Lin Yuan and Tang Tian walked into a big classroom. There was a big screen at the front, and a teacher stood there, smiling kindly.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Gao Qiang, and I'll be your acting tutor for the next month." As he spoke, he pressed a remote control, and a video started playing.
On the screen, the villain played by Gao Qiang stood under the dim light. His eyes were cold, and there was a trace of disdainful smile on his lips. He paced slowly, fingers drumming on the table. In a calm voice, he said, "Do you think... you can get out of here?" The sense of threat that came through the screen made everyone shiver.
After the video ended, Gao Qiang looked at everyone. "For that clip just now, what do you think is the most important thing for a successful villain?"
Everyone quickly wrote down their answers on paper. Lin Yuan wrote "eyes, tone of voice, emotional layers", while Tang Tian wrote "aura, pace, sense of oppression".
Gao Qiang gathered the answers and smiled. "Great. Lots of you talked about eyes, voice, and how a character moves. But here's the thing: for a villain, the key isn't being mean. It's about 'belief'. You have to feel like your character is real. They have their own reasons and ideas, not just be a typical bad guy."
He paused and then continued, "Let's do an exercise. Suppose you are the chairman of a large enterprise and you are going to fire a senior executive today. Please note that you can't shout, but you have to make the other person feel a strong sense of oppression."
"Tang Tian, you go first."
Tang Tian gathered her thoughts, stood up, put her hands behind her back, and slowly walked up to Lin Yuan. She slightly raised her chin and said in a calm tone, "I'm very disappointed." She stopped for a second, scanned the room, then drawled, "You know why you're here, right?"
Gao Qiang nodded. "Not bad. You have a certain aura, but your eyes are still a bit wandering. Do it again. This time, stare into his eyes and 'force' him into a corner."
Tang Tian adjusted her state and walked towards Lin Yuan again. This time, her eyes were firm, her steps were slow and powerful, and the pauses in her words were more layered. Sensing the atmosphere, Lin Yuan pretended to subconsciously take a step back as if being forced by her.
Gao Qiang nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. You've made rapid progress."
Then, he looked at Lin Yuan. "It's your turn to try."
Lin Yuan stood up, thought for a second, and then adjusted his state. He squinted his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth curved into a faint smile, and his voice was low. "Know why you're here?" He dragged out each word, glaring straight at Tang Tian.
Tang Tian immediately felt an invisible pressure, and her throat even felt a little tight.
Gao Qiang clapped his hands. "Not bad. Your eyes have a sense of oppression, and your tone of voice is steady enough. A villain usually has absolute confidence. Even if he appears calm on the surface, he has to make the other person feel an undeniable force. Really good."
Just like that, under Gao Qiang's guidance, Lin Yuan and Tang Tian kept practicing how to control their aura, how to use their tone of voice, and how to shape characters through body language. After a whole week, both of them had a significant improvement in their understanding of acting.
Once the acting class wrapped up, Lin Yuan headed back to school. As soon as he pushed open the classroom door, all eyes in the class landed on him.
"Eh? Lin Yuan is back?"
"Yes, he went to attend acting classes before, right?"
"I watched your 'Survival Challenge'. Congratulations on winning the championship."
Lin Yuan smiled and returned to his seat. A classmate next to him leaned over. "How many points do you plan to get in this monthly exam?"
"Top fifteen in the class." Lin Yuan answered calmly.
"…That's brutal." The other person gave him a pitying look. "Want my notes? I can share them."
"Thanks, but I'll make up for it myself." Lin Yuan opened his book and began to sort out the missed courses. Although the acting class brought him a brand new experience, he still had to face reality. He had to get into the top fifteen in the monthly exam at the end of this month, after all, it was a task given by Manager Xue.
However, he wasn't the only one who was busy in this school.
A girl sitting in the front row was burying her head in doing practice questions. She was the champion of the National Youth Piano Competition and her grades were among the best in the class. Over there, a boy had headphones on and was softly humming. He was an up-and-coming singer in an entertainment company's training program.
"The competitive pressure in this school is really high..." Lin Yuan thought to himself.
After class, Tang Tian walked up to him with an excited look. "Lin Yuan! Are you going to the cafeteria later?"
"I still need to review." Lin Yuan sighed.
"Come on, it's rare for me to come all the way from the company to have a meal with you."
As they talked, they walked towards the cafeteria. On the way, they met a girl who was practicing dance. She was an idol group trainee. Spotting Lin Yuan, she waved. "Hey, Lin Yuan. What've you been up to?"
"Reviewing." Lin Yuan answered briefly.
"Haha, good luck." The girl smiled and continued to practice dancing.
Looking at these classmates who were all working hard in their own ways, Lin Yuan suddenly felt that it might be a kind of luck for him to come to this school. Even though his aim was the entertainment world, seeing everyone here pursuing their dreams made a warm feeling well up inside Lin Yuan.
===================
林远和唐甜走进宽敞的教室,教室前方是一块大屏幕,一位导师站在屏幕前,微微一笑.
"大家好,我叫高强,是你们这一个月的演技导师." 他一边说,一边按下遥控器,一段视频随即播放.
屏幕上,高强饰演的反派站在昏暗的灯光下,眼神冷漠,嘴角带着一丝轻蔑的笑意,他缓缓地踱步,手指轻敲着桌面,声音不疾不徐地说道:"你以为... 你能从这里走出去?" 那种压迫感透过屏幕扑面而来,令人心生寒意.
视频结束后,高强看向众人:"刚才这个片段,你们觉得,一个成功的反派,最主要的是什么?"
大家纷纷低头在纸上写下自己的答案.林远写的是 "眼神,语气,情绪层次" ,而唐甜则写了 "气场,步伐,压迫感" .
高强收起大家的答案,笑道:"不错,很多人写到了眼神,语气,走路方式,其实一个反派最重要的不是 '狠',而是 '信念'.你必须相信你所演的角色是真实存在的,他有自己的目标,立场,而不只是一个脸谱化的坏人."
他顿了顿,继续道:"我们来做个练习.假设你们是一个大企业的董事长,今天要炒掉一个高管.请注意,你们不能大声吼叫,但要让对方感受到强烈的压迫感."
"唐甜,你先来."
唐甜整理了一下思绪,站起身,双手放在身背,缓缓踱步到林远面前,微微抬起下巴,语气淡然:"我很失望." 她停顿了一下,环顾四周,然后缓缓道,"你知道你今天为什么站在这里吧?"
高强点头:"不错,有一定的气场,但你的眼神还是有些飘.再来一次,这次盯着他的眼睛,把他 '逼' 到角落去."
唐甜调整状态,再次走向林远,这一次,她的眼神坚定,步伐缓慢而有力,话语间的停顿更有层次感.林远看到气氛都到这了,就假装被她逼得下意识后退了一步.
高强满意地点头:"很好,进步很快."
接着,他看向林远:"你来试试."
林远站起身,思考了一秒,随即调整状态,微微眯眼,嘴角扬起一抹似笑非笑的弧度,语气低沉:"你知道今天为什么站在这里吧?" 他故意放慢语速,眼神毫不避让地盯着唐甜.
唐甜瞬间感受到一种无形的压力,喉咙竟然有点发紧.
高强拍了拍手:"不错,你的眼神是有压迫感的,语气也够 '稳'.反派往往有绝对的自信,哪怕是表面上风轻云淡,也得让对方感受到一股无可置疑的力量.真的很不错."
就这样,林远和唐甜在高强的指导下,不断练习如何掌控气场,如何运用语气,如何通过肢体语言塑造角色.一整个星期下来,两人对演技的理解都有了明显的提升.
演技课结束后,林远重新回到学校,推开教室门时,班里的人纷纷看了过来.
"咦?林远回来了?"
"是啊,他之前去上演技课了吧?"
"你的"生存挑战"我看了,恭喜拿到冠军."
林远笑了笑,回到自己的座位上,旁边的同学凑了过来:"你这次月考要考多少啊?"
"班级前十五." 林远回答得很平静.
"...压力真大啊." 对方一脸同情,"你缺笔记吗?我可以借你."
"谢了,我还是自己补吧." 林远翻开书本,开始整理落下的课程.虽然演技课给他带来了全新的体验,但现实还是要面对的,这个月底的月考他必须考到前十五名,毕竟是薛大经纪人给的任务.
不过,跟他一样忙的人在这所学校可不止一个.
坐在前排的一个女生正在埋头刷题,她是全国青少年钢琴大赛的冠军,成绩在全班名列前茅.另一侧,一个男生戴着耳机,嘴里轻轻哼唱,他是某娱乐公司正在培养的新人歌手.
"这学校的竞争压力好大..." 林远心想.
下课后,唐甜走到他旁边,一脸兴奋:"林远!等下去食堂吗?"
"我还要复习." 林远叹了口气.
"别啊,我难得从公司跑来找你吃饭的."
两人一边说着,一边走向食堂,途中遇到一个正在练习舞蹈的女生,是某偶像团体的练习生.她看到林远,朝他挥了挥手:"嗨,林远,你最近在忙什么?"
"复习." 林远简单回答.
"哈哈,加油." 对方笑了笑,继续练舞.
看着这群各自努力的同学,林远突然觉得自己能来到这所学校,或许也是一种幸运.尽管他的目标是演艺圈,但在这里,每个人都在追逐梦想,林远心中突然多了点什么,暖暖的.