Читайте также:
|
The entrance exams at a Moscow school of drama were under way. Dozens of young men and girls had already presented themselves to the board of examiners, and the famous; actors who were examining them were already too tired to be attracted by anything. So when the last candidate finally stepped on to the stage, they were only too glad to let him go as quickly as possible.
Indeed, there was nothing particular about the young fellow. His manner was awkward, and the whole performance seemed very amateurish.
His face... Well, it might even have been called ugly if there weren't something slightly attractive about it. What was it? The smile, perhaps...
In any case he was nothing beyond the ordinary.
The principal of the school, who was a chair man of the board of examiners, rose to stop the young who was still reciting something.
The young man understood. "I've been turned down then, have I?" he said in a trembling voice. "Yes, I'm sorry to say; you have," answered the principal, looking him straight in the face. "You see, it isn't enough to recite poems the way you do. An actor must act. In the proper sense of the word acting means turning into another person on the stage, which I'm afraid is beyond your ability."
Going home after the examination, the principal remembered the incident, and thought for just one moment that he had been too cruel to the last candidate. But then, he always preferred to be frank with them...
The next evening, when the principal was about to finish work, a late visitor entered his private room.
It was an old woman wearing a funny old-fashioned hat. She was evidently short sighted. Her small eyes could hardly be seen through the thick glasses.
The moment she stepped in, she declared that she wanted to talk to the principal in private, and sat down in an armchair without waiting for permission.
"I'm the aunt and the only relative of the poor boy whom you failed so cruelly yesterday," she began. "He was the last to take the exam," she added, seeing that her opening declaration was not sufficient to remind the principal of the young man in question. Then the old lady went on to say how long her nephew had been practising the passage for the exam, how upset he was because of his failure, how she had always shared all his joys and sorrows, etc. "A hard case," the principal said to himself. He had already realized that the old woman was a remarkable bore, and thought that it had been very foolish of the secretary to let her in.
The first moment she stopped to take breath, he took advantage of the situation and hurriedly began:
"You see, an actor must act. In the proper sense of the word acting means turning into another person, which I think is beyond..."
He didn't finish his sentence, for the "old lady" took off her hat together with the gray wig and the glasses, and through the cleverly put on make-up the principal could see the familiar boyish features which could not be called exactly ugly but were ordinary, quite ordinary...
Make up a story about the future life of the young man who the above text is about.
Дата добавления: 2015-11-14; просмотров: 69 | Нарушение авторских прав
| <== предыдущая страница | | | следующая страница ==> |
| THEATRE AND CINEMA | | | Translate these sentences into English using active words. |