Expert: John T. Aney - 8/17/2007

Question
Hi I'm a 16 year old and I plan on auditioning for Harvey at my school. I really need some help getting the character and our director has told us that he doesn't want a bunch of Jimmy Stewart impressions. She described Elwood being simple but I'm having trouble being simple when I'm really not that kind of person. If you are familiar with the show the monolouge is when Elwood is describing what he and Harvey spent their time doing.

Answer
You should check what you think it means to be "simple."  Simple does not mean dumb, or retarded.  It really just means...simple.  Someone who sees life very simply, who doesn't worry too much about the complexities of life or his actions, and for whom the world is pretty straightforward.  When Harvey appears to him, it seems to make perfect sense, and he doesn't understand why others don't see it that way.

Try doing the monologue as if you were talking about what you did with a 8-year old boy, instead of a 6 foot tall rabbit.  Describe it very simply, without much emotion, other than happiness.

jta