Expert: Wanda Reinholdt - 2/13/2008

Question
QUESTION: Hi.  I'm actually in the process of auditions for les mis right now, and I have been training myself vocally for two and a half years to be marius.  What are some special things about this character that I should keep in mind while "becoming" marius?  Also, the director described "A Heart Full of Love" as a new, awakening experience, as both Marius and Cosette are finding true love for the first time.  How can Marius and Cosette interact under those circumstances?  Also, is Marius completely oblivious to Eponine's feelings for him, or does he know and not know what to do as Eponine is very much of a sister to him?  Thank you so much!!  Callbacks are this Saturday evening, so if you wouldn't mind responding as soon as you can, that would be great!

ANSWER: Hi there, Jonathan.  And thanks for writing.  

Any time you are asking these kinds of questions, the answer is found in the script and/or the words of the songs.  Ask yourself what it is that he is trying to accomplish.  What is his objective?  Pick an action verb that you can act on stage to describe your objective.  Once you have this verb, then choose one or two actions to accomplish this verb.  They can be as small as staring or as large as having a tantrum.  

I know that you are looking for actuals from me.  But if I do that work for you, you will have a flat uninspiring performance.

Does this help?

Wanda
www.kaizenworks.org


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for responding. I really appreciate your answer. Could you give me of an example of one of his possible objectives in "Empty Chairs"?  If you don't feel like you can without jeopardizing my performance, that's fine, but I feel like I need a base to go off of, especially with that song.  Thanks!

Answer
Sorry Jonathan!  I thought I had answered your question.  For some reason, it did not show up in my box until today.  Weird.  And I feel bad as your call back already happened.  How did it go.

The best base I can give you is to give you a list of objectives for you to look at.  From there, you can determine one that you want to use.  

A list can be found at: www.youknow.com/chris/acting/actverbs.htm
or www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/drama30/teacher/3objobs.html

BTW I hope you did not worry too much about whether you have the right objective.  I hope you picked one and went for it.  Even if it is not the best choice, a bold objective is better than none.  

Let me know how you did.

Wanda