"A General Critique of Radio Drama" - 1944
我自从评了 「期待」和 「兽兵」之后， 随后见到有其山君，摩登君，和祖钿君的文章。 祖钿君主张每个都需要批评，他似乎比较摩登的说法，只有「兽兵」值得批评是有道理的。 所以我决定来作一次总评。 我不是在指导青年，也不是有好为人师的想法。 我之所以批评的动机，只是希望大家能够讨论与研究，使剧运的前途有更大的进展，绝对没有恶意存乎其间的。 现在我将演播的次序做总评的次序。
第一， 「最后之觉悟」，是协和学校的学生诸君的播演。 飘拂君曾作这样的评论： “演员们的音调， 他们行业没有选择过， 或者是选择得不妥当。 。 。。。听众一听就立刻能辨别那是剧中某人的声音。 这等于白话剧的化妆人选身材一样” 之句。其他还有指出最大失败的配音和暗示导演演技术的失败。 我在这里补充几句关于剧本的批评。 该剧本的材料很平凡，故事的结构不良，虽然还不至于像飘拂君所说的完全失败，因为它的主题尚称明显。
第二，「期待」是由青救团播演。 我为这播演曾发表一篇批评的文章， 现录几点于此。 「材料简单， 针对现实的环境。 虽只是一段短时间的写实， 但因为它的平凡化， 简单化， 使听众易于明白， 了解和追随。 这是「期待」的最成功处。」 因为节与节间失了联络， “所以故事的机构因此失了平衡”。 音乐的应用未尽其能。 “所以就连时间也不曾被划开， 弄到听众不明白。” “最成功的部分是故事的材料和两个女演员。 记得曾在某报见过一篇对这剧批评的文章，有句说该剧结尾模糊的话。 这祇是没有认识播音剧的人所说的话。
第三， 「兽兵」是由美以美国语班的播演。 其山君评这剧说： “其他和故事之取材，音乐之加插等等，亦未能做到恰到好处。”
我亦有批评此剧演出的文章。 结论是如此的：“综上来说，「兽兵」有了许多值得称赞的尝试，但是还没有某一部份获得近似的成功。 在艺术上， 技巧上，演术上，是失败的。” 摩登君的评语欠正确，对艺术的解释是错误，而且近于武断，优点固然指错了，连缺点也说的不对。
第四， 「青年」是由先锋剧社播演。 该剧的故事结构不适合播音剧。 演员的选用混乱， 声音无从分辨， 技术笨拙，导演失败。虽然是这样， 但是故事的材料尚称美满，这点是不能磨灭的。
第五， 「丧礼」是由工余社播演。 以整个演出而论，速度太快，尤其是在某一角色思想的，简直使听众无法跟随。 故事结构复杂，该剧作者想以十数分钟来播演出一个人的平生，这似太过勉强。 演员的选择上平衡， 但没有一个超卓的角色。 配音适宜， 段落很分明， 导演术是成功的。
第六， 「会面的一晚」是由励坤社播演。 该剧演出时的国音不甚准确，配音有某几处模糊，宣布员过长的引述似太过单调，导演失败。 这剧在高潮处展开， 吸引力所以比较大， 剧情有迅速的演进。 女主角饰说男音很有特点，但在可能范围内，可免则免，这是不应该实行的把戏，这点值得注意。
总之， 这次的播音剧比赛， 在剧运上带来很好的现象。 综合说来， 成绩也不算错。 希望以后有更多的播音剧运动， 这次尝试后所得的经验，明白了缺点， 知道了优点，就应该要练习和改良，以作成功演播的准备。 为剧运的前途， 我诚心地恭祝所有努力于播音剧的工作者。
After I critiqued "Expectation" and "Beast Soldier", I subsequently saw the articles by Brother Qi Shan, Brother Modern, and Brother Zutian. Compared to Brother Modern’s view that only "Beast Soldiers" deserve criticism, Brother Zutian advocates that every piece of work needs criticism. So I decided to give a general review. I am not mentoring young people, nor am I fond of being a teacher for others. My motivation for writing critiques is with a hope for everyone to discuss and study it so that the prospect of drama development will make greater progress. There is absolutely no malicious intent involved. Now I will use the order of the performances as the order of the overall review.
The first, "The Last Awakening" was a performance by students of Heep Woh School. Brother Piao Fu had made such a comment: "The actors' tones were not chosen in their industry, or they were not appropriately chosen …. The audience can immediately identify the voice of someone in the play as soon as they hear it. This is tantamount to the statement of "the makeup actors in vernacular dramas have the same figure". Others also indicated the biggest failure of dubbing and implied the failure of the director's techniques. I would like to add a few thoughts of critiques about the script here. The content of the script is very commonplace, and the structure of the story is substandard, although it is not a complete failure as Brother Piao Fu said, because its theme is still lucid.
The second, “Expectation” is performed by the Society of Youth Liberation. I have published a critical article for this broadcast, and I will report some points here. “The content is plain and simple and is aimed at a realistic environment. Although it is only a short moment of realism, how it has been rendered ordinary and simplified, the audience is able to comprehend, understand and follow. This is the most successful aspect of "Expectation". Because the connection between sections is lost, "the structure of the story lacks balance." Music is not used to its full potential, “so even time has never been divided, making the audience confused." "The most successful part is the content of the story and the two actresses. I remember seeing an article in a newspaper criticizing the ending of the play being vague. This is just the saying by those people who don't understand radio drama.
The third, "Beast Soldiers" is performed by an American-Israeli Mandarin class. Commenting on the play, Brother Qishan said, "The selection of story material, the addition and insertion of music, etc. were also not done right."
I have also written an article criticizing the performance of this play. The conclusion is as follows: "In summary, "Beast Soldiers" have made many commendable attempts, but none of the attempted aspects has achieved close to success. In terms of its art, technique, and acting, all was a failure." Brother Modern 's commentary lacks correctness. His explanation of art is erroneous and almost unsupported. While the strengths that he pointed out are wrong, he even indicated the shortcomings incorrectly.
The fourth, "Youth" is performed by the Pioneer Drama Club. The story structure of this play is not suitable for a radio drama. The casting choice is confusing, the voices are indistinguishable, the technique is clumsy, and the directing is a failure. Although that is the case, the content of the story is still satisfactory, and this cannot be denied.
The fifth, the "Funeral Ceremony" was broadcasted by the Recreational Club. As for the entire performance, the speed is too fast, especially when a certain character is thinking, making it impossible for the audience to follow. The story structure is complex, while the author of the play wants to show a person's life in ten minutes of broadcast, which seems to be too unconvincing. The casting choice is adequate, but there is no one role that stands out. The dubbing is appropriate, the paragraphs are clear, and the directing is successful.
The sixth, "One Night at the Meeting" is broadcasted by the Li Kun Club. The Mandarin pronunciation during the performance of the play was not very accurate, and the dubbing was vague in some places. The announcer's overly long narration seemed too monotonous, and the director failed. This drama unfolds at the point of climax, so it is more appealing, which advances the plot forward. It is worth noting that the heroine plays a male voice that is very distinctive, but should be avoided if possible. This is a trick that should not be carried out.
In sum, this competition of radio drama has brought about a good phenomenon in drama development. All in all, the results are not bad. I hope there will be more radio drama events in the future. With the experience gained from this attempt, having understood the shortcomings and the strengths, we should practice and improve them to prepare for successful performances. For the future of drama development, I sincerely commend all those who work hard in broadcasting drama.