Chapter 30: Practice Over Theory

May 3, 1999, an ordinary Monday, Matthew Horner finished his shift at the Red Penguin Corporation and immediately hailed a taxi. He arrived promptly at the Los Angeles School of Performing Arts in North Hollywood before nine in the morning. Today was the first day of the acting class he had enrolled in.

Upon reaching the designated classroom, Matthew pushed open the door. Since he arrived after his work shift, he was somewhat late. The spacious classroom already had over a dozen students standing around.

There were no desks or chairs in the classroom, only a huge mirror mounted on the wall facing the door.

As Matthew walked towards them, he quickly scanned the group, recognizing a few vaguely familiar faces but couldn't recall where he had seen them. He guessed they might be actors from Hollywood movies he had watched.

Recognizing these faces, likely from blockbuster films, Matthew pondered whether he should network intensively in this class. After all, building connections is a gradual process.

Standing next to the group, some people glanced curiously at him, but upon realizing he was a stranger, quickly looked away.

Greeting strangers is an art, and being too familiar right away is inadvisable. Just as Matthew decided not to speak rashly, the classroom door opened from the outside, and a man holding a folder walked in.

The man was a typical Caucasian, distinguished by a strikingly bald head and likely over fifty years old, exuding a calm and collected presence.

"Cough..." The bald man intentionally coughed to draw everyone's attention, smiling slightly, "Good morning, everyone."

Including Matthew, all turned to look at him, clearly not a fellow student given his age, but rather a teacher.

Indeed, the bald man then introduced himself, "I'm David Aster, one of your instructors."

"I'm eager to get to know you, but there's no rush. I've prepared a special segment for us to get acquainted," David continued without any preamble, "You are here to learn acting or to improve your skills, and you have only six months. I assure you, I won't waste your time on trivialities."

He stepped forward, standing about four meters away from the group, "I haven't studied at prestigious institutions like the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts or the California Institute of the Arts. I'm not academically trained, and to my knowledge, neither are you. Like you, I'm just an ordinary actor who has been in the industry, except I have over forty years of practical experience."

Hearing that the instructor was not academically trained, Matthew felt even more at the right place. As someone with a non-traditional background, he might have struggled with formal acting techniques. Instead, being taught by someone who also came from a non-traditional path might yield better results.

Matthew's understanding of this was limited to his own perception.

David continued, "I'm willing to share everything I know, which is mostly drawn from practical experience and lessons learned on the job. Most veteran actors' skills are not derived from schools but from accumulating and reflecting on their experiences."

Everyone listened intently, each harboring dreams of stardom.

"If anyone tells you there's an objective standard to judge acting skills," David suddenly remarked with a unique perspective, "ignore them. They're full of it. Acting is subjective, tied to personal taste. Of course, there's a mainstream judgment when evaluating someone's acting. That's why people think Dustin Hoffman is a good actor. But if you don't like him, you're not wrong, just perhaps a bit unusual."

With a clap of his hands, David announced, "Alright, enough from me, let's start the practical lessons!"

He scanned the faces of all present, "There are fourteen of you. Pair up now, introduce yourselves when it's your turn, and perform a scene from the script I'll give you. Let's see your acting!"

"You have three minutes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Matthew turned to a girl next to him and asked politely, "Hello, would you like to partner up?"

The girl glanced at Matthew, his face beaming with a bright smile that was easily likable.

"Sure," she nodded gently.

Choosing acting partners was straightforward here, much like Matthew, most paired with those nearest to them.

Seeing the girl didn't object, Matthew courteously introduced himself, "I'm Matthew Horner, from Texas."

The girl smiled slightly in return, "Rachel McAdams, from Canada."

This girl had somewhat sharp facial features, but her smile revealed charming dimples. She wasn't strikingly beautiful, but her smile was incredibly soothing.

The fourteen people quickly formed seven pairs, and David handed out scripts to each duo, giving them five minutes to read and discuss the script before a pair of young male actors were called up to perform first.

"Begin," David commanded.

After the male actors introduced themselves, they began a simple dialogue scene.

"What were you doing last night?" the short-haired actor started, standing still, "Why didn't you answer my call?"

The long-haired actor spread his hands, looking troubled, "My wife wouldn't let me pick up the phone. I couldn't go out!"

The short-haired actor remained motionless, his expression barely changing, "I waited for you at the bar all night!"

"I didn't want to either," the other man replied gloomily, "My wife said if I go drinking with you again, she'd break my legs..."

The simple dialogue scene ended quickly. Matthew, observing the two, quietly asked the girl beside him, "Which one do you think performed better?"

"The one with long hair," Rachel McAdams responded casually.

Matthew nodded lightly, "Yeah, I think so too."

Although not well-versed in acting, he could still discern that the long-haired actor's performance was somewhat better, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

"You both seem very stiff!" David walked up to the two, "And very rigid!"

He first addressed the short-haired actor, "Dialogue isn't just about the mouth! There's also body language." Here, he exaggerated a facial expression, "You, you hardly moved at all, not even small gestures, just staring straight at the other person, which made you seem very stiff!"

Realizing what David meant, Matthew had an epiphany. That was it! The short-haired actor had stood still the entire time, his expression hardly changing!

David then turned to the long-haired actor, "You had more energy, and I could see a desire to express yourself, which is good. Keep it up."

Matthew finally understood why the long-haired actor had seemed better to him.

It was a thin line of difference, often unnoticed until someone pointed it out.

"This kind of open-ended dialogue is very common in movies and other performances," David addressed everyone, "It seems simple, but performing well is not easy!"

He continued, "When having an open conversation, try moving slightly, looking up, furrowing your brow, pouting, waving your hands, and other body language to avoid being too stiff and serious. Whether you're a main character or have just a few lines, body language can enhance the atmosphere."

Matthew committed these words to memory.

After watching one performance, he realized that David Aster, coming from a non-academic background, focused more on practical acting rather than the theoretical approaches he had read about in books, like releasing one's nature or discussing the Stanislavski method.

This was a crash course in acting, limited in hours, particularly beneficial for those like him with no systematic training and a lower educational background. Deep theories would probably confuse him more than help.

Following this, a male and female actor went on stage, tasked with playing siblings who learn of their sister's murder.

As soon as David yelled, "Start!", the female actor stood still, making a "suffering face" and crying out to God while weeping...

She cried bitterly, as if her sister had indeed died.

The male actor, however, started with a slightly annoyed and incredulous expression, then also made a suffering face, his face and mouth twitching slightly, a profound sadness in his movements...

David stepped forward to critique, "Both of you did well, exceeding my expectations, but I prefer the latter."

Matthew scratched his head, confused. According to common sense, the female actor's reaction seemed more realistic.

"First, I want to remind you all, this is a performance, and you need to serve the play, series, or film," David explained in detail, "In such scenes, unless specifically required, don't start crying too early to show your sadness. This doesn't engage the audience's emotions effectively. You need to do something to build up the audience's feelings."

He looked at the male actor, "For example, show sadness first, then mix it with verbal expressions of grief, or make a helpless, tearless face. Only then reveal your sadness, varying it according to the scene. If you cry before the character is confirmed dead, you've already 'killed' the character with your tears."

"Alright!" he waved his hand, "Let's continue."

The pair returned, and another duo stepped forward. After some time, it was finally Matthew and his partner's turn.