In the end, she decided that this method was the most suitable one in her eyes.
Of course, Wu Jingli had a richer acting experience, especially in stage plays.
The acting method for stage plays was very different from that in films and television dramas.
Lu Man’s acting experience so far was mostly in films.
Although she’d participated in the Chinese Arts Championships and acted live onstage, the judges assessed her acting mostly from the angle of acting for films and television dramas.
Hence, she was thinking that perhaps Wu Jingli had a better acting method that was more suitable for a stage performance.
That was why Lu Man sought her advice humbly.
Wu Jingli said, “You’re exaggerating too much. You’re acting as a dance hostess, not a streetwalker. Why are you acting in such a seductive manner? Anyway, Man Yun’s character is actually very resolute and upright. In the end, she was a heroic woman who, for the sake of her family and country, did not fear death. How can you act her out as an evil woman, so proud and arrogant, making her look like a villain?”
“But in the first half of the script, she seemed just like a villain.” Lu Man explained her understanding of the character. “She was the top hostess in Paramount and was also Chen Dashuai’s lover at the same time. So many people were unhappy with her and mocked her for making a living off of entertaining others and prostituting herself. But it was precisely because of Man Yun’s pride and resoluteness deep down that other people stopped mocking her.”
“She admired Chen Dashuai. Chen Dashuai gave his all to serve his country. She admired him for his generosity and his loyalty. This is actually also a foreshadowing of her character, which explains why she could be so courageous as to tie herself up with bombs and throw herself to perish with the enemy. Actually, this is already pointed out right at the start. It was precisely because she had this patriotism in her heart even when she was just a dance hostess who made a living off of entertaining people. That’s why she willingly stayed by Chen Dashuai’s side.”
“It was also precisely because of her unyielding resoluteness that she would not admit defeat to anyone. That’s why the script initially portrayed her to be so obnoxious and defiant when she was being mocked by other people. She just wanted to teach a lesson to those people who knew nothing except resorting to petty schemes all day long. She did not like to give them face and just embarrassed them directly.”
“There were scholars who criticize them for wasting their lives in a drunken stupor. Some female students looked down on her, and her colleagues were jealous of her. But in Man Yun’s eyes, these people were all very ridiculous. Since the country was facing a crisis, the scholars should just do their part for the country. Why were they coming over to criticize people like them who were living a life they had no other choice but to live? As for the female students, Man Yun simply ignored them. If not out of desperation, who would choose to perform on stage and make a living off of entertaining others? She wanted to go and study too.”
“As for her colleagues, she found them even more ridiculous. The war was raging on every day outside, but they couldn’t sense it at all and only knew to compete against each other within this narrow world of theirs.”
Lu Man really knew this script inside out.
People who did not watch until the end would probably detest Man Yun, but when they see Man Yun’s end, they would then feel sad for her and turn their feelings of contempt into admiration.
Man Yun actually did not appear on stage often in the whole stage play.
After all, stage plays have a limited duration, and most of the scenes would be left for the male and female leads to act in.
But the contrast between Man Yun’s initial and ending portrayal was way too strong.
In the first part, she made people hate her and wish for her death. In the last part, she made people love her and wish that she had lived on.
When Lu Man saw that, she was moved immediately, and that was why she chose this role.
“Man Yun’s character will only give the audience a different feeling between the start and end, but her personality will not change. She could ignore those invaders and seek death valiantly, and she could also ignore those people whom she looked down on and face them resolutely,” Lu Man said. “This is my understanding of this character.”
