I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 236 - 236 Experiential Acting Method_1

Chapter 236: Experiential Acting Method_1 Chapter 236: Experiential Acting Method_1 The next day.

Lu Ban arranged his work for the morning, and after resting at noon, he visited Ye Cheng’s villa in Jiangcheng.

The villa, situated by the Lingjiang Riverside, was a true river-view luxury residence. It was said that several celebrities who had settled in Jiangcheng lived here—a place where one might bump into a blockbuster star or the CEO of a listed company just by taking the trash out.

Lu Ban wasn’t concerned about these matters; since he had already agreed, he was definitely going to educate Ye Cheng properly.

He studied Ye Cheng’s variety shows and realized that it might not be that Ye Cheng lacked acting talent, but rather he couldn’t perform naturally.

For example, in variety shows, there are sometimes deliberately designed “coincidental” segments. These are advanced techniques for shaping a star’s public image, leading the audience to believe that the star behaves this way off-camera, thus winning fans over.

But actually, all these are premeditated, and what you think is a genuine outpouring of emotion is just an act.

And Ye Cheng, it was obvious from a glance that his performance was acted.

Simply put, some people act brilliantly without leaving any traces because they can ignore the audience or the camera, completely immersing themselves in the performance, embodying the characteristics of the character. Others have mastered strong acting techniques, able to showcase the character’s personality to the audience or camera.

The former might be the talented kind, while the latter are usually the hardworking kind.

And Ye Cheng belonged to the type that was neither talented nor sufficiently diligent.

Actually, from Lu Ban’s observations, Ye Cheng didn’t appear to be the kind of student who slacks off and doesn’t apply himself.

Many people encounter such individuals during their school days—those who diligently and meticulously work harder and pay more attention in class than anyone else but just can’t perform well on exams.

Ye Cheng was one of them.

“Director Lu, Teacher Lu, I feel like I can’t act out a state of fear. Could it be because I’m too brave?”

Having been coached by Lu Ban for some time and having successfully evolved from a photoshopped meme to an original one, Ye Cheng suddenly said.

“You’re too brave?”

Lu Ban didn’t quite understand what Ye Cheng meant.

“Yes, I’ve been fearless since I was a child, I don’t believe in any of that supernatural stuff, and I can watch horror films without blinking. Is it possible that this is why I can’t perform fear and terror emotions well? According to Stanislavski’s theory…”

Just as Ye Cheng was about to continue, Lu Ban interrupted him again.

“I think your poor acting may not be for that reason.”

Lu Ban spoke very seriously, but then he reconsidered: maybe Ye Cheng, this rich second generation, had indeed never encountered anything frightening in his life. Just like Lu Ban, he also didn’t know what the experience of being unattractive was like. Perhaps his guidance for Ye Cheng was indeed misdirected.

“Have you watched ‘Cry’?”

With that thought, Lu Ban suddenly asked.

“Not yet… I mean, Director Lu, I didn’t mean that, it’s just that I’ve been too busy with the variety shows lately, so I haven’t had the time to watch it…”

Ye Cheng blurted out and then hurriedly explained.

“Let’s watch it together, to help you find the feeling.”

Lu Ban said.

Although ‘Cry’ was no longer showing in cinemas and had yet to be released on video streaming sites, Lu Ban had the original copy. Ye Cheng’s villa had a dedicated audio-visual room, so once they entered and closed the door, Lu Ban started playing ‘Cry’.

A little over a hundred minutes later, Lu Ban turned on the lights.

He saw that Ye Cheng was pale, sitting on the couch, his originally cheerful expression gone, gripping the armrests as if he still hadn’t come back to his senses.

“How was it?”

Lu Ban patted his shoulder.

“Ah!”

Startled by Lu Ban’s pat, Ye Cheng suddenly jumped up, huddling in the corner, hugging his shoulders, trembling.

“Don’t come over, don’t come over, don’t come over…”

His lips were purplish, his eyes full of blood vessels, appearing truly as if he had seen a ghost.

“Now that seems like a pretty good performance.”

Lu Ban, pleased with Ye Cheng’s reaction, reflected.

Indeed, whether it’s the Method or Experiential or Presentation approaches, all are just theoretical knowledge. Only when a person truly experiences fear, can they express the emotion of fear.

After giving Ye Cheng a couple of glasses of water and allowing him to recover, Lu Ban spoke again.

“Now, recall the part you just watched, and perform an expression of fear.”

“…Alright.”

Ye Cheng closed his eyes to gather himself, recalling the plot of “Cry”, then, he opened his eyes.

“Don’t, don’t come any closer!”

His expression was slightly ferocious, and his eyes widened; he did indeed look somewhat fearful.

Only…

“It’s still not enough.”

Lu Ban, propping up his chin, said.

By now, Ye Cheng had some foundation in portraying fear, but it was limited to just the emotion of being scared.

Moreover, his acting was too raw, and the emotional expression was not sufficiently convincing; simply put, if one wasn’t carefully watching like Lu Ban for a while, the audience wouldn’t be able to tell that he was scared.

“The character’s sense of fear is an important component of a horror film; if the fear isn’t portrayed realistically, then the film won’t scare the audience. So, your current performance isn’t quite enough.”

Lu Ban pondered, if watching horror films could somewhat improve Ye Cheng’s acting skills, then would directly experiencing a frightening scene dramatically enhance his abilities?

After thinking it over, Lu Ban quickly made a decision.

“How about this, I have a special training method. It might be a bit difficult, but it should quickly improve your acting. Are you willing to try it?”

“Of course!”

Ye Cheng replied without hesitation.

“Alright, then. Tonight, come to my place and stay over. I’ll make the arrangements.”

Director Lu said.

“Stay over? Director Lu, are you trying to, to take advantage of me?”

Ye Cheng was utterly confused.

“I think if I were to take advantage of you, in the end, you would be the one who benefits.”

Director Lu said earnestly.

“…”

Ye Cheng was speechless.

“Anyway, pack your things. It’s just for one night, but I guarantee that your acting skills will shoot up, and you might even win an Oscar statuette.”

Lu Ban patted Ye Cheng on the shoulder.

In the evening, Ye Cheng arrived at the address given by Lu Ban and found his apartment complex.

Lu Ban was strolling at the entrance of the complex, waiting for Ye Cheng.

“Let’s go have a nice meal first, lest you won’t be able to eat later.”

Lu Ban casually pointed out a restaurant.

“?”

Ye Cheng didn’t understand what Lu Ban meant.

He usually wouldn’t go to this kind of roadside stall because it wasn’t sanitary, and the food wasn’t necessarily good. But since Lu Ban had requested it, he didn’t put on airs and joined him for the meal.

As they were about to finish eating, Lu Ban pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ye Cheng.

“Sign this first.”

Ye Cheng unfolded the paper and found it to be a personal accident disclosure, typically required in potentially dangerous sports or activities to inform of potential accidents and incidents.

“Is this really necessary, Director Lu?”

Ye Cheng laughed, but seeing Lu Ban’s serious expression, he carefully read the disclosure and signed his name.

He felt this might be a setup for the subsequent teaching by Lu Ban. Some variety shows would do similar things to increase the guests’ immersion, and, for Ye Cheng personally, it felt quite realistic.

Afterward, Lu Ban took out another piece of paper.

“While we have a table here, write down your will. It’s just as a precaution, just in case.”

“???”

Ye Cheng was completely baffled.