Make the expression match the attitude
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
The apprentice was meant to simper when pretending to be charming, producing a coy, affected smile that the audience could recognize as artificial. The ambassador would smirk after winning a trivial argument, allowing a smug satisfaction to undermine the earlier polish. A nervous messenger would cringe when the argument grew loud, shrinking back toward the doorway in visible discomfort. The actors rehearsed the expressions separately before placing them in the same scene, so viewers could follow the different attitudes instead of treating all three reactions as equivalent.
To simper convincingly, the apprentice held the artificial smile a little longer than an ordinary friendly greeting would require. The ambassador learned to smirk briefly after the victory, letting the self-satisfaction appear before the character remembered the visitors. The messenger began to cringe at the raised voices rather than at every movement, giving the reaction a clear cause within the scene. The director then shortened one pause, allowing the audience to notice each response without losing the flow of the conversation.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.