From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

"Circles, make a circle, clockwise!"

"Walking, jumping, swinging arms, any posture is fine, but make sure your feet are moving clockwise around the circle. We're aiming for a speed of three out of ten right now, not too fast. Listen to my clapping."

"Come on, let's get moving."

No self-introductions, no polite small talk, not even enough time to clearly see the faces in the room, and the class has already begun.

A little flustered, but also vaguely interesting.

It's only just started, but I can already feel the unusual atmosphere and fun.

Anson and Jack exchanged a glance, but before they could start a conversation, they were already swept into the crowd, silently following the other students as they circled the room.

This scene—

For some reason, the images from 'Midsommar' floated into my mind, like playing 'Drop the Handkerchief' as a kid, not knowing anything, not having any thoughts, just running in circles around my friends.

Then, before I realized it, the corners of my mouth started to turn up in a smile.

So, this is how acting class starts? Completely different from what I imagined.

"Move your limbs, swing your arms and legs."

"Or jump, jump high, feel your body."

"Come on, let's pick up the pace a little, five!"

"Imagine your full-speed sprinting state as ten, now adjust to five, pay attention to my clapping rhythm, feel the rhythm, feel the beat."

"Warming up is to open up the body, but also to perceive the body. Don't worry about others, focus on yourself, feel your jump, feel your muscles, feel the signals your body is releasing."

At this moment, Anson finally noticed the teacher—

A man in his thirties, with shoulder-length hair that wasn't messy or unkempt, the slightly curled arcs looked moist and glossy, clearly well-cared for, paired with a neatly trimmed beard, revealing a wild temperament that combined ruggedness and gentleness.

Not handsome, but with a unique aura.

He stood in the center of the room, like the center of a circle, clapping and raising his voice, but not absentmindedly. Instead, he carefully looked at each student passing in front of him. If he noticed someone wasn't warming up properly or was distracted, his gaze would immediately lock on, he would take a step forward, using applause, eye contact, and words to issue a reminder, and follow that student until they entered the correct state.

One lap.

Two laps.

Three laps.

Soon, Anson realized that there was no room to breathe, nor time to observe Jack's situation. He had to focus on himself. The physical exertion and energy consumption of the warm-up were beyond imagination; moreover, the warm-up was not just a warm-up, but more of a process of perceiving the body, which was different from competitive sports.

This was interesting.

In 'The Princess Diaries', Julie told Anson that the fundamentals of body language are very important, and those invisible details are the key to making a performance convincing and changing the tone of a scene.

Now it seems that this academy also understands this point. In addition to the introductory film acting course that Anson and Jack chose, there are also acting courses in different art forms such as stage plays and television, with different focuses.

No wonder British actors always emphasize that even if they don't come from traditional academies, they still need to study systematically, and it's never too late.

Running, jumping, swinging, these basic movements have actually become a person's instinct, just like breathing, too simple and too familiar, so ordinary people often don't pay attention to their movements.

However, actors and professional athletes can't do that. They need to control their bodies by adjusting their movements, and explore their bodies in different ways for different purposes, and finally show it.

So, the first step of the warm-up—

Get familiar with the body, familiar with your muscle memory.

That is the fundamental purpose.

The next warm-up is actually the same, breaking your own inertia through different methods, and then re-establishing muscle memory in the chaos.

The most basic and simplest warm-up, like a game, lets them return to their original state.

First, running in circles, and then cartwheels—if that's not possible, then forward rolls and backward rolls, in any case, let your body flip and roll.

Then there's the tag game, although the rules are different, it's similar to 'Red Light, Green Light', seeing how many people you can catch within sixty seconds—

Of course, there is no winning or losing, because winning or losing is not the point. The point is to mobilize yourself as much as possible and release explosive power in a short period of time; but there is also a penalty. If you can't catch anyone within sixty seconds, then you must make an animal sound, designated by the students present.

So… please, does anyone know how an owl should sound?

Next is the fast-walking game, which is very new to Anson.

Everyone sprints at their fastest speed in the room, completely chaotic, no rules, the only requirement is that no collisions occur, either quickly passing through gaps, or stopping and turning sharply to control the body.

The entire room is busy, just like watching Kung Fu movies where they train to catch flies with chopsticks, training everyone's observation, agility, and control.

After just thirty minutes of warm-up, his whole body was already soaked in sweat—

Seemingly simple games, each project is trying to mobilize the whole body as much as possible, and requires the spirit and body to be equally tense, not allowing distraction.

Soaked in sweat!

The whole person is like being fished out of the water. Now Anson finally understands why so many people come to class wearing sportswear or yoga clothes. This is clearly not much different from a fitness class.

Huff, huff.

Anson turned to look at Jack, and the two of them showed a hearty smile.

This is embarrassing for the two unprepared newbies. Their T-shirts are completely soaked, even their hair is dripping, and their whole bodies are steaming.

So, what happens next?

The long-haired teacher, who still hasn't introduced himself, isn't surprised. "Next, there are two minutes. Students who need to wipe their sweat and drink water can take a breath. Students who need to change clothes can go to the locker room."

"It doesn't matter if you don't have a change of clothes. Our students' official T-shirts are all provided free of charge. We will start the formal class in two minutes."

Everything is as expected.

Wipe sweat, change clothes, drink water.

When they returned to the room again, the atmosphere naturally relaxed.

Although they haven't introduced themselves and still don't know each other's names, a series of warm-up activities have allowed them to completely relax, and even their eye contact is tinged with some familiarity and closeness.

Jack looked at Anson, constantly jumping in place, even starting to rub his hands. No words were needed; his body language conveyed his anticipation.

Anson was no exception, so what will the introductory course cover next?

"Very good, now that everyone is ready, let's feel some emotions, shall we?"

"Generally speaking, we should start with imitating animals, but I think everyone has imitated countless animals in the previous two levels of courses. Today, let's try something new."

"How about it, are you ready?"

"Well, it's too late if you're not ready."

First chapter.