I Will Live As An Actor - Chapter 80
I will live as an actor Episode 80
Korean Theater Festival.
Numerous people are forming a crowd waiting to enter the concert hall. It can be said that it is unusual for so many audiences to attend a theater stage. This could be seen as showing that the public’s interest in the Korean Theater Festival has increased.
“Sir, was theater originally a performance industry that attracted so many people?”
AD Kim Young-min asks with wide eyes.
“Have you never seen the play of the guy who wants to be a drama producer?”
“No, I came here a lot when I was in college, but the scale is different from playing at the Daehakro Theater Company. This is my first time seeing a theater this big. Look at the people. There are a lot of young people.”
“Youngmin, don’t you read the newspaper?”
“Newspapers? Where have I had time to read the newspapers these days? I’ve been so busy living under Go’s control for the past month. Look at my eyelids. The dark circles are so bad they’re sticking to my neck.”
As Kim Young-min said, there were many young women in the audience. Most of them are England fans. After hearing that England was appearing at the Korean Theater Festival, the fan club bought tickets as a group and the seats were packed.
Due to these reactions, actors about to perform cannot help but become more excited than usual. After all, no matter how outstanding your acting is, if there is no audience, what is the use? It will be the same for all performances. Basically, the more people there are, the more exciting it becomes.
‘I came back as a lawyer.’
The first performance of the Korean Theater Festival was none other than Theater Company Gongbyeol’s ‘Return as a Lawyer’. The actors who appear are veterans who have experienced many hardships in theater for a long time. Moreover, the content of the script is too good to be consumed solely as a play.
A long-time student who prepared for the bar exam at Noryangjin Examination Board for a long time fails the second exam every time and ultimately decides to commit suicide. But just as I was about to jump from Mapo Bridge. I receive a call from my mother in the countryside.
-The test results haven’t come out yet. Don’t worry. It felt good this time. I beg your pardon? What do you mean, mom’s stomach cancer is terminal?
A mother breaks the news to her son that he has been diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer at the hospital. The long-lived son gives up suicide and goes to the countryside to protect his mother’s last days. However, he was worried that his mother would be shocked if he told her that he had failed the exam, so he ended up lying and saying that he had passed the bar exam.
-What? I passed the bar exam!
At first, it was a lie to tell only to her mother, but when the village head heard the news by her sick mother’s side, she held a grand feast. In the end, it is a story about a longevity student who falsely pretends to be a student who passed the bar exam and returns to his hometown.
‘It’s okay.’
The famous producer sitting in the audience looks at actor Park Sang-cheol, who plays the role of Jang Su-saeng, who is acting on stage. The main reason for visiting the Korean Theater Festival was to cast a lead actor, but other roles were also in mind.
That’s because actors who had already become well-versed in acting in historical dramas were selected for historical dramas specially planned by KBC. Since it is aired in the same time slot, it is unlikely that mainstream actors would choose MBS.
‘In some ways, historical dramas go well with plays.’
Due to the nature of historical dramas, the vocalizations and tones of actors in regular dramas are different. Even the accent needs to be different. If you take actors from a mini-series who are focused on modern drama and film a historical drama, you can’t erase that sense of incongruity. On the other hand, in the case of a play, blocking, which appears to the audience as large movements and actions, matches the picture of a historical drama.
“It’s really fun since it’s been a while, Senpai.”
Before I knew it, the play, which had lasted over an hour, was over. As the curtain falls, the actors on the stage, led by actor Park Sang-cheol, line up and bow to the audience to express their gratitude. AD Kim Young-min was chattering next to him, but Yumyeong’s eyes were still focused on actor Park Sang-cheol.
* * *
Forsythias in full bloom are decorating the riverside, as if announcing the beginning of spring. As the saying goes, the water of the Daedong River melts behind Gyeongchip, and as the river flows gently, a kingfisher welcomes a frog that wakes up from hibernation. A sturdy man is taking a morning jog along the riverside. England was running with its hat tightly pressed down, but there were bound to be people who recognized it.
“I’m a fan of Jang Young-guk!”
Just as England was trying to catch his breath, a woman wearing a wide-brimmed hat approached him and handed him a water bottle. When England was handed the water bottle along with a thank you, the woman looked shy. It was when my uvula fluttered loudly as I passed my throat, feeling a refreshing coolness.
“How can you so eagerly accept something from someone you don’t know?”
Phew.
England looks at the woman with an expression that almost makes him laugh. Only then does she take off her hat and show it.
“senior?”
“It’s easy to call a senior an older sister. But how could an actor be so observant? It’s hard to tell just by wearing a hat and changing the voice a little.”
It was actress Park Sang-ah. At one time, their relationship was not very good due to her harsh attitude. However, as much as we hated each other, we had no choice but to become friends as we continued to run-through all day long for nearly a month. Moreover, even in the play, Park Sang-ah and England were inseparable.
“I didn’t recognize you because you weren’t wearing makeup.”
“this!”
It’s not a joke. Park Sang-ah usually wears heavy makeup, so she appeared with red lips even when practicing. In contrast, the current appearance is so transparent that it can even be said to be plain. With his face devoid of any makeup and even wearing a hat, it was hard to recognize him.
“How did you know I was jogging here?”
“The big manager told me that England jogs along the Han River every morning. Thank you, by the way.”
“What?”
“I heard about Senior Ji the other day through the director. I didn’t even know about it and I gossiped about Senior Ji in front of you. I’m sorry for not being able to show my true self as a senior. I thought it would be easier to talk about it before performing at the Korean Theater Festival. That’s unexpected. “Don’t look at me with eyes. I already went to senior Ji and told him I was sorry.”
I am not a bad person. What could be more difficult than admitting your own mistakes?
“England is more of a ssamdak than you look. I heard that there was a fight in the association as well. That’s how hot-tempered that actor Park is. Don’t do that again. I know how you feel, but do you avoid it because you’re afraid of poop or because it’s dirty?”
“I will be grateful for your advice, sister.”
“Can you jog like this today and perform well?”
“The stage director put a lot of effort into creating this stage, and there are audience members waiting for it, so of course we have to do well.”
The Korean Theater Festival lasts for four days. For the stage production, stage managers from each theater company were brought in a month ago to complete the construction of the performance hall. I have no intention of stopping jogging just because I have a performance coming up. In fact, if you warm up like this, you are less likely to get tense and stiff on stage, so it is like killing two birds with one stone. England hands the water bottle back to Park Sang-ah.
“Why are you giving it to me again?”
At that moment, England starts jogging again and elaborates.
“I’m not feeling well yet.”
Actress Park Sang-ah sticks out her tongue as she looks at the back of England moving away. The duck that was wandering around glances at the scene.
* * *
“Is this leisure?”
England’s mother and Yang’s sister came to Seoul together. The two people’s eyes widen as they see the crowds gathering in front of the performance hall where the Korean Theater Festival is being held. At that time, Lady Yang looked at the young women passing by and made a fuss to England’s mother in a low voice.
“I saw what England was like. All the young women and children passing by were holding signs with England’s name written on them. There were already several of them. But the kids were the ones who had to stand in line too.”
“No, I said if I wait, Bongchun will come out.”
“Bongchun?”
“Ah, England is the manager.”
It seems that nobility is not good. Just then, manager Lee Bong-chun runs up in a big hurry and greets the two. Ms. Yang, surprised by the sudden appearance of a large man, observes the man with a familiar accent.
“I really had a hard time looking for you, mother.”
England’s mother explains this to Aunt Yang.
“He lives in the same neighborhood as us. Listen, he was born and raised in Jagalchi.”
On the last day of the Korean Theater Festival, not only reporters but also broadcasters filled the audience. Starting with Ahn Jung-hyun, who is known as a national actor, actress Park Soo-young and Seo Min-hye, actor Song Jeong-seok, who is emerging as a blue chip of Chungmuro, and master director Baek Jang-hoon. With all the famous celebrities taking up one seat at a time, not only the reporters but also the audience was in a slightly excited mood. If someone who didn’t know them saw it, they could have mistakenly thought it was a film festival awards ceremony.
“It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you play, hasn’t it?”
Actor Ahn Joong-hyun gently asks director Baek Jang-hoon, who is sitting next to him. Director Baek Jang-hoon nods briefly with wrinkled eyes. In the past, director Baek Jang-hoon also directed a theater production before starting to direct films. The same goes for actor Ahn Joong-hyun.
Before appearing in commercial films, didn’t you work as an actor in theater? In some ways, it is inevitable that you will have a special feeling about a place that is like your hometown.
‘What kind of performance should I show?’
Director Baek Jang-hoon is scanning every corner of the stage with wrinkled eyes. This is because I was curious about what kind of theatrical performance England would show there. In fact, I was so worried from the moment I said I had chosen a play as my next project. After all, plays and movies have different perspectives. But I couldn’t help but be curious when I saw England’s confident appearance.
In my humble opinion, I wonder why Britain, which is second to none, is so nervous and nervous. Eventually, the concert hall goes dark over the seats filled with audiences. The audience started whispering, wondering what was going on in the suddenly dark performance hall, and their necks were shaking as they heard voices.
“The story that begins now is the story of me, Baek Mu-yeol.”
It is the voice of Britain. The voice that fills the wide auditorium resonates throughout the darkened concert hall. It is a vocalization that conveys the spirit of a mid-low tone.
“There was no other reason why I, who was just a Parakho, spread rumors of affairs with numerous women and roamed the streets of Gyeongseong. Just as there were those who crossed the plains of Manchuria to carry out an independence movement, I also carried out the independence movement that I could as a Parakho on the streets of Gyeongseong. . It must not have been a movement for everyone to bring back the spring of Joseon.”
gulp.
“I may disappear like the dew of the execution ground, but one day, the spring of Joseon will come. Then, please listen to my story that begins in the future. And remember my name. Baek Mu-yeol, the last Parakho of Joseon.”
Eventually, the darkened stage flashes and the blackout curtain rises. Before you know it, the stage is on the streets of Gyeongseong. Rickshaws are moving around and Japanese people wearing geta are walking around in kimonos. Among them, the so-called modern boy dressed in Western-style clothing is standing leisurely. This is England, wearing a black suit and a fedora.