| Manager: | Whew, I still can't believe help came from the heavens in the form of Yukio's daughter. What a godsend you are! |
| Manager: | Did you see the look on that guy's face? Those twitchy eyebrows? It was too good! |
| Izumi: | (Pretty major attitude shift for someone who was just crying at the feet of Mr. Twitchy Eyebrows.) |
| Izumi: | Listen, I hate to rain on your parade, but we still have to actually find new additions for our troupe. |
| Manager: | Huh? What about your insider connections and stuff? |
| Izumi: | I don't have any. I made it all up on the spot. |
| Manager: | What?! |
| Rookie Member: | You were lying?! |
| Izumi: | (Were they really that gullible?! Now I just feel bad...) |
| Izumi: | Ahem, it was more like acting, really. Call it a street act. |
| Manager: | So you're telling me that our new members are... |
| Izumi: | Nonexistent, yeah. |
| Manager: | Aw, man... |
| Rookie Member: | Does that mean the troupe is going under after all? |
| Izumi: | Not if we get straight to work and find people right now. |
| Manager: | But there's no time! |
| Izumi: | There won't be if you keep wasting it with hemming and hawing! |
| Manager: | It's never gonna work. All the old members left, and I could only drum up one new member. |
| Manager: | I've got a bad rep, the troupe's reviews are as bad as it gets... Nobody in their right mind would sign on with us. |
| Izumi: | (Okay. This is starting to piss me off.) |
| Rookie Member: | Um, I don't know what I can do to help, but I'll do whatever you need! |
| Rookie Member: | I wouldn't want to lose my troupe right after I signed on, and it beats doing nothing at all! |
| Izumi: | (You, on the other hand, are a very good boy!) |
| Izumi: | There, you see? All you have to do is keep your head up like, uh... I'm sorry, what's your name? |
| Sakuya: | Sakuya Sakuma, ma'am! |
| Izumi: | Okay, nice to meet you, Sakuya! |
| Sakuya: | It's a pleasure, ma'am! |
| Izumi: | You see that? Sakuya's the new kid, and he's doing his part. I suggest you get your act together and act more like the manager you are. |
| Manager: | Urgh, fine. When we fail, I guess it won't be for lack of trying. |
| Izumi: | (...You know, I'm starting to see exactly why our Yakuza friend was so hard on you.) |
| Sakuya: | So, how do we find some new members? |
| Manager: | Should we pass out flyers? |
| Izumi: | Flyers might work if we had more time, but I don't think it'll get us far. |
| Izumi: | (There's got to be a way we can attract people interested in acting without flagging down people at random.) |
| Izumi: | Ooh, I know! How about a street act? |
| Izumi: | It could be good publicity for the troupe, and it'll get the attention of people interested in theater. |
| Sakuya: | Ooh, that's a great idea! |
| Sakuya: | I've never done one before, though. It's like improv, right? |
| Sakuya: | Do we just decide what to act on the spot? |
| Izumi: | I think we should pick a theme and stick to it for the most part. This is a street act to highlight the best parts of the troupe. |
| Sakuya: | The best parts of the troupe... |
| Izumi: | Matsukawa, are there any benefits to joining the troupe? |
| Manager: | Well, we've got a dorm, and we provide two square meals a day prepared by yours truly! |
| Izumi: | Nice. New actors don't make much right out the gate, so having room and board covered is a pretty huge plus. |
| Sakuya: | Well, um, that IS a plus, but... |
| Izumi: | (What's with the awkward trailing off?) |
| Manager: | Also, we have our very own theater, so we've always got someplace to rehearse! |
| Izumi: | Mm-hm. So far, so good. Let's incorporate that into a street act. |
| Izumi: | The cast is the three of us. Matsukawa, you're the manager. I'm the director. And Sakuya, you're an eager aspiring actor doing an audition. |
| Izumi: | This will be set in the middle of the audition. That sound good? |
| Sakuya: | Yes, ma'am! |
| Manager: | Why am I not surprised that Yuki's daughter is no stranger to this stuff? |
| Izumi: | Well, I used to belong to a troupe, myself. I've done street acts, too. |
| Manager: | Oh, wow. It's good to have someone with experience! |
| Sakuya: | We're lucky we found you! |
| Izumi: | (Okay, we've got something thrown together. Now to play it out, I guess.) |
| ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– | |
| Manager: | Hiya! I'm the manager of the Mankai Company troupe. It's time to get this audition underway. |
| Izumi: | (Ugh, he opened up with a self-introduction?) |
| Izumi: | (Come to think of it, that's how the last play started, too. Guess that solves the question of who wrote it.) |
| Manager: | Let's have the first autitionee introduce himself. |
| Sakuya: | H-Here! Actor number one! Sakuya Sakuma! 17 years old! |
| Sakuya: | My hobby is practicing lines from my favorite plays by the riverbank, and I'm really good at remembering names and faces! |
| Manager: | And what brings you here today? |
| Sakuya: | I've always been into acting, and I saw an ad for a troupe that was recruiting live-in actors, so I said what the hey and filled the application out! |
| Manager: | Ooh, I see! |
| Izumi: | (He sounds genuinely impressed. Did he even do an interview before taking Sakuya on?) |
| Manager: | Okay, then, let's hear some of the director's questions for our new entrants! |
| Izumi: | Huh?! Oh. Oh, yes, of course! Here I come with my questions! I mean, here I go! |
| Izumi: | (Oh geez, was my voice always this high? Even I'm cringing at my own delivery.) |
| Passerby A: | Good lord. |
| Passerby B: | Did they lose a dare or something? |
| Passerby A: | Maybe that's the setting. |
| Izumi: | ... |
| Izumi: | (Great. I should've known I'd be dead weight.) |
| Sakuya: | Something wrong? |
| Izumi: | I'm sorry. I used to be in a troupe, but no amount of practice could cure my hammy acting. I was useless on stage. |
| Sakuya: | You're not hammy at all, ma'am! |
| Manager: | If you want hammy, step aside! I'm King Ham of Ham Hill. |
| Izumi: | Aww, you guys... |
| Izumi: | You're right, this is no time for whining. Let's give it all we've got! |
| Sakuya: | Yes, ma'am! |
| Manager: | If we're gonna fail anyway, might as well fail like men! |
| Izumi: | (Right. I can't tell if he's being optimistic or pessimistic here.) |
| Izumi: | All right, let's do this! |
| Onlooker: | ... |