The role of drama in poverty alleviation in Qingdao

A folk opera called "Ma Xiangyang's Tour to the Countryside" debuted on Aug 30, 2017 at the Qingdao Song and Dance Theatre.[File Photo:qingdaonews.com]

By Reporter Gong Lili

A folk opera called "Ma Xiangyang's tour to the countryside" is currently being staged in rural areas around the city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

Performed by the Qingdao Song and Dance Theatre, the folk opera is helping to promote the Chinese government's goal of building a well-off society for all its citizens.

CRI's Laiming has more.

"Ma Xiangyang's tour to the countryside" debuted in October in Qingdao's Huangdao district.

The crew set up a temporary stage on a nearby mountain. Although the show is shorter than the version normally staged in a theatre, local audiences have been fascinated by the performances.

"A lot of people came to watch the show. People would be educated if such opera shows become available here."

"It's quite touching. It's not easy for Ma Xiangyang to begin working as a new leader to the countryside. After a tour to village, he made up his mind to help reduce poverty there. The drama would easily come into audiences' heart. Its backdrop is designed so vividly."

Their debut open-air performance left the artists on an emotional high. Shi Xugang plays the character Accountant Liang, the most impressive character in the drama.

"Very enjoyable! We feel so close to the audience members, and this face-to-face communication enables us to observe their attitude. We have the passion to arouse excitement among rural audiences."

With the goal of boosting public awareness of the Chinese government's efforts to build a well-off society in an all-round way, the opera company has launched a series of performances in rural areas.

According to Huang Gang, President of the Qingdao performing arts group, the group will perform at around 75 villages and towns around the city over the next five months.

"In the past, we were basically performing in some large theaters in the cities. But this time, our shows target audiences at grass-roots level in countryside. I found locals had all arrived a lot ahead of the show. They are looking forward to watching the play. They kept asking if they could understand the content; if there is a song and dance performance in it. I believe that most of them have never seen this form of opera before."

The play has been adapted from the hit TV series of the same name. It centers on the story of a researcher with the Academy of Agricultural Sciences who returns to his hometown, Ash Tree Village.

Ma's ambition is to help turn around the fortunes of the village economy. However, he is confronted with a string of obstacles. But his hard work and kind heart win the day, and under his leadership the village eventually embarks on a road to prosperity.

Dai Lu, one of the show's screenwriters, explains that the play is different from the TV series in a number of ways.

"This drama is an adaptation of a 40-episode TV series. We condensed from an 800, 000-character TV story into a 20,000 characters opera script. Substantial changes were being made. For example, in the TV story, Ma Xiangyang was sent to the Ash Tree Village, and our adaptation makes Ma deeply in love with the village which is his hometown and willing to help his rural folks out of poverty. So from his identity to fate, the opera and TV series are not the same."

Wang Chuanliang portrays Ma Xiangyang in the opera.

"I think Ma Xiangyang is a very selfless person, who is both very kind and always shows filial respect to the elderly in his village. Once he got seriously ill and unfortunately a big snow had blocked the mountain path. Despite hardships on road, his fellow villagers took turns to carry him to the hospital. Full of gratitude to those helpers, he began dedicating to the study of soil as he grew up. So he is a grateful person and regards those local villagers his beloved ones. He has strong affection for the land on which he's grown up."

One of the lead characters in the opera is Li Yunfang, an enthusiastic village leader who causes the village to suffer huge financial losses because of her poor decisions. Correcting the mistakes made by Li Yunfang becomes a pressing task for Ma Xiangyang to tackle upon his arrival in the village.

Actress Ding Xiaojun plays Li Yunfang.

"The key feature of this person is her wholehearted devotion to the local people. Although she encounters more hardships than ever after she gets divorced with her child living with her, she never stops working hard to take locals out of poverty. However, that goal is beyond her capability. She was misguided by a fraud that cheated out many villagers' whole-year income. So her first appearance in the opera is that she looks full of regret. Later, Ma Xiangyang encourages her and has not only helped her solve the financial issue but also relieved her from the mental pressure. From then on, Li Yunfang becomes a capable and reliable village head."

The opera aims to accurately portray the reality of poverty alleviation work, but in a humorous way that audiences can enjoy.

Huang Dingshan is the show's director. Huang is also the director of a 2017 remake of the classic opera Xiao Erhei's Marriage, which was performed by China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre.

"Both Xiao Erhei's Marriage and Ma Xiangyang describe the situations in the countryside, targeting China's huge farming population. Set a background at around 65 years ago, Xiao Erhei's Marriage mainly reflects freedom in marriage and romance, which is a most-concerned issue at that time in China's countryside. The opera on Ma Xiangyang is about the current poverty alleviation campaign in China's rural areas, which also attracted much attention in society. Both operas are made in a comic style, which our grass-roots level audiences may feel quite interesting. The design aims to arouse their learning interest in their laughter, and make the topic not too heavy for audience members."

Producing an opera that is both funny and realistic is a difficult task for any screenwriter. Screenwriter Lian Haiping admits that it took him and fellow screenwriter Dai Lu seven attempts to successfully adapt the story for the stage.

"When audiences arrive in front of the stage, it may look entertaining and full of fun for them. But behind it, we discussed over and over again. There are four gossip village girls who bear important comedy features. They used to spent most of their time gossiping. But in the end, they become all busy with their work and have no time chatting. It reflects both a change in their life and an advancement of the times."

In order to make the opera look more realistic to the audience, director Huang Dingshan said most of the props are borrowed from local villagers:

"Our deputy director paid a visit to the rural areas in Jiaozhou, in order to purchase small farming devices like corn stripper, however these devices are not suitable. So we were specifically looking for their used devices, which we take as our props. This part is made so close to their real life in the Ash Tree village."

On August 30 this year, the opera premiered in the opera house of Qingdao Grand Theater. This is also the first time in more than 40 years that a local opera from Qingdao was being performed in its home city.

The more than 2-hour long play involved more than 120 actors and actresses. Among the 1,000 or so audience members were over 100 leaders of Qingdao city.

"Ma Xiangyang's tour to the countryside" will continue to be performed in theaters in rural areas and on campuses, enabling more and more citizens to enjoy both its comedy, and its important social message.