Demon CEO's Hidden Love: Mr Grayson Stole Me From My Abusive Husband
Chapter 81: A Gut-Wrenching Vote

Chapter 81: A Gut-Wrenching Vote

The panel couldn’t believe that the woman who caused them so much trouble would actually apologize.

Being of the impression that Brooke was simply seeking publicity, they expected a spoiled brat with no respect whatsoever for the cast, however this was far from the case.

"Miss Brooke, I’d like to point out that if you do not impress us, you won’t be granted the role of even an extra in this production. So I advise you take my deal and settle for another role." The president insisted.

He went on, "Being an actor is tactical and snatching the chances in front of you. Isn’t it better to build your career gradually than getting shot down now? Getting work nowadays in this field is hard, and like I told you already, it’s a good role, so you’ll be able to get more jobs after this." Lucas explained, trying to help her out of the situation.

Brooke shook her head, "You’re right, getting work in this field is no walk in the park. But still, I want to give this a try." She responded, keeping her foot down on the matter.

The judges exchanged quick glances with each other, then cast their gazes to the director, who came up with the challenge.

"Fine." The director reached for his copy of the script and went for one of the pages marked in red. He had bookmarks of the color, green, yellow and red, ranked from the easiest to hardest scenes.

A sly grin planted itself on his face when his gaze landed on a scene towards the end. "This scene," he announced, "The scene where the male lead begins to fade away in front of the female lead."

The judges widened their eyes in stun from the chosen scene, the casting director’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor at the request from the director.

’I know I’m not pleased with the casting but that is a difficult ask, even if it was a veteran actor. This scene is one of the biggest ones in the script, and the scene where the male lead stands out the most, its his biggest scene.’ The casting director thought, resting his chin on his fists.

He stole a glance at the rest of the judges who were just as shook, he was certain they were all thinking the same thing.

President Lucas sighed, ’To the audience, the scene focuses on the male lead, but in actuality, the acting of the female lead is what balances this scene, and makes it the most pivotal plot point.’ he mused, turning his weary gaze to the grinning director.

The director couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

’A non verbal moment, a scene that has no dialogue, but uses the character’s emotional expression to pass the message, that’s the kind of acting this scene requires. Right after the male lead delivers his lines and fades away, that one pause, that emotional acting, that reaction from the female lead is what ties up the scene.’ he leveled his gaze at Brooke, whom he was certain hadn’t even gone through the whole script fully.

’Non verbal moment scenes suffers from overacting from tacky actors, and ingeuine reactions. Only a handful of people can deliver what I want. And I sure as hell know this bitch won’t be able to handle it. What a befitting way to end her career-’ The director held that thought when Brooke suddenly dropped to her knees, stealing their attention.

At first, he thought she lost her balance and fell, but Brooke’s expression turned into a pained one.

She made a face, as though she was hurt from grazing her knee, and tried to get up, but she couldn’t, at least, the expression of pain and distraught made it seem like she couldn’t.

The hall turned still, as they watched Brooke reach her hand out, the look of desperation and pain in her eyes nearly convinced the judges that there was someone there she was reaching out to for help.

To end the scene, she stunned the judges when she not only cried, but completely killed the emotions in her eyes, making them look expressionless and empty.

The casting director gasped, breaking the silence.

’She’s this good at layering emotions?’ he turned to his fellow judges, only to realize that they had all leaned in forward, taking a better look at Brooke’s acting.

All expect the director, who sat in his seat, eyes widened and jaw dropped, as he watched her act out the scene.

For a solid minute after she finished, everyone was silent, until president Lucas cleared his throat, and asked Brooke to leave.

"We’ve seen enough, we will contact you and let you know our decision about the second round of-" he was saying, but was cut off by the director.

"That scene just now, how many times did you rehearse it?" He asked.

Brooke wiped a tear from her left eye with the back of her palm before answering, "Twice."

"Twice? Just twice?" The director demanded, be couldn’t believe that she could nail that perform and the emotions clearly with just two times practicing the scene.

Brooke nodded. "I thought the audition would focus more on the dialogue and didn’t pay too much attention on it." She confessed, her eyes filled with regret.

She balled her fists, and bit her cheeks to stop herself from crying, ’I knew it! They don’t seem impressed at all with my acting! What was I even thinking?! I’m sure anyone outside could do better-’

Her thoughts were interrupted when the director said. "There’s no need for a second round, right casting director?" He shifted his gaze to the casting director who looked sold.

"I agree." He turned to Brooke, "You’ve portrayed the scene I wanted to see most the best way I could think of. I’ve made up my mind, so let’s just put it to a vote here and now, and decide if she’s going to play the female lead for this movie." He announced, sending Brooke’s heart racing.