Chapter 3 - Joint Practice!?
A few days later
ArcLand - Rehearsal Room
—Thanks for saying yes even though this was such short notice!
So anyway....... starting today, we'll be doing joint rehearsals! Looking forward to working with you guys!
Absolutely!
Still, I have to say I was surprised to hear that you guys are entering the contest too, Asahi-san.
Haha! Well, I guess you wouldn't expect the ArcLand team to enter an outside contest, right?
Apparently, the higher-ups want to see the younger ArcLand members grow through this contest.
The order came down like "No staff assistance. Build it from the ground up with just the young talent, same as the other theater groups!"
I see. That does sound like it would be valuable experience.
Yeah! Actually, getting to compete with actors and directors our own age using just our own skills is pretty exciting!
I know what you mean..... It's exciting, but I also get this feeling like I absolutely have to win.
Uh-huh! We'll all face off and create something super amazing!
—I hope we can all inspire each other. That's actually why I asked for these joint practices.
Anyway, here's to working together! Fair warning though, we're not planning to lose!
You bet! We won't be going down without a fight ourselves!
Oh! Wonderlands x Showtime made it! Great to work with you guys again!
It's so cool that we get to practice side by side! Our shows are different, but we can still do warm-ups and vocal exercises together!
Ah... yes! Thank you all for having us again!
Alright! Let's jump right into stretching then!
Okay!
(That phone call caught me off guard... but this is exactly the kind of opportunity I needed.)
(Being able to watch our rival ArcLand's show up close..... there's no better motivation than this.)
This calls for stepping up my game beyond anything I've done before......!!
One Hour Later
—Ugh, I am SO done with rice balls~!!
Alright, I think that's enough improv work. Shall we separate and focus on our own rehearsals now?
Got it. We'll take this side of the table, and you guys get that side, Rui-kun.
Right! See you guys later!
Now then, let's jump right into the opening scene again today. Everyone ready?
Ready! Full power mode, let's go~!
We don't even have two full months until the contest, so we can't waste a single second.
—Right!
(Joint practice or not, what I need to do stays the same.)
(I just need to put everything I've learned through training into my performance!)
Let's do this!
"Come on, Heart! Let's head to our paradise of love!"
"W-Wait a minute, Bless!?"
Nice job. Tsukasa-kun, you’re really making the most of the stage.
I wanted over-the-top acting here so even the little kids would enjoy it. You nailed it.
Oh... then maybe my movements are still too subtle........
Well... There's nothing wrong with it, however...
That's definitely something to watch out for. Playing Heart's shy nature too realistically could make you fade into the background on such a large stage.
True... Is this level of energy better?
Hmm~ Maybe still a little subtle?
—Try measuring your performance against mine.
The audience will be watching both Heart and Bless on stage. They'll naturally compare us. So you need to move about this much—
The pacing of your movements works the same way. Make it a bit slower than my speed..... about like this.
That makes perfect sense... Thanks, Tsukasa! I'll give it another shot!
Absolutely! ...By the way, Rui, regarding the part that follows this dialogue—
There's that part where I react to Heart turning me down, right? Currently it plays out as comedy with a quick comeback, but it's really an important scene for portraying their miscommunication.
I think freezing for a moment would be more memorable than an exaggerated shock reaction. What do you think?
......Hmm. My intention was to create excitement with back-and-forth banter, but..... would you demonstrate your approach?
Right, got it. Nene, let's do this!
Okay!...........
"—Stupid, stupid, stupid! You don't even care about me anymore, do you, Bless!?"
"That's why you can just casually say "see you later" and "maybe next time'" like it's nothing!"
............
"Well, you're doing the exact same thing! You're never home when I come to see you...! And your letters are so cold and distant!"
"Th-That's because......"
—Yes, that's good. I was worried the pause might kill some of the momentum, but that was excellent.
I see...! Then let's go with this approach!
(—This is going well.)
(The ability to imagine a character's life that I learned at Shunmei-za. The power to express a role with my entire body that I gained at Mikazuki-gumi. And the technique for playing various characters that I mastered at Morinomiya—)
(Thanks to all of this, I can grasp characters more easily and perform them more naturally than before.)
(Even in the workshop, I managed to keep up with everyone from ArcLand, so...)
I'm definitely making solid progress......!!
Hehehe
Hm?
Asahi-san! Did something happen with your rehearsal?
We just went on lunch break a minute ago. Then I caught this really interesting scene you guys were doing.
Especially you, Tsukasa-kun! Your acting has changed quite a bit from before!
Huh?
Your movement is different, for starters. More efficient, I guess... like you're doing exactly what the character needs without any wasted motion.
I don't know if you all are familiar with him, but—you remind me of someone called Kijima-san from Mikazuki-gumi.
Huh!?!?
Asahi-san...... you know Kijima-san?
Yeah. We worked together on a production once.
Don't tell me you actually trained under Kijima-san?
Yes! We spent some time training with Mikazuki-gumi.
That makes sense! No wonder you reminded me of him.
So then..... you wouldn't happen to have been to Shunmei-za too, would you?
We did, but... how did you figure that out?
Ahaha, just lucky guess! The way you and Nene-chan focus before getting into character reminded me a bit of Bakuno-kun when he's concentrating.
J-Just from that......!?
(He could deduce so much from just observing us......)
(That's Asahi-san for you. He's able to do this because he's learned and mastered so many different acting techniques.)
(......! That's it!)
Asahi-san! If you have some time available, I was wondering—
Could you tell me how you would approach playing Prince Bless, the character I'm performing?
Huh? Well... Could I take a look at the script for a bit?
Of course, here you go!
Thanks! Could you give me about 10 minutes?
No problem! I really appreciate you doing this when you're so busy.
(.......I've been working through my performance approach on my own. But that one scene—)
"...It's fine. I'm done."
"No matter what I do, people will keep hating each other and nations will continue fighting."
"I can keep pondering about how to bring peace, keep working toward it...... but in the end, nothing will be different regardless."
"—It's all pointless."
(The most despairing scene in the entire play)
(I don't think I've ever reached the level of "despair" that Bless should be feeling in that moment.)
(If I could hear how Asahi-san would approach playing Bless— that would definitely be helpful.)
......Yeah. It's rough, but I can picture it!
Really?! Then could I hear your thoughts right away—
Yeah, sure thing. Let's see—
Ah... but just talking about it might not really get the point across...
Would it be alright if I just showed you instead?
...Huh?