Chapter 656: Changes in the People's Art Theatre
"By the way, Lin, do you know something?"
After talking about the publication of the novel, Roger Strauss suddenly asked.
"What's up?"
"Richard Yates is dead!"
In the last year of his life, Richard Yates' health deteriorated extremely. Due to tuberculosis, he had difficulty breathing, coughed and wheezed constantly, and could only breathe with the help of an oxygen mask.
Finally, on November 7, 1992, he died of emphysema and complications at the age of 66.
When the friend went to his home, there was only a table, an old printer, and photos of his three daughters hanging on the wall. It was just that they had been separated from him for many years and he had been living with his ex-wife.
Lin Weimin was a little surprised to hear the news, but not that surprised. After all, when he was communicating with Richard Yates, he already knew that he was in poor health.
But he couldn't help feeling a little sad when he suddenly heard that his old friend had passed away and his later years were quite bleak.
Lin Weimin and Richard Yates have never met, but they have been corresponding for many years, so it is not an exaggeration to say that they are "friends".
Now that Richard Yates has passed away, Lin Weimin couldn't help but think of the time he asked him to help publish a collection of essays a few months ago.
The Foreign Languages Department has a heavy workload this year, and the editing and review efficiency of Richard Yates's collected works is not high. According to the current progress, it will not be published until the middle of next year at the earliest.
The publication of the collection of essays in the future will be a fulfillment of his promise to Richard Yates.
The only regret is that this edition of the collection is not in English.
"Roger, Richard has passed away. Don't you plan to take advantage of his popularity?"
"What's the meaning?"
Lin Weimin then told him about Richard Yates' request for help in publishing a collection of his works. "I think if the collection of works is published in the United States, there should be a certain market for it, right?"
Roger Strauss couldn't help but be moved, "Lin, it's Richard's honor to have a good friend like you."
"It's nothing. It's just a pity. Richard is a great writer and he shouldn't be treated like this." Lin Weimin said regretfully.
Although Roger Strauss was moved, he remained silent when faced with Lin Weimin's request.
"If you are worried about losing money, I can pay some money to publish this collection of essays for him at my own expense. What do you think?" Lin Weimin said.
Roger Strauss said, "Lin, I'm not worried about this. It's mainly because Richard Yates has passed away. I don't have his authorization and I'm not qualified to publish this collection."
Lin Weimin hesitated. This was a problem.
He thought for a moment and said, "Can you contact his daughters? They are the heirs of Richard Yates and own the copyright and authorship of his works. Communicate with them and see if you can get their authorization?"
"That's all we can do. I'll be responsible for making the contact."
Lin Weimin added: "Roger, I don't want you to be embarrassed. Helping Richard publish a collection of essays will definitely not make money, but I will definitely not let you lose money."
Roger Strauss said quickly: "Lin, you misunderstood. If I decide to publish his collection of essays, it must be a business matter. How about this..."
Richard Yates' works are notoriously difficult to sell in the United States, and publishers basically lose money on every book they publish. So over the years, although Richard Yates' works have been published from time to time, they basically relied on the help of friends.
Moreover, the printing quantity is very low, most of which are only a few thousand copies, and the sales are not good. Many books cannot be sold and have to be sent to second-hand bookstores for those literary lovers who like to collect books to pick up.
If he really wanted to publish a collection of Richard Yates's works, the first thought that came to Roger Strauss's mind was that he must have a great marketing plan.
Holding the phone in his hand, he instantly thought of Lin Weimin on the other end of the line.
"Century-long friendship between great writers from China and the United States".
Roger Strauss is indeed a marketing genius. He came up with a creative promotional point in a flash.
He planned to use the experience of Lin Weimin and Richard Yates's relationship and the fact that Richard Yates entrusted his son to Lin Weimin at the end of his life as selling points to promote the sales of Richard Yates's collection of works.
After listening to Roger Strauss's idea, Lin Weimin pondered for a long time and finally said, "With such a publicity point, can the collection of essays be sold well?"
“It may not be a best-seller, but based on my experience it will definitely sell well for a while, and it will definitely exceed the sales of Richard Yates’ previous works.”
"Okay, then let's do as you say."
After all, Roger Strauss had taken the risk. Now that he had come up with a solution and was sincerely trying to help, it would be inappropriate for me to be pretentious.
One day in mid-November, Lin Weimin received a call from the People's Art Theatre, saying that Yi Shizhi was about to retire and they planned to hold a farewell party for him.
Lin Weimin was a little dazed. It seemed like Shi Zhi was about to retire.
The next evening, Lin Weimin came to the People's Art Theatre.
The farewell banquet was held in the cafeteria of the People's Art Theatre, which was Shi Yizhi's request.
After 1985, the once booming drama market began to decline and fell into a slump within a few years.
In recent years, drama troupes across the country have had a hard time. However, as the face of the domestic drama industry, Yenching People's Art Theatre has still performed fairly well.
After all, there are so many classic plays that can always attract a group of loyal audiences.
But this benefit seems insignificant in the face of the increasingly growing market economy.
It turns out that the actors of the National Theatre of China receive a monthly salary and performance subsidies, and from time to time they have to go to other places or even foreign countries for exchanges and performances. Their income is considerable and it is also very respectable to talk about it.
But this has changed in the past two years. Prices have skyrocketed, many people have gone into business and made a fortune, and wages in many units have also seen a leapfrog growth.
The drawbacks of institutions like the People's Art Theatre are revealed in this regard. The wages can barely keep up with social development, but the performance subsidies are negligible. Comparing the two, it is equivalent to a sharp drop in income.
As a result, many actors of the National Theatre of China could not stand the poverty and either took unpaid leave or asked for long vacations, left the theater and devoted themselves completely to TV dramas.
The domestic TV drama industry has made great progress in recent years. For many actors, making money quickly and becoming famous quickly is much better than acting in a drama.
Today's farewell banquet was very simple.
When Lin Weimin arrived here, he was invited to sit at the same table with Yi Shizhi and his friends.
Although Lin Weimin is not on the staff of the National Theatre of China, he has created many classic dramas for the theatre over the years and has long been a "meritorious" screenwriter. In terms of historical status, he is only second to the "three founding fathers" and is at the same level as Ouyang Shanzun and his group.
Yi Shizhi has served as the first vice president of the People's Art Theatre for many years. Now he has finally retired. Although he has resigned from his administrative position, he has not given up his identity as an actor and can continue to contribute his remaining energy to the People's Art Theatre in the future.
The new first vice president of the People's Art Theatre is Liu Jinyun, who often assists Mr. Wan in writing scripts. Lin Weimin is naturally familiar with him and needs no introduction.
"More than a month ago, I took Jinyun to the Yanjing Hospital to pay a visit to Mr. Wan. With his consent, Jinyun was appointed as the first vice president of the People's Art Theatre."
Since the establishment of the People's Art Theatre, there has been only one president, Mr. Wan.
Even though Mr. Wan has not been involved in worldly affairs in recent years, out of respect, the title of dean is still held by him.
The People's Art Theatre only has a first vice-president. Of course, the powers of this first vice-president are no different from those of the president.
When Yi Shizhi retired, he strongly recommended Liu Jinyun to take over, and Mr. Wan readily agreed.
This is not only because of the high regard for Liu Jinyun, but also because of Shi Yizhi's contribution to the People's Art Theatre over the years.
In his early years, Yi Shizhi was the head of the creative group of the People's Art Theatre. Today, a large number of core directors and screenwriters of the People's Art Theatre were discovered when he was the head of the creative group.
At that time, the National Theatre of China was actively recruiting talents and a large number of them emerged. The creative group of the National Theatre of China was known as the "Little Literary Association".
During the years he served as the first vice president, he worked diligently and produced a large number of excellent plays for the People's Art Theatre, making great contributions.
"Mr. Wan's health has been getting worse in recent years," Yi Shizhi sighed.
"Yes, he is so old after all. I go to his place occasionally to sit and chat." Lin Weimin said.
I haven't been to the National Theatre of China for a long time. When I arrived today, I met many old acquaintances and greeted them one by one. Lin Weimin was in a very happy mood.
However, he also found that many familiar faces were missing. After asking around, he found out that they had all gone to the outside world.
Lin Weimin joked with Yi Shizhi, "You blamed me for abducting Guangfu before, but what about this time? Guangfu is a foresighted person."
Li Guangfu was sitting at the next table. He was now one of the famous "Three Lis" in Yanjing City, with a net worth of tens of millions. Upon hearing the news today, he took the initiative to attend Shi Yizhi's farewell banquet, which touched the old man deeply.
Hearing Lin Weimin's words, Li Guangfu turned around.
"I haven't acted for so many years. To be honest, I really miss the stage. Maybe I will come back in two years."
Yi Shizhi was delighted by his words, "If you come back, you must beg Lin Weimin to write a book for you, otherwise it will not be worthy of your status."
Everyone around burst into laughter, and the cafeteria was filled with joy.
Among the talents that have graduated from the National Theatre of China, Li Guangfu can be considered to be an accomplished one.
In just a few years, he made tens of millions of dollars. When he met his old colleagues again, he naturally had to endure their compliments, jokes, or even sarcasm.
Compared with the complex impressions caused by Li Guangfu, everyone's emotions when talking about Han Zhuangzhuang are relatively unified, with only envy.
In recent years, Han Zhuangzhuang has starred in movies such as "Red Sorghum", "Benmingnian", "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit", etc., and has now become an internationally renowned movie star.
They are all actors. Although Han Zhuangzhuang has left the People's Art Theatre, he still does his old job.
When old colleagues get together, they inevitably talk about those who are no longer present.
Halfway through the farewell banquet, everyone began to become more unrestrained and some people started running from table to table.
Feng Yuanzheng, who had not been seen for several years, came over to toast Yi Shizhi and Lin Weimin. Lin Weimin saw him and asked with a smile: "Xiao Feng, when did you return to China?"
"Teacher Lin, I returned to China last year, and Dean Yu was kind enough to let me come back to act."
Yi Shizhi said: "Xiao Feng is a good actor. His study abroad in West Germany was not in vain. It would be a pity if he didn't return to the People's Art Theatre to act."
Nowadays, it can be said that there are very few people who go abroad and then come back. If there are really such people around you, people will inevitably spread some gossip, mostly saying things like "They must have returned because they couldn't make it abroad."
Lin Weimin encouraged him, "It's good that you're back. After going out, you've seen the world and gained some skills. Of course, you should come back to serve the people."
Feng Yuanzheng offered Lin Weimin a glass of wine out of gratitude.
(End of this chapter)
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