The opera troupe had upgraded its equipment.
The stage effects were better.
It had become even more appealing.
Every day, the crowds coming and going were endless.
But the opera troupe was still recruiting.
They even announced that they could provide free acting training.
The acting classes were held in the morning, or sometimes in the evening. Notices would be written in advance and posted on the wall by the entrance.
The instructors were Ding Ling and Yin Tianchou.
It was precisely because Ding Ling was there that every acting class attracted so many people. Most of them were women. They would start swooning just by looking at Ding Ling, so how could they possibly learn any acting?
Yin Tianchou was speechless. In private, he said to Ding Ling,
"Truppe Leader, this won't do. Who knows how long it'll take to train people with decent acting skills? Our opera troupe can't consist of just the two of us forever, can it?"
The opera troupe did have quite a few people.
But most were temporary workers. The only permanent employees were Ding Ling and Yin Tianchou.
The opera troupe had rehearsed several plays.
The Butterfly Lovers;
Romance of the Western Chamber;
Red Actress;
The New Drunken Concubine;
Puppet Show;
Pipa Ballad;
Many of the temporary workers only made guest appearances.
In these plays, Ding Ling always played the lead and had a large number of scenes. It could be said that Ding Ling was carrying the entire opera troupe by himself.
Yin Tianchou usually played the second male lead;
because they lacked a female lead, many plays had been rehearsed but never actually performed;
the only ones they had truly performed were Pipa Ballad, The New Drunken Concubine, Red Actress, and Yu Xi Sighs.
Some plays required a female lead.