Phyllis's performance was extremely adorable.
The crowd fell silent,
"..."
"..."
"..."
Suddenly, led by Lu Shi, everyone burst into laughter,
Even the laughter caught the attention of the stagehands, who stopped their work and looked over with curiosity.
Phyllis's face reddened even more as she lowered her head,
"Don't... don't laugh at me~"
She wasn't alone in her behavior,
Some people like to read spoilers before enjoying a mystery, some like to skip ahead when reading web novels, and some like to read the end of a script before going through it.
Lu Shi tried to suppress his laughter,
"Okay, let's not laugh anymore."
On the side, Lin Deng waved his hand, signaling the other actors to temporarily leave, leaving only Phyllis.
He approached her and flipped to the end of the script,
Princess Anne returned to her residence and was never seen again, while the impoverished journalist Joe, hands in his pockets, walked away from the lobby,
And the story ended there.
Lin Deng let out a long sigh,
"Whew~"
He felt a mixture of emotions.
Phyllis immediately approached, saying, "Right? Right! It's basically a tragedy~"
Lin Deng shook his head, avoiding the subject.
On the other hand, Shaw raised an eyebrow, "Miss Dell, you must have read or even practiced Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In your mind, is that a tragedy?"
This question left Phyllis speechless.
The theatrical world generally considers Romeo and Juliet to be a tragicomedy,
It has elements of tragic deaths of lovers, as well as the comedic resolution of the feud between the two families,
Of course, the tragedy aspect is more pronounced,
That's undeniable.
Shaw said, "The ending of 'Roman Holiday' may not be satisfactory, but the overall tone of the story is cheerful and joyful. So, calling it a tragedy is not appropriate."
With that, Shaw winked,
He leaned over to Lu Shi's ear and whispered, "The beauty of 'Roman Holiday' lies in its ending. Fortunately, you didn't let it fall into clichés."
Lu Shi nodded in agreement and then gestured towards Phyllis,
"Clichés have their place."
Apparently, young ladies really love a happy ending.
Shaw shrugged,
"As playwrights, we also need some aspirations, right? We can't just cater to the audience."
Lu Shi didn't think too much about it, he just tried to stay true to the original, turning the film into a play.
He looked at Phyllis,
The girl was still staring at the script, her eyes showing a hint of dissatisfaction.
Lu Shi cleared his throat and said, "After all, you're a young girl, and it's normal to yearn for sweet and perfect love."
Phyllis's face reddened again,
Her earlobes were steaming hot, and a few more degrees and she might emit steam.
Lin Deng said, "Phyllis, don't worry about those things. Now that you have such a good opportunity in front of you, do you want to give it a try? I can guarantee that 'Roman Holiday' will be a hit in Great Britain."
Phyllis blinked,
"Is it going to be more popular than 'Yes, Prime Minister'?"
Lin Deng looked at Lu Shi cautiously and, upon seeing his nod of approval, replied, "Yes, it should be even more popular than 'Yes, Prime Minister'."
Politics isn't understood by everyone,
But love, on the other hand, is universal.
Lin Deng predicted that while "Yes, Prime Minister" might be popular in cities like London, "Roman Holiday" would sweep across Great Britain, and even Europe.
Phyllis looked at the script with great interest, but then showed a hesitant expression,
"But I..."
She blushed again,
This was the fourth time today.
Lu Shi didn't understand,
"What's the problem?"
Phyllis gave him a glare but didn't answer.
On the side, Owen understood, and in a low voice reminded Lu Shi, "She's just a young girl, she probably hasn't been in love before, and she's worried about not being able to portray a girl who's just fallen in love. She lacks life experience."
Despite speaking softly, Phyllis heard it,
The girl felt a little shy and a little disheartened, saying, "Indeed, I've never been on a date."
Lu Shi scratched his head,
"Can't you use other experiences as a substitute?"
Hearing his words, Owen and Lin Deng simultaneously showed strange expressions,
Lin Deng asked in a low voice, "Professor Lu, I heard from Sir Owen that you're a supporter of experiential acting, so why are you teaching emotional substitution?"
Lu Shi was speechless, thinking that these actors were just like those righteous sects in martial arts novels, having such rigid views,
It's really ridiculous.
He was about to say a few words of mockery,
But then Phyllis spoke up, "Manager, what's emotional substitution?"
Lin Deng seemed to dislike the Method school very much and didn't want to talk about it,
He looked at Lu Shi,
"Professor Lu, would you like to explain?"
Lu Shi had no choice but to explain to Phyllis with his meager acting knowledge,
"It's just what it sounds like. For example, since you've never been on a date, you don't know what love feels like. So when you're acting, it feels forced and hollow, breaking the immersion for the audience. In these situations, you need to substitute similar experiences."
Phyllis tilted her head, pondering as if she understood something.
After a while, she asked, "But I don't know about dating... Um, Professor Lu, what feeling is dating?"
Lu Shi said, "It's like overflowing desire, and blooming joy."
Phyllis nodded.
"It seems Professor Lu understands it very well."
With this said, everyone was stunned, then they all turned their heads aside, trying hard to suppress their laughter.
Lu Shi didn't expect to be ambushed by a fourteen-year-old girl, so he hurriedly said, "Miss Dale, please don't make random guesses!"
Random guesses? Phyllis certainly didn't believe that.
Lu Shi, with his eloquence, had probably courted countless girls without anyone knowing.
The girl apologized, "My bad~"
While she said so, there was no hint of remorse in her tone.
Lu Shi had no choice but to move the conversation along, "Anyway, there are many emotions similar to dating and romance. For example... um... Christmas. Miss Dale, does your family have any special treats for Christmas?"
Phyllis nodded, "Yes, I love gingerbread cookies the most. Thin and crispy, dipped in honey or brown sugar..."
Lu Shi interrupted, "Exactly, that's the feeling!"
Phyllis looked puzzled, "What?"
On the sidelines, Owen interjected, "Although I'm reluctant to admit it, the method of emotional substitution does work. Miss Dale, when you mentioned gingerbread just now, your face was full of tender affection, just like a girl falling in love for the first time."
Phyllis was even more surprised, "Is falling in love all about eating gingerbread?"
"Ha!" Lu Shi chuckled, "Well, for you, perhaps."
For some reason, seeing the smile on Lu Shi's face, Phyllis felt a mix of annoyance and happiness.
Her gaze returned to the script.
After a while, she said, "I want to give it a try."
Linden smiled, "That's the spirit~ Alright, take the script and let the other actors copy a few more."
Phyllis hurriedly bowed to everyone and whispered a "Thank you, Professor Lu" before bouncing away.
As her figure disappeared from the stage, Lu Shi spoke up, "Manager Linden, the differences between the experiential and method approaches are all about enhancing acting skills. There's no need to be dogmatic about it. Besides, I haven't 'betrayed' the experiential approach."
With that, he took out the part of the script from "Roman Holiday" that held the truth.
Linden took it, reading it with curiosity.
Soon, a mischievous grin appeared on his face as he said, "Phyllis might end up in tears... If she does, I'll definitely pin the blame on Professor Lu."