Chapter 016

<Episode 16>

By the way, ‘I want to become an actor.’

“You are still an actor.”

“Not like this…. A little more serious…. Ugh…. An actor who acts like a princess!”

In the middle of practice, I felt like Benvolio wasn’t really getting the hang of it, so I demonstrated how to act as Benvolio, and it felt like we were talking about it at that time.

‘Is it okay to compare?’

To be honest, my acting is not at a great level.

In a play, you can even play a semi-leading role, but in a movie or drama, you can only play a semi-supporting role at best.

He can easily play a supporting role, such as the main character’s friend, who does not appear in the poster.

The basics are strong.

‘In a word, it is at a level where it is possible for agencies to sell bundled products.’

Well, this is actually no problem in making a living as an actor, but to become a top actor, you need to put in a lot of effort, such as strengthening your image as an actor and developing special skills.

Ah. Of course, talent too.

That talent is usually ‘face’.

There are cases where the voice is unique or the speaking style is unique, but that can be said to be an area of effort as it can be made similar, but the ‘face’ is a bit different.

A face that you cannot forget once you see it, and that has a ‘story’ that makes you seem lost in thought even when you are still.

At the same time, the spectrum of the image is wide enough to go back and forth between good and bad roles, so there are many ways to use this face.

A face like this cannot be easily created even with plastic surgery.

It is literally something you are born with.

In her past life, Shin Geum-ri was pretty, but honestly, she wasn’t born with the ‘face of a leading lady’.

But now I have something similar to ‘the face of a leading man.’

Although she has a strong specific image as a villain, she also has a wide spectrum within it, so with just a little bit of acting ability, she can play the role of a picaresque protagonist, that is, a protagonist who appears to be a villain but also has a good side.

If I were to judge my current status as an actor comprehensively thanks to this face-.

‘He can even play the lead role in certain works.’

This means that it can be included in a movie or drama poster.

However, he does not have the skills to lead the play to the top like the actors who are commonly referred to as Chungmuro’s guaranteed box office checks.

‘I have no intention of becoming one.’

Right now, there are no actors who can do the acting I want, so I acted in a hurry, but I’m not the type of person who likes acting.

I like directing more, actually, a lot.

But sometimes, among my classmates who dreamed of directing, there were people like this.

After getting a taste of the stage, they fall in love with acting.

“I guess the stage was pretty fun, huh?”

Benvolio bit his lip in response to my question.

“Well, that…. Hmm…. I couldn’t sleep. I felt like I could constantly hear the applause from the audience.”

I saw Benvolio’s shy face as he said those words.

The mask itself also has limitations.

You can grow as a high-quality supporting actor, but if you want to play a leading role, you will need to refine your acting over many years of experience.

Honestly, what is your acting ability now? It’s no different from the floor.

I just used my directing skills to make the floor less visible.

Honestly, if a boy in his late teens were to hit the movie screen with that mask and acting skills, it would honestly be difficult to see significant results within 10 years.

‘If you don’t meet a good teacher.’

But you met me.

Me.

“Good. I will treat you carelessly.”

“Yes?”

“A month later, I attended a party. I plan to present a play then.”

This was an opportunity.

Now, except for me, there is no other actor at the party who can attract the attention of ‘star actor Jaemok.’

Actors don’t usually fall in love with acting after watching a play.

When you see acting, you fall in love with it.

This is why some actors sometimes look at works that have nothing to do with popularity and choose them as their favorites.

Their eyes are always focused on the actor, so they like works that have scenes where the actor stands out.

<Romeo and Juliet> is not a play where the acting shines, but a play where the directing shines.

But at the party, I’m thinking of planning a two-person play.

The idea was to show what a performance is made of, with almost no stage props, no lights or equipment, and just the actors’ chemistry.

We had to show the ‘star actors’ that they could act like this if they joined our theater company.

If it was the ‘him’ I know, he would definitely want to try acting like that.

“Until then, I will treat you carelessly and teach you the basics of acting. If you follow the basics well, we will hire you in our theater company.”

“A theater troupe?!”

Benvolio’s eyes widened.

“Are you going to start a theater troupe?”

“So you thought I was doing this to kill time?”

“…….”

I thought that was it because there was no answer.

Oh yeah, whatever. I admit it. Because I am Luisa Mecenat.

“By the way, you have a performance schedule, so when do you have private practice?”

“When will you do it? We do this before and after the performance.”

“……!”

Benvolio’s complexion became pale.

I said this to Leo, who was relaxing while watching it.

“You do the same.”

“I?”

“Okay. You’re invited too.”

I smiled and looked at the two people.

‘You two can be considered dead now.’

“I will turn you from talking pieces of wood into something resembling a human being.”

* * *

It was a really crazy month, even if I think about it.

First of all, performance.

Romeo and Juliet continued to be a box office success, with all seats sold out and even scalped tickets sold.

As I slowly left the dressing room, I could feel the fans waiting.

“Princess! Please just look this way!”

“Sister Juliet!”

While going to the carriage, I tried to hold the hands of as many fans as possible.

This was possible because contact became more comfortable, but it was also possible because the people reaching out were women.

If it had been a man, it would have been more difficult because it reminded me of Shin Seong-hyeon.

‘But why do you have so many female fans?’

I became a little puzzled.

Of course, fans were not the only ones in front of the dressing room.

“Shameless on the subject of the principality’s disaster!”

There are also people who are waiting carefully to curse me.

Some people committed terrorist attacks and were even hit on the head with rotten eggs.

“Are you okay?”

With his amazing reflexes, Leo knocked away the flying egg and escorted me to the carriage. He spoke with a stern expression as if he was worried about me.

“…Interesting.”

When I answered with a faint smile, Leo’s expression relaxed.

“The master is a really strange person.”

“What? The fact that there are people who hate me so much means that there are also people who like me so much. When everyone hated me, they didn’t throw things like this at me. There was no need for that. Even if I don’t show it this way, it’s an established fact that the whole world hates me.”

“…….”

Leo bit his lip at my words. His eyes seemed to waver for a moment, but then he smiled like a fox again and wiped my face.

“The owner is very positive.”

“Hand….”

“You’re careful not to touch it.”

“…….”

“But I hope you take care of yourself from now on.”

“…….”

“Because I’m trying to be really weird too.”

What’s getting weird? I couldn’t bear to ask. This was because Leo’s face as he held the handkerchief seemed strangely serious.

The boy’s face changed quite a bit in just one month.

First of all, he became quite skilled.

Leo smiled at the ladies who were lingering in front of the dressing room looking for him.

With his rebellious face hidden somewhere, he steadily spread kindness and reaped their love like a harvest.

“I hope to see you again next time.”

“I’ll come again!”

“Okay, thank you.”

I asked out of curiosity as I saw him saying things he didn’t really mean.

“Why are you being so kind to me?”

“The master said so. Listen carefully to what the woman you like says.”

“……?”

“I listen to my master carefully. They say theater actors have to do something called fan service.”

Then, seeing him smiling so casually made me feel strange.

I need him…. Are you leading me down the wrong path?

Whatever it was, the carriage that picked us up in front of the dressing room circled around the theater and returned to the theater.

It was to start Benvolio and Leo’s private practice.

When we arrived, we were greeted by Benvolio, who always had his makeup on and had a snack in his mouth.

“Uh…. Are you here? Would you like one?”

“No.”

I’m so skinny, but where does all that stuff go?

Since I have a blessed body, there is no need to go on a diet.

“Let’s practice. Because I’m tired too.”

The structure of the personal practice was simple.

Vocalization. Speech skills. Next is the emotional memory.

In fact, vocalization and speaking skills were nothing more than an advanced version of what actors had previously practiced.

The basis of vocalization is abdominal vocalization.

For the actor, this had to be embodied almost like breathing. For that purpose, I had them practice vocalization at the beginning of practice every day.

In the past, people would practice hanging upside down, but I was directing with a modern concept of human rights.

Instead of such a cruel method, I chose the next best option.

“Relax your neck. If you can’t get it out, do it again.”

“Ugh!”

Have them raise their legs, hold on, and read the script to the end.

If I could just take the strength off my neck, I could learn to put strength on my stomach the fastest.

The skinny Benvolio died just from this ‘humane’ training.

“…….”

Of course, while Benvolio was trembling, Leo Peer was calm. Although it looked difficult, the pain seemed to be less than 1/10th that of Benvolio.

It seemed like he had basic physical strength.

“Learners must also have stamina. Exercise every morning.”

“Yes….”

As I watched Benvolio respond sullenly, I moved on to practicing my speaking skills.

This is an area where you have to practice differently in foreign countries and in Korea. When performing in a play in Korea, people practice speaking skills so that they can properly learn only one principle.

The end should go down a little.

‘~da.’, ‘~do.’, etc. The end of the words are pronounced firmly in a mid-low voice with the pitch dropping slightly.

There is almost no intonation in standard Korean, so if you say a certain word is important and put a strong intonation on it, it will sound awkward.

However, languages with intonation are a bit different.

It is possible to add acting skills using speaking skills. And the same word can have different meanings when spoken in different pitches.

Since the languages of this world are languages with intonation, I had to teach them how to use intonation most efficiently.

“Vocality and speaking skills are the basis for an actor to at least ‘deliver’ lines to people. It is the process of a piece of wood that speaks becoming a piece of wood that speaks ‘well.’”

But if you want to be a real actor, you can’t be a piece of wood on stage.

‘Emotion’ must be added.

There are numerous ways to add this emotion, but in my experience, there is one method that is the fastest.

That is ‘emotional memory’.

“Father, I was wrong. Wrong…!”

I stopped Benvolio who was just ‘reading’ the script intently.

Benvolio was unable to express any emotion. I only understood the situation in the script with my head, but I couldn’t get into the character at all with my heart.

I said, looking at Benvolio seriously.

“You said your father passed away, right? Do you remember your father’s last words?”

Emotional memory.

That is, the actor remembers his own specific memories and applies them to his acting.

Benvolio spoke hesitantly.

“Father…. He died from the shock of the store going bankrupt. There wasn’t really anything left as a will, it was just….”

“Just?”

“You told me to kill you if you ever meet a bastard princess….”

I wrinkled my face as I felt the air getting colder.

It wasn’t a reason to be unpleasant or anything.

‘This guy, he says everything he wants to say about stupid topics, right?’

Because I really liked it. Because honesty is a good virtue for an actor.