The Stage of Love

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."