Chapter 4

Now then, Tomoya-kun, I’ll have you start with Romeo.

Fufufu, should we follow Yumenosaki’s Dream Fes system and give you points using a pen light?

Which means that, so long as you perform the role without running away, you’ll score at least one point!

Clap clap clap ♪ Good luck out there, Tomo-chin!

Would you like some tea, Nito-senpai?

Ngh? Oh, thanks! That’s thoughtful of you ♪

Fufu. We owe you for all your help during the S1 and the like. And I’d like if we can stay on good terms with Ra*bits for as long as possible.

Same. Here’s hoping this lasts a good, long while. Seriously though, you guys did great with that revolution of yours… Good job, good job ♪

Yes, well, if the audience would cut the chatter… Tomoya-kun, you have the floor.

Oh, right! Mashiro Tomoya, drama club member—I’ll do my best with Romeo!

Ummm… “There’s—There is no world without Ver… Verona… walls? But purgatory, torture, hell itself.”¹

All right! Absolutely not~ One point ☆

How can you give up on me that fast?! C’mon, can’t you at least let me finish? What was wrong with it anyway, my pronunciation?

It’s just worded in such a weird way, I could barely understand what I was trying to say…

I did try looking up what it all meant as best as I could.

Before anything else, it’s how shy you were. It was almost painful to watch.

Even if you don’t know what something means, you should act with confidence and pretend that you know everything.

I only know how to play the role of a prince, and while Romeo isn’t technically a prince…

I think he’s close enough. So if you’re going to play a prince, the first mistake you can make is being shy.

You never get embarrassed, do you Hokuto-kun? How strange… You had such a brazen and unashamed stage presence even from the very beginning. Of course, your acting was still utterly worthless.

You sure have a lot to say…

You have to say a lot of pretentious and conceited lines when you play a prince, but I think they really resonate with people when you speak them from the heart without any shame.

You can’t let yourself get embarrassed or feel stupid. The audience will definitely pick up on it.

You sure sound confident… Well then, Hokuto-kun, how about you lead by example for Tomoya-kun? Please, try performing Romeo.

You’ve been so busy with your idol work lately that you’ve let your guard down; you need to get your head back in the game, don’t you think?

You’re right. Then I’ll take over from here, Tomoya.

Urgh. Am I seriously being kicked off the stage after just one line? There’s no way I’ll get to play a major role like this, huh.

……

…Hokuto-senpai?

“There is no world without Verona walls,
But purgatory, torture, hell itself.
Hence-banished is banish’d from the world,
And world’s exile is death: then banished,
Is death mis-term’d: calling death banishment,
Thou cutt’st my head off with a golden axe,
And smilest upon the stroke that murders me.”

Oooh, that was awesome! I don’t have a clue what you said, but you looked cool saying it~ ♪

Fufu, that’s what being a prince is all about.

Yes, you do know how to look the part, in a way. At least there’s that… Five points ♪

Wow he’s a tough grader—This is out of ten?! I dunno, I thought you were totally perfect, Hokuto-senpai!

If I were Juliet, I’d be climbing in bed with you yesterday!

This isn’t even that scene, Tomoya.

It’s a tragic scene where he’s been banished and therefore separated from his beloved Juliet. I tried to convey all the frustration and anger he feels.

Yes, it came across quite nicely. You had many new experiences during your revolution, so your expressions have gotten much better… You’re headed in a good direction.

Perhaps it’s because you’ve only been playing the prince in fairy tale-like stories that center around good versus evil…

But it seems you’re turning our protagonist into something of a hero instead.

If you’re going to play Romeo, you need to convey the sorrow, the humiliation of being tossed about by fate.

Hm. It’s still difficult… But Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, so I’ll need to convey their acute suffering.

That’s a more recent interpretation of it. Truth be told, I don’t actually consider Romeo and Juliet to be a tragedy, though of course their love story is heartrending.

But if you break it down, the plot is just a slapstick comedy. The word choice takes it in that direction, and there are quite a number of dirty jokes on top of that.

Huh, really? I never would’ve expected it, since the play’s got such a nice, classy image.

That’s the way the current flows, it seems. It’s become progressively more idealized over time…

But I imagine Shakespeare is rolling in his grave right now, crying: “What’s classy is foul, and what’s foul, classy.”

Buchou. I know how much you love talking about theater, but I’d personally like to see an example of how to express suffering and sorrow.

Can you try acting it out as a reference? If I can get a feel for it, I think I can broaden my horizons a bit.

Is that so? Such emotion means nothing if you cannot experience it for yourself, but I suppose I can teach you a small trick or two.