I was finding it hard seeing Mr Way in any way other than an attractive, off limits guy. The more time I spent with him, the more I saw him as a friend and my stupid mind kept wanting him to be more. That was never going to happen though. He was in his twenties and I was seventeen. That was very illegal.
"Was it physicality I said last week?" Mr Way looked up from his phone.
I frowned as I thought back. "I think so."
He nodded and got up from his desk, leaving his phone there.
I had managed not to think too much about the small inconvenience that had happened on Tuesday. By that, I mean: the fact that I really wanted to go down on my teacher.
Mr Way started unbuttoning his sleeves and rolling them up to his elbows. He really needed to stop doing that. It wasn't helping.
"Come on into the space, Iero." He gestured for me to join him.
I reluctantly jumped down from the stage and stood in front of him, making sure there was a little bit of distance between us.
"Have you thought about physicality at all yet?" He asked, watching me carefully.
To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what he meant by that. "Uh..." I bit my lip, "No?"
He smiled a little. "Well, let's look at it today then."
I felt a bit nervous because I had no idea what he had planned. Physicality was just a little too close to the word physical for me. I wasn't about to start thinking about Mr Way and something physical in the same room.
"What I like to do," He began, "When I'm playing a new character, I stand in neutral stance and close my eyes. I then think about how that character would stand and how they would hold themselves. I start with my feet and work my way up until I'm standing as my character. Would you like to give it a go?"
It sounded kinda pretentious to me but I nodded anyway. Guess this is what actors do.
"Close you eyes, Iero, and get into the neutral stance." His voice seemed quieter than before or maybe that was just me.
I closed my eyes and instantly felt vulnerable. Like I was on display. I was on display for Mr Way.
Okay, I needed to be stopped.
"Stand with your legs shoulder width apart and imagine a piece of string is pulling your body upwards."
I did as he asked and then waited.
He didn't speak for a few moments until he was suddenly behind me. "Like this." His voice was even quieter. One hand appeared between my shoulder blades and another lightly touched my chest. He then moved my back a little so I was standing a little straighter.
His hands stayed where they were for a second and then disappeared.
I realised then that I had been holding my breath up until he moved.
His voice was back in front of me, "How would he stand, Frank?"
I ignored the stupid feeling I got when he called me by my first name.
"Would he have a confident way of holding himself? Would he have bad posture? How do you see him?"
I thought for a moment. "I think he'd be more confident at the beginning of the play but then his posture gets worse to represent how the situation's affecting him."
Where the fuck did that come from? I was seriously spending way too much time with this guy.
"Very good, Frank." He commended, a smile in his voice. "Stand how you think he would at the start of the play."
I moved until I felt comfortable and opened my eyes.
He was standing in front of me, a small smile on his face and a look of concentration in his eyes.
I waited as he began to circle me, moving closer with every step, until he stopped right in front of me.
"The end of the play?" He stepped back a little.
I rearranged myself so my shoulders were more forward and my head was lower.
Mr Way was nodding, thinking it over. Eventually, he said, "I like it. I like it very much."
I couldn't help but smile at his approval and that made his smile grow as well.
"You can relax now."
I sighed in relief and stood normally. I hadn't noticed how bad my posture was before. Huh.
"That was very good, Frank. I believe we've made some good progress. Hopefully this has made you think about Adam more and how you'd like to play him."
I nodded. "Yeah. This has helped. Thanks, Sir."
He moved forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. That seemed to be one of his favourite positions. "That is no problem at all. I look forward to our next session."
"I do too." I said without thinking. I didn't regret saying it though because his smile got even bigger.
"I'm glad." He lingered on my shoulder for a moment before moving away completely and going over to the desk.
I grabbed my bag and looked at him silently before saying, "See you on Monday."
He looked up, grinning away as usual. "Of course."
I stood awkwardly for a moment before leaving the room. It was the weekend which meant plenty of time to think about my obsession and cry over the fact nothing could ever happen.
I'm joking, of course. I won't cry; I'll just strop and feel sorry for myself. I might as well be crying.
---
I actually do character work like physicality at my college :')
-Beth :3
