Chapter 916: "The Root of the Calamity" - On and Off Stage
Xiao He followed Yang Heng to visit Dean Qu.
Qu Kangcheng was still the same as always. He smiled and nodded when he saw Xiao He, asked about Xiao He's affairs in Hong Kong, and congratulated Xiao He on winning the Flying Eagle TV King award. As for other matters, he did not mention them to Xiao He.
Xiao He didn't ask.
Since Dean Qu still resisted the pressure and allowed Xiao He to continue participating in the stage play, Xiao He naturally would not refuse and would do his best in whatever he could.
In the end, they didn't chat for long before the two young men said their goodbyes and left.
On the way back, Yang Heng said to Xiao He, "The group rehearsal this morning is complete. In the coming days, we will mainly focus on reviewing the problems and then working on the details and making corrections in separate sections. Since you witnessed everything today, you can serve as a temporary instructor to assist us. Then, when the group rehearsal starts this afternoon, you will officially join the team."
"It wouldn't be accurate to call it guidance."
Xiao He shrugged helplessly. "I just saw it. The lineup of teachers in charge this time is very strong. If you want me to give you guidance, it's like putting me on the hot seat."
He was truly exasperated by these guys. Did they have any sense of being an outsider?
Let alone the team of instructors, many of the actors in the troupe are senior actors in their forties and fifties. Would you expect Xiao He to go and give them some guidance?
Well, even if they dared to ask, Xiao He wouldn't dare to say.
"Hey, didn't you just say you were going to crush those guys who looked down on you with your strength?"
Yang Heng patted Xiao He on the shoulder, comforting him in a very friendly manner, "Don't worry, don't worry. Go and perform a few shows, and I guarantee your reputation in the troupe will turn around. People in our troupe still respect talented people. When you gave a speech at our academy last time, many of them listened in, and most of them had a pretty good impression of you."
Aside from a very few people who still have doubts about Xiao He's participation in the competition, those doubts are not due to Xiao He's ability or acting skills, but rather to Xiao He's identity as an actor.
"Thank you so much."
Xiao He glanced at this young man who had achieved fame at a young age, had the backing of the dean, and was now the youngest principal in the National Theater, and couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, strength is a passport wherever you go."
The guy in front of him, as the most promising and talented young man in the troupe, was someone few dared to offend in the theater, and he had the right to look down on others.
There's a saying that goes, "When a person becomes famous, the people around them automatically become good people."
Yang Heng was like this, and so was Xiao He.
-
Upon returning to the rehearsal stage, Xiao He once again received a solemn welcome from everyone.
After the welcoming ceremony, everyone resumed their normal work process for the day.
As the only "god" on stage who has a scene with the hero, Xiao He naturally rehearses with Yang Heng all the time.
As expected of the chief, Yang Heng had already figured out most of the details. Xiao He had helped Yang Heng with his scenes during training, so he was well aware of Yang Heng's progress. Therefore, the two of them would spend more time and energy on other people.
During this time, Xiao He paid special attention to the substitute actor named Shi Yi and found that the other party was acting normally and did not do anything unusual to deliberately target him.
Even after Xiao He, the main character, arrived, Shi Yi did not slack off and continued to hone his skills.
As a substitute actor who might never even get a chance to play, Shi Yi is indeed very qualified.
Xiao He only observed for a short while before turning his gaze away.
To him, someone like Shi Yi was not worth mentioning at all.
If the other party is prone to underhanded tactics, he won't let himself suffer a loss.
If the other party really persists and polishes their work, then the role of "Evil God" will belong to Shi Yi from now on.
After all, although "The Root of Calamity" was an original play that went abroad to participate in the competition and made its debut on such an important international stage, it does not mean that "The Root of Calamity" can only be performed once.
If it performs well internationally, then after "The Root of Evil" returns, other original theater companies will definitely keep the script for "The Root of Evil" and will most likely continue touring it.
At this point, Xiao He naturally couldn't perform with them.
The role he vacated will still be Shi Yi's.
Xiao He thought that anyone with a brain could figure this out.
-
In the afternoon, Xiao He officially participated in the group rehearsal.
Interestingly, the high platform erected on the stage was the entire venue for his entrance.
For almost the entire storyline, Xiao He needs to stand on this high platform.
At the same time, after each meeting between the hero and the evil god, the actor playing the evil god would disappear from the platform as quickly as possible.
The platform will be decorated with props and mechanisms. On the surface, after a cloud of smoke, the deity will appear and disappear until the smoke dissipates and His figure completely vanishes. This scene seems to be a grand spectacle of the white smoke, but it actually puts a lot of pressure on the actors.
Because after these scenes, the actors need to jump directly from the stage into the hidden cushions below.
The platform is about three meters high, almost the height of a building. Looking down from there, even a normal person would hesitate for a moment. Moreover, the gods' costumes are quite complicated in the main storyline. Moving up and down might be relatively easy now, but when they put on their formal costumes, whether they are human or "gods," they will still look quite disheveled when it's time to be.
Shi Yi originally thought that Xiao He would hesitate.
He then saw Xiao He perform a smooth parkour-style wall-jumping combo without even blinking, changing his position without even using a cushion.
Since the platform at this point was just a bare frame without any decorations, it couldn't obstruct the actors' movements behind it, so most people could see Xiao He's combo attack.
The security guard who was specifically called over to keep an eye on things: "..."
Well, with those skills and those legs—is there any need for him to be there?
He said it himself, no wonder this is a professional actor in a formal performance. Just these smooth and detailed movements show that he is much better than the backup actor!
Shi Yi, sitting in the audience, clenched his fists.
-
Below the platform, the kings of various countries finally shook hands and made peace.
The feather-light pen drew long lines on the long red silk, and dark ink splattered on the ground with each stroke, but no one paid any attention, as if the priceless mark of peace was just a blemish in the eyes of important people.
On the stage further away, countless people knelt on the ground, hands clasped together, their faces filled with unprecedented piety, thanking the gods for their mercy and the king who brought peace to their country.
Even now, because of the battlefield, countless corpses of their comrades lie around them.
But they survived.
If we survive, peace will continue, and life will return to normal.
Peace, war, death, peace—this is the inevitable gear of history, and also a test given to mankind by God.