it when I was a boy.
Old tree (Harsh and solemn voice) Our purpose is for safety and happiness. Beat it to death.
[Zhuzi desperately came to the table and held up the flowerpot, looking at it for a few minutes.
Zhuzi I cannot bear to kill you. But what if you destroy the happiness of the villagers?
[Hesitating for a moment, he puts the flowerpot on the floor and steps on the flower.
Dim, clear-headed, and dim
— Read Untitled Drama ABC
Gaolan
There are three short plays without titles but with codes ABC. You cannot tell it belongs to which type or which fraction because it cannot be classified or grouped. But it reads so new and unique. The young beautiful girl is exploring and pursing her happiness. However, to her shock: she is not following the common!
I cannot say that I have already understood the author’s intention and purpose, or printing. I do not want to use any idea to chain the spring bud from the soil, let alone caring about its variety. Maybe I doubt myself.
Indeed, when I read the three short plays, I felt dimly, with confusion and trance, as if I did not understand them. However, upon careful reading, I am clearly aware there is meaningful and thought-provoking philosophy, which is commonly seen in daily life. So the meaning weighs a lot.
The art design and application techniques are extremely exquisite.
Short play A: The author is free to use the multi-layer symbols at the meantime. It makes people materialized and materials humanized. More artfully, the materialized and humanized appear in double characters in the meanwhile and fight with the monsters. The real people and dissimilated people are in obvious comparison. The technique of symbol is in deep assimilation, using “tree” to compare the normal life twist in the human life. The series of suppositive mind is very lively and smart, which is out of expectation.
Short play B: No names but relation between characters. It breaks through the traditional art rule, directly showing the people inner world regardless of environment and character personality. The dead body, ghost and living people go to the stage at the same time, thus causing a dispute. The tomb caretaker knocking the old clapper is not only a bystander but a player. The characters from the author are abstract. With the idealistic symbols, the characters focus on their psychology and their desire. The real life is visional and dreamy, escaping from the play time and space in imagination.
Short play C: It is like a song, with ordinary content but deep potential feeling. But it is not a play but real life. You can watch a real small family, feel the “thud, thud” sound and “tick, tick” rain… There is a sense of absurd. The lives for different characters are unconnected, presenting a life situation. There is no play conflict, nor incoherent absurd phenomenon.
If the tiny spring bud makes me sober, after deep thinking and pondering for a primary student while taking an examination, then what will trap me after sobering? Is the feedback effect normal or not? Therefore, we have to ask ourselves and make another reflection.
What about the real meaning and philosophy of the three-hour play? What does the author intend to say? What does he want the readers to think? Am I confused or are the author confused? That is to say, we should combine the play structure, literary structure and philosophical structure into the whole art. If we ignore the play features but pursue the new style, the philosophical knowledge and emotion will lose the aesthetic value and turn into nothing.
A good technique as it is, the symbolization should be rendered attention. In the multi-combination structure, we should pay attention to the harmonious angle. Too many perspectives not only cause disorder but stiffen situation. No matter how single-layered, or multi-layered, the clue should be clear.
From the author’s understanding, there are both symbolization and absurd techniques. But the inner philosophy is separated from the play. The more absurd it is, the more deep the philosophy and clearer it is. It does not use a conception mind to solve graphically a principle.
If the life philosophy is the inner character of the play’s new conception, the symbolization technique should employ the external form intuition to reflect a deeper content. It is required to pursue the play inner philosophy by giving the audience an intuitive influence.
Of course, I am not saying that we should regard the realistic creative way as a standard for any work. The distinct assimilation and symbolization are always absurd from the surface, only making the audience feel it is concerned with the big society after the small shaking family and a couple of lovers. However, its purpose lies in propelling the readers to think widely about the play.
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