Upper-Intermediate - The Play's the Thing (D2031)

A: 各部门准备好啊,第二幕第二场再彩排一次。
gè bùmén zhǔnbèi hǎo a, dì èr mù dì èr chǎng zài cǎipái yī cì.
All sections get ready! Let‘s rehearse Act Two, Scene Two again.
B: 罗密欧啊,罗密欧!为什么你偏偏是罗密欧呢?
Luómìōu a, Luómìōu! wèishénme nǐ piānpiān shì Luómìōu ne?
O, Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
A: 等等,这一场虽然罗密欧在舞台上,可是此时朱丽叶不知道,所以这不是对话,是独白。不要那么夸张。
děngdeng, zhè yī chǎng suīrán Luómìōu zài wǔtái shàng, kěshì cǐshí Zhūlìyè bù zhīdào, suǒyǐ zhè bùshì duìhuà, shì dúbái. bù yào nàme kuāzhāng.
Hold it! Although Romeo is on stage in this scene, at this time Juliet doesn‘t know it. So this isn’t a dialogue; it‘s a monologue. You don’t need to exaggerate so much.
B: 罗密欧啊,罗密欧!为什么你偏偏是罗密欧呢?
Luómìōu a, Luómìōu! wèishénme nǐ piānpiān shì Luómìōu ne?
O, Romeo! Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
A: 不对,不对,这个是话剧,不是电视剧,话剧要有戏剧效果,不能太生活化。
bù duì, bù duì, zhè ge shì huàjù, bùshì diànshìjù, huàjù yào yǒu xìjù xiàoguǒ, bùnéng tài shēnghuóhuà.
Wrong! Wrong! This is a play, not a TV show. A play needs to have dramatic effect. It can’t be too lifelike.
B: 一会儿要夸张,一会儿要生活化。
yīhuǐr yào kuāzhāng, yīhuǐr yào shēnghuóhuà.
One second I need to exaggerate; and the next I need to be more lifelike.
A: 还有灯光,说了几遍了,这个场景是晚上,你不要直接把灯打在朱丽叶脸上,要朦胧一点。那个道具,那么几根树枝怎么挡得住罗密欧啊!他是躲在树丛里的呀!
háiyǒu dēngguāng, shuō le jǐ biàn le, zhè ge chǎngjǐng shì wǎnshang, nǐ bù yào zhíjiē bǎ dēng dǎ zài Zhūlìyè liǎn shàng, yào ménglóng yīdiǎn. nà ge dàojù, nàme jǐ gēn shùzhī zěnme dǎngdezhù Luómìōu a! tā shì duǒ zài shùcóng lǐ de ya!
Then there‘s the lighting! I told you many times; this scene is at night! You don’t want to shine the light directly on Juliet‘s face; it needs to be dimmer. That prop! With just a few branches how will it block Romeo? He’s hiding in a bush!
C: 知道了,导演。
zhīdao le, dǎoyǎn.
Got it, director.
A: 继续!罗密欧。
jìxù! Luómìōu.
Continue! Romeo.
D: 她说话了。啊!再说下去吧,光明的天使!
tā shuōhuà le. ā! zài shuō xiàqu ba, guāngmíng de tiānshǐ!
She speaks! O, speak again, bright angel!
A: 停!你到底会不会演戏啊!罗密欧,你偷偷看到了梦中情人,是非常欣喜的,要有恋爱中的激动、兴奋。
tíng! nǐ dàodǐ huì bu huì yǎnxì a! Luómìōu, nǐ tōutōu kàndào le mèngzhōngqíngrén, shì fēicháng xīnxǐ de, yàoyǒu liàn ài zhōng de jīdòng、 xīngfèn.
Stop! Do you know how to act or not? Romeo, you‘ve spied the lover of your dreams. It’s a joyous moment; it needs to have the excitement of being in love!
E: 导演,你来看看,这是第一幕的定妆。
dǎoyǎn, nǐ lái kàn kan, zhè shì dì yī mù de dìngzhuāng.
Director, come look. This is the make-up for Act One.
A: 这是什么啊!化妆、化妆!你来看看,这是什么面具?他是个贵族,不是个鸵鸟!
zhè shì shénme a! huàzhuāng、 huàzhuāng! nǐ lái kàn kan, zhè shì shénme miànjù? tā shì ge guìzú, bù shì ge tuóniǎo!
What is this? Make-up! Make-up! Come look at this. What kind of mask is this? He‘s a nobleman; he isn’t an ostrich!
E: 导演,面具是服装管的。再说了,剧本上明明写着要华丽一些,懂不懂审美啊?
dǎoyǎn, miànjù shì fúzhuāng guǎn de. zàishuōle, jùběn shàng míngmíng xiě zhe yào huálì yīxiē, dǒng bu dǒng shěnměi a?
Director, the mask is wardrobe‘s concern. Furthermore, it’s clearly written in the script that it needs to be a bit ornate. Don't you understand the aesthetics?
A: 还敢顶嘴,你们还想不想干了!不想干,就滚!
hái gǎn dǐngzuǐ, nǐmen hái xiǎng bu xiǎng gàn le! bù xiǎng gàn, jiù gǔn!
How dare you talk back to me! Do you all still want to do this or not? If you don't want to, then get lost!
E: 滚就滚,我们还不想伺候你呢!
gǔn jiù gǔn, wǒmen hái bù xiǎng cìhòu nǐ ne!
I think I will, then! We don't want to work for you!

Key Vocabulary

act
chǎng scene
彩排 cǎipái to rehearse
偏偏 piānpiān must
舞台 wǔtái stage
此时 cǐshí at this time
朱丽叶 Zhūlìyè Juliet
夸张 kuāzhāng exaggerated
话剧 huàjù theatrical play
电视剧 diànshìjù TV show
效果 xiàoguǒ result
生活化 shēnghuóhuà lifelike, realistic
灯光 dēngguāng lamp light
场景 chǎngjǐng scene
to hit
朦胧 ménglóng dim, obscure
道具 dàojù prop
挡得住 dǎngdezhù to block
树枝 shùzhī branch
duǒ to hide
树丛 shùcóng bush
光明 guāngmíng bright
说下去 shuōxiàqu to continue speaking
天使 tiānshǐ angel
演戏 yǎnxì to act
偷偷 tōutōu secretly
梦中情人 mèngzhōngqíngrén lover of one's dreams
欣喜 xīnxǐ joyful
兴奋 xīngfèn excited
定妆 dìngzhuāng theatrical make-up
化妆 huàzhuāng make-up
面具 miànjù mask
贵族 guìzú nobleman
鸵鸟 tuóniǎo ostrich
服装 fúzhuāng wardrobe
明明 míngmíng obviously
华丽 huálì ornate
审美 shěnměi aesthetics
顶嘴 dǐngzuǐ talk back
gǔn get lost
伺候 cìhòu to wait upon, serve

Supplementary Vocabulary

此时此刻 cǐshícǐkè at this very moment
卡萨布兰卡 Kǎsàbùlánkǎ Casablanca
有戏剧性 yǒu xìjùxìng dramatic
电视剧 diànshìjù TV show
小剧场话剧 xiǎojùchǎng huàjù little theater drama
文艺青年 wényì qīngnián artistic youth
佣人 yòngrén servant

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