Act IV
During Act IV of the performance
…Oh? Did you catch that, Nito?
Huh? What? Wait, didn’t I tell you to zip it? You’re the one always getting pissed and leaving the stage when people are talking during your performances.
Preposterous. As if I would ever abandon my own stage. Of course, I have thought to throw it all away more times than there are stars in the sky.
But setting that aside, look at Wataru. He has been so easily utilizing such advanced skill for a while now.
Umm? Wataru-chin…
“Marry, that ‘marry’ is the very theme
I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet,
How stands your disposition to be married?”
“It is an honor that I dream not of.”
“An honor! were not I thine only nurse,
I would say thou hadst suck’d wisdom from thy teat.
Now take that smart mouth of thine and respond
Proper to thy mother’s question to thee.”1
Look. Wataru is deftly performing three roles at once: Juliet, her mother, and her nurse.
That’s no small feat. Wataru is the only one on stage, and yet it feels as if there were three people in the midst of conversation.
Wait, this whole time it’s been all Wataru-chin? I thought for sure there were other actors behind that balcony voicing the others…
“Well, think of marriage now; younger than you,
Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,
Are made already mothers: by my count,
I was your mother much upon these years
That you are now a maid.”
“You are yourself,
My lady mother, as I am mine own.”
“Speak now, madam; the time is ripe.
Or else our clever maid will play a fool
And let this talk pass by.”
“Thus then in brief:
The valiant Paris seeks you for his love.”
“A man, young lady! lady, such a man
As all the world—why, he’s a man of wax.
Verona’s summer hath not such a flower.”2
“And wax will melt in the heat of summer,
Such that flowers wither as seasons pass.”
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks!
Nay, he’s a flower; in faith, a very flower,
Which will not die as long as days do pass!”
“And what difference lies ‘twixt life and death?
I’ll look to like, if looking liking move:
But no more deep will I endart mine eye
Than your consent gives strength to make it fly.”
…Seriously? I dunno, are you sure there aren’t three of them? I mean, Wataru-chin’s only opening his mouth when he says Juliet’s lines.
Are you saying the other voices are pre-recorded?
Of course not. There are breaths and gaps to take into account, and a first-rate performer will naturally adjust his act depending on the audience.
If the audience is younger, he would need to speak more plainly, for example.
There is simply no possibility of Wataru using a recording, as it doesn’t allow for improvisation.
All of those lines were spoken in real time. Unlike Juliet, the mother and the nurse are performed via ventriloquism.
Fufu. Not to boast, but I have a keen eye for this.
He uses echoes and reverberations to deceive the audience’s ears, and he shifts his gaze to create the illusion of two characters that don’t actually exist.
These tricks are Wataru’s forté, non?
Ventriloquism, huh… Wataru-chin really is an amazing performer.
Ahaha, then does that mean you taught Hibiki-senpai ventriloquism, Itsuki-senpai? That’d be why you’re so happy about it, right?
It always feels good when someone uses a skill you taught them.
Hm? I don’t understand what you mean.
I wouldn’t so freely teach others a skill I’ve refined. Of course, since this is Wataru, it’s possible that he’d be able to pick up a technique just by observing it.
However, I am not a comedian with a doll in hand, and I do not use ventriloquism.
…? …?
Yeah, I get why you’ve got your doubts, Mako-chin, but it’s way too much trouble to get into it. Just let it be.
“Fufu. My apologies for confusing you… I’m sure it’s quite the ordeal to deal with Shu-kun, but I’m grateful that you’ve stuck with him.”
“I haven’t seen him so happy in such a long time… So if possible, I’d like for him to end the day on a good note, too.”
“And as those happy days accumulate, then surely he’ll be able to stand under the spotlight once more. At least, I’d like to believe so.”
Uh, yeah…
But seriously, why is Hibiki-senpai playing three roles by himself? That’s a crazy power move.
If I’d known about it, I’d be impressed by it. But it looks like Itsuki-senpai’s the only one who noticed, so what’s the point in doing that?
Even if you pull off the coolest trick shot, it doesn’t mean anything if your audience doesn’t even know about it.
Oh… You probably already know because of how I acted in the action scene, but it seems there are several open positions in the theater course.
Apparently, there’s a somewhat infectious disease spreading around.
It was pretty unlucky. The set and other preparations for this performance were completed, though, and the only ones affected by the outbreak were in the theater course.
The idol course, as well as the members of the drama club, are all safe.
They had the lead actors, and so they probably decided to go ahead with the show because it wasn’t worth canceling. I suppose Hibiki-senpai filled those openings and decided to play multiple roles.