Jack Of Arts

Uranto sat down on the stool, closed his eyes for a few seconds, gathered his emotions, and took a deep breath. This prep is a lot different than what the previous actors has done, and it piqued Tayaw's interest. Tayaw then leaned forward, elbowing Jouny's arm to pay close attention.

"You want to know what we're doing this December?" Uranto started his line, smiling bitterly at an invisible person in front of him. Uranto is slouched as he sat on the stool, his back leaning against the wall.

"You're asking the wrong question my man." Uranto said, this time in disdain, and sat straighter. "You what we're going to do this December? Huh? I'll tell you." Uranto continued, bitterness becoming more and more apparent in his voice.

"We'll still be here, our hands on our keyboards and A4 papers…" Uranto voice raised slightly, the volume getting a bit louder, his face slowly contorting, his body looked stiff out of anger, as he pointed at the invisible keyboard and papers.

"We'll be here, in our cubicles, slowly getting fat, getting ugly, it's going to last 'til we're in our fifties!" Uranto's anger finally burst out of his body as he stood up, toppling the stool over. He expressed anger, bitterness dialed even more, making Uranto's voice crack.

Uranto did not express the type of anger that is intimidating, but a pitiful one. Just the type of anger that a defeated man feels.

Uranto then took another deep breath. It took him a second or two to calm down and picked up the stool, stood it back up, and sat down on it, looking dejected. "That is..." Uranto chuckled and rested his head against the wall, looked at the ceiling, before he continued with the line. "That is if we're even lucky to grow old without dying from sitting our asses around." Uranto finished the line.

Tayaw, who is watching closely could not help but be moved. Uranto delivered Steven's sentiments perfectly in the scene, despite the icky writing. Uranto unlike the actors earlier, acted believably. If the people in the room did not know that Uranto is auditioning, they would believe that Uranto really is an office pencil pusher that is trapped in his life, bottling his feelings up, only to be released by a simple 'What are we doing this December?'.

Tayaw has seen excellent acting in the movies he got from the roulette, but to see it in real life is a new experience. Tayaw felt that he finally found Steven in Uranto.

Tayaw then looked at Jouny to ask what she thought of Uranto, only to see Jouny's eyes pooled with tears. "Mr. Virenza, please step outside for a moment, we'll call you back in shortly." Tayaw said to Uranto. Even though Uranto was confused, he still did as asked. As Uranto stepped out of the room, he felt hopeful for landing the role as Tayaw did not tell him 'We'll call you back', which is a polite way of 'You didn't get the role'.

"Hey Jouny, you alright?" Tayaw patted Jouny's shoulder. This also snapped Jouny out of her daze and dabbed the tears in her eyes to prevent them from falling. "Yeah. Is this what you were looking for?" Jouny asked excitedly, finally realizing what Tayaw wanted all along.

"Yes. What do you think of him?" Tayaw asked, curious of her opinion. "He's Steve. It's like Steve has come alive!" Jouny could not help but exclaim. "That's my vision, Jouny. I want your characters to come alive in my movies." Tayaw said. "Alright. I understand." Jouny nodded, a glint can be seen in her eyes.

Tayaw then walked out of the room to talk to Uranto shortly. 'If you don't have an appointment for the rest of the day, please wait for the audition to be over, and we'll talk.' Tayaw whispered to not be overheard by the rest of the actors.

Tayaw then resumed the audition, and one by one, the six remaining actors after Uranto also satisfied Tayaw. Although they are not comparable to Uranto, Tayaw can make them learn during filming, so he saved their phone numbers to offer them supporting roles.

After the audition for the day was over, Tayaw invited Uranto and Jouny for an afternoon snack at the hotel's restaurant.

"Oh. By the way. We're not casting directors." Tayaw suddenly said after they got a table. This confused Uranto a lot and felt apprehensive.

"Heh. Don't worry. I'm Tayaw Dagem, the director and my associate here is.." Tayaw introduced himself. "Jouny Yalen, the screen writer." Jouny introduced herself as well. This relieved Uranto. "Pleasure to meet you two."

"Mr. Virenza. May where you learned acting? Why did you choose to stray away from conventional acting?" Tayaw asked Uranto after ordering their food. From the comedy sketches he saw Uranto in, Uranto did not act like he just did in the audition.

"Oh. I don't know. I tried to understand Steven for the past week, and what I did, I think is how the real Steven would act and feel at that scene. I can't explain. I didn't go to theater school." Uranto said his shoulders drooping, feeling inferior.

Tayaw was pleased at Uranto's process and could not help but smile. "Yes. You did not go to theater school. BUT. All those theater actors that auditioned earlier? I kicked them out. What I'm looking for exactly is an actor like you." Tayaw said to lift Uranto's confidence. Uranto also felt happy at the praise. He was never appreciated with his acting.

"Thank you." Uranto said.

"Actually, Mr. Virenza. You and I are similar." Jouny said. "Ms. Yalen, how so?" Uranto asked.

"You see. I've written this script YEARS ago, it was never recognized." Jouny began. "It's Tayaw here who saw my script's potential. If I'm not mistaken, you have been looking to act in movies for a long time now, right?" Jouny asked. "That's true." Uranto said. "And it is also Tayaw here who saw your potential. At first, I was skeptical about what he wants in actors but when I saw you, I finally understand." Jouny said. This lifted Uranto's confidence once again.

"I'm thankful, Mr. Dagem." Uranto thanked Tayaw again. "I grew up in the countryside of Gonto. As a child, I would always see actors that visit my hometown to shoot their movies. This inspired me to become an actor. But because my parents can't afford to send me to Drama School, I was not educated." Tayaw and Jouny were surprised at Uranto's background.

"So, when I was 17, after finishing high school, I went to Clambu to work and try to save up for Drama school, but I realized I can't afford it even if I starved myself." Uranto continued. Jouny understood Uranto's plight. She herself did not study in college as a writer but trained and worked as a secretary immediately after high schoo. In the end, she quit her secretarial job and did not save up for college. What she did instead was to pursue what she's been always good at; a film writer.

"After more than a year of hopping from part-time jobs to another, I finally found my home at my current Theater Troupe. As they do comedies, they don't require drama school graduates, but people who can act to make the audience laugh. So, for 15 years, I stayed with them. They pay isn't also bad." This made Jouny look at Tayaw as she realized a few connections.

"Understanding humor, you understand how the human thinks." Tayaw suddenly said in realization. Comedic actors and comedians have to have the empathy to know how and when to make people laugh. So, Uranto, being a comedic actor, applied his skills in studying the character of Steven.

--

Two more days of auditions later, Tayaw found Ilenie Partros, an actress around the same age as Uranto, to play the role of Diwaya. Ilenie just also happens to be Uranto's fellow troupe member, so when she walked in the audition room, it was a pleasant surprise for Tayaw. Tayaw was even more surprised what Ilenie looks like without her comedic make-up and she looked pretty and dainty.

While Ilenie is not as good an actor as Uranto is, Tayaw still found her skills satisfactory. After only a few instructions from Tayaw, Ilenie was able to act believably. With a few more nudges from Tayaw, she will start absorbing Diwaya's character.

Tayaw then talked to both Ilenie and Uranto about some scenes in the movie.

"You two have probably read the entire script, yes?" Tayaw asked the two, and they nodded in response. "As you know there are some… intimate scenes." Tayaw said. "Yes. About that…" Uranto was hesitant. "Don't worry. You'll wear something under the blanket. You, Ms. Partros, will be wearing strapless clothes." Tayaw said, in amus.e.m.e.nt at the two's reactions.

"AND! It's not like you haven't kissed other actors for a joke before." Tayaw added, remembering the more racy bits of the comedy sketch show that the two are current cast members of.

"But, Mr. Dagem. The context is different." Iliene said, her concern valid. While she indeed kissed some actors in the troupe, she did it for the laughs. This movie, with its romantic element is an uncharted territory.

"Well…. Are two you dating anyone?" Tayaw asked the two. "I am." Uranto said. Iliene shook her head, saying she's single. "What does she feel when you kiss an actress on stage?" Tayaw asked Uranto. "She feels fine with it." Uranto replied. "Do you think this will be any different?" Tayaw asked again.

"I… I think so. It's just different." Uranto answered after considering the story of the movie. "Well. Just imagine Iliene here as your girlfriend. You can also tell your girlfriend that, so when she sees your convincing performance in the movie, she knows that you did it because you think of her." Tayaw said to Uranto.

"What do you think about the actors who are married? They are fine with their spouses kissing on the movies." Tayaw added. While Uranto is still uncertain of Tayaw's answer, he realized that if married actors can handle it, so can he.

"I still think…" Iliene was about to protest further but Tayaw stopped her. "Ms. Iliene. It's a movie. Just treat Mr. Virenza's body and lips like it's just flesh. You'll soon get over it. Unless of course, you like Mr. Virenza?" Tayaw said trying to help Iliene through reverse psychology.

"No. Well. I like him as a person and a friend, but that's that." Iliene replied. "Good. So you two become comfortable with each other or else, we'll be taking more takes if I'm not satisfied with the intimacy I see through my lenses. The less takes, the quicker we get over the scenes." Tayaw said.

After filling the main roles, Tayaw was also done hiring the supporting actors. Most of the supporting actors he hired either from the auditions, or from Uranto's comedy troupe, all of them not having theater training. The extras, he can just hire off the street.