Raul held the script in one hand, constantly wiping away sweat with the other. The pages were visibly shaking.
Elsa found it a little amusing and tried to comfort him. "What are you so nervous about? We're not going to do anything to you."
Raul gave a dry laugh.
'Not very convincing, is it? Yu Lian is still twitching in the corner!'
He forced himself to calm down and focus on the script.
When he'd first signed up, he'd figured he had no chance of passing, so he might as well try out for the lead role. And so, he was auditioning for the male lead.
To prevent actors from preparing for the same material, everyone auditioning for the same role drew a random script segment.
For example, Yu Lian had just drawn a scene where he had to brawl with zombies in a train station.
The scene Raul had drawn depicted the male lead and his group being chased by zombies to a safe train car. The people inside refused to open the door, and a companion sacrificed himself to buy them time. After the door was finally smashed open, the enraged protagonist would beat down the person who had led the refusal.
He was to perform the final segment—the part where he beats the man and interrogates him.
'Anger... How do I portray anger?'
The current mainstream method was to classify characters into archetypes, then establish standards for each emotion and action within those types.
This system had grown increasingly extreme, to the point where an actor was judged not by the authenticity or emotional impact of their performance, but by how well they adhered to those standards.
He didn't like that.
Judging by how they had cut Yu Lian's performance short, the judges clearly didn't like it either.
If this were a contest of conforming to standards, everyone in the Mixed Giant Beast Corps combined couldn't hold a candle to a single background actor from Swan Castle.
He was going to do this his way—the "uncouth, wild style" that the city actors sneered at.
"You may begin."
Raul mentally reviewed his lines one last time, set down the script, and took a deep breath, immersing himself in the character.
'Anger... What makes me angry?'
'My daughter in danger. Not by accident, but because someone put her there.'
'This dummy in front of me... it's not a dummy anymore. It's the person who just put my daughter in harm's way.'
Raul's gaze sharpened.
'No, that kind of anger is too one-dimensional.'
'The protagonist—me. I just survived a life-or-death flight. I'm exhausted. Baffled that the others agreed to keep the door shut. Disappointed by their cold indifference.'
'What else is there?'
'My companion, who sacrificed himself to buy us time... I couldn't grasp the chance to save him.'
'Resentment.'
'Yes, resentment.'
'The anger is just a front. It's also to hide the pain of my own powerlessness.'
Raul's expression became contorted and complex. His eyes were fixed on the dummy, yet not focused on it. His gaze was almost hollow, as if he were looking inward, judging himself.
He knocked the dummy down with a single punch and seized its collar.
The sudden outburst made the onlookers instinctively take half a step back.
His first line was a cathartic roar. "Why did you lock the door! Why!"
He paused for a moment. The only sound was his own heavy panting, making the atmosphere even more tense.
"You selfish bastard." The curse was laced with helplessness.
"We could have all made it inside." His voice was already trembling as he realized the futility of his anger.
"Why?" A mixture of rage and grief twisted his face, his lips trembling uncontrollably. The final question was so feeble it was as if he were the one who had been struck down.
When the performance ended, the room fell silent.
The crowd was stunned. They had never seen a performance like it and couldn't even decide if it was good or bad.
But one thing was undeniable: it had far more impact than any of the others.
Raul snapped out of character, and the silence made his stomach churn with anxiety.
'So, was it good or bad? Just give me some kind of reaction!'
CLAP... CLAP...
The applause began. It was Zog.
Following his lead, Lady Furin and Elsa also began to clap.
Raul's companions from the Mixed Giant Beast Corps came to their senses and erupted into a chorus of cheers and whistles.
Zog was thoroughly pleased. After watching an entire morning of cookie-cutter performances, he had finally seen something that made a Dragon's eyes light up.
'Judging by how completely immersed he was, he might even be a method actor.'
"An impressive performance, Mr. Raul," Elsa said, speaking for the group. "The role is yours. Congratulations."
"Phew."
Raul let out a breath of relief. He'd thought he would be ecstatic to get this opportunity. Whether the so-called Shadow of Evil was a success or not, the lead role's pay was enough to improve his life. At the very least, he could send Marin to a good school so she would no longer have to live a nomadic life like his.
But now that he actually had the part, his thoughts ran deeper. His acting style had finally been acknowledged, and he suddenly felt a sense of purpose.
He would perform this role to the best of his ability. He wanted Shadow of Evil to be a massive success. He wanted his acting to be seen by more people. He was an actor, and he craved renown.
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity."
"Don't thank us just yet. Is that little girl bawling her eyes out over there your daughter?"
Raul turned to look. Marin was even more emotional than he was.
Her little face was a tear-stained mess; she knew how much her father had struggled.
Raul picked her up and rocked her gently to comfort her.
"I was just wondering," Elsa said suddenly, "is your daughter interested in acting?"
After being tortured for hours by the flamboyant performances of the Otherworld Academy Faction, Zog had decided to change his approach.
He would reject actors from the well-known theater troupes and instead try to find suitable people who could simply be themselves on-screen.
It wasn't that those actors weren't professional—on the contrary, they were *too* professional. It was just that their particular brand of professionalism was a complete mismatch for the needs of Shadow of Evil.
Their fundamentals were so deeply ingrained that it had become muscle memory, something they couldn't change on short notice. After weighing his options, he had no choice but to give up on them.
Since the professionals weren't working out, he had to find people who could just act natural.
Method acting, at its highest level, was about completely merging with the character to achieve a natural, true-to-life performance.
'So why not just skip the "method" part and find actors who already fit the roles?'
There were works like that on Earth, films where an unknown actor completely outshone a cast of A-list stars simply by playing themselves.
With this shift in perspective, he naturally zeroed in on Raul's daughter.
This even saved them the trouble of having to build a father-daughter rapport between the actors.
As a result, the afternoon's recruitment went much better, with the Mixed Giant Beast Corps in particular contributing several cast members.
A Half-Beastman was cast as a tough guy who dotes on his wife; he had a past as an underground pit fighter.
An Underground Dwarf was cast as a beggar; he had genuinely begged for a living for years after first arriving on the surface.
A Shapeshifter was cast as the manager of the Potion Factory—not because of any relevant experience, but simply because he could turn into Raghu Kurman.
Since they were going this route, there was no need to limit their choices to only those who came to audition.
The roles of the old sisters were filled by a pair of goblin best friends of forty years from their own retinue. For the roles of the baseball club from the original work, they went to the Caster Academy and hired the Magic dodgeball club. The train conductor was even simpler: the actual conductor of the *Traveler*, who was on vacation, came to earn some extra cash.
It was a pity the Sutton Kingdom hadn't developed its own version of political correctness yet. Otherwise, with the racial diversity of *Holy Mountain Journey*'s current cast, awards would be chasing after them.
After the actors were confirmed, the next step was to finalize the look for each character. To enhance the sense of realism and relatability, everyone except the Shapeshifter just had minor adjustments made to their everyday appearance.
At the same time, news arrived from Zog Film Base Island: set construction was nearly complete.