Chapter 57: Filter Conditions

Obviously, Michelle has received some ballet training. She simply makes poses, does a few low-difficulty turns, and stands without any problem. But the final arabesque pose revealed the secret.

In the arabesque position, the dancer lifts their hands, stands on one leg, and stretches the other leg as far back as possible to form a right angle. Michelle did the low-difficulty version, which already looked not very graceful. If asked to do the high-difficulty version on pointe, she wouldn't look like a ballet dancer at all.

It seems that for this role, it's necessary to choose someone who knows ballet among those who can act, not someone who can act among those who know ballet.

If Meg hadn't injured her back, the role of Hilary would have suited her perfectly, thought Ronald.

He sends Michelle out of the audition room and calls the next person.

"Drink this, Michelle, made from vegetables. A vegetarian diet will help you stay healthy and quit alcohol, cigarettes, and all other addictive things."

Ronald noticed that the agents accompanying Michelle seemed to be a couple, talking about the benefits of vegetarianism.

Seeing Ronald, Michelle showed a wry smile and started drinking the green paste.

Ronald could only shrug, saying he couldn't do anything to help her.

The Hilary audition was over. Ronald began calling in actors for the Leroy audition again.

The character of Leroy is a talented dancer from the slums. He is illiterate and accompanied his partner to the audition. As a result, his partner was eliminated, and he stayed.

"Patrick Swayze" was another strange last name with two consonants together. Fortunately, he had asked Margery how to pronounce it before stepping out.

"Please go to the dressing room, put on your practice clothes, and then head to the audition, thank you."

"Thank you."

Patrick thanked him politely.

Ronald noticed that he squinted and looked very masculine, but seemed a bit older.

Indeed, looking at his resume, he was already 27 years old. It's a bit hard to pretend to be young at that age.

However, Patrick's ballet skills were excellent, and he could easily complete large leaps and double ballet jumps. According to Margery, he was at a professional level.

The acting part was also good. Unfortunately, he already had wrinkles on his forehead, making it hard to believe he was a high school student.

Ronald noted down the director and producer's comments and asked Patrick to go back and wait for news.

Another person who came to audition for Leroy was a pillar of the American Ballet School, said to have been discovered by Balanchine, the director of the New York City Ballet. Besides his parents, he was accompanied by an agent and a manager, surrounded like a star.

When he was called, his mother tried to follow. Ronald quickly stopped her. That was the rule—no matter how big the actor, only one person could audition.

The mother was very displeased, criticizing, saying some people in low positions knew how to use power as soon as they had it, and that her son was destined to be a big star. A famous mother shouldn't be deprived of her right to see her son take his first steps toward stardom.

Ronald shook his head with a wry smile. Her son came from a wealthy family, so it seemed hard for Leroy to play the role of a low-class plebeian.

During the audition, the ballet part was successfully completed.

But his acting score was very low. This mommy's boy couldn't play a character born in the slums of Harlem.

Leroy joins a gang, is illiterate, and is interested in ballet, picking up trash in exchange for ballet class time.

Mommy's boy's acting was like Barbie putting on an apron to cook, all pretense.

The temperament didn't match at all.

Sure enough, director Parker gave him a very low rating, and the discussion about Ma'ao was over.

This audition really involves acting, dancing, appearance, and temperament. All aspects must align, with nothing lacking.

The next role to audition for was Montgomery. He's the role of a student who is a professional actor, sensitive, has a secret (gay), and whose mother has schizophrenia.

Ronald began calling the numbers but discovered that the actor with the dirty teeth in the photo from yesterday wasn't there, and he was about to skip him and call the next number.

The last boy sitting in the waiting room stood up, "Is it my turn?"

"Well, is that you? Your teeth?" Ronald realized it was the actor with the dirty teeth. But now his teeth were very straight and looked like a completely different person from the original photo. No wonder he didn't recognize him.

"Um, have you seen a dentist? Didn't you read the audition notice? We're looking for a low-self-esteem acting student, which is why we picked you." Ronald couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"Oh, my agent just sent me to the dentist for front tooth veneers, and I didn't know in advance."

"Please, if the director needs, I can remove the veneers and replace them with a pair of cheap dentures bought from the supermarket, to look appropriate. Please, please," the boy pleaded with hands together.

"Where is your agent?"

"He's busy with other matters, and I'm here alone today."

"No matter. I'm only an assistant. The final decision is up to the director. I'll tell the director your situation. Don't worry."

Ronald saw that he wasn't accompanied by an agent like the others, had come alone, and was willing to look ugly for the role. He felt a bit sympathetic and quickly escorted him.

Director Parker was told about the dental work, and Parker nodded, agreeing to let him try.

However, director Parker was also quite helpless with his corrected teeth. After the orthodontic treatment, his temperament changed drastically and was no longer like Montgomery. Makeup was also hard to resolve.

Acting is a strange profession. Sometimes, being ugly is an advantage.

After an afternoon of auditions, not a single role was filled. Producer Da Silva looked a bit grim, especially since Michelle Pfeiffer, whom he had recommended, wasn't chosen, so he went after director Parker to discuss it.

"Isn't Michelle Pfeiffer great? We could use a double to handle those difficult moves…"

"No, she has many medium shots, so she can't use a double…"

"Is this normal?" Ronald asked Margery.

"It's quite normal. Sometimes, for a lead role, auditions can go on for several months. There are also cases where the director ends up canceling the project because he can't find the right candidate for the lead role."

"So we're counting on the big auditions at the acting academy this weekend?"

"Yes, there will be 1,400 students attending the audition, including graduates and seniors."

…

On the weekend morning, the crew entered the door of the Performing Arts Academy.

However, the teacher who received them did not take them directly to the auditorium but invited all the members to the principal's conference room.

The principal and the school directors were already waiting inside.

After the crew sat down, there was no time for greetings.

The principal took out a piece of paper and began to read: "In view of the script of the movie *Hot Lunch*, which defames and slanders the character of our students, the School Board and the New York Board of Education have decided that until the script is corrected, the Academy of Performing Arts will not continue to cooperate with you in casting, students from the school will not be able to participate in the auditions for the crew, and school venues will no longer be rented for filming."

Something happened!

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all readers.

End of chapter