Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

Chapter 108 The Character's Soul Awakens

"I can do it, Director Wang."

"Write down the lines. I've written them down on paper. You'll be playing Zhang Xiaoyu's stepmother in a bit. You'll be acting alongside these two actors in turn. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard, it should be."

Zhao Jinmai took the script from Wang Jun's hand, a sweet smile on her face.

The dialogue has more than a hundred words.

Most of them are common phrases and easy to remember.

The content is relevant to school life and has many memorable moments.

Five minutes is enough time to memorize it.

In Zhang Xiaoyu's scene, the dialogue is the most difficult to act, and it really tests the actor's basic skills.

Judging from the content, Zhang Xiaoyu needs to portray the following emotions: first, the grievance when being criticized by the head teacher and classmates' parents; then, the disgust towards his stepmother when he sees her coming to school; and finally, the unexpected feeling of suddenly feeling a sense of reliance when he realizes that his stepmother is protecting him.

The audience needs to feel the character's multiple emotional shifts.

The ability to seamlessly connect emotional gaps, visualize psychological motivations, and clearly convey the character's psychological logic during emotional shifts is crucial.

Both require a high level of skill from the actors.

If it were me, could I have acted well?

It's hard.

I feel unsure.

As she walked to her seat, she glanced at Hu Xianxu.

Hu Xianxu was sitting on the sofa with his brows furrowed when he suddenly slumped to the ground, raised his trembling hand and pointed to a certain spot, his eyes wide open and his breathing rapid.

He's probably trying to find his footing in the role, attempting to portray Zhang Xiaoyu's aggrieved emotions.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Yang's position.

Zhao Jinmai suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Because she saw Jiang Yang looking up and glancing in her direction.

His gaze met hers for a fleeting moment before immediately looking down.

His lips trembled slightly, and his eyes reddened.

My shoulders felt like they were being pressed down by an invisible hand, pulled inwards, and I felt powerless.

This... this is the same Yang Ge who used to joke around with me?
Without expression, without words, without any large movements, only subtle changes in his eyes and slight reactions in his body, Zhao Jinmai instantly sensed Jiang Yang's emotions.

True acting skills are not found in the lines, but in the pauses between breaths.

Zhao Jinmai suddenly realized that the most terrifying opponents were those who could evoke empathy in her even when they were silent.

Jiang Yang is currently just trying to get into character and is behaving very restrained.

When the performance officially begins, the emotions will expand and be released, and what you feel will definitely be even stronger.

Hu Xianxu and Hu Xianxu represent two completely different styles of expression.

Hu Xianxu's performance was like a meticulously planned show, while Jiang Yang's performance was like an unexpected heartbreak.

When Hu Xianxu was expressing his emotions, Jiang Yang made those emotions part of the atmosphere.

In the few seconds of silence with head bowed, the character's soul seemed to awaken.

At this point, it's just a manifestation of being immersed in the character's state.

As for Jiang Yang and Hu Xianxu, it's too early to tell how they'll perform.

But in that one second of observation, Zhao Jinmai could keenly sense that Jiang Yang was a skilled actor, and quite good at it!

It's not necessarily true that they got the audition purely through connections or back channels.

This likely involves acting skills.

"What will Jiang Yang's acting skills be like?"

Zhao Jinmai didn't disturb Jiang Yang or Hu Xianxu. She glanced at them briefly and then looked away.

Back in his seat, he silently memorized his lines.

Because it was a supporting role, she played a supporting part, needing to highlight the emotions of the main character.

You don't need to get too immersed in the character; just memorize the lines.

"Teacher Huang, I'll play the head of student affairs in a bit, and you can play the parent of the student who bullied Zhang Xiaoyu and was injured by him. How about that?" Wang Jun asked.

Huang Lei laughed and said, "I'm good at this kind of role. I'll just pretend that Zhang Xiaoyu has bullied my daughter a lot, and I'll let loose and scold her in a bit."

"OK."

5 minutes passed in a flash.

"Director, I'm ready."

Hu Xianxu got up, opened the wooden door of the audition room, and went out.

The audition officially began.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on the wooden door.

Wang Jun called out, "Come in!" Hu Xianxu pushed open the door and entered.

Wang Jun scolded, "Zhang Xiaoyu, right? Beating up a classmate, how can you do this? This is your classmate's parent, apologize to him."

Hu Xianxu remained silent, his eyes wide and his face tense. He strode over and stood two meters in front of Wang Jun.

His gaze was fixed on Huang Lei, and he uttered three short words: "I did nothing wrong!"

"You're not wrong?"

Huang Lei shouted angrily: "Teacher, Zhang Xiaoyu broke my Duoduo's nose and almost blinded him, and he still said he did nothing wrong."

Hu Xianxu pointed at Huang Lei, his finger trembling: "You were the one who insulted me first, why should I admit my mistake?"

Huang Lei stood up, took a deep breath, his nostrils flared, and his temples bulged slightly.

Roll up your sleeves.

He strode toward Hu Xianxu.

Staring intently at Hu Xianxu as if aiming at a bullseye: "You little brat, you deserve a beating."

Wang Jun reached out and grabbed Huang Lei: "Calm down, parent, calm down, Zhang Xiaoyu's parents are coming soon."

Huang Lei acted like a pro even though he was just there to fill in the role.

As expected of a research mentor in the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy, he instantly became immersed in the role.

Pulling Huang Lei back to his seat, Wang Jun whispered, "Don't steal the spotlight, Teacher Huang."

"Sorry, sorry, I couldn't help it."

Huang Lei detached himself from the role.

To say that Hu Xianxu's acting was particularly good, no.

It was mediocre, but the performance was clearly staged.

However, once he got into the storyline where his own daughter was being beaten, he became completely immersed in it.

This concludes the first phase of the performance.

Hu Xianxu's aggrieved emotions were portrayed well, and he passed the test.

There was another knock on the audition room door.

Zhao Jinmai stood up, relaxed her shoulders, hunched her shoulders slightly, and rubbed her hands together: "Hello teacher, I'm sorry, I'm Zhang Xiaoyu's mother."

"You are my stepmother." Hu Xianxu glanced at Zhao Jinmai with a cold look in her eyes, then quickly turned her head away.

This concludes the second phase.

Hu Xianxu's dislike for his stepmother was evident, and that was enough.

Next comes the third stage.

“This wasn’t something Xiaoyu caused on his own initiative, but seeing that the children are injured, I want to make a statement. We are willing to take responsibility, and we will cover all the hospital expenses. I sincerely apologize to Duoduo’s parents. I’m so sorry, so very sorry,” Zhao Jinmai said, bowing deeply.

Wang Jun was watching Hu Xianxu's performance closely.

Hu Xianxu bit his chin as he watched Zhao Jinmai bow and apologize on his behalf.

His chest heaved.

His breathing became heavy.

During this period, Zhang Xiaoyu's emotions included both disgust towards her stepmother and guilt towards her stepmother for apologizing on her behalf.

Well acted.

Finally, there is the fourth stage.

Huang Lei angrily shouted at Zhao Jinmai: "An apology is enough? Paying medical expenses is enough? Are you bullying people just because you have money? Just because your family is rich, you can beat people up at will? Can you take responsibility for this!"

Zhao Jinmai stood up straight: "I am Zhang Xiaoyu's father's wife and Zhang Xiaoyu's stepmother. Why can't I take responsibility? Are you trying to cause trouble? Fine, I'll go to the police station right now to report the case, get a medical examination, find witnesses in the class, and see who started the trouble first and who hit the person with the chair first!"

Zhao Jinmai did not take advantage of her good relationship with Jiang Yang to deliberately favor Jiang Yang, but instead casually acted with Hu Xianxu.

She was trying her best to act.

He recited his lines in a proper and respectful manner, with a strong and assertive tone.
“His father is in poor health, and I’m the one who calls the shots in this house now. Do you think I’m young and naive? But I do understand one thing: I’m Zhang Xiaoyu’s mother, and he’s my son. No one is allowed to bully him!”

Hu Xianxu suddenly looked up at Zhao Jinmai beside him.

His mouth was slightly open, and his breathing became heavier.

During the break when Zhao Jinmai was reading long lines of dialogue, his eyes filled with tears.

In the blink of an eye.

Tears streamed down her face.

It flowed down her cheeks, down her chin, and dripped onto the floor.

This is the end.

Hu Xianxu's performance has ended.

Next up is Jiang Yang.
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P.S.: The next image has been updated, but it was a bit too explicit and got blocked. I've edited it down to be less explicit, and I'll see if I can release it later.

(End of this chapter)