The average monthly salary for group members is around 1,000 yuan at present, barely enough for them to scrape through. But there is no dearth of enthusiasm.
There are frequent audience-performer interactions during shows. Once, an actor introduced his partner on stage, saying: "Li Lin is the only foreigner in our group, he comes from Thailand." Immediately a lady sitting on the second floor stood up and shouted excitedly: "I'm from Thailand! I love you!"
"Audiences have sharp eyes," says Gao. "They can sense whether the actor is working hard enough, trying to improve on his skills." One reason for Gao's extensive reading is that he wants to keep himself updated and not let anyone catch him on the wrong foot.
Gao attributes Xiha's success to its being able to move in sync with the times and its down-to-earth spirit. "We merge catchwords, landmark events with traditional performing skills. We have developed cross-talk drama from pure cross-talk, that's an invention."
By Guo Shuhan
Editor:Wang Nan
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