<-NARRATOR:-> Listen to a conversation between a student and the professor of her theater class.

请听一段学生和教授关于戏剧课的对话。

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> So, Professor Baker…about our next assignment you talked about in class…<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Yes, this time you’ll be in groups of three.Each of you will have a chance to direct the other two in a short scene from a play you’ve chosen yourself…

学生：所以，贝克教授，（想问一下）关于你在课堂上提到的下一个作业。教授：是的，这次你们三人一组。你们每个人都有机会在你们自己选择的一个短剧中指导另外两个人。

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Right, and, well… I’ve been reading about story theatre, and…<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Ah, story theatre. Tell me about what you’ve read.

学生：是的，呃，我最近在读故事戏剧，而且……教授：噢，故事戏剧，告诉我你都读了什么。

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Well…it’s a form of theater where folk- or fairy tales are acted out.It was, uh… introduced by the director Paul Sills, in the 1960s.In Sills’s approach, an actor both narrates and acts out a tale.So, like, someone will appear on stage, and then they’ll start narrating a tale about, say, a king.And then the same person will immediately switch to and start acting out the role of the king. With no props or scenery.

学生：嗯，故事戏剧是一种演绎民间故事或童话故事的戏剧形式。它是被……呃，保罗·西尔斯导演于20世纪60年代推行的。在西尔斯的方法中，一位演员既是旁白，也担任故事中的角色。所以，就像一个人会出现在台上，然后会开始讲述一个故事，关于……比如说一个国王。然后同一个人就会马上开始表演国王的角色，没有道具或布景。

<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Sills. Y’know, I actually saw his first story theatre production, in 1968.He did the fairy tale “The Blue Light.”

教授：西尔斯，你知道吗，我其实在1968年看过他的第一部故事戏剧作品。他创作了童话《蓝色的光》。

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Really? So…whatever gave him the idea to produce that?<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Well… As you know, back in the late 1960s lots of people in the United States were disillusioned with the government.Sills was grappling with how to produce theater that was… relevant in such times.Then he happened to read “The Blue Light,” and he realized it had just the message he wanted.

学生：真的吗？到底是什么给了他灵感去做出这样的作品呢？教授：如你所知，在20世纪60年代末期，在美国有很多人对政府大失所望。西尔斯绞尽脑汁想找到做出与这个时代有关联的戏剧作品的方法。然后他刚好读到了《蓝光》，且他意识到这里恰好有他想要传达的信息。

See, in the story, a man who’s lost all hope as a result of the unfortunate events in his life completely turns his life around…with the help of a magical blue light.So, the blue light in the story symbolizes a way out of seemingly unsolvable human problems.And for Sills, that light symbolized an answer to the political turmoil in the U.S.

看，在故事里，一个因生命中的不幸而失去了所有希望的男子，在有魔力的蓝光的帮助下，完全反转了人生。 16:所以，故事中的蓝光象征了一种解决看似无法解决的人类问题的方法。而对于西尔斯来说，这光象征了一种对于美国政治动乱的答复。

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> But weren’t you…um, audiences…bothered that the actors were performing on a bare stage?<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Well, story theatre is a departure from traditional dramatic theater…with its realistic, elaborate props and scenery.But Sills could make us “see”… say, a big, tall mountain…through the facial expressions and body movements of the actors—and their telling of the story.We were all swept up, energized by such an innovative approach to theater—even if one or two of the critics weren’t as enthusiastic.

学生：但是，你难道不……呃，那些观众难道不会对演员在空荡荡的舞台上表演感到恼怒吗？教授：嗯，故事戏剧是不同于传统戏剧的那些逼真精致的道具布景的。但是Sills可以通过演员的面部表情和肢体动作以及他们讲述故事的方式让我们“看到”虚拟的高山。我们都被这种创新的戏剧方法所震惊、鼓舞，尽管有一两个批评家对此并不那么热情。

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Cool. So, uh, anyway… What I really wanted to ask… I’d love to try doing story theatre for my project, instead of just a scene from a traditional play.<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Hmmm… That’s possible—a -a short tale can be about the same length as a single scene… Which fairy tale would you do?

学生：酷，不管怎样。我真正想要问的是，我想要试试故事戏剧，而不是从传统戏剧中选择一幕作为我的项目。教授：恩，是可以的。一个短故事也可以成为单独的一幕。你想讲什么童话故事？

<-FEMALE STUDENT:-> Actually, I was reading about another director of story theatre? Rex Stephenson?You know—he produces plays based on folk tales as well. Maybe I could direct one of those?

学生：事实上，我正在读另一个导演的故事戏剧，拉克·史蒂文森。你知道，他导演的戏剧也基于民间故事。或许我可以指导其中的一部。

<-MALE PROFESSOR:-> Ohhhhkay, yes—Rex Stephenson.Now, Stephenson’s style of story theatre is a little different from Sills’s— He’ll use simple props…a chair will represent a mountain…but the significant difference is with the narrator…the narrator will play only that role.Let’s talk about why…

教授：可以，是的，拉克·史蒂文森。现在，史蒂文森形式的故事戏剧和西尔斯的有一点不同——他会用一些简单的道具，一把椅子来代表山，但重大的不同在于旁白。旁白将只扮演旁白的角色。我们来说一说为什么。