Episode 16: The Play of a New Era (2)
Immediately after taking over the theater, Aria and I set about remodeling both the theater and its system.
The first thing we began with was restructuring the stage.
Among those changes, the backgrounds and props came first.
Because one of the shortcomings I’d felt while watching the play this time was that the backgrounds were plain—or sometimes nonexistent.
“No matter what, in the most urgent and important scene where they’re hunting the demonic dragon, having the background be an ordinary painting of a rocky mountain completely ruins the mood.
At the very least, the rocky mountain should be collapsing and lava should be flowing out.”
“Is that so? Are the paintings used as backgrounds really that important?”
“Isn’t theater something the actors do, after all?”
Hah!
They still don’t properly understand the importance of a fitting background.
“Of course, if you ask whether the background is as important as the actors, then no.
But wouldn’t having the right background make it easier to immerse yourself in the play’s content, and easier to intuitively grasp the situation of the story?”
Would there be any atmosphere if the scene where they were going to defeat the Demon King had a kiddie hill as its backdrop?
At the very least, it ought to be a dark, gloomy, deep-dark castle bristling with sharp spikes for there to be any tension.
In other words, backgrounds are an important device that go beyond informing the audience of the story’s situation—they pull them into the atmosphere of the play.
“So you mean we should put in background paintings that suit each important scene?”
“Yes. Big and splendid ones, so that at a glance, people feel like they’re truly looking at that scene from the story.
I’m not asking for some masterpiece painting, so it’s fine if the details are a bit lacking.
What matters is conveying the image clearly.”
“Hmm... If that’s the case, rather than painting it as a single flat picture, how about dividing it into several paintings and arranging them to give a sense of depth?
For example, instead of painting an entire forest as one piece, drawing and placing several tree paintings would make it look much richer!”
“Oh, that sounds good! If we add appropriate props too, I think we’ll get exactly the feeling I want.”
Since I wasn’t an expert either, I couldn’t explain everything in detail.
But when I roughly explained the concepts and tossed out the things I’d personally seen in my past life, they figured it out and made things well on their own.
As expected, it was just that the ideas hadn’t emerged yet; once taught, the people of this world understood and developed them quickly.
The backgrounds were settled that way.
Next was the remodeling of the seats.
“The cheap seats only need to be comfortable enough to sit in without discomfort.
Pack in as many seats as possible and focus on letting people watch the play.”
“Um, new theater owner?
Even if we put in this many seats, there’s no point if we lower the price by more than half.”
“It’s fine. For the upper-class seats we’re making to target nobles and wealthy people, I plan to charge a truly high price.
Ticket revenue will actually mainly come from that side.”
It was similar to when I made the hardcover editions.
No, it went even further than that.
Because I planned to make the upper-class seats so luxurious they couldn’t even be compared to the regular seats.
People with money, after all, will accept any price as long as they’re treated properly.
Besides that, we prepared sound-related and lighting-related magic tools to deliver the actors’ voices to every audience member.
And with the establishment of a capitalism-filled food court where the menu you could order changed depending on the grade of your seat, the theater’s remodeling was finished.
Next came the most important part: the actors!
Rights come with responsibilities, after all.
“Since we’re hiring them as professional actors and improving their treatment,
it’s only natural that we should weed out those who need to be weeded out.”
It wasn’t as if I was doing charity, after all.
Therefore, we went through a process of selecting only those with proper determination and skill through interviews.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t work with everyone who dreamed of becoming an actor.
“Thank you! From now on, I’ll focus only on theater and work hard!”
“My goodness! Is it true that I’ll be able to act in Author Wei’s work?!
Please! Please choose me!”
Fortunately, perhaps because of the sweet reward of permanent employment and the fan devotion of being able to perform my work,
most of the people who passed the interview were overflowing with enthusiasm.
“Then those who have passed, please follow me.
I will teach you as much as possible so that you will lack nothing in performing this play.”
“If anyone here is taking the current situation lightly, steel your resolve even now.
I will not end your training until I judge that you truly, perfectly, will not bring shame upon the author’s play.”
“““Y-yes, understood!”””
Thanks to that, they began following Aria’s spirited and strict lessons without complaint.
Having gone this far, I had poured in everything I could do.
The calm before the storm.
Whether a play touched by my hand would work in this world as well—
the results would decide.
***
Several months had already passed since the release of the story of the villainess Clarine, [The Villainess Does Not Fall].
Far from its popularity dying down, it was around the time when, thanks to the support and recommendation campaigns of its fanatical readers, its sales were beginning to increase even more.
“Hey! It’s almost time! Let’s hurry!”
“Is it already? If we’re late, we might have to line up like when we buy books, so let’s hurry!”
The people of the capital were flocking toward the capital’s largest theater, “The Siren’s Song.”
The reason was because of a certain performance opening there today.
—The love story that shook the kingdom! Now it comes alive?
A play containing the love of Mary and Clarine, scheduled to open at The Siren’s Song!—
—The original author, Wei, declared that it would be a masterpiece unlike any play seen before.
It is said that the famous elven bard Miss Aria personally participated in its production...—
Thanks to the newspaper kindly announcing not only the opening schedule but also the location, every fan who learned the news ended up gathering there.
Naturally, this was a promotional article that Wade had paid to have distributed.
Unlike the people of this world, who still only passively accepted the information in newspapers,
Wade knew that newspapers were an excellent means of advertising.
The effect was, as expected, tremendous.
It spread by word of mouth even to those who didn’t read newspapers, causing countless fans to gather at “The Siren’s Song” in time for the opening date.
Among them were people who were simply fans of the things Wade had written.
There were also people who had come after hearing that Aria had participated in the production of the play.
And there were even a small number of people who belonged to neither group, but followed along because everyone else was gathering.
They were truly all sorts of people.
And what they were looking forward to was just as varied.
And apart from that massive crowd,
at the special passage for those who had purchased upper-class seats—
through what Wade had named the “VIP-only passage,” there were people entering comfortably without waiting.
“Oh, it’s been decorated rather well.
As expected, that young man had reason to invite me with such confidence.”
It was none other than Duke Lucid.
He had come because Wade had asked him to stop by and watch, partly to help with promotion, while he was carrying out the matter Wade had requested of him.
“I don’t think there used to be a dedicated passage like this before.
And quite a few things seem to have been added, haven’t they?”
At the theater’s appearance, which had changed considerably from the few times he had visited before, Duke Lucid naturally felt his expectations rising.
And for good reason.
“Oh! Look at this! There’s a huge picture posted here!”
“They say it’s a poster depicting the main actors in this play?”
“Then are these Mary and Mikael?
And over here are Clarine and Rube?”
Large posters depicting the main characters were posted all over the theater.
“What is this?
‘If you want the finest equipment that won’t dull even in real combat, come to Kuhiltra Forge, the friend of adventurers!’ it says?
Wait, are they actually advertising a forge inside the theater?”
“Hey, hey! Look here! There’s an advertisement for Grandma Shabre’s bakery near our lodging too.
Grandma Shabre’s lemon pie is delicious, but maybe this will bring in more customers?”
“This space is empty?
No, it says, ‘Advertising inquiries welcome! 10% discount for long-term contracts!’
Looks like all of these were put up after paying the theater.”
There were rows of signboards advertising all sorts of shops, drawing people’s attention.
“Well, what in the world is all this...”
“I can certainly feel right away that this will be different from the plays we’ve seen until now.”
Even the duke’s attendants, who had a reputation for experience and composure, showed enough curiosity to let out small sounds of admiration.
“Hmm. I already knew that young man was extraordinary.
After all, he turned the entire kingdom upside down with a single book.
But perhaps his talent was not limited to writing.”
Quietly observing the scene, Duke Lucid raised his evaluation of Wade by one level inwardly.
Looking at the theater unfolding before his eyes, it seemed he had some more hidden talents.
Thus, as the duke’s party walked while slowly surveying the changed interior of the theater,
they soon stopped upon seeing a long line stretching out in one place.
“And what line is that?”
“Please wait a moment.
...They say it is the line for the food court, where people purchase snacks and drinks to have while watching the play.”
“Snacks and drinks? If that’s the case, couldn’t they just buy them outside and bring them in?”
“It seems they are preventing people from bringing in outside food,
and have established a rule that they must purchase it here.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
At his attendant’s explanation, Duke Lucid smiled with interest.
It seemed this young man intended to keep anything that could make money thoroughly under his control.
For a moment, he was confused as to whether the man was a writer or a merchant.
“What?! Regular seats can’t drink alcohol?!
What kind of rule is that!”
“It is for the sake of a mature and quiet culture of play-watching, so we ask for your understanding.”
Then, hearing the raised voice coming from the food court, the duke asked his attendant again.
“Do they say I cannot drink alcohol either?
A play, by rights, is best enjoyed while drinking wine.”
“Ah, they say the distinguished guests in the upper-class seats are fine.
They said that distinguished guests are cultured, so there would be no problem.”
“Is that so? Now that is proper service.
It’s worth paying a high price for good seats.”
Whether it was because Wade himself was a noble and understood such matters well,
or because he truly had talent as a merchant,
in any case, if he could drink wine, there was no problem.
Having come to that conclusion, the duke had his attendant purchase a snack called popcorn, which the other commoner guests were buying.
The popcorn, purchased without even standing in line thanks to the privileges of a VIP,
“Oh ho ho! This is quite savory and salty, and delicious!
It will be perfect to eat while watching the play.”
was savory and tasty when he tried a bite.
“I can’t be the only one eating this.
You all should buy one each as well.”
After having one handed to each of his attendants too, the duke finally entered the theater hall.
Regular seats packed tightly on the floor, in a position looking up at the stage.
Special seats located where they could look down on those regular seats, with comfortable and spacious room.
And above even those special seats, upper-class seats that used entirely separate rooms of their own.
Among these, the duke’s seat was of course an upper-class seat, and among them, it was a VIP seat that was especially large and most optimized for viewing the play.
“Then, from this moment on, we shall begin the performance of the play you have all been waiting for, [The Maid and the Villainess Fall in Love]!
During the performance, we would be grateful if you would please remain quiet for the sake of the other guests!”
But regardless of such divisions above and below, once the performance began, everyone quietly closed their mouths.
And in the theater that had fallen silent in an instant,
click—
all the lights went out at once, and darkness descended.
“W-what—”
“Your Grace! Are you all right?!”
“I am fine, so do not make a commotion.”
Before the startled guests could even act,
flash!
the bright lights that turned on once more began to focus on the center of the stage.
“Khehehe! Since you failed to repay your debt, now you have no choice but to pay with your body, Mary!”
“Kyaaah! No!”
And the lines spoken by the actors who appeared under that light, far more exaggerated and filled with emotion than in the original,
spread throughout the theater through the power of magic tools, and the curtain rose on the play.