美国国家公共电台 NPR Backstage Magic At 'Harry Potter And The Cursed Child'

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

When the creators of "Harry¹ Potter And The Cursed Child" were working on adapting the wizarding world for the stage, they knew a lot of people had seen the Harry Potter movies. And they didn't just want to reproduce those old movie tricks. So they ended up creating a spectacle that relies much more on human-powered magic than special effects, a process the show's creators documented in a new coffee-table book, "Harry Potter And The Cursed Child: The Journey." We sent NPR's Petra Mayer on her own journey behind the scenes at the current Broadway production to see the magic being made.

PETRA MAYER, BYLINE²: Past the backstage door at Manhattan's Lyric³ Theatre, there's a warren of corridors and staircases so complex, you almost expect to pop out in Hogsmeade. But instead, I'm in a rubber-floored workout room where today's cast is warming up for the show directed by movement captain James Brown III, who also plays Bane the centaur⁴.

JAMES BROWN III: Toes together, knees apart.

MAYER: It's pretty intense. There's yoga, there's stretching.

BROWN III: Forehead rest on the ground. Forearms rest on the ground.

MAYER: And some hardcore calisthenics. This isn't usual for a Broadway show, but then not that many shows are this physical. The actors in "Cursed Child" create effects that would have been done on screen with CGI with their own bodies and with the help of some special crew members.

STEVEN HOGGETT: It's a Japanese form originally.

MAYER: That's movement director Steven Hoggett. He designed all the acrobatics⁵ you'll see onstage.

HOGGETT: We call them ninjas. Black arts is also a name for it where there are performers that you can't see in the space because they are wearing completely black. And they are against a black background.

MAYER: So when I watch Harry and Draco rehearse their duel⁶ across the kitchen table...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Rictusempra.

MAYER: Well, I can't give it all away. I'll let Steven Hoggett say it.

HOGGETT: We use black arts to create a battle where they cast spells at one another, and things happen to their bodies which would seem impossible on a normal human body.

MAYER: Hoggett says the ninjas use a special code of taps to let the actors know they're there, but still, it takes a lot of trust.

HOGGETT: I mean, in lots of ways, you are throwing yourself into the darkness, hoping that somebody is there to put their hand out and hold the back of your head.

MAYER: Movement Captain James Brown III - you heard him leading the workout earlier - describes what the actors do as the foundation of a trust fall.

BROWN III: So it's the idea of, without prompting, you'll give me your weight, and then I'll give you my weight. And it's just about how we kind of move together in a space without direction.

MAYER: The effect it produces of Harry flying through the air - it's startling seen from the audience or just in this brightly lit rehearsal⁷ room.

BROWN III: Really, is that the best you've got? Emancipare.

MAYER: Not everything in "Cursed Child" is this handmade. There are some fancy lighting⁸ tricks, and there's one effect I could swear is a digital projection⁹, but no one will confirm my suspicions. This show, after all, was originally advertised with the tagline keep the secrets. But most of the onstage magic happens on a human level. And for producers Colin Callender and Sonia Friedman, that was an important choice.

COLIN CALLENDER: Since our starting point was about exploring the emotional lives of these characters and to be honest about these characters in a very immediate¹⁰ way, we didn't want to high-tech¹¹ it.

SONIA FRIEDMAN: To be honest, we wanted sort of good, old-fashioned, as I call it, Victorian magic, Victorian theater tricks - very simple, actually.

MAYER: Friedman adds that those tricks are not simple to master. In fact, they take months to perfect. But, she says, they help create a human connection that draws the audience into the storytelling. And as we get closer to curtain, that audience is filling up the lobby. Everywhere I look, I see Hogwarts scarves. David Goren (ph) is here from Austin, Texas. He says he'd like to be a Gryffindor, but he's really a Hufflepuff. And he says he has no idea what to expect onstage.

DAVID GOREN: I intentionally¹² did not research this at all, so I could be surprised.

MAYER: Listeners, I promise I did not spoil him. I kept the secret.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: It's 12:30, and the call is half hour. Half hour from the top of Act 1.

MAYER: On with the show. Petra Mayer, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF IMOGEN HEAP SONG, "SUITE ONE: PLATFORM 9 3/4"

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 lyric   

n.抒情诗，歌词；adj.抒情的

参考例句：

• This is a good example of Shelley's lyric poetry.这首诗是雪莱抒情诗的范例。
• His earlier work announced a lyric talent of the first order.他的早期作品显露了一流的抒情才华。

4 centaur   

n.人首马身的怪物

参考例句：

• His face reminded me somehow of a centaur.他的脸使我想起半人半马的怪物。
• No wonder he had soon been hustled away to centaur school.也难怪父母匆匆忙忙就把他送到了半人马学校。

5 acrobatics   

n.杂技

参考例句：

• Acrobatics is hard to learn but beautiful to watch.杂技不好学，但很好看。
• We watched a performance which included a puppet show and acrobatics.我们观看了一场演出，内容有木偶和杂技。

6 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

7 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

8 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

9 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

10 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

11 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

12 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。