[Sherlock Holmes] The Legend of the Nightingale

(Nightingale's notes)

Schlesinger moves quickly into the role of director, exactly as he directs his own actors.It was supposed to be the time for the sixth rehearsal. He told us about the characters in detail, and then asked us to practice our lines separately.He can accurately memorize the lines of each character, and prompting is not a problem.Our two characters didn't have any dialogue scenes with lines, and the only blood-sucking scene was added when the director changed the script.In order to avoid the scene being too scary for the audience to accept, he used props and benches to block most of the process.Considering that Lucy has been sleepwalking, Dracula only needs to meet her, grab her, turn his back to the audience when biting, suck blood behind the back of the chair, and then put Lucy on the bench and end himself, Finish.In this section, we probably had to go back and forth dozens of times to satisfy Schlesinger.

The next day we all got to the theater early in the morning and practiced like crazy with everyone else.Holmes doesn't need Schlesinger to say anything, his command of voice and stage presence are astonishing.The director couldn't believe he knew the character like the back of his hand in a week.Holmes is tall, thin, black-haired, with a usually stern expression and an extraordinary demeanor. Schlesinger almost agreed to let him go on stage without makeup if the stage effect did not require it.Moreover, Sherlock Holmes didn't even ask the makeup artist. After listening to the director's instructions, he directly looked in the mirror to solve the problem.After Holmes had put on his dentures and dyed his face even paler, Schlesinger took a long look at him.

"I have to admit, with the black background, this effect is not a bit stronger than that kid Reginald."

"I must be having nightmares tonight," laughed Jonathan Parker, jumping from the second floor of the set and carefully rising from the stage.There is a classic scene in the castle scene, where Jonathan accidentally scratched himself, and Count Dracula saw his bloodthirsty nature revealed for a moment, which shocked Jonathan.The meaning in the script is to be taken aback, but in fact, when our Jonathan turned his head, he felt that he was stabbed by Holmes' hideous eyes. Schlesinger scolded him severely, because his real complexion was much better than what he had pretended before.

"I think it's the opposite," Minaj said. "The audience forgets that he's the villain."

She is telling the truth.We can all see that she has shown her appreciation for Holmes off the court.In the part where Dracula introduces himself to Wilhelmina and Lucy, Holmes leans over to Mina and holds out a hand, uttering the phrase "my lady" in a clear and soft voice, and the actress is stunned. He stared blankly into his eyes and forgot to speak.

"Mina! Do I need to remind you that Mina Parker is a divine woman."

"Oh, I know, Herr Schlesinger."

"I hope so, you just looked at Count Dracula like a frivolous little girl."

The three little vampires laughed quietly beside them.However, the actresses were not deeply affected by the new members, and they re-entered the state after a while.Schlesinger isn't really worried about that.The only thing that makes Holmes a headache for the director is that when he is free, he can add or delete scenes according to his feelings at will, without prior notice-this kind of thing is also unpredictable.As long as he thinks his understanding is better, no matter how much Schlesinger objects, he will never change back to the original state, and no matter how tight the time is, he must clearly explain to the director why the improvement is better.

"Don't you think this dialogue is inappropriate?" Holmes asked, pointing to a line in the script in Schlesinger's hand.It's the one we talked about in rehearsal.The three female vampires in the castle were dissatisfied with Dracula for preventing them from attacking Jonathan Parker, and said to Dracula:

"You've never loved yourself. You can't love at all."

Dracula's answer was:

"I loved, and of course I can. You should know that from your past."

"Do you understand what this means?" Holmes tapped the paper with his fingers, no doubt thinking of his workbench. Such specious lines are unacceptable."

"It's a bit vague, frankly," Schlesinger replied, "but it's the exact words in the book, and there isn't much dialogue, so I'd like to preserve as much as possible. And while it's hard to say exactly what it's trying to convey, it's undeniable that , the emotional density and impact of this dialogue is very strong."

I admire Schlesinger's language expression ability, but if it is used on Sherlock Holmes, it will be completely missed.

"I don't quite understand," said Holmes, frowning. "It doesn't make sense. There is no question of love in this scene for Count Dracula. They are suddenly talking about it here, without cause and effect, and with no subsequent explanation." .”

"This...I said Earl, you can just talk about it casually."

"If I can't understand what the lines mean, I can't know how to say them."

Schlesinger's heart almost collapsed.

"According to you, this scene shouldn't exist at all, because no one has seen a vampire for sure, and can't know how to act it."

"Guess what, Mr. Director?" Holmes snapped his fingers. "I suddenly felt that your reasoning is very strict, so I decided to act according to your original script."

Schlesinger didn't know when the question of "how to play" was not decided by him, but by the temporary substitute.

The other members of the troupe were supposed to review their roles, but they couldn't help but came to watch and automatically divided into two camps.Some people were initially impressed by Holmes' virtuosity, but later turned away because of his vague arrogance.Others, initially prejudiced by the detective's reputation for eccentricity, eventually became ardent fans, won over by his suave demeanor.Both images are Sherlock Holmes, it's just which one you notice.As for myself...well.I thought I could do about the same, and it turns out, that's about the same.Schlesinger, apart from arguing hard about how to write the script with the detective who doesn't understand literature, just stood next to me and examined it with critical eyes. Maybe because he minded my identity, he didn't say a word at first, but once he got into the mood, Just speak sharply as usual.After the scene was staged, Schlesinger confessed to me that he always believed that my performance was very good, but on the one hand, I needed a place to vent my anger due to the run on by Holmes, and on the other hand, I hoped that the stricter standards might lead to a breakthrough.I don't know which factor is more important.Especially when there is a scene with Count Dracula, the whole rehearsal process is inexplicably ridiculous.

"Lucy," he called us by the character's name according to the custom in the troupe, "always remember that you are a beauty. At the same time, there are two young men who are pursuing the lovely beauty. Two people propose to you in one day!"

"Well, I admit that Lucy is much younger than you, but you were young too, Miss Nightingale?"

"I understand that you probably haven't experienced the feeling of being pursued or engaged, but it can't be carved like a stone..."

"Mr. Schlesinger, let me remind you," said Holmes who was sitting on the side. "Miss Nightingale had such an incident in Manchester. Someone picked a quarrel in her office and provoked him with words. And when he tried to resort to violence in a fit of anger, he and his partner delivered him a bullet. The matter was quarreled in court for more than three months, and the result was self-defense and he was acquitted."

"Uh... sorry, please don't mind what I said before." Schlesinger patted his forehead nervously.

"No, Mr. Director, according to your standards. I just want to say not to make Miss Nightingale too nervous."

So it's even more ridiculous.

"Yes, you are very beautiful, Miss Nightingale. But the eyes are looking in the wrong direction."

"Lucy is so interested in Dracula that she shouldn't be dropping her eyes and staring at him intently."

"Too preoccupied. She's interested in Dracula, but not marrying him!"

"..."

Holmes, who had bent down countless times to reach out to me, stood up a little tiredly.

"Schlesinger, I have a better solution here than cynicism. It's late, you can go home first, and I will take care of her rehearsal. Less than 24 hours."

"If you please, my lord. You may be more agreeable. . . . In any case, good luck, Mr. Holmes."

"Good luck to you too, Schlesinger."

Twelve hours before, Schlesinger had regarded us as saviors, and after twelve hours of physical and mental exhaustion, he looked as if he wanted to give each of us six rounds of revolvers.

"Killing away a cynicism," I changed into a relaxed posture and sat on the prop chair, resting my elbows on the tabletop and lazily resting my chin, "leaving a more beautiful and technical cynicism."

"You always give me the feeling that I'm only 17 years old."

"Can we drop the topic of age?"

"Oh, actually, I never thought you cared about that."

"All ladies are interested in this, Mr. Holmes, but very few of them know you well enough to bring up the subject."

Everyone else in the troupe left the rehearsal.Holmes only asked them to keep the field lamp.In the setting of the high-class living room, there are only Lucy Westera, who is too fancy, and Count Dracula, who is black and high-necked, with black hair and pale hair.

"Schlesinger is a nice guy," I said, "don't be too hard on him, he's the director after all."

Holmes raised his eyebrows with a playful look.

"I know why this role is not for me." I sighed after the joke. "Lucy has never worried since she grew up. She loves Arthur like a child and is loved like a child. She doesn't think about it. If it wasn't for acting, I couldn't do it at all. Even acting is difficult enough."

"Indeed," Holmes pulled the false fangs off vigorously. Although it didn't affect his speech, it was very uncomfortable to stick to his teeth. "You have never liked anyone like a child. You have been in love since you were a teenager. deep."

I jumped up from my chair.

"What did you just say?" I stammered, "This, this is not right."

"It's just that I've recently remembered something from the past, and I've made a connection with it - something that happened recently, and I think this may be the case." Holmes glanced back, just like a vampire looking back on the long stairs of an old castle in a script. A hundred years passed without any waves. .This effectively relieved my embarrassment a bit.

"At that time, you were like rain to me." That's all I could say for a long time.Holmes seemed to have thought seriously about the logic of this statement.Annoyed, I rushed to speak again, trying to make him forget this ridiculous answer.

"Don't give me any ill impression of that, Holmes, indeed. Our normal intercourse has never been hindered by it, and please don't after all these years..."

"Then it is indeed over, and it does not affect you any more?" interrupted Holmes.

"It's over, I promise," I said firmly. "Children's frenzy doesn't often last into adulthood. My God, I feel like I'm talking about...someone else."

Holmes smiled softly.

"I'm glad you never lost your mind, Nightingale."

But I had that feeling of not knowing if he was being gentle or sentimental again.While I breathed a sigh of relief, I couldn't help but feel a heavy sadness because of what I just said.

The author has something to say: I suddenly realized that this article will soon be full for a full year... Ah, it flies so fast!