Actresses

Chapter 47 Acting Together

He Yuran received a text reply, which was very simple, basically saying that they would talk in person. Then he sent a building number and apartment number. He Yuran told Xiao Zhao to drive there according to the navigation.

This is the address of a casting company that has only been open for a few years. Xiao Zhao was blank for a second, then hurriedly and frantically set up navigation, because although He Yuran knew of this company, she had never been there.

For an actress of her caliber, it has been many years since she auditioned for a role, and she no longer needs to contact these newly established casting companies.

To put it simply, auditions in the entertainment industry are like job seekers going for interviews.

Only fledgling actors go out every day to audition, trying to get opportunities for small roles. During special periods when in-person auditions are impossible, they can send audition videos online. This has become a common practice now. Well-known actors usually have their personal connections or agencies contact production companies in advance, for example, for a role in the top four billing, and after many rounds of negotiations, the role is finalized. Some directors will emphasize the need for auditions, but in practice, this step is usually skipped for well-known online actors. The main issues involved are scheduling and salary, which will involve some back-and-forth negotiations, but the actor's willingness to take the role remains unchanged. There are also a few cases of actors being brought in as leads from outside the production team, such as when an actor heavily promoted by the investors or platform replaces the production team's original choice. This has become increasingly common in recent years.

Although Jiang Fan hasn't acted in years, he was quite well-known back then and had some representative roles. Now, he actually has to go out and audition for roles himself, which is hard for He Yuran to accept.

She rummaged around in the car for a while before finally finding a mask and putting it on. Then she borrowed a baseball cap from Xiao Zhao, which she usually used to cover her face when sleeping in the car. Thinking that wasn't enough, she pulled out a pair of glasses without lenses from the armrest box, put them on her nose, looked at herself in the small mirror, and was finally satisfied.

This is all the equipment she had for her impromptu costume change today.

During the meal just now, He Yuran was absent-minded the whole time because she remembered what Zhuang Pan said: "You guys aren't in a serious drama."

This sentence reminded her.

Shi Jiahe had mentioned the title and director of the play to He Yuran. He Yuran had a vague feeling that she had heard someone mention the play before. After thinking for a long time, she finally confirmed that the producer was the son of her former acting class teacher. He had posted related information on his WeChat Moments.

So He Yuran casually sent a WeChat message to Jiang Fan, only to unexpectedly learn that Jiang Fan had come out to audition today.

Jiang Fan said it wasn't a big role, with less than 20 scenes in total. Furthermore, the production team didn't mention how he would be credited.

That's just how cold and realistic this industry is. After all, Jiang Fan's status changes over time, and she's not an actress with a large fan base. So, no one cares about the public opinion storm that might arise from neglecting her, and naturally, they won't favor her in terms of billing order.

He Yuran looked at WeChat, her heart filled with unease.

On one hand, it was to speak out for Jiang Fan, but there was also a hidden worry.

She wondered if she would end up like that in a few years. There are still some people who hold film actors in high regard, but the problem is that many young people no longer watch movies at all. Meanwhile, a new generation of young people in the industry has grown up, and in three to five years, when she's older, if her career continues to decline, she might not know where she'll end up.

Because she was in a bad mood, He Yuran lost patience with Zhuang Pan during the meal. However, she was too lazy to think about the consequences of her outburst. Compared to the current situation, it didn't matter at all.

Sitting in the car, He Yuran felt like she wasn't heading to see an old classmate, but rather encountering her future ahead of time. The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became, and she couldn't help but curse herself inwardly. She was grateful that she had become famous smoothly back then, without going through too many twists and turns, which resulted in her now feeling particularly apprehensive when looking ahead.

Upon arriving at the apartment building, He Yuran hurriedly got out of the car and practically ran into the elevator.

As the elevator doors dinged open, she walked ten meters before turning back to carefully examine the group names and room numbers posted in the hallway. She had indeed gone the wrong way.

Looking at the overlapping marks of old and new A4 paper pasted and torn on the wall, she felt as if she were witnessing the film and television industry's journey from prosperity to winter. The dim lighting and quiet corridor of the stairwell starkly illustrated that becoming famous might be an extremely lonely and hopeless path.

The thought that most of her fellow actors went in and out of this place day after day, enduring such hardship, instantly brought a vivid picture of the complex emotions He Yuran felt. But she even forgot one thing: most people couldn't even make it through.

After turning left and right, we finally found the address Jiang Fan had given us.

He Yuran felt even more nervous than before meeting the famous director. She took a deep breath and gently opened the door and went in. It was an ordinary, old-fashioned room with few people. There were many empty benches scattered around, indicating that it was definitely not a large group recruiting actors on a large scale.

She had only scanned half the area when she spotted Jiang Fan sitting in the corner, so she went over and sat down, nudging him with her shoulder.

Jiang Fan was initially puzzled, but after carefully examining He Yuran, his eyes widened.

"Are you done?" He Yuran asked softly.

"Not yet. Why did you suddenly say you wanted to come? I estimate it will be a while before we start. Just wait a bit."

"Sigh, it's nothing. I didn't have anything else to do today anyway." He Yuran paused. "I was just thinking of calling you because it's been so many days since we last met. I was sure you'd want to ask about the progress."

Jiang Fan smiled.

Judging from her skin condition, she's been taking good care of herself lately, but it's still hard to completely hide the signs of exhaustion. "What's there to ask? When it's time to prepare, you'll definitely let me know. I trust you."

These words made He Yuran feel even more guilty, and she was extremely restless. If Jiang Fan knew that there had been almost no progress during this period, I wonder what he would think. Would he think that his old classmate had actually become one of those fraudulent industry slackers?

He Yuran bluntly asked, "Why aren't you staying home with Mi Tuan? Coming here to audition is just too outrageous."

The unspoken thought was that he came all alone, like a newcomer. These days, even slightly successful young artists have at least one manager by their side. Looking at it that way, Jiang Fan seemed rather pathetic.

"What's the big deal?" Jiang Fan smiled, but cautiously glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "However, if this crew knows that a big star like you is here, they might move up my audition order a bit. They'll definitely come over to say hello."

"Hey, stop teasing me." He Yuran waved his hand. "I didn't mean that."

"This is what I'm thinking. Your show probably won't start filming in a month or two, so I'm using this time to find some roles I can play and get back into the swing of things. Otherwise, if I haven't acted in a long time, my skills will really get rusty, and I'm afraid I'll even get nervous when I see the camera."

"But..." He Yuran had many words stuck in her throat at this moment, but she couldn't say them.

She had many questions, but she couldn't ask them. Because her position in the industry was different from Jiang Fan's; what she took for granted was no longer the rule for Jiang Fan. If she spoke carelessly, it might carry other meanings and hurt Jiang Fan.

This was the first time He Yuran didn't want to be misunderstood in the slightest.

"No buts. Ranran, how about we find a coffee shop or somewhere else nearby to wait for me? I'm afraid staying here will take up too much of your time."

"It's okay, I'll just learn how things are done outside these days. What kind of amazing team or important role dares to make us, Fan, go through all this procedures?"

"Then I'll continue going through the words. Sigh, memorizing words is difficult now, my memory isn't as good as it used to be. But no matter how embarrassing I am in public, I absolutely can't hold you back."

He Yuran patted Jiang Fan. "Don't worry about me, you carry yours."

Jiang Fan nodded and looked at the script excerpt on his phone screen again.

"Hey, why don't you send it to me?" He Yuran suddenly suggested, "If they don't have any scenes to film later, I'll film them for you."

"Really?"

"What do you mean, real or fake? Hurry up, stop dawdling." He Yuran grabbed Jiang Fan's hand and, with a series of actions, sent the script to his own account.

The production team usually provides actors with several scenes of dialogue from the script beforehand, allowing them to familiarize themselves with and memorize the lines. On set, they will choose one scene for the audition, occasionally two scenes, but this is relatively rare.

He Yuran thought to himself, "Since I have nothing better to do, I'll try to memorize this phrase."

She glanced at the clips and began memorizing the lines of the passersby. The role Jiang Fan was auditioning for had a relatively large number of lines, some of which were quite awkward and strange, not like human speech. Fortunately, the rest were mostly descriptions of scenes and character actions, with not much dialogue from the passersby.

However, these lines shouldn't be a problem for Jiang Fan. Back in school, Jiang Fan never stumbled during rehearsals or assignments, something He Yuran knew very well.

A moment later, a man who looked like an assistant director came out and said, "Jiang Fan? Is Teacher Jiang Fan here?"

Jiang Fan quickly stood up. "I'm here."

"Uh, you're next. Get ready, let's begin." The assistant director spoke quite politely.

"No problem." Jiang Fan straightened his clothes, which had become wrinkled from sitting down, and then walked in with measured steps.

He Yuran jogged a few steps to catch up. She even pulled her mask up so that only her eyes were visible.

"And who is this?" The assistant director glanced at He Yuran.

"I'm helping Sister Fan with her acting. I'm her assistant," He Yuran said in a strained voice.

The assistant director looked at Jiang Fan with the same questioning gaze, and Jiang Fan could only nod.

"Oh, okay." The assistant director turned around and led the way into the inner room.

He Yuran followed behind Jiang Fan with her head down, and suddenly felt a sense of exhilaration.

I, a dignified superstar, am here today as an assistant—it's absolutely worth it! And just thinking about it makes me incredibly proud. Our acting, a back-and-forth performance, will surely astound you all!

As she thought about it, He Yuran's desire to perform and her competitive spirit ignited.

Nothing was beyond her expectations; the auditions were indeed all the same—boring and tedious.

The director-like man sitting opposite Jiang Fan didn't show any excessive respect, such as a private greeting or anything like that. His first words were: "Perform the second scene."

Jiang Fan nodded. He Yuran, watching from the side, noticed that Jiang Fan was obviously a little nervous and couldn't help but start to worry.

Even the best actors have off days, so I mustn't make a mistake! she thought to herself.

As it turned out, what I feared most came to pass.

Jiang Fan stumbled on the second page of the two-page script, pausing for a moment before forgetting the next line.

He Yuran really wanted to hand over the script on her phone, but since it wasn't her turn yet, she could only wait for Jiang Fan to finish the next two lines.

It's actually quite normal to forget your lines during an audition. You can improvise a few lines based on the script. But the worst thing is to panic and not be able to continue the lines, or to lose your emotional flow. As a result, Jiang Fan was completely stunned. The assistant director next to him got anxious and had to remind him. Jiang Fan then said "oh" and continued, but his rhythm and flow were completely messed up.

After barely managing to finish the scene, He Yuran glanced at the casting director and two other people holding scripts. One of them was rubbing the script paper in his hands, making an unpleasant sound, but no one said anything; they all seemed reluctant to speak.

Seeing everyone silent, and given Jiang Fan's usual cautious nature and current unnerving tension, He Yuran suggested in a low voice, "How about we try the first round too?"

It means to give them another chance.

Actually, it was quite presumptuous for the co-star to speak like that, but fortunately the director didn't say anything. He just grinned, hesitated for a few seconds, and then said, "Okay."

Just then, someone leaned over and whispered something in the director's ear. Only then did that person look up and glance at He Yuran from head to toe.

"Who are you? It seems like you shouldn't be acting alongside me."

He Yuran knew her identity was about to be exposed, and suddenly felt a little smug. As Shakespeare once said, "To be or not to be, that is the question."

Before He Yuran and Jiang Fan could speak, the man next to them said, "You're just a supporting actor, don't try to steal the show. It's not like you're auditioning for a role. Stand aside." Then he turned to the assistant director and called, "Where's the original supporting actor? Call him here right now."

The assistant director readily agreed.

Although He Yuran's career had declined, he had never experienced such a scene in all these years. He was so embarrassed that he blushed and forgot to retaliate. He stood there dumbfounded.