The birth of an actor

Chapter 44 Audition
He recognized the person, but pretended not to, and nodded politely.
"Hello, my name is Anxin."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jie responded politely in return:

"My name is Zhou Jie, nice to meet you. We have the same number, shall we rehearse a bit?"

"...How should we do it? Should we perform it again now?"

Zhou Jie was taken aback, glanced at An Xin with some surprise, and then said:
"It's just rehearsing the lines."

"Oh~"

Anxin immediately understood; he had learned this in a tutoring class.

Read the lines, listen to the tone of voice, try to find the feeling from the tone, and see if it matches the character's inner thoughts.

So he nodded:
"Ok."

After glancing at the script, he waited for the other person to begin.

Little did he know that Zhou Jie already had a vague understanding of the situation.

This "Ertai," who doesn't look very old, doesn't seem to know much about it.

But since they had already agreed, he didn't dwell on it. After looking at the script, he said:
"Once she recovers this time, I'll take her with me."

His voice was quite flat, seemingly without any inflection. However, when he spoke, his mouth wasn't fully open. The sound was produced primarily from the front of his mouth, allowing him to speak without opening his mouth too wide.

Because he doesn't need to open his mouth too wide, his facial muscles will appear very tense.

This is an outward expression of the emotion called "firmness".

"..."

After he finished speaking, An Xin didn't answer immediately. Instead, she paused for a moment before quickly saying:
"Don't forget everything and throw everything away for Ziwei! If you really do that, not only will it break your father and mother's hearts, but even Ziwei... won't go with you. How could she let you do such an unfilial and disloyal thing?"

"..."

Zhou Jie's lips twitched.

It wasn't because of anything else... but purely because of Anxin's accent.

"You...are from Northeast China?"

"..."

An Xin paused for a moment, then asked:

"Is it obvious?"

Zhou Jie's answer was a rhetorical question:

"Didn't your teacher correct your lines?"

"...Dialogue lessons to correct accents?"

"You're not from a formal acting background?"

"No, who are you?"

"..."

"..."

The two of them asked each other questions, and as they went back and forth, they seemed to find the answers in each other's own lives.

Finally, the calm that followed the question was broken by the staff:

"Number sixteen, Erkang and Ertai, come in."

Hearing this, Zhou Jie nodded to An Xin:

"come on."

"...Yes, you too."

After entering the audition room one after the other, just as Fan Bing had said, the audition room, which wasn't particularly large, had two televisions that almost completely obscured the faces of the people sitting there. One could only see them through the gaps, and even that observation was hampered by the angle of the televisions.

Zhou Jie went first, handing over the documents he had to the staff at the entrance, and then walked toward the painted cross in the middle.

Anxin followed suit and handed over her own information as well.

Seeing this, Zhou Jie thought for a moment, and after An Xin came to his side, he spoke first, bowing to the two televisions:
"Hello directors, my name is Zhou Jie. I am 26 years old and graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy. I am 181 cm tall and weigh 70 kg. I have acted in the biographical film 'Ruan Lingyu' and many stage plays. I am here to audition for the role of 'Fu Erkang' in the original novel of 'Princess Pearl'. Thank you all for giving me this opportunity despite your busy schedules."

After saying that, he moved aside, making way for the cross.

To be honest, after he demonstrated the process, Anxin understood the general procedure and thought to herself that he was actually a pretty nice person.

Stand facing the cross and bow again:

"Hello directors, my name is An Xin, I'm sixteen years old, and I just graduated from high school. I'm 1.86 meters tall..."

Zhou Jie's lips twitched.

No, bro.

How can you lie through your teeth?
Standing at 1.81 meters tall, he looked at the 16-year-old boy who was at least three or four centimeters shorter than him and thought to himself, "Are you crazy?"
I am 1.81 meters tall.

Anyone with eyes can see you're shorter than me, how dare you say you're 1.86 meters tall?

But in reality, An Xin wasn't lying.

He really was 186 cm tall. However, that was his final height after he stopped growing.

But after being reborn, he never realized that there was something wrong with his current height.

Although he is already close to 1.8 meters tall, and because of his long legs, he gives people the illusion of being very tall.

But... he's really not 1.8 meters tall yet.

So, completely oblivious to what others were thinking, he continued his introduction as if nothing was wrong:

"I once played the male lead in singer Xie Dong's 'Smiling Face' music video. Today I am here to audition for the role of 'Fu Ertai'. I don't have much audition experience, but I will try my best to express my understanding of the character of Ertai. Thank you to all the directors for giving me this opportunity."

After he finished speaking, he moved a step to the right, clearing space for the cross. Zhou Jie also moved to the same side, so the two of them were now in the same frame on the television screen.

Suddenly, the image of Zhou Jie being tall and An Xin being short comes to mind.

However, no one corrected his slip of the tongue about being 1.86 meters tall. After looking at the information, casting director Cao Lihai knew that An Xin was the one the producer had specially taken care of.

So no matter how well Anxin performs, his videotape will definitely be sent to Taiwan.

We have to give the producer face.

Whether the producer's mother-in-law will hire him is not his problem.

So naturally, he had no expectations for An Xin's performance, even though the kid looked really photogenic.

So he said directly:

"You have one minute to prepare. Once you're ready, let's begin."

"Okay." Zhou Jie responded, glanced at the script, and said to An Xin:
Can you speak without a script?

"can."

Nod in relief.

"Okay. Then we'll rehearse our lines in a bit, understand?"

"I know, face to face, the golden triangle."

Hearing this, Zhou Jie felt relieved, thinking to himself that it was alright; at least he had attended an acting class.

So, the two of them lowered their heads and started reading the script.

Thirty or forty seconds passed in a flash:

"Time's up, begin."

Following the staff's reminder, the two stood on either side of the crosshair, positioning themselves slightly to allow the camera to capture the other half of their faces. Zhou Jie then took a deep breath.

"call……"

He opened his eyes:
"Once she recovers this time, I'll take her with me."

He still chose to use the closed-mouth vocalization method, making his face look extremely firm.

Upon hearing his words, An Xin's expression changed slightly.

His eye muscles began to twitch, pulling at the muscles in his cheeks, giving him a slightly anxious expression. A few words slipped out:

"Don't forget everything or lose everything for Ziwei!"

After speaking, he leaned forward slightly, and his tone suddenly quickened:

"If you really do that, not only will you break your father and mother's hearts, but even Ziwei won't go with you. How could she let you do such an unfilial and disloyal thing!"

His tone was hurried, and his body leaned slightly forward. As he spoke, the muscles in his face, driven by the anxiety in his eyes and cheeks, became even more pronounced with each word he uttered.

Zhou Jie was taken aback by what he saw.

Why are you giving such a strong emotional boost?

Shouldn't this scene be about Er Kang "going crazy"? Why are you putting so much emotion into it?
But he was experienced in acting, and after realizing what had happened, he used that moment of distraction to make a move.

His nostrils have widened!

His nostrils have really gotten bigger!!!

Shut up, flare your nostrils, and roar as you express your anger!
"Then tell me what I should do! Am I just supposed to watch Ziwei die here?!"

"..."

Anxin paused in her movements.

About a second after Zhou Jie finished roaring, he suddenly took a deep breath.

"call……"

In the video, with a brief pause and a reassuring close of her eyes, her tone shifted from anxious to composed, speaking calmly and with a restrained emotion:
"Then we'll come up with a solution, but you need to calm down first."

But as soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Jie's body moved immediately. He opened his arms and bent them in front of his chest, as if he were holding a watermelon:
"How can I stay calm now! I'm going crazy! I'm completely insane, you know that?!"

He started adding words without permission.

But the next second, Anxin's hand landed on his excited arms:
"Don't be like this, calm down!"

Zhou Jie immediately began to struggle:
"How am I supposed to calm down! Teach me how to calm down! Huh!? How..."

The more he struggled, the tighter Anxin's grip tightened.

Actually, their dialogue ends here, with only one line following: [Ertai: (calmly dissuading)]

This means either the dialogue hasn't been finished yet, or the work has been handed over to the director.

But seeing Zhou Jie still struggling, An Xin's brows furrowed even more, and she suddenly said:
"Brother, calm down, brother!"

"I can't calm down, I just can't calm down, let me go..."

Zhou Jie was still struggling, but in reality, he was also starting to regret it.

Because... he didn't know how to end this performance.

If the casting director doesn't call a halt, the two have to keep acting, but the problem is... if this continues, the ironclad rule of three reversals will be broken.

He's already lost his temper three times. If this continues, the audience will definitely get tired of him.

This is the so-called "three-fold rule" that no plot point can be repeated three times at the same time.

but……

How should I collect it?

He struggled silently, but just then, a powerful force suddenly swung his arm downwards:
"Snapped!"

He slammed his hands heavily against his own hips, at the same time a stern voice rang out:

"Fucha Fu'erkang! Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"

Zhou Jie's movements suddenly stopped...

"The Fu family has been favored by the Emperor for generations. Father not only holds the position of Grand Secretary and is granted the title of First-Class Duke of Loyalty and Bravery, but Mother's cousin is also the Emperor's favorite concubine. The Emperor's favor to the Fu family is immense, and he has bestowed upon them great honors. Yet you, as the eldest son of the Fu family, are about to do something disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and unjust! Fucha Fu'erkang, have you had enough?!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

As An Xin spoke with a sharp, resolute tone, the audition room fell silent.

moment.

Casting director Cao Lihai, a hint of surprise in his eyes, looked up from the television, craning his neck to watch the two...

"...Well, that's enough for now."

After he finished speaking, his gaze fell on the two people on the television screen, whose breathing had slowed and calmed down.

Or rather, put your mind at ease.

This kid... is pretty good.

No wonder Director He took a liking to her.

Aside from that thick, rustic accent.

(End of this chapter)