Title: “Boring”
Characters: Rui, Sakaki, Tom Gray, Asahi, Young Directors, Veteran Director
From here on there are many parts where the characters speak in quotes even though they are not speaking lines from a script, those should mean that they are speaking in English.
| Event Story | Episode 1 ・ Episode 2 ・ Episode 3 ・ Episode 4 ・ Episode 5 ・ Episode 6 ・ Episode 7 ・ Episode 8 |
“Boring”
Several days later
Arcland Workshop Venue
Veteran Director
Now, the workshop for the director course will begin.
Sakaki
I'm not a big fan of all these formalities, so allow me to be as frank as I can be moving forward.
With that out of the way, I guess I'll call the other instructor to make his appearance right now.
*Pop up sound*
Tom
"-Hey there, can you hear me?"
Sakaki
"Loud and clear. Your bed head's also showing clear as day on the screen, Tom."
Tom
"Alright. That means there's no problem then."
Rui
(It's natural for directors who work worldwide to have interacted with each other…)
(But the two of them seem to be rather familiar with each other.)
Sakaki
Ah, right. For this workshop, we'll be speaking a mix of both Japanese and English.
Therefore, I'll interpret for any really specialised jargon, but you should all treat this as a prelude to working overseas in the future and try your best to keep up.
Feel free to use the translation features available on your smartphone or PC. Tom's doing the same, anyway.
Tom
"Hello, everyone. I'm unable to go to Japan due to my current workload, but I have been eagerly looking forward to this workshop nonetheless."
"Although we are here as your instructors, we are certain that there are many things that we, too, can learn from all of you."
"Let's make this a fruitful experience for everyone here."
*Clapping*
Veteran Director
Now then, allow me to explain the workshop's assignment.
Your task for the director course is to create a show from scratch.
Assume that you are producing a new show that will be unveiled on Arcland's stages.
Rui
…Staging it at Arcland means it has to also achieve a standard where it can be shown globally.
Which means that both an entertainment value that is able to appeal to a wide age bracket and a high artistic value will be expected of us.
Veteran Director
Adaptations of existing plays and movies are not allowed because we want to see each and every one of your original ideas. Paying homage to other works, however, is allowed.
Please approach the actors who are also participating in this round of workshops for your cast.
Rui
(…I see. In my case, that means that I'll most likely be getting help from Tsukasa and the rest.)
Sakaki
Keep the runtime to an hour, give or take, alright?
After working on your shows for a month, you'll showcase it to us and then it's critique time.
We're being brutal with y'all because Arcland asked us to, so don't feel too down in the dumps over this, m'kay?
Young Director A
…Saying that with a smile makes it all the more terrifying…
Young Director B
I mean, we stand to learn more if they can be harsh with us. Let's give it our best shot.
Tom
"That's it for your assignment brief. We hope to see some wonderful shows from you all."
Sakaki
Normally, this is where I'd say "you're dismissed!" But…
This is a golden opportunity. Time for a li'l test before you all start on the assignment proper.
*Loud talking*
Young Director A
A test? Like what…?
Tom
"No need to worry, everyone. It's like homework for you to get to know your fellow workshop coursemates."
"So, we would like each of you to create a mini-show that doubles as your self-introduction for the next session."
Rui
Self-introduction…?
Sakaki
For directors, the fastest way to get us talking would be our own directing, don'tcha agree?
The theme is rain. Pretend you're putting on a show that's three minutes long at the arcade near the Arcland entrance.
But don't forget that the actual showcase will be in this meeting room, so remember to take this environmental aspect into consideration.
The show will be played by a single actor. We've sorted out that casting decision ourselves in the interest of fairly judging everyone's directing this time.
It's gonna be Genbu Asahi, whom you're all already familiar with.
Rui
……!
(I see. Since any type of role can be played by Asahi, the differences in our staging capabilities will stand out easily.)
(He's perfect for allowing the instructors to determine our strengths.)
Sakaki
We're looking forward to your complete script and production plan1 in the next workshop session.
M'kay?
Arcland
Rui
So this is the arcade that will serve as our envisioned stage.
Suppose the show is done at the arcade near the entrance, the audience demographic shouldn't skew too far one way or another…
A show that could ease the spectator into Arcland's setting while also building anticipation for the time they'll spend here should be good.
(…But to think that I could have Tom himself take a look at my staging… It feels just like a dream.)
(A show that doubles as a self-introduction… It's a difficult task, but I'll give it my best.)
Rui
Magical and fantasy elements should complement it well if I were to align it with Arcland's preferences.
And then… Incorporating subjects that have a connection to myself should work fine for my self-introduction.
Oh, right! If I use an idea from my impromptu show days…
1 week later
Asahi
"Argh, darn it! Why does it always pour on days that are important to me!"
"My wedding with the princess is gonna be ruined at this rate!"
Asahi
"-Oh my, you're drenched to the bone."
"Would you like to come in to my house and rest up? I have some warm soup, too."
Rui
(…How intriguing.)
(Each director's quirks stand out clearly despite all of us being given the same theme and conditions. It's very enlightening.)
(And above all else-)
Sakaki
It would be better if you incorporated some form of meaning to the last line.
Right now, it's just a day-to-day conversation, right? Try to be conscious of phrasing that's more impactful.
Young Director A
I understand.
Tom
"The bold structure was pretty good, wasn't it? There was effort put into capturing the curiosity of its audience."
Veteran Director
Indeed. Also, there was a part that was overly reliant on props-
Rui
……
(Their analyses are formulated based on their mountain of experience and come from every possible angle. Each instructor's critique is a treasure trove for learning.)
(Just listening to them so far already made participating in the workshop worthwhile.)
Veteran Director
-The next participant is our last. Kamishiro.
Rui
Understood. …I'm counting on you, Asahi.
Asahi
Gotcha.
"-Hey, have you ever seen it?"
"What is it, you say? Why, I'm talking about a special flower that blooms only on rainy days!"
"I came here to search for it since there were people who said that they saw it somewhere around here."
Veteran Director
-A botanist wanders into a theme park to search for a flower that only blooms on rainy days.
The show is structured in a way that lets it share a unique experience exclusive to rainy days with the audience in the process as well, correct?
Rui
Yes.
Tom
"It has a warm atmosphere overall, and it seems like it can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages."
"By the way, this would be embarrassing if I'm wrong on this… But have you watched my work, The Honeybee's Voice?"
Rui
"…Yes."
"Your staging which made the crowd's umbrellas in the rain look like a sea of flowers on stage left an impression on me."
Tom
"Ahaha! I thought so!"
"That's impressive. The recording for that play is so old that it shouldn't even be in circulation anymore for the general public."
Rui
(I'd purposefully avoided making direct homages to it in the face of its own director though…)
(But I guess this is something that ends up getting across regardless.)
Sakaki
Hm……
Veteran Director
-That is all for my thoughts. What about you, Mr. Sakaki?
Sakaki
…Right.
I thought it was put together pretty well, I suppose. Your technique and objectivity are so far above the rest that no one would ever think that it was all the work of a high schooler.
Young Director C
…Man, he sure is something.
Young Director B
Yeah. Isn't this the first time Mr. Sakaki praised anyone that much?
Rui
(That's not it. This is…)
Sakaki
-But that's about it, I think.
It's a pity, because I do like family-oriented works myself. They appear so simple, yet have so much depth to them, don't they?
But your script and staging aren't like that.
You make some boring things, don't you, Kamishiro2?
Notes
- I’m not familiar enough with theatre jargon to know if there’s a 1-1 equivalent of 演出プラン in English. It seems to be more like the director’s pre-planning notes and such from what I read. (Return to text)
- Very minor spoilers for Episode 8 of the story, so save this note for later if you want I guess. I’m gonna ramble a lot about how I interpret stuff so feel free to disagree with this if it doesn’t sit right with you, or tell me I’m wrong.
Throughout the entire event story (and even before this, during the Cyberpunk Dead Boy event), Sakaki always refers to Rui as Kamishiroカミシロin katakana. Back in that event, it could be chalked up to unfamiliarity because he kind of heard about him from his buddy Ohara but they never really met properly. Probably. Over here, it becomes a deliberate and somewhat belittling way of addressing him because in his eyes, Rui didn’t actually turn out to be as impressive as he thought at first. Eventually in Episode 8, after watching Rui’s show (which was met with extremely split opinions because while it was meaningful, it’s not very suitable for Arcland) he changes to referring to him as神代instead, showing that his opinion of him has improved. (Return to text)