Huayu: Starting from managing the Mahua FunAge Theater Troupe

That afternoon.

The two evening newspapers from Beijing, the Beijing Evening News and the Legal Evening News, were distributed to various newsstands.

The headline on the page was—

"2700 people laughed for two hours; 'Stone' premiere was a smash hit last night"—Beijing Evening News

"On stage, 'stones' are played; off stage, 'treasures' are displayed: Happy Twist's debut performance highlights charity event" — Legal Evening News

at the same time.

Evening newspapers in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Tianjin, Shenyang, Harbin, and Changchun also published reports on the national premiere of "Crazy Stone," serving as a warm-up for the subsequent tour in these cities.

the next day.

National newspapers such as the China Youth Daily and the China Women's Daily also gave prominent coverage to the news of the sensational premiere of Happy Twist's latest play, "Crazy Stone."

The China Youth Daily collected a lot of discussions from netizens.

After about a day of fermentation.

Crazy Stone caused quite a stir in places like the Happy Twist fan forum, fan groups, and dedicated sections of online forums.

However, the volume generated by these reports and online discussions was not as significant as the continuous rebroadcasts of "Chinese Comedians".

This is the era of television's reign.

And "Chinese Comedians" and Shen Teng dominated this era for a period of time.

"Chinese Comedians" has several advantages that other variety shows cannot match. First, it can be watched anytime you turn on the TV. Second, more than 100 works were created in 12 episodes, which are always fresh and exciting, extending the popularity of reruns. It can still maintain a 2% or 3% rerun rating in many places, which is quite remarkable.

As a result of this situation, tickets for the "Crazy Stone" show sold out very easily.

8月1日的场次、8月6日的场次，在8月1日上午九点开售。

In just over an hour, tickets for both shows were completely sold out.

The nine performances of "Crazy Stone" in the Beijing area were scheduled in three phases.

From July 30th to August 1st, there will be one show per day to familiarize yourself with the performance rhythm.

8月6日一场，8月7日和8月8日每天两场。

One event on August 12th.

Then they moved on to Shanghai and other places.

……

Here.

Zijin Building.

Happy Twist holds its weekly Monday morning meeting.

Shen Feiyang sat in the main seat.

Yu Kai chaired the meeting.

Shen Teng, Guo Gang, and the heads of the company's four departments attended the meeting.

The meeting focused on the national tour of the Happy Twist Troupe and the special performance at the Grand Theater of the Ya Yun Society. Then it discussed the expansion of actor recruitment for both companies, and asked Shen Teng and Guo Gang to recommend and cultivate more talent.

Speaking of recommending talent, Guo Gang suddenly remembered something.

He raised his hand and said, "President Yu, President Shen, I actually have someone I want to recommend."

Yu Kai did not respond.

Shen Feiyang casually asked, "Who?"

Guo Gang said, "Chang Yuan, the grandson of Mr. Chang Baohua, is the grandfather and grandson who performed the crosstalk 'Interesting Dialogue' on the 1988 Spring Festival Gala. However, this Chang Yuan is not going to join the Crosstalk Club, but rather Happy Twist."

Shen Feiyang didn't answer immediately. After waiting for two or three seconds, he said, "Let him come over for an interview."

"Okay, I'll call him later."

The regular meeting has ended.

After the four department heads left, Shen Feiyang instructed Yu Kai, Shen Teng, and Guo Gang: "Bring Chang Yuan in directly."

"I have no objection." Yu Kai felt that Shen Feiyang must have his reasons for doing this.

Shen Teng said lazily, "I have no objection either."

Guo Gang: "I'll make the call right now."

……

Time suddenly sped up.

Shen Feiyang was busy drawing cards from the thousands of resumes he had accumulated.

Dong Chengpeng, Zhang Zidong, Qiao Shan...

the other side.

August 12th, around 8 PM.

The final performance of "Crazy Stone" in Beijing has ended.

The related news quickly appeared on portal websites and news sites.

"Happy Twist's BJ First Round Concludes: Nine Shows Sold Out, Setting a New Box Office Record for Stage Plays" - Sina Entertainment

From Variety Show Champion to Stage Play Hit: Shen Teng's "Crazy Stone" Earns Nearly 900 Million Yuan in Nine Performances in Beijing — Sohu Entertainment

"Nine Shows, Nine Changes: Happy Twist Changes Every Show, Some Viewers Watch Nine Shows in a Row" — Tencent Entertainment

"A Audience Member's Nine-Show Notes: Every Show Has New Surprises; Shen Teng Really Listens to Audience Opinions" — NetEase Entertainment

"Bridget Jones's season concludes, Shanghai takes over: 'Crazy Stone' will land in Shanghai on August 13th for seven consecutive shows"—Various media outlets

The Joyful Twist Troupe's joyful storm swept from north to south and then from south to north, suddenly rising.

Shen Feiyang was busy drawing cards and couldn't see how the troupe's performances were going in different places.

All he could see were the substantial box office revenues coming in.

The biggest difference between stage plays, crosstalk, and movies and TV series is that cash flow is instant.

Whether it's a performance by the Happy Troupe or a performance by the Miyun Society, Happy Twist acts as the agent and operator. The box office revenue first goes to Happy Twist, and then Happy Twist pays the actors of the Happy Twist Troupe and Miyun Society their fees.

8 month 20 day.

The special performance by the Yunshe Company was a commercial performance at the Beijing Exhibition Theater.

Five shows will be performed from August 20th to August 22nd.

Ticket prices range from 50 yuan to 588 yuan.

The attendance rate for each performance is over 90%.

The five shows raked in a whopping 275 million yuan at the box office.

After deducting the 20% share given to the venue owner, the 15% share given to Guo Gang and Yu Qian, the 10 yuan in publicity expenses, the 10 yuan in performance fees for other actors, and the 3 yuan in miscellaneous expenses from the 275 million yuan in box office revenue, Happy Twist will receive approximately 155 million yuan in pre-tax profit.

A portion of the box office revenue for the Happy Twist Theater Troupe has also been tallied.

First, the nine shows in the BJ area generated a total box office of approximately 850 million yuan.

After deducting 20% ​​for the venue, 10% for Shen Teng, and 10% for the scriptwriting team, plus approximately 30 yuan in performance fees for the other actors, 20 yuan for props, 20 yuan for publicity, and 5 yuan for miscellaneous expenses, Happy Twist will receive approximately 429 million yuan in pre-tax profit.

After the establishment of Happy Twist Entertainment Company, the contract signed with Shen Teng was revised to include a new provision for Shen Teng's stage play performance fees. As the lead actor and director, he could receive 10% of the box office revenue.

Actually, not many.

With his current popularity and status, Shen Teng could earn hundreds of thousands of yuan just by doing a few commercial performances, but the cash flow needed for the Happy Twist Troupe and the company to grow is absolutely inseparable from him.

Box office revenue for tours in other locations is still being tallied.

……

The end of August.

An unexpected media storm erupted from the south.

"My Cousin is Better Than Me"—A Single Interview, Millions in Box Office Revenue, and the Youth of a 24-Year-Old Comedian—Southern Weekly

Where will Shen Teng go next? A TV series, a movie, or another tour? — Southern Metropolis Daily

From "Cousin" to "Boss": Shen Feiyang's Business Logic and the Boundaries of Family Ties – 21st Century Business Herald

When "internal friction" becomes a business narrative, what choices does Shen Teng have? — Southern People Weekly

"Is Shen Teng acting for himself or for his cousin?" — Beijing News

The headlines of these reports seem normal at first glance, but the actual content is practically slapping the word "seditious" right on Shen Feiyang and Shen Teng's foreheads.

Southern Weekly portrayed Shen Feiyang as someone who bound Shen Teng with family ties.

The Southern Metropolis Daily portrayed Shen Feiyang as someone who was blocking Shen Teng's future.

The 21st Century Business Herald portrayed Shen Feiyang as a shrewd and calculating businessman.

Southern People Weekly portrayed Shen Feiyang as someone who held the power of discourse and suppressed his cousin.

In this narrative, Shen Feiyang becomes the villain, Shen Teng becomes the victim, and the narrative also alludes to Zhao Benshan, who is at the height of his power in Northeast China, and launches another round of baseless attacks on Northeasterners, making unfounded accusations about them.

As Shen Feiyang flipped through the public opinion report summarized by the Publicity Department, his first reaction was that someone was targeting Shen Teng.

How can such a niche field as comedy actors block other people's way?

It couldn't possibly be that it affected the box office of other mainstream stage plays, could it?

Or perhaps, the positive narrative surrounding Happy Twist and Shen Teng, combined with the Northeastern identity, resonated with the Southern audience?