Chapter 99 - Intermediate Dramatic Performance

Kyer's bosses are still listening in to the conversation seriously, so he had to keep the conversation going. "Anyway, you sound… cheerful, Jouny. It's not like you." Jouny asked, genuinely curious as Jouny always had a cold demeanor. [How could I not be? Eight years, you know. EIGHT YEARS! Someone finally recognized my script!] Jouny said.

"How about the director? You can talk about him, right? He must be a veteran in the field?" Kyer continued fishing. [Oh. He's not. It's actually his first film... hmm… What can I talk about him?... That's a good question... uh… That's a really good question. I actually don't know much about him. He said he's a film critic, but when I looked him up on the internet, I didn't find anything about him. Aside from that… He's rich. He used his own money to make the movie.] Jouny replied.

This made Kyer and his bosses look at each other as if saying 'How could she not know him as a musician?'

"What's the name of the director?" Kyer could not help but ask. [Tayaw Dagem. He's a young man from Ouigab.] Jouny replied. "If he's from Ouigab, it's a safe assumption that he's a musician right? Do you have access to the internet right now? I'm sending you something." Kyer instructed Jouny. A few seconds later, he sent an image of Tayaw he screen captured to Jouny's e-mail.

[Oh! Hhm? What's with the cowboy hat and shades? Yeah. This is him.] Jouny's laughter reverberated around the office from Kyer's phone. Kyer and his bosses, on the other hand, found the situation more mysterious. "Are you sure he's from Ouigab though?" Kyer asked, trying to confirm that Tayaw is not a 'wolar'.

[Yeah! I met him there. His accent is also obviously Nabla, so I'm confident he's from there. Okay. How did you find this picture? I know you have resources, but this is just ridiculous. I didn't find anything, but you did?] Jouny said.

Kyer was stuck so he decided to come clean. "I actually called you to congratulate you on another thing." [Hm? What's up?] Jouny replied, confusion apparent in her voice. "Congratulations. 'September Ninth' was chosen to compete in Sorrento." Kyer said.

[Huh? What? Really???] "Yeah. Go to Sorrento Film Festival's website. They just announced the 50 film selections for the competition. I uh... the movie is competing for Best Original Screenplay." Kyer said.

[Really? Wait a minute.] Jouny said. Exactly a minute later [*Squeaallllll*YES! HAHAHAHA! YES!] Kyer hung up the call to let Jouny celebrate by herself.

"I can't believe it." Jundiel said after the phone call. "Well. It's real. But how the hell did he do it? What kind of film is it?" Yarag asked himself.

-

Ironstone, East Ouigab

Tayaw is currently practicing piano in the practice room when his phone suddenly rang. [Tayaw! The Sorrento selections was announced! Our film made it!] Jouny said immediately after Tayaw picked up the call. "Really?! That's good. That's good news." Tayaw felt intense excitement at the news.

Even though he's confident about the quality of the film, he was not certain that it will be received well. Considering the members of the jury this year, Tayaw is now confident that his film will have great reception once it comes out.

He is also feeling proud. Unlike his songs, the film was a combined effort by the cast and the crew. He is excited for the actors especially. They will be the first actors to introduce 'Film Acting' to this world.

"I guess it's time to learn some I-talian." Tayaw chuckled and he pulled out his phone.

-

Winnig, Clambu City

[So. Prepare your passport or whatever.] "Yeah. I'll do that." I said. Tayaw just informed me of 'September Ninth' being selected for the festival's competition. Tayaw also gave me a heads up that I might be one of the people representing 'September Ninth' for the festival's award ceremonies.

This situation feels unreal. The first film I acted on, and it's already critically acclaimed. Not in just Clambu, not in just Teungeb, but internationally. Even though I'm not nominated for the Best Actor, I'm still very satisfied and proud. Some of the best actors, directors, and screenwriters saw my acting on the screen. They were the first people to see 'realistic' acting.

[Hey. You still there?] Tayaw asked me when I got lost in my thoughts for a moment. "Yeah. I'm here. I'm going to register for a passport today." I replied. [Okay. Hey. Even though the judges did not recognize your acting for now, but in the future, they will realize how different it will be. How difficult it will be to act believably. Also. Even though my acting preference will not be popular, you can still act theatrically right? You'll be more in demand in the future.] Tayaw said. This gave me hope for my future as an actor.

"Thank you for choosing me for this role, man. If need any help in the future, I'll be there." I said, sincerely. Even though I was paid 400,000 BGC for my acting, and I may live comfortably for the next two years or three years just from what I earned, the gratitude I'm feeling isn't just about money.

[I'll tell you something that may help your acting. Wanna hear it?] Tayaw suddenly said. His words excited me. During the entire filming process, I realized that acting realistically is not as simple as it looks, and I only got lucky that my process of getting into character goes well with his intention. I also realized that the type of acting that Tayaw preferred for his film is similar to the acting we do in our comedy show.

In a sketch, when we comedic actors are told to act like a teacher or a rock star, we would learn how teachers or rock stars behave, and then we would use what we learned to act like a teacher or a rock star on stage. However, when I saw my friends at the comedy troupe do it in Tayaw's film, Tayaw called it 'Caricature Acting'. 'It's fine to do it in a comedy sketch because it's funny, but my film is different.' I remember Tayaw saying.

It may be a simple remark, but I got immediately what he was saying. Unlike the comedy acting where we just have to copy the stereotypical habits of the characters we play, in Tayaw's film, we have to study the characters we play as people. What they like, what they dislike, what they do in the morning when they wake up, what they do in the evening before they sleep. We need to become different people when acting.

"Sure. Whatever it is, I'm sure it will help." I replied to Tayaw, curious at what he would say. [Do this. Do you have a favorite movie? Look up the script of it in the internet. I'm pretty it was posted for free.] Tayaw began. "Okay?" I asked not knowing what he's getting at.

[Now. Study the main character's traits. Just like how you did with Steven in the movie. Look at the main character as if he's someone you know. Where does he come from? Where was he born? Where did he grow up? … And.. How does the character walk? How does he talk? Those details are also important.] Tayaw started rambling but I get the idea.

The process he laid out for me opened the door for me. I could already see myself doing it. "But, what if it's not in the script? I mean, Jouny did not include Steven's background in the script. It's your instructions that made me feel Steven's character better." I said. It's a valid concern to me. The scripts I've seen in my auditions were just like Jouny's script when it comes to the structure. The scripts have limited details about the characters as people.

[Well. Just make up a background for them. Think. Why did the character turn out the way he is? What type of childhood did they have to become the person they are? Something logical that may explain the character.] Tayaw said. "Alright. I get it. What's next?"

[Then once you're satisfied with what you know about the character, once you think that the character is now a complete person, I want you to live like him. How would the character spend his days? Do that.] Tayaw said. This blew my mind however. "Isn't that going too far?" I could not help but ask.

[Yes. It is. For a regular person, that is. But you're an actor. If you want to play your characters really well, you have to go that far.] Tayaw said. It makes sense. If I want to play a character to the best I can, I have to be them. "Okay. I'll do that." I said replied. [BUT! This method is quite dangerous.] Tayaw's words drenched my excitement. "What is it?" I asked.

[I know psychology. And the psyche is an important part of a person's mental health. You should know yourself well first before you start doing what I said.] This made me curious. [Who are you? Who is Uranto Virenza? What makes you really you? Tayaw said. "What if I know myself already?" I said, finding Tayaw's questions funny.

[It's not that simple. You might get lost in the character. Instead of just playing it, you might become the character.] This gave me goosebumps. Reviewing what Tayaw said so far, if I really follow them well, then I could see myself changing if I'm not careful.

[I don't want you losing yourself as a person. Yes, you're an actor, but more importantly, you're Uranto. You're the kid from rural Gonto. You're an actor who made people laugh. You're not going to be the character. You're just going to copy them.] Tayaw concluded.

I'll do it. Even though Tayaw's acting style will not be popular in the future, it will help me immensely when auditioning for roles in the future. I mean, our movie is the only Teungebian movie that was selected in the festival. It's safe to assume that other directors would ask me to audition at least in their films.