Case Study I / 文章特寫 一

"梁祝"作者—陳剛教授與歌舞劇"馬蘭花"改編者的一席談話

2003年6月29日，陳剛教授在上海音樂學院的宿舍內，接待了來自海外的老友陳兆鑫。談話內容是關於改編50年代童話劇"馬蘭花"為當代歌舞劇的問題。

陳 剛：你為什麼要改編馬蘭花？你越是對"馬蘭花"有情結，我越是為你捏把汗！
陳兆鑫：我是為了孩子們。這個劇是個兒童劇經典，文化積澱也厚實，對當今的孩子好啊！
陳 剛： 你是一個很有功力的藝術家，在國內，那時候，沒能讓你搞許多自己的作品。現在到了國外，你還不搞幾個自己有分量的東西？你不是曾說過，要和我一起搞歌舞劇"牡丹亭"、"聊齋"嗎？
陳兆鑫：湯顯祖的經典戲劇瑰寶—"牡丹亭"，蒲松齡的"聊齋"，一直對我有很大的吸引力。可是我現在還是要為孩子們先改編"馬蘭花"。
陳 剛： 我還是覺得"聊齋"好，孩子們也會喜歡看的。因為是鬼故事，可以隨你編。馬蘭花是個50年代的東西，又是個兒童劇，而且，又有那麼多的版本。並且，中國兒藝也搞了音樂劇，不管它好不好，就算能夠超過它，也還是改編嘛。而且，它不是一個小創編、小製作，要花很多力量，花很多的錢，風險太大，你值得嗎？奧斯卡電影重拍的，沒有一個成功。總還是原來的印象深......
陳兆鑫：這些因素我都經過考慮了。我想，重要的是必要性、可能性、可行性......在我看來，海外做這件事情最迫切、最有意義、最值得，也是最佳時機......也許是我的價值觀吧，至於自己的作品，我已經不在乎了......
陳 剛： （還想說服陳兆鑫）你現在，不像我搞音樂創作，搞了沒市場，沒人欣賞，我就擱著，或許以後有人聽。你現在帶著一個大團隊去幹，不成功，怎麼向大家交代？
陳兆鑫：嗯......還真沒想過，不成功怎麼辦......總之，要勇往直前唄......極盡全力，也不至於搞得太壞吧......
陳 剛： 你這個人，我知道，想定了，總有你的觀念和理由，九頭牛也拖你不回來。只要你想做，我就支持你。幫不上你大忙，要不要幫你找個好作曲？‥‥‥我還算小有名氣，當個顧問，你就先掛個"羊頭"，賣你的"狗肉"吧......
陳兆鑫、陳 剛：哈哈哈哈......

Dialogue Between Dr. Chen Gang, the Composer of the Violin Concerto "Butterfly Lovers" ("Liang Zu") and Mr. David Chen, the Reviser of the International "Malan Flower" Musical Drama

On June 29, 2003, Dr. Chen Gang met with David Chen at the Institute of Shanghai Music. The topic of this discussion was about the issue of revising the 1950s folk tale drama "Malan Flower" into a musical drama.

Dr. Chen: Why do you want to revise "Malan Flower?" The more involved you are with "Malan Flower," the more worried I am for you.
David: I am doing this for the children. This play is considered the quintessence of children's play and it contains a collection of rich Chinese culture. It will be a very good experience for the kids.
Dr. Chen: You are an excellent artist. Unfortunately, you did not have much opportunity to work on your own ideas while you were in China. Now that you have more time, why don't you concentrate your energy on developing your own projects? Didn't you once say that you wanted to work together with me to rewrite "Du Dan Ting" and "Liao Zi" into musicals?
David: I have always been interested in "Du Dan Ting" and "Liao Zi", but now my first priority is to rewrite "Malan Flower" for the children.
Dr. Chen: I still think that "Liao Zi" would not only make a better story, but also be more enjoyable for children. It is a ghost story, which gives more room for creative modifications to the original text. "Malan Flower" is recent, well known and already has several published versions. Also the Chinese Children's Theater has already made it into a musical. Even if your production surpasses their musical, it is still only a revision and not an original. Plus, this is not a small project; it will take time, money and lots of effort. There are many risks involved. In the end, is it worth it? After all, even new takes on an Oscar-winning film can hardly compare to the original.
David: I have considered all these aspects, but I think the most important concepts are necessity and possibility. In my eyes, doing this overseas is meaningful, worthwhile and imperative. To me, "Malan Flower" is worth more than any of my own projects or ideas...
Dr. Chan: (still trying to convince David) You are not in the same position as I am. If one of my works fails, I can always put it on the shelf and wait for a future audience who will appreciate it. However, you are leading an entire cast into your dream; if you fail, how will you face them?
David: Hmm...I haven't even considered failure. You just have to continue giving it your all and hope for the best.
Dr. Chen: I know you. Once you have made up your mind, no one can talk you out of it. If you are steadfast in your decision, I will support you wholeheartedly. I might not be able to help much, but at least my name has some reputation. Go ahead and use my name to promote your cause. (Both men laugh.)

 

Case Study II /文章特寫 二

办公室里的偶谈──安明思一家的"马兰花"情結

安明思一家五个孩子都曾在ACPA学舞。老大舞跳得很好，现已上了大学。第四个，学习兴趣不大，但也在学。三个孩子和老爸、妈妈都投入了紧张的"马兰花"制作。爸爸负责摄像、资料，妈妈参与负责服装管理，老二安世雄还当上了主角—马郎。

要说起"马兰花"，妈妈黄菊芳，真是会动情的诉说一番她年轻时，有关"马兰花"的情結。60年代，"马兰花"电影在东南亚各国盛放。她当时在柬埔寨，看到这部来自中国的电影，十分亲切，一有空儿就去看，看了不知多少遍。里面的主题歌，她娴熟能背唱，说着，她就唱了起来："马兰花呀，马兰花。风吹雨打都不怕。勤劳的人儿在说话......"在旁的陈院长惊讶的说："哇！你唱的比我还全、还准呐！这么多年了，这老民歌，你怎么还记得！她笑了，怎么能忘啊！你知道吗？知道我看了多少遍"马兰花"？至少不下六、七遍。她还紧问："陈院长，当年这首优美的主题曲，你为什么不用啊？"陈院长解释说："这曲子是很好，但时代不同了，人的心理节奏，审美习惯也有改变呐！"这时，陈院长才明白安世雄一家对"马兰花"的热情，不是没有缘由的；也更明白了："马兰花"的种子早已有播在世界各个国家。

Dialogue in the office

Her five children have all learned to dance and to appreciate Chinese culture through their education at ACPA. Her oldest daughter, now in college, was a remarkable dancer. Her fourth child doesn't have a great interest in dance, but she's learning. Three of her children as well as their dad and herself are all involved in the production of "Malan Flower." Dad is the cameraman and also does the video editing. Mom is in charge of keeping track of all the colorful costumes. And their second oldest child, Zenon Anderson, is even the main character in the play—Lord Malon.

Mrs. Chanta Anderson is a dedicated "Malan Flower" mom. Her history with this play goes back far beyond our production in America. In the 1960's, "Malan Flower" in the form of a film was very popular in various Southeast Asian countries. At the time, she lived in Cambodia and seeing this movie from China touched her deeply. She would watch it whenever she had a chance. After countless viewings, she became so familiar with the movie that the tunes and lyrics of the theme song became imprinted in her mind. When Malan Flower was mentioned at ACPA a couple of years ago, she recalled the fairytale of her childhood days and began singing, "Malan flower, oh Malan flower. Neither wind nor rain can lessen your power. Kind one is speaking..." Director David Chen heard her singing and was impressed, "Wow, you know the words better than I do! It's been so many years, how do you still remember this folk song?" Smiling, she replied, "How could I forget? I watched that movie no less than six or seven times!" Then curious, she asked, "Why aren't you using this beautiful song in your version of 'Malan Flower'?" Director Chen explained, "True, the song is beautiful, but it is from a different time period. Modern rhythms and the perception of beauty have changed." Thus, Director Chen came to realize that Mrs. Anderson's family's involvement in and dedication to "Malan Flower" came from a deep-rooted source. And he understood that, "The seeds of the 'Malan Flower' were sowed around the world decades ago."