Deep Dark For Light

Chapter 3 - Joint Practice!?

A few days later

ArcLand - Rehearsal Room

Asahi Icon
Asahi

—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!

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Absolutely!

Still, I have to say I was surprised to hear that you guys are entering the contest too, Asahi-san.

Asahi Icon
Asahi

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!"

Rui Icon
Rui

I see. That does sound like it would be valuable experience.

Asahi Icon
Asahi

Yeah! Actually, getting to compete with actors and directors our own age using just our own skills is pretty exciting!

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Nene

I know what you mean..... It's exciting, but I also get this feeling like I absolutely have to win.

Emu Icon
Emu

Uh-huh! We'll all face off and create something super amazing!

Asahi Icon
Asahi

—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!

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

You bet! We won't be going down without a fight ourselves!

ArcLand Cast Member A Icon
ArcLand Cast Member A

Oh! Wonderlands x Showtime made it! Great to work with you guys again!

ArcLand Cast Member B Icon
ArcLand Cast Member B

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!

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Ah... yes! Thank you all for having us again!

Asahi Icon
Asahi

Alright! Let's jump right into stretching then!

Emu - Nene - Rui Icon
Emu - Nene - Rui

Okay!

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

(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

Emu Icon
Emu

—Ugh, I am SO done with rice balls~!!

Rui Icon
Rui

Alright, I think that's enough improv work. Shall we separate and focus on our own rehearsals now?

Asahi Icon
Asahi

Got it. We'll take this side of the table, and you guys get that side, Rui-kun.

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Right! See you guys later!

Rui Icon
Rui

Now then, let's jump right into the opening scene again today. Everyone ready?

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Emu

Ready! Full power mode, let's go~!

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Nene

We don't even have two full months until the contest, so we can't waste a single second.

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

—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!

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

"Come on, Heart! Let's head to our paradise of love!"

Nene Icon
Nene

"W-Wait a minute, Bless!?"

Rui Icon
Rui

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.

Nene Icon
Nene

Oh... then maybe my movements are still too subtle........

Rui Icon
Rui

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.

Nene Icon
Nene

True... Is this level of energy better?

Emu Icon
Emu

Hmm~ Maybe still a little subtle?

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

—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.

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Nene

That makes perfect sense... Thanks, Tsukasa! I'll give it another shot!

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Tsukasa

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?

Rui Icon
Rui

......Hmm. My intention was to create excitement with back-and-forth banter, but..... would you demonstrate your approach?

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Tsukasa

Right, got it. Nene, let's do this!

Nene Icon
Nene

Okay!...........

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Nene

"—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!"

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Tsukasa

............

"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!"

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Nene

"Th-That's because......"

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Rui

—Yes, that's good. I was worried the pause might kill some of the momentum, but that was excellent.

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Tsukasa

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......!!

??? Icon
???

Hehehe

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Hm?

Emu Icon
Emu

Asahi-san! Did something happen with your rehearsal?

Asahi Icon
Asahi

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!

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Huh?

Asahi Icon
Asahi

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.

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Huh!?!?

Asahi-san...... you know Kijima-san?

Asahi Icon
Asahi

Yeah. We worked together on a production once.

Don't tell me you actually trained under Kijima-san?

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

Yes! We spent some time training with Mikazuki-gumi.

Asahi Icon
Asahi

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?

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

We did, but... how did you figure that out?

Asahi Icon
Asahi

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.

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Nene

J-Just from that......!?

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Tsukasa

(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?

Asahi Icon
Asahi

Huh? Well... Could I take a look at the script for a bit?

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Tsukasa

Of course, here you go!

Asahi Icon
Asahi

Thanks! Could you give me about 10 minutes?

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Tsukasa

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—)

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Tsukasa

"...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."

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

(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.)

Asahi Icon
Asahi

......Yeah. It's rough, but I can picture it!

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Tsukasa

Really?! Then could I hear your thoughts right away—

Asahi Icon
Asahi

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?

Tsukasa Icon
Tsukasa

...Huh?

Translation
sou
Proofreading
QA