“You should cheer louder here with more powerful expression of the feelings.”

 

The executive director said so as he gave demonstrations and instructions over and over again during a rehearsal of the historical drama “Princess Jincheng”. Directed by the well-known young director Shao Zehui, the play is scheduled for premiere in Lhasa next January.

 

 

[Director Profile]

 

Director Shao Zehui was graduated from Peking University and The Central Academy of Drama. He is now Secretary-general of Beijing Young Theatre Workers’ Association. Considered as one of “the most influential Asian directors in the future”, he has scored amazing achievements in directing masters’ classics, original and cross-field experimental works and has attended several times Festival d’Avignon in France by invitation. His notable works include Leave before Getting Old, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, Sun·Murder, If the World was Blind, 1988: I Want to Talk with the World, The Other Side, Sleep·Aware, Judgment Day, to name but a few.

The historical drama “Princess Jincheng” focuses on the story of Princess Jincheng’s matrimony to Emperor of Tibet for political alliance. Its indoor performance frees itself from the plateau’s climatic constraints. The play will inject new life into Lhasa’s “integrated, all-season and at-any-time” tourism and form another cultural tourism symbol in Tibet.

 

Representation of the Historical Figures are History-Oriented and as Faithful as Possible

 

Actors of “Princess Jincheng” had already started an intense rehearsal when the editor visited the rehearsal room. Revering the historical event, the playwrights, directors and actors did a great deal of historical research during the drama’s creation process.

 

According to the director, there are two princesses in the Tang Dynasty who married an Emperor of Tibet for peace. One is Princess Wencheng, a household name; the other is Princess Jincheng who entered Tibet after the former. Princess Jincheng made her way to Tibet by following Princess Wencheng’s paths. Her marriage has profound influence on cultural exchanges.

 

A young actress, who was born after the year 1995, plays Princess Jincheng. As she said, to get a role in this drama, she read many history books and learned a lot about Princess Jincheng before the audition. Having become a cast member, she worked with other actors and made every effort to study the characters. "Princess Jincheng is such a great woman, so I hope the way I portray her can match her both on the inside and outside."

 

During the interview, director Shao Zehui told the editor that as a play rich in history, "Princess Jincheng" spans many years and entails numerous characters. To stage the legendary life of Princess Jincheng, the director team, while respecting historical facts, will adopt contemporary techniques, “tell the story in the best way and strike a chord with the audiences!”

Relentless Script Revision and Laborious Rehearsals

 

＂Our goal is to create a fine play,＂ says the director, ＂therefore the script has been revised four times already. All the details are still under discussion for further perfection, which hopefully will present as one of the most pleasing scripts.＂

To guarantee the all-season performance in the future, actors are divided into two teams for rehearsal, Team A and Team B. Each is made up of performers from Tibet and other cities from afar. Some of them are experienced actors from ＂Princess Wencheng＂ performing team and some are newcomers eager to bring talents into full play, who all bear big pressure，yet hold high expectations to launching the show as planned.

 

The performers have taken great efforts in practice and rehearsals day and night starting from the very first day. This is such a hard-won chance to gain experience and improvements for most of the young actors. All the hard work is well worth the effort.

 

A Different Drama, Enthusiasm Can Make it Happen

 

＂Our performers encounter a great challenge to present this indoor drama, for it requires full respects to history and vigorous aesthetics on ethnic arts. They need to pay attention to every single detail in practice under hands-on guidance from professional trainers. Despite of a large amount of work, their diligence and enthusiasm for performance never go down.＂ At the scene of tightly-scheduled rehearsals, the Director perceives a wave of enthusiasm which he truly believes ＂will inject vigor and vitality to the whole launching business of the show and make it happen.＂

We manage to interview one of the actors Wang Jie during their break, whose character in ＂Princess Jincheng＂ is Kride Zukzain, the Btsan po of Tibet Regime in ancient China. He is also an experienced actor in ＂Princess Wencheng＂. In his opinion, the indoor drama brings actors closer to the audience owing to the stage setting, which challenges more the performing skills, hence more efforts in practices will need to be taken in order to convey the spirit of the show.

 

The Director reveals that the directing group is very strict in standards and requirements for the show, in his words, every move, every line and every position of every performer need to be just on the right spot, and we can only seek the best presentation through constant practice.”

Putting＂Princess Jincheng＂on the stage will lead to a far-reaching impact on protecting, inheriting and promoting Tibetan culture and history. Following ＂Princess Wencheng＂ large-scale Tibetan culture epic drama, ＂Princess Jincheng＂will revive the love, parting, gathering and farewell in the historic event of political marriage for peace of the boarder area. Joy or sorrow, bitter or sweet...the tangled feelings of these historic figures will be brought back on a stage in a vivid and brand-new way. Furthermore, the recurrence is happening right here in the historic village Cijuelin that has witnessed the tight and fruitful relations between Tang Empire and Tibetan Regime in ancient China over a thousand years ago.