Chapter 6: The References in Our Story

If you could choose, who would play you in a love story? Who could convey the feelings, angst, perceptions, and thoughts you have about life and other people? Answering that question is incredibly difficult, and a wrong choice could completely ruin any narrative. Wave knew this well and was dealing with complications because of this kind of decision.

Was he selecting an actor to play him in a film? No, of course not. But Wave had the responsibility of finding the actor for the other lead role in the play, a task that was proving to be anything but easy. The first role had already been decided: Jay was a no-brainer. The ease of that decision made Wave think that finding the second actor would be just as simple, but he was wrong.

The character in question was the complete opposite of the first: a serious, extremely polite guy who did everything for the protagonist without revealing his true feelings. He was enigmatic and fascinating, capable of drawing attention. The problem was that, after two full days of auditions, no one in the company could give off that aura. Exhausted, Wave rested his head against the back of his chair as he watched yet another person finish the audition for the third time.

“I can’t take it anymore… I’m dead…” The words escaped him in a heavy sigh, almost a groan, as he slowly turned his face to look at Marco beside him. His shoulders slumped, and his half-closed eyes showed his fatigue. “We’re not getting anywhere.”

“Relax, you’re being too hard on yourself. It’s just a bit more complicated than usual,” Marco said with a light tone, a stark contrast to the tension in Wave’s voice.

“A bit more complicated?” Wave scoffed and leaned back in his chair. “Even some of the girls auditioned, and no one... I repeat, no one came close to what we wanted. You know what the problem is.”

“I do?” Marco frowned, tilting his head slightly as if trying to process what he’d just heard.

“The problem is us!” Wave glared at him, almost exasperated, and let out a frustrated sigh. “We’re not getting across what we want. Look at how everything seems out of place!” He gestured wildly towards the stage. “They’re great actors; they could play anything, so the problem isn’t with them. It’s with us.”

“I agree!”

“You agree?” Wave narrowed his eyes, leaning slightly forward, his brow furrowing in skepticism, as this was not the answer he expected from the director.

“Yes, I agree. Maybe we need to find a detail, a trait, a key point of this character to explain to them. But... I’ve already written the story and the personality of each character. Now it’s up to you to figure out what that key point is that we need to convey to the actors. What do you think?” Marco wore an excited smile, his eyebrows raised in complete joy. “Think of it as a mission.”

“Another mission?” Wave sighed, sinking further into his chair.

“Yes! Because it seems like you haven’t quite nailed the first one.”

As he said this, Marco pointed with his thumb towards the stage, where Dan was slowly and mechanically picking up some props. His mouth remained in a straight line, his eyes half-closed, as if he was just completing a pointless task. Wave observed the dejected and vacant expression on the guy, immediately understanding what the director meant.

“He’s working!” Wave defended, knowing it wasn’t enough.

“With the enthusiasm and love of someone serving a penance.”

“No one sets up a scene with much enthusiasm and happiness.” Marco said as he watched Dan, who, despite performing each movement accurately, seemed to be executing the task with evident monotony.

“You used to do it!”

“I’m different,” Wave said, turning his attention back to Marco. “I’m completely different from Dan.”

“I know! And that’s why I’d like to see a bit of you in him.” Marco smiled and continued, “But this mission can wait until we solve the casting problem! For the next two days, it’s up to you to figure out how we can do this as best as possible, okay?” He quickly gathered his things and stood up, gently placing a hand on Wave’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you.”

If you could choose, who would play you in a love story? Who could convey the feelings, struggles, perceptions, and thoughts you have about life and other people? Answering that question is incredibly difficult, and a wrong choice could completely mess up any narrative. Wave knew this all too well and was having a tough time because of it.

Was he picking an actor to play himself in a film? No, of course not. But Wave was responsible for finding the right actor for the other lead role in the play, and it wasn’t turning out to be easy. The first of the two had been decided: Jay, without any objections. The ease of that decision led Wave to think the second choice would be just as simple, but he was wrong.

The character in question was the complete opposite of the first: a serious, extremely polite guy who did everything for the lead without revealing his true feelings. He had to be the character who drew the most attention from the female audience, even though he was paired with the other lead. After two full days of auditions, no one in the company could manage to capture that aura. Wave, exhausted, rested his head against the back of the chair in front of him as he watched yet another person finish the audition for the third time.

“I can’t take it anymore… I’m dead…” He sighed heavily, almost like a groan, as he turned his face slowly to look at Marco beside him. His shoulders were slumped, and his eyes were half-closed, showing his fatigue. “We’re not getting anywhere.”

“Relax, you’re being too hard on yourself. It’s just a bit more complicated than usual,” Marco said lightly, his tone in stark contrast to the tension in Wave.

“A bit more complicated?” Wave huffed and leaned back in his chair. “Even some of the girls auditioned, and no one... I repeat, no one managed to come close to what we want. You know what the problem is.”

“I do?” Marco furrowed his brows, tilting his head slightly, as if trying to process what he’d just heard.

“The problem is us!” Wave looked at him, nearly exasperated, and let out a sigh. “We’re not managing to convey what we want. Look at how everything seems off!” he said, waving his arms toward the stage. “They’re great actors, they could play anything, so the issue isn’t with them; it’s with us.”

“I agree!”

“You agree?” Wave narrowed his eyes, leaning slightly forward, his forehead creased with skepticism because that wasn’t the answer he’d expected from the director.

“Yes, I agree. Maybe we need to pinpoint a detail, a trait, a key aspect of this character to explain to them. But... I’ve already written the story and the personality of each character. Now it’s up to you to figure out what that key aspect is that we need to convey to the actors. What do you think?” Marco had an excited smile on his face, his eyebrows raised in pure joy. “Think of it as a mission.”

“Another mission?” Wave sighed, sinking even further into his chair.

“Yes! Because it seems like you haven’t quite accomplished the first one.”

As he said this, Marco pointed with his thumb toward the stage, where Dan was slowly and mechanically picking up some props. His mouth was set in a straight line, his eyes half-closed as if he was just going through the motions. Wave noticed Dan’s despondent and vacant demeanor, immediately understanding what the director meant.

“He’s working!” Wave defended him, knowing it wasn’t enough.

“With the enthusiasm and love of someone doing community service.”

“No one sets up props with much enthusiasm or happiness.” Marco said this while observing Dan, who, despite performing each movement with precision, was clearly executing the task with obvious monotony.

“You used to!”

“I’m different,” Wave began, turning his attention back to Marco. “I’m completely different from Dan.”

“I know! And that’s why I’d like to see a bit of you in him.” Marco smiled and continued, “But this mission can wait until we sort out the casting issue! For now, over the next two days, it’s up to you to figure out how we can best handle this, okay?” He quickly gathered his things and stood up, placing a hand gently on Wave’s shoulder. “I’m counting on you.”

Wave was starting to suspect that Marco had put him in the Assistant Director position just to push him to his limits, knowing he wouldn’t give up until the job was perfect. That’s why, hours after the director had left, he was still on stage, with the script scattered around him. Sitting among papers and notes, he carefully examined each page, piece by piece, trying to figure out what was missing to convey to the actors.

“Okay, serious and compassionate, never, never smiles. In fact, he has very few lines, even though he’s one of the leads. He has to be the character who grabs the most attention from the female audience, even while paired with the other male lead.” He was talking to himself as he read through his notes. “Why can’t anyone seem to give me that?”

As he sifted through more notes, Wave felt his heart stop for a moment when he heard a noise from behind the stage. He was supposed to be alone at this time.

“What…” he whispered to himself, standing up and trying to spot the shadow of someone nearby. “Is anyone there?”

He took a few steps toward the entrance of the hallway, crouching slightly as if that would camouflage him if someone appeared to attack. His steps were slow as he carefully watched, trying to sense something before being seen.

“Hello?” he asked again, his voice faltering, and he felt a chill as someone emerged from the shadows. As the figure approached, he instinctively took a few steps back, stopping when the person was fully visible in front of him. “Dan!”

The tattooed guy stopped in front of Wave, frowned, and blinked several times, his eyes darting around as he tried to make sense of the situation. His jaw tightened and his lips curved into a skeptical line.

Feeling relieved, Wave relaxed on the floor, propping himself up on his hands and leaning back.

“You almost scared me to death!” he sighed, still with his heart racing. “What are you doing backstage at this hour? Everyone’s already gone.”

Dan, as usual, didn’t respond, merely showing a few boxes of costumes he was carrying.

“They’re exploiting you too?” Wave smiled as he adjusted himself and began organizing the script pages on the floor. “I can’t keep up with this, so... I’ll help you!”

Dan shook his head vehemently, refusing the offer of help, while Wave put the rest of the pages into his backpack. Before standing up and facing him with a smile, he said, “I didn’t ask for your permission. I’m going to help you!” He moved closer and subtly took the box from Dan’s hands. “I need to do something to clear my head. Besides, I know this theater way better than you. I’ll be a huge help.”

Wave gave Dan an enthusiastic look and winked before heading toward the back of the theater, with the younger guy trailing behind him. He noticed there were still some boxes and pieces out of place, but nothing too chaotic; it seemed Dan had managed to tidy up the space in no time.

“I’ve never seen it so organized in all my years here.” He looked back at the guy with excitement. “Congrats, Dan! If I help you with these last few boxes, I think we’ll finish in under an hour. That should be enough for me; I need to talk a bit.”

Upon hearing this, Dan’s eyes widened, and he took an involuntary step back, his body tensing as if ready to retreat at any moment. Wave laughed loudly as he sat on the floor and began pulling some clothes from the box to hang them up.

“Relax, I don’t need you to talk back. Just knowing you’re listening will be enough. I just need to clear my mind, okay?” He gave the guy a calm look, which seemed to be understood, and Dan sat down beside him, helping with the sorting.

“I’m in a dilemma,” Wave began, focused on the clothes in front of him. “There’s this character, Adrien, and apparently, no one here at the company is managing to capture his essence. No one can truly bring him to life, from the page to the stage. It’s like these scripts are the seeds of a beautiful plant, but we’re not finding the right mix of soil, fertilizer, water, and light to make it grow beautiful and alive. You get it?”

Hearing this, Dan simply stared at him with slightly furrowed brows and bit his lip, nodding in agreement.

“I knew you’d understand. So, Adrien is really tough to portray because, even though he’s a lead and appears in most of the acts, he has very few lines. Everything he is as a person is conveyed through a few actions, gestures, and glances.” Wave watched Dan focus on the sorting and tilted his head slightly. “In that way, he kind of reminds me of you.”

“…” Dan just looked at him and rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, anyway…” Wave laughed at the other’s reaction and continued discussing as he finished arranging the last piece in the box. “I’m having trouble conveying a key point to the actors so they can portray Adrien the way he should be. Some make him seem boring, some make him overly serious, and others make him arrogant. And he is serious, but not to the point of being dull, and he’s never arrogant... something’s missing!”

Expressing his frustration, Wave stood up to grab the last box he needed. To reach it, he had to climb onto a wooden stool to try and get it from the top of the cabinet.

“What frustrates me is that I’ve read and re-read the script and the character profiles, and I think what’s missing isn’t there,” he started, stretching his body to reach the object. “It’s just that I still—”

Before he could finish the sentence, Wave felt the stool slip under his weight, causing him to drop the box he was holding. He let out a grunt as he realized he was going to fall and instinctively closed his eyes, knowing the heavy object was going to hit his head. But before he could feel anything, he was pulled to the side and felt a soft body pressing against him. Although he couldn’t avoid the fall, Wave ended up in Dan’s arms as the box shattered on the cold floor. The crash of their bodies hitting the pavement blended with the sound of items falling.