Chapter 277 (1/2)

Chapter 277 Theater Conflict

Longsong Stronghold, theater performance hall.

The curtain fell to the sound of the audience’s endless whistles and cheers. May wiped the sweat from her forehead and saw Irene’s gaze, full of excitement and expectation, lingering on herself; she gave two slight nods in response.

This acknowledgment made Irene cheer out loud, the moment the curtain hit the ground, she could no longer stop herself from rushing over, and forcefully wrapped May into a hug.

“Hahaha, I really can play it!”

So troublesome, May gave her a supercilious look and pushed her away, “At last you have made some progress and can now take the stage independently.”

“Miss may, then… what’s with me?” Rosia, another actor that was playing a witch cautiously asked her.

“You still have a long way to go,” she answered without hesitation, “Your expression is still stiff, your movements are sluggish, you also didn’t put any feelings into your lines. During the second act you made two mistakes, and during the fourth act you’d positioned yourself incorrectly, which is a typical mistake if you don’t memorize the script.”

“Haha, Miss May is indeed really strict,” Gheit awkwardly scratched the back of his head, “However, the audience’s response seems to be very good, if you listen, you can hear that the applause has yet to subside.”

“Most of these people are civilians who have never been to the theater, so seeing a play such as this is still a new thing for them,” May interjected bluntly. “If this had been a regular show, those several mistakes would have been sufficient for the nobility to all let out hissing sounds.” She paused, “If you want to go down the actor’s road, you are never allowed to be satisfied with temporary successes, only by continually improving yourself will you be able to gain a firm foothold on the stage.”

The surrounding people all simultaneously lowered their heads and said, “Yes, thank you for your guidance!”

May sighed, here we go again, I definitely cannot be considered as the drama tutor of this group of people. But in the end, she was too lazy to care about such a trivial matter and merely said, “All right, everyone carry on with your hard work. The ‘Witch Diary’ will be shown at least until September, so there are still many plays during which we can develop further. This is a rare opportunity; no one should miss out on it.”

“Yes!”

One month ago May had received a notice from the Ministry of Education, the members of the theater team were instructed to go to Longsong Stronghold and perform. These so-called members were those inferior performers she had met at the start of her journey to Border Town, and Irene Eltek.

Perhaps it was because His Highness the Prince and acting Duke Petrov had reached an agreement with the theater to let them free its schedule, so that the crew could perform the “Witch Diary” trilogy. And so, with this group of amateur performers, together with the newly added actors who also couldn’t be considered as well-known actors, were now openly performing on the stronghold theater’s biggest stage. At normal times, they might not even be selected as a substitute for a supporting role. Now however, not only were they able to play the role of an important character on stage, but they could also perform hand in hand with the Star of the West, which made a lot of people lament about the impermanence of destiny.

When May returned to the backstage area, she couldn’t refrain from puckering her brows.

There at the lounge, she saw a group of people disturbing everyone with their noise, seemingly trying to start a dispute. The moment they saw May appear, more than a dozen followed the leadership of one woman as they stepped forward and began to surround her.

These people were all actors of the theater. May also recognized the woman leading them, she was called Bella Dean and was a famous actor that belonged to a different group. Some nobles even went so far as to say that she was May’s biggest competitor for the position as the Star of the West, but in fact, whether it was her acting or fame, she had never been able to pressure May.

“Guess who I’m finally able to see?” Bella bypassed May and slowly started to walk over towards Irene one step at a time, “A group of inferior actors who’ve sneakily returned from the countryside.”

“What did you say?” Irene asked with a bewildered face, Gheit, Rosia, and the other’s faces all turned stiff and they couldn’t stop themselves from taking two steps back.

“Pfff,” Bella covered her mouth and said, “She doesn’t even know her own identity and status.” These words aroused a burst of laughter from the group, “Then let me say it directly to you, a big city such as Longsong Stronghold isn’t a place where people like you should come to perform. Moreover, the stronghold theater also doesn’t welcome such a vulgar and third-rate performance. What ‘witch diary’? it’s just a few stray dogs all howling in grief. Who could ever be interested in seeing this kind of drama that’s bad enough to spoil one’s appetite? The earlier you get lost and return to Border Town, the better.”

“You,” Irene suddenly turned red, “What do you call a third-rate performance? didn’t you hear the applause of the audience?”

“Ha, audience?” Bella sneered sarcastically, “You call those people who work in the mud, and come in contact with hoes and furnaces every day, an audience? Don’t make me lose a tooth from laughing! Just catch some monkeys and make them run in circles and they will also be cheering loudly! If it hadn’t been for the free tickets, would they ever have the spare money to come and see you perform?”

“I…” Irene opened her mouth but didn’t know how to properly refute.