Watching the students in front of him, who were laughing and crying, Renly continued to make jokes. "Wipe away those tears, everyone. We're about to start shooting, and at this rate, someone might think we're filming "Dead Poets Society" here."
But this time, there was no laughter in the classroom as expected. Instead, there was a moment of silence, and then someone asked, "Sir, what is "Dead Poets Society"?"
Renly felt embarrassed. How could he forget that for these struggling students, watching artistic films wasn't a common way to spend their leisure time? "It's a movie I personally love, starring Robin Williams." Robin Williams was quite famous for most ordinary viewers, and indeed, many students showed expressions of sudden realization.
The atmosphere eased up a bit, and Sami and Betty hurried to the front of the classroom, their eyes pleading with Renly, like wet puppies, but they didn't dare to speak. Everyone knew that before diving into shooting, Renly needed some time to concentrate and read the script without disturbance.
However, their longing gazes were not concealed at all, and Renly couldn't ignore them. He smiled with a hint of helplessness. "What's the matter?"
Sami and Betty exchanged a glance, but both of them hesitated, reluctant to speak, hoping the other would do it. Seeing this, Renly's seemingly indifferent voice came again, "If you don't speak now, you won't have a chance."
The two girls were suddenly startled, and Sami rushed to say, "Autographs, sir. We were wondering if you could give us your autograph?" Betty nodded vigorously in agreement. "We just thought we'd like to have a memento. If a photo together is possible, that would be even better. If not, we can..."
Under Renly's watchful eyes, their voices grew smaller and smaller until they disappeared altogether. Sami lowered her head, too scared to speak, and Betty couldn't even bring herself to look at Renly.
Normally, Renly was always aloof, and he approached his work with meticulous perfectionism. At times, he could even be strict and demanding. Even Tony himself would confront Renly head-on at times. Due to the instinctive awe of authority, the actors and crew members all had a sense of respect. It was evident in the way they addressed him as "sir."
Now, these two girls were suddenly making fangirl requests, and it was natural for them to feel nervous.
"No," came Renly's cold and distant voice, firm and without room for negotiation. Sami and Betty both drooped their shoulders, their expressions revealing unmistakable disappointment. "Wait until the official wrap party."
As his words sank in, the two of them were momentarily bewildered, not immediately grasping his meaning. Then, they heard Renly ushering them out, "The cameras and actors are all ready. We need to start shooting."
The two girls scurried out like startled birds, nodding vigorously. Once they were outside, they finally stopped and exchanged glances. Sami was still out of breath and didn't quite understand, so Betty carefully spoke up, "Was Mr. Renly saying that... after the wrap party, we can get his autograph?"
Sami looked at Betty, and Betty looked at Sami. After their brains processed the situation, both of them revealed joyful expressions, almost on the verge of screaming. Fortunately, they realized that the shoot was about to start and quickly covered their mouths, but their eyes sparkled with happiness, as if they were standing on cloud nine.
"Everyone, get ready," came the call from the assistant director. Sami and Betty hurriedly ran to take cover behind the monitor, panting and with flushed cheeks. They felt Jeremy's surprised gaze on them. Sami stuck out her tongue and giggled, repeatedly saying, "It's starting, it's starting." Then she waved her hands to signal everyone to shift their focus.
In the distance, the assistant director's final call for clearing the set sounded, and the surrounding noise gradually settled down. Even though this was the final scene of the shoot, the work wasn't finished until it was officially wrapped. Moreover, this was a particularly challenging scene.
Renly closed his eyes and slowly exhaled, expelling the pent-up frustration and thoughts from his chest with each breath. Regardless of any external sounds, his focus began to intensify. In his ears, there was only the sound of the air flowing gently, like the vastness and grandeur of a desert landscape painted with ink in his mind.
For Renly, this wasn't the last scene before the wrap, nor was it the final scene before graduation exams. It was simply an ordinary scene, belonging to the script of "Detachment", a scene that required careful consideration and thorough preparation.
When Renly was at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, young and impulsive students often tended to become complacent during the opening and closing scenes of a play. They would lose focus due to excitement, causing their performances to suffer, and the teachers would give them a tongue-lashing.
A truly outstanding performance should have a consistent level of engagement from start to finish. This wasn't just because the beginning and ending were crucial to the story, but also because they represented the completeness of a character. Only by fully immersing oneself could they ensure the continuity of the entire performance. Moreover, many times, the closing scene of a play bore the responsibility of elevating the plot, making the importance of the performance self-evident.
The first scene and the last scene, the climactic scene and the transitional scene, shouldn't be differentiated by difficulty or significance but should be treated equally. This wasn't an easy task, and it demanded extreme attention and concentration from actors. However, Renly was determined to adhere to this principle.
Furthermore, "Detachment" was Renly's self-selected graduation comprehensive exam. How could he possibly take it lightly?
After calming down, Henry's thoughts, which belonged to the character he portrayed, began to spread and boil. The reason why "Detachment" was considered a formidable challenge in terms of acting was not just because of the intricate emotions and rich layers that tested an actor's skills, but also because of the lines.
Carl Lund had written numerous monologues and asides in a style reminiscent of stage drama. Lines were, in fact, the most critical aspect of an actor's foundation because they contained profound subtext. Additionally, the delivery of lines, including tone, intonation, inflection, and emotion, was full of countless possibilities. The same line, when delivered differently by actors, could unleash varying degrees of power and imbue the performance with distinct colors.
The next scene was the ultimate test of lines and, at the same time, a supreme test of Renly's method acting skills. Almost every actor with a background in the academy had experienced such an examination: a solo performance with minimal body language, relying solely on expressions and lines to convey emotions. A minimalist performance did not mean minimal emotions.
Renly didn't repeatedly recall his lines but instead entered Henry's world in a calm manner. Unconventionally, he adopted method acting approach to revisit everything that had happened to Henry.
After enduring countless hardships and torments, Henry had finally stopped in his tracks, deciding to change direction and embark on a different path in life. He didn't know where this path would lead him, but he had decided to make a change. Standing at the crossroads, looking back at his life, reflecting on everything that had happened during this period, thinking about his estranged grandfather, Meredith, the students filled with anticipation and fear, and the thorny, seemingly hopeless social reality… Amidst the sighs, desolation, and bleakness, there was a glimmer of hope. Faint, small, and subdued hope.
In the depths of despair, this glimmer of hope might not be enough to illuminate the world, but it was enough to make people give their all, like moths drawn to a flame. Henry hoped to leave this glimmer of hope at least within this classroom.
The origin of method acting, the process of performance, finally led to an entirely new world. It was unfamiliar yet gradually becoming familiar. His thoughts were calm yet surging. Renly had grown fond of this feeling of performance, like a calm lake concealing a turbulent undercurrent beneath the surface. He felt the vastness and clarity above the water's surface while the rushing currents beneath opened every pore on his body, sharp and refreshing.
"Action!"
That crisp sound drew a chasm between the realms of reality and illusion, grand and thunderous. At the moment when his breath was released, all the turbulence and commotion settled in his chest, and the world was left in complete tranquility.
The performance didn't begin immediately; instead, an atmosphere of silence gradually spread, and any residual restlessness in the air dissipated. No one dared to speak, not even the crew members standing behind the cameras, let alone the students immersed in their performance within the classroom.
All eyes were focused on Renly, unblinking.
The figure was so tranquil and serene, the tense shoulder line slowly relaxed, but before it could fully unwind, it tensed up again. Between his brows, there was a faint sorrow and bitterness, yet it was not tumultuous. It was like the thin mist that rose when dawn broke, gently diffusing amidst the desolation and ruins. There was no sound in the dark wasteland, where withered trees, yellowing grass, and collapsed ruins looked like the end of the world, but a feeble vitality still lingered among the scattered bricks and stones, fragmented and impossible to piece together. It was mournful, helpless, and lonely.
But after blinking, people found that the figure remained tranquil and peaceful, standing there without any extra emotions, as if everything that had just happened were figments of their imagination, and none of it had occurred. However, the complex emotions lingering in their hearts continued to churn, and that slight, shallow bitterness slowly rippled on their tongues, one circle after another.
Involuntarily, everyone held their breath, fearing that blinking even once would cause them to miss an entire world.