Seeing the three people on stage looking at him with eager anticipation, Liu Zhou knew this was no time for jokes. He gathered his thoughts and said with a serious expression:
"I'll skip the pleasantries and go straight to the areas that need improvement, based on my own perspective.
First of all, you must clearly understand the identities of these three characters: a television host, and a couple from the Northeast countryside.
Let's talk about the host first. You all probably know which program in the script I'm referring to. It's a national show, and the host of such a large-scale program needs to be professional at the very least. You can't make it look like a makeshift guest appearance."
Hearing Liu Zhou's words, the classmates offstage couldn't help laughing out loud, while Qin Hao on stage self-consciously rubbed the back of his head.
"And as we all know, the main characters of a TV show are the guests; the host only plays a guiding and connecting role. So, Brother Hao, don't try to steal the spotlight too much.
In fact, if you have time, you should seriously watch the program *Tellful Truth* and see how Cui Yongyuan hosts it."
Back when Zhao Benshan was rehearsing this sketch, he had tried several old partners to play the host, but none satisfied him. In the end, he simply invited Cui Yongyuan, the actual host of the program, to play the role.
Unexpectedly, Cui Yongyuan, playing himself, managed to keep up with the rhythm of Zhao Benshan and Song Dandan, and the effect turned out to be surprisingly good.
Because of this pleasant cooperation, Zhao Benshan invited him to collaborate again during the 2006 Spring Festival Gala.
"Next are the couple, Baiyun and Heitu. Although they constantly bicker throughout the program, they are a couple of several decades and are deeply in love.
Yet the feeling you two give me is more like that of an old grandpa and grandma who merely know each other; you look nothing like a married couple.
Then there are some details—the expressions and body movements of elderly people also need improvement, as well as their teeth. You can make it look like two teeth are missing during makeup."
"And finally, the setting of this sketch is inside a television program. A TV show certainly cannot stay so dry the whole time; background music needs to be added at specific moments.
All right, I've said my piece. If anyone has any objections to anything, you can bring them up and we can discuss them further."
In fact, from Liu Zhou's perspective, their main problem was still that their acting skills were quite green.
The three roles in this sketch were all very difficult to play, and coupled with the fact that they had only been enrolled for two months, it really was asking a bit too much of them.
"No objections. I think what you said is spot on, Lao Liu," Liu Ye immediately replied.
"Right, I also think what you said is really good, Liu Zhou, and we actually have some other questions we'd like to consult you about," Qin Hailu continued.
Liu Zhou then discussed the issues with the three of them until the security guard came by to announce that the lights were about to be turned off, and everyone finally left.
In fact, for the sake of this showcase, the acting majors were putting everything into it. They had classes during the day, so their main rehearsal time was at night, and every day they stayed until lights-out before returning to the dormitory.
On the way back, Dang Hao couldn't help saying:
"Liu Zhou, you really are amazing. Just watching their performance once was enough for you to point out so many things."
"Yeah, I also think Liu Zhou is amazing, with great potential to be a director," Zeng Li chimed in.
"Stop flattering me, you guys. The reason I was able to point those things out is simply because I wrote the script. If you asked me to critique other sketches, I wouldn't have that kind of ability.
Besides, even if they just invited a random teacher over, they could point out a lot more detail than I did."
"Liu Zhou is as modest as ever," Qin Hailu said with a smile.
Hearing Qin Hailu's words, Liu Ye couldn't help curling his lip. Modest? Liu Zhou? That was just his good disguise; there was no telling how much he was putting on right in front of him.
Over the next few days, to make the sketch presentable on stage, Liu Zhou temporarily paused his novel-writing in the evenings and accompanied Liu Ye and the others, immersing himself in the rehearsal room.
The three of them worked just as hard. After Liu Zhou's feedback, Qin Hao managed to track down videotapes of Cui Yongyuan hosting *Tellful Truth* from somewhere.
Whenever he had time, he would stay in the screening room to study Cui Yongyuan's expressions, body language, and way of speaking.
Liu Ye and Qin Hailu had it even harder. Whenever they had no classes during the day, they would go together to the vegetable market in the suburbs to observe the elderly people's every move.
In addition, the three of them frequently consulted teachers for advice on how to perform their roles.
Reflected on the rehearsal stage, their performances were getting better and better.
In Liu Zhou's eyes, it certainly fell short of the original version, but this was already the absolute limit of what they could achieve.
As for Liu Zhou, he continued to help them plug any leaks and polish the details.
Time slowly moved forward to November 7th, and the acting class finished their final dress rehearsal.
Tomorrow was the official day of the showcase.
Compared to what Liu Zhou had seen the first time, the performances of Liu Ye and the other two had improved significantly.
Whether it was because he had participated in it himself, Liu Zhou couldn't help feeling a sense of anticipation for tomorrow's showcase, though he had no idea what the teachers would think of it.
On the way back after removing their makeup, Liu Ye and Liu Zhou walked together.
Seeing that Liu Ye had been silent the whole time, Liu Zhou smiled and said:
"What's wrong? You're not nervous, are you? That really doesn't sound like you."
"Stop joking. I'm no superman, of course I'm nervous. This is the first time I'm doing something with all my might, and I'm a bit worried that the final result won't live up to my expectations."
"Don't overthink it. As long as you've given it your all, that's enough. We can't control the final outcome, but we shouldn't leave any regrets in the process.
Since you feel you've already given it your all, stop dwelling on it. The more anxious you are about gains and losses, the worse you might perform tomorrow.
Besides, I have confidence in my own work, don't you have confidence in your own acting?"
Hearing Liu Zhou's comforting words, Liu Ye gave a wry smile and said:
"Lao Liu, you know what I admire about you the most?"
"My looks? My talent?"
Seeing Liu Ye shake his head, Liu Zhou feigned surprise and said:
"You can't possibly admire me for having more capital than you!"
"Get lost!"
"Haha!"
"All joking aside, what I actually envy the most is how confident you always seem no matter what you do, and how you always maintain such a calm mindset!"
"I didn't even realize it myself. I never knew I had so many virtues."
Liu Zhou saw Liu Ye roll his eyes so hard they almost reached the back of his head.
"All right, no more joking. Let's get back early and rest up to get into top shape."
With that, Liu Zhou draped an arm over Liu Ye's shoulder.
Seeing this affectionate gesture, Liu Ye knew that Liu Zhou truly regarded him as a friend. Remembering how Liu Zhou had been cracking jokes just to ease his nervous state of mind, a smile crept onto his face.
Then Liu Ye also threw his arm around Liu Zhou's shoulder, and the two of them walked back to the dormitory arm in arm like a couple of schoolboys.