Chapter 5 Tianjin Province

The media’s attention to me and traditional cross talk is basically concentrated around the two performances of our Deyun Club’s Tianjin provincial cross talk show and the Spring Festival special. These two performances are also of epoch-making significance for our Deyun Club show. I am from Tianjin, and Tianjin is the place of comic dialogue. I grew up studying art in Tianjin, and then came to Beijing to develop.I left Tianjin and moved to Beijing around 1995. When I left Tianjin, I had such a wish. I really wanted to go back to Tianjin one day and let the folks in my hometown see what Guo Degang would do when he left Tianjin. The face of the actor appeared in front of everyone, always thinking that one day I can act back, and of course let the seniors in my hometown give me advice. When I left in 1995, I secretly said in my heart that I would come back ten years later. Coincidentally, when we held a special cross talk show in Tianjin in 2005, it happened to be the ten-year agreement in my heart.It seems that I have never broken my promise, and I am worthy of my own ideal.

The earliest idea to go back to Tianjin to perform was to talk with my manager Wang Hai, and I accidentally mentioned this matter.He said yes, he will contact the theater right away.He also took a lot of effort, including advancing money, entrusting friends and so on.The fact is not as simple as we imagined. Although Guo Degang was quite influential among Beijing audiences in 2005, people were not particularly willing to take a second look at me when he left Beijing and went to my hometown Tianjin.Audiences in a small area know that I am an actor like Guo Degang, but more people don't know me very well.Because I'm not a famous actor yet, and I haven't made a wrist yet, I also encountered a lot of troubles when choosing a theater.

At that time, we searched Tianjin Bayi Auditorium, Tianjin Grand Auditorium, China Grand Theater, Tianjin First Workers' Cultural Palace and so on.Some theaters were too expensive, and the rent of 40,000 to 50,000 yuan for a show was a bit difficult for the Deyun Club at that time.And we can't guarantee the box office this time.We would definitely feel ashamed if the box office fell short.But we feel that the smaller theater is inappropriate in terms of level and identity.After much deliberation, the most suitable one is the Great Theater of China, which is located in the center of Tianjin. It was a theater created by famous Peking opera masters such as Ma Lianliang and Qi Lintong.Back then, third-rate characters in Peking Opera were not allowed to perform there, and local operas were not eligible to sing there.Over the years, the Chinese Grand Theater has been sacred in the minds of audiences and entertainers in Tianjin.An actor who can perform in a Chinese theater proves that you are well recognized and have a high status.Out of this idea, we decided to specialize in Chinese theaters.

At the beginning, things went smoothly, and the theater side was very willing to take over, but in the following operation process, we also encountered various ups and downs.First of all, we went to Tianjin’s competent department and cultural bureau to apply for approval and registration. During this process, we also encountered a lot of bureaucracy. Call it twists and turns.For a while it made me so annoyed that I even retreated to the point where I quit.It may be that I have had little contact with government departments for so many years. I don’t understand why I have received so many difficulties when I performed in a theater.

On November 5, 2005, Guo Degang's Deyun Club Tianjin Provincial Crosstalk Special, on the day of the performance, another event that can be said to be unique in the Chinese entertainment industry happened.I went to Tianjin with my wife and my manager Wang Hai the night before, and I went to the theater to arrange various things. It was originally scheduled that other actors from Deyun Club would go to Tianjin on the day of the performance, and many audiences from Beijing spontaneously organized along with me. Yes, we have to come together in a chartered car.But at seven o'clock in the morning, just as Wang Hai woke up, he received a text message on his mobile phone saying that there was heavy fog!The fog was so thick that several highways around Beijing were blocked.I immediately called my companions. I was scheduled to gather at Tianqiao Le Tea Garden at one o’clock in the noon, and the car was also booked. I immediately asked everyone to rush forward as much as possible, and I will gather at nine o’clock. I tried every means to get to Tianjin as soon as possible. .The tickets for the theater were sold out that day, and the media shouted it out. The radio and television stations all knew that if it was because the actors didn't arrive that day and couldn't perform, the person would be very disappointed.This is the first time I have returned to Tianjin to perform in ten years!I don't want the door to be blacked out like this.So from that moment on, I threw myself into the tense state of the day.The weather is not beautiful, it may be destined that many things will not go so smoothly.Until noon, I kept receiving calls saying that everyone is now ready to go.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Tang Expressway is a highway leading to Tianjin. When I arrived at this intersection, I found that there were densely packed cars in front of me, and the expressway was blocked.There was no other way, so the car immediately turned around and ran towards Tong County.But the Beijing-Shenzhen Expressway was blocked, the Jingcheng Expressway was also blocked, and all the expressways that could leave Beijing were blocked.It seems that we can only follow the old road, but the old road is already blocked and difficult to fly.So everyone decided to take the railway, and everyone changed to take the train from Beijing Station to Tianjin!I spent the whole afternoon in this torment, discussing what was going on and what to do.

I waited until six o'clock in the evening, and I entered the theater.It was getting dark outside, and the lights in the theater were turned on. The audience came in one after another. My wife, Wang Hai, and three or four friends came backstage.My wife put together the costumes for the show, and several friends set up the tables for the show.When everything is ready, just wait there. There is a blackboard in the backstage. This blackboard is unique to the China Grand Theater. Whenever there is a performance, someone will write on it with a brush: Warmly welcome such and such artist to come to our theater to perform!At that time, the staff of the theater wrote "Warmly welcome Guo Degang..." The man asked while writing: "Who is this Guo Degang?" His companion replied: "I don't know..."

At that time, I didn't say anything, just stood behind them and waited until they finished writing. I said, "Thank you, I'm Guo Degang." I turned around and went back to wait. At around 6:20, several comedians came to Beijing, including Liu Hongyi and others.When I saw it, I felt a little more at ease.But not long before the performance, none of the actors from Deyun Club showed up.Their car turned around and wanted to take the train at Beijing Station, but they were stuck in Tong County on the way, which was delayed a lot.At 7:05, their train can reach Tianjin.But the theater show is a quarter past seven.They couldn't make it to the theater in ten minutes!Under such circumstances, these people from Beijing gave me a way out, and I was a little relieved, thinking that no matter which one of them could help, I could start the scene first.

The audience took their seats one after another, and the whole scene was overwhelming.In the whole backstage, I am an actor of Deyun Club.The feeling at that time was really indescribable.I found the theater manager and explained the situation to him, can we postpone the show for fifteen minutes until they are all here.The manager said no, he said it would be a quarter past seven, and he didn't care if I played or not at quarter past seven, but he would turn on the lights and draw the curtains.This is really a shop bullying customers and customers bullying the shop!If I were to go back now, they wouldn't dare to say that no matter how courageous they are.But at the time I had to live with it, and I said yes.At this time, I looked back and saw an actor named Gao Feng.Gao Feng is now a member of our Deyun Club, but what is different from his official participation in the Deyun Club now that he is permanently stationed in Beijing is that he only started to participate in the performances of the Deyun Club at that time, and it was only a probationary period. kind of.I only saw him backstage at the time.

At this time, it was not long before seven quarters, so I told him, "Put on your clothes, and you will help me with this first game." "Ah, I won't." "It doesn't matter, just follow me. There is a piece of "A Dream of the Western Expedition", have you heard it?" "I seem to have heard..." "Then come on stage with me!" The curtain has already opened, and the host was temporarily invited that day.After the host reported, I just pulled Gao Feng out of the stage, and started talking about the first part of the performance that day: "A Dream of the Western Expedition".

At that time, my heart could not be suppressed, and I couldn't enter the state at all.While I was talking, I thought, if their train is delayed again, then after this part is over, I can only say a single part, and after the part is over, I will sing a part of the lyrics of Taiping, no matter what I have to do until the backstage actors arrive . When "A Dream of the Western Expedition" was halfway through, I looked to the right at the gate, and Yu Qian had already changed into his costume and stood there waving at me.Maybe starting from this moment, I really entered the state.Therefore, if anyone looks for the recording and live video of the day, they will find that I was a little flustered for the first ten minutes or so.Just imagine, I am the only one in the huge backstage, and I haven’t been back to Tianjin for so many years when the audience is full. If that performance fails, it may be a big blow to me in the past ten years. There is no such thing as an absolute road, and we continued to perform one after another like a turning point, one after another, and the audience was also very supportive.Many actors and friends from Tianjin came to join us, especially Mr. Ma Zhiming, who is also the son of Mr. Ma Sanli.He can be called the number one in the country in terms of artistic attainments, no doubt about it, because he is more individual, and he seldom interacts with other actors.It was a real surprise to me that he could come to our show in person.Not only did he come, but he also praised me on stage. I couldn’t believe it myself. Mr. Ma’s words fully expressed the encouragement of a senior to the younger generation, which moved me repeatedly. The audience was extremely enthusiastic that night, and the performance lasted until about eleven o'clock, and the whole performance closed with great joy.After the performance, all our actors took to a small hotel to have dinner and toast to celebrate. Everyone was tired too. On the way back to Beijing, the weather changed again.A strong wind blew, and the fog cleared away. The moon was clear and the wind was clear. It was the early morning of early winter, and the weather was getting cooler.What impresses me deeply is that there are leaves outside the car. The wind blows the leaves and flies outside the car. Inside the car, I am full of thoughts and emotions, and I sigh spontaneously, accompanied by our car dealership, diffused in the early winter night ... Later I learned many very touching things.For example, Yuan Yue from "Sanlian Life Weekly" magazine, and many Beijing audiences, because of heavy fog and blocked highways, they even rode bicycles from Beijing to Tianjin to watch the show.There are many similar situations, including the audience who presented flower baskets to us in the theater that day. At the end, we couldn’t count them. Among them, there were spontaneous local audiences and some from other places. Audiences from all over the world expressed their congratulations to us. It was an unprecedented event. .Those flower baskets were piled so full that if they were to be brought back to Beijing by large trucks, at least six or seven of them would have to be pulled. In my acting life, there are many places worthy of emotion and aftertaste.From that day on, the media began to praise me, and since then, it has become more and more lively. It can be said that this performance is the first step towards glory for our Beijing Deyun Club.