Page 105 of Method Acting

It wasn’t their acting skills.

Well, maybe a little. But the outside pressure was buckling them.

“You know,” I said, “I think method acting would be okay if it was a character not like ourselves. I know why they made our characters like our real selves for this, so we could continue with our daily lives at college. But man, it’s murky waters.”

“So you’d rather play a serial killer and get all dark and weird in real life to become a character?” Phoebe asked.

“I wouldn’t kill someone, if that’s what you mean. But I think some characters might need that kind of dedication. Like The Godfather. I can see why Brando chose method acting. It’s still talked about over fifty years later.”

“I’d rather leave my character at the door,” Max said.

“Same,” Didi agreed. “It’s easier for me to slip in and out of character. As soon as the camera rolls, it’s like bam! Character is switched on.”

I nodded. “Agreed. I’m all for research and spending a few weeks doing what that character does, like Wall Street or small-town sheriff or whatever. But becoming that character?” I shook my head. “Living and breathing as that character twenty-four seven? Not for me.”

Holly gave me a twisted smile as she nodded toward Chase. “But you and him became your characters, right?”

I looked over at Chase, just as he looked my way. He smiled, and it made me smile, and of course my cheeks burned. “We... we don’t know yet,” I said, embarrassed and kinda mad at myself for admitting anything. “See, his character Dominic is very levelheaded and funny, whereas Chase is more of a wallowing, melodramatic kinda guy who does nothing but annoy and frustrate the hell outta me, so we’re still undecided.”

“I heard that!” Chase yelled.

I rolled my eyes. “Good. Saves me from saying it again later.”

They all laughed, and he and Deirdre walked back over to us. “Ready to watch the recap?” she asked. “Then we’ll run through this afternoon’s big scene.”

There were some groans, mostly for Max and Holly’s scene, because everyone knew it wasn’t an easy one for them.

“Look, guys,” Deirdre said. “Tomorrow’s the last day. I know it’s been rough, but I think we can all say we’ve learned about the process and about ourselves as actors and production crew. And I’m telling you, as hard as this has been, it’s nothing compared to what you’ll go through in the real thing. If you want to work in LA or Hollywood, or on Broadway, this project is a walk in the park. Okay?”

We all nodded and mumbled ascent.

Chase sat beside me, leaning his head on my shoulder, and his hand slipped into mine.

So much for no contact or intimacy.

“You know,” I murmured so only he could hear. “It’s kinda confusing. You say you don’t want physical contact, but then you do this.” I bumped my shoulder so he’d know what I was talking about.

He never lifted his head. “It’s not confusing to me.”

I sighed. “Of course it’s not.”

“I meant no sex,” he whispered. “Cuddling doesn’t count. Cuddles have been scientifically proven to reduce cortisol levels and increase endorphins.”

“Shh,” Phoebe hissed at us. “Do you two ever shut up?”

I pointed my thumb at Chase, blaming him, at the same time he pointed to me.

She rolled her eyes and went back to watching.

It was a scene with her and Jess, goofing off in one of their rooms, and then Didi and Tucker were having lunch together, talking about a concert they’d just bought tickets to. Their feet were interlocked under the table and it was kinda cute.

Then Max and Holly appeared. They were walking to class together, Holly’s big doe eyes looking at Max like he hung the moon, and Max... Max’s smile didn’t quite sit right.

It was awkward.

Awkward for them to act out, awkward for us to watch.

And then there was me and Chase. Filmed today. Me sitting in the bleachers by the pool and Chase being surprised to see me. I didn’t even know Daniel was filming us. He was quite far away, filming near the locker-room door by the looks of it, and thankfully we couldn’t really hear our conversation.

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