Puppet Show

Si Jingyu chuckled and quickly comforted her, "Alright, alright, I won't embarrass you again. Just pretend you didn't hear it."

Si Ming remarked, "That's quite a sarcastic remark."

Just as Si Shuiyun was about to retort, music suddenly started, and the entire theater immediately fell silent. The competition was about to begin, so she could only remain silent.

"Si Huaruo's performance is the last one, which doesn't look good, but if they perform well, they can immediately reverse the bad impressions others have formed beforehand."

Chapter 293 Puppet Show

On the grand stage of the Royal Theatre, the plot is drawing to a close. The male protagonist, wielding a longsword, engages in a final battle with the villainous mastermind, amidst the sacrifice of countless companions.

Both actors are genuine martial artists, and their fight scenes are not just pretentious swordplay; they are even more exciting than those in kung fu movies, with flashing swords and visceral punches. The explosive force of the swords Sword Qi cuts the props and scenery to pieces, instantly pushing the atmosphere to its climax.

Martial arts scenes are one of the major selling points of drama in this era. Some dramas even have mediocre stories and average acting skills, but because of their exciting martial arts scenes, they can attract a large audience and cause a sensation in the local area, drawing crowds to the streets.

The film wave in the Sea Continent failed to take off, partly due to technological limitations, and partly because the action scenes on screen were far less visually impactful than the "True Person combat" of dramas. The audience, with their discerning tastes, didn't buy it. Special effects like flying and scaling walls were things that True Person could do without props.

On stage, the male protagonist was cornered by the villainous mastermind. At the critical moment, he used a hidden move he had left behind to severely injure the mastermind, instantly reversing the situation. After a series of brilliant counterattacks, he narrowly defeated the mastermind. Then the play entered its final scene, where the male protagonist stood in front of his companion's grave, uttered some touching farewell words, and then wandered the world with his beloved girl, leading a horse.

After the play ended, all the actors came to the front of the stage to bow to the audience and take their bows. The audience responded with enthusiastic applause and then engaged in a lively discussion during the fifteen-minute intermission.

"I think this 'Journey Through the Jianghu' is the most exciting. It has intrigue, brotherhood, swift justice, and romance. It has everything you could want. The actors' performances are also outstanding and impeccable."

"No, no, they have absolutely no chance. Everyone else could win, but 'Journey Through the Jianghu' is hopeless because it's too 'orthodox.' Everyone has already used the same formula over and over again, there's nothing new about it. Ordinary viewers might be satisfied with it, but the judges definitely won't like it."

"That's right, and it's a comedy. Comedies are so hard to win awards. Just look at the works of past winners; only one out of ten is a comedy. In comparison, the Lu Lineage Drama Troupe's production of 'Starry Sky Ocean' has a better chance of winning. Not only is the overall style magnificent, but the harmonica performance of 'Whereabouts of the Stars' at the end is also very moving."

"In 'The Journey Through the Jianghu,' all of the protagonist's teammates died, leaving only the male and female leads. Is that considered a comedy?"

"The teammates are all supporting characters; whether they die or not is irrelevant. For it to be a tragedy, at least one of the male or female leads has to die. In 'Journey Through the Jianghu,' the male and female leads have successfully retired from the martial arts world and will definitely live a shameless life from now on, which is of course a comedy."

Drama, one of the Nine Arts, is actually in the form of songs and plays. The three evaluation criteria are acting skills, story, and music, while martial arts and dance are all bonus points. Therefore, people like Si Huaruo, who have a background in dance, will have many advantages in performing.

As for Peking Opera, Cantonese Opera, and other traditional opera genres, they are not recognized. They are classified as folk arts along with crosstalk, Errenzhuan, etc., which are entertainment for the lower classes and are not favored by the upper class. There is no place for them among the nine arts. If they apply for auditions, they will not even pass the preliminary rounds.

Just like Peking Opera in the past, even though it is hailed as a national treasure, it still has no prestige. People only regard it as traditional culture and ancient heritage, and it has nothing to do with elegance and nobility. On the one hand, it is certainly affected by Fang Wen, and on the other hand, in the traditional concept, it is a low-class art that cannot be brought to the table. The saying "actors are heartless and prostitutes are unrighteous" makes them unable to stand up straight.

It's almost impossible to claim traditional culture while trying to break free from traditional concepts. This is also the case in the Sea Continent. Of course, low-class things cannot be recognized as art; art should be Spring Snow.

Before the advent of the internet, a media platform that allows ordinary people to voice their opinions, the upper class always controlled mainstream values.

For example, in the late Warring States period, there was a Chu official in the State of Song Yu named Song Yu who never echoed the opinions of others. When the King of Chu heard some bad things said about him, he summoned Song Yu and asked, "Have you done something wrong? Why are so many people dissatisfied with you?"

Song Yu replied, "There was a singer in the capital who began by singing the most popular folk song from Chu, 'Songs of the Rustic Folk.' Several thousand people sang along. Then he sang the more profound 'Yang'e and Xielu,' and only a few hundred people joined in. When he sang the elegant 'Spring Snow,' only a few dozen people sang along. Finally, when he sang the most sophisticated song with perfect harmony of five tones and six rhythms, only a handful of people could sing along. This shows that the more profound the song, the fewer people can sing along. The same applies to scholars; those outstanding individuals often have lofty aspirations and noble conduct, which ordinary people naturally cannot understand."

The King of Chu found these words very reasonable and did not pursue the matter further.

This idea had such a profound influence that some film directors in later generations proclaimed, "My films are made for a minority of people who understand art, not to cater to the majority who don't."

As for the fact that Hollywood has conquered China's film market and that domestic films have suffered repeated defeats, that has nothing to do with them, but rather with the fact that the China people do not understand how to appreciate art.

Of course, the situation in the Sea Continent is a little better. After all, the Hundred Schools of Thought have separated during the Warring States period, and there is no need for people with different ideas to come together. In contrast, even ordinary people in the Nation of Beauty understand art. The overall atmosphere is like this. People pretend to know what they don't, and they still want to appear cultured. Art is a compulsory course in schools. As a result, there is no absolute divide between the upper and lower classes. Twenty-one are leading the way, and one is following closely behind, just like Paris, France in the early 20th century.

"So, after watching the previous five performances, are you still confident in your work?"

Si Jingyu asked Si Ming with a smile.

"That depends on the judges' tastes."

Si Ming seemed a little unsure of himself. After listening to the audience's discussion, he realized the importance of action scenes to the entire drama, which was no less than the finishing touch. Unfortunately, there were no action scenes in "Puppet Show". This feeling was probably like a gunfight movie without explosions or an India movie without song and dance.

It's worth noting that Hollywood blockbusters have failed in the India market precisely because they lack song and dance sequences; this is the consequence of not adapting to a local environment.

Si Ming's only source of confidence now lies in the fact that Si Huaruo has approved the script.

If it was due to a cognitive error, transferring his impressions of drama from his previous life to the present, leading to a major oversight, then Si Huaruo is not a time traveler. As a local actress who has been immersed in theatrical arts for many years, if there were really problems with the script, she would have pointed them out on the spot. In fact, during the later revisions of the script, she originally had the opportunity to forcibly insert a fight scene.

Since Si Huaruo didn't do that, it proves that she believes the play can still be well-received even without action scenes.

While Si Ming was pondering, the judges had already given their scores, but they didn't announce them publicly. Instead, they held back to release them all at the last minute. At the same time, the host announced that the final performance, "Puppet Show," was about to begin.

"What does 'Puppet Show' mean? I don't know what the theme is just from the name."

"It might be a love story, the kind involving a talented scholar and a beautiful woman. There's a story called 'Taking a Wife by Pulling a Red Thread Further Tales After Trimming the Lamp' in 'Memorabilia of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao Eras', and 'The Tale of Qiong Nu' also mentions that 'in ancient times, people had things like shooting at screens, tying threads, and setting up mats, all of which were ways to choose a husband.' Tying a red thread is what we call 'dragging a red thread.'"

"What do you mean by 'tying the red thread'? Don't pretend to know what you don't. Puppet Show is a craft that uses strings to manipulate puppets, a kind of art for children. The poem 'Ode to the Wooden Old Man' says, 'Carving wood and pulling strings to make an old man, his skin wrinkled and his hair white, just like the real thing. After a while, when the performance is over, all is quiet, like a dream.' That's what Puppet Show is all about."

"Shh, everyone stop talking, the show's starting."

As the curtain slowly rose, the audience immediately fell silent. Even those who were skeptical of the Emperor Peak Drama Club demonstrated the qualities of an art enthusiast, neither leaving their seats nor speaking again.

On stage, dim lighting indicated that the play was set at night, followed by howling winds and heavy snowfall.

This wind wasn't just a sound effect, and the snow wasn't just cheap foam flakes; it was real wind and real snow, all created by Si Huaruo using her God-Summoning Art.

A man dressed as a scholar appeared on the stage, struggling forward against the wind and snow. He looked around, his face filled with deep sorrow, as if he was worried about how to spend the night.

"Is this scholar a girl? I remember the Emperor Peak Drama Club was all girls."

The actress playing the scholar is Nan Yang. She's the only one in the drama club who often plays male roles, so the audience is used to it. Men dressing as women and women dressing as men are common in dramas and nothing new.

Suddenly, the scholar's eyes lit up, as if he had seen something. A look of joy appeared on his face, and he quickened his pace to walk forward.

Meanwhile, the narrator says, "When I was young, I could see ghosts. Once, on a snowy night, I met an old man carrying a puppet in a deserted temple."

The judges and audience members' eyes lit up upon hearing this. After watching five plays in a row, their somewhat weary spirits were refreshed, and someone couldn't help but whisper, "It's an ancient drama."