Colin M is a 17-year-old aspiring actor who has acted in multiple productions- many of them Shakespearean. Given that Shakespeare plays such a large role in Gayle Forman’s Just One Day, I thought it would be fun to sit down with Colin and ask him a little about his experiences acting in Shakespearean production.
Q: How many productions of Shakespeare’s work have you been in, what were they and whom did you play?
A: 8- 12th Night as Andrew Aguecheek; A Midsummer Night’s Dream twice- both times as Bottom; Macbeth as Banquo; As You Like It as Touchstone; Hamlet twice- once as Hamlet and again as Horatio; Othello as Iago; Romeo and Juliet as Mercutio; and Julius Ceasear twice as both Julius Ceaser and Brutus.
Q: Wow, that’s a lot of roles. Any favorites?
A: Yeah. Mercutio is my favorite role, followed by Brutus.
Q: Any particular reasons why?
A: Mercutio is a true friend, much like Horatio in Hamlet. He is a good honest friend who tries to keep Romeo out of trouble. He is a perfect combination of anger and pain. As for Brutus, he is a true patriot. I like being strong supporting roles.
Q: Do you have a favorite play?
A: Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet for tragedies and Midsummer Night’s Dream for comedies.
Q: In terms of acting, do you prefer tragedies or comedies?
A: Comedies are easier for me because I am a comedic person- that’s who I am. But I prefer acting in the tragedies. I like tragedies because you have to convey more emotion to really capture the audience. You are a better actor if you can get the audience to feel pain. Having the audience’s attention, looking into their eyes and seeing clearly that they are feeling what you are feeling- that is a good moment. The best. To get congratulations for making people laugh, that’s ok. But getting congratulations for making people feel pain- that’s harder, more rewarding. Tragedy is harder and more rewarding.
Q: You’ve been in other productions that weren’t Shakespeare. Do you prefer acting in Shakespeare productions? What’s different about being in a work of Shakespeare than in other plays?
A: I’m more comfortable acting in Shakespearean plays. It comes more natural because I’ve been doing Shakespeare plays longer. Acting in Shakespeare’s plays- I can’t really explain it. There’s just some emotion that’s there that isn’t with other productions. With Shakespeare plays the audience most likely doesn’t understand what you are saying- you have to overact to communicate. That makes it more challenging.
Q: What’s you Dream Role? Whom would you like to play in a large scale production?
A: Mercutio.
Q:How do you prepare for a role?
A: First I have to understand the text. What is it I’m saying? I read through my lines. Then I need to understand the character’s drive- what motivates them. Once I know that I can work around that- work toward what the character wants.
Q: Do you ever feel the moment you loose yourself in a character?
A: Yeah. That’s the greatest compliment an actor can receive. That I wasn’t Colin playing Banquo. I was Banquo. There was a moment on stage where my character was angry and Ifelt that. I was so angry at Macbeth, I felt cheated.
Q: Where do you see yourself going with Shakespeare?
A: My dream would be to act in a modern big screen remake, like Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet.
Q: Any play in particular?
A: It’d have to be a tragedy- probably Macbeth. A modern take on Macbeth- that’d be cool.
Thanks so much for your time.
No problem.
Colin is currently playing Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
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