Women on The Verge of A Nervous Breakdown

When it came to portraying Carlos in Women on The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, I approached it as a truth digging exercise. I wanted to excavate the kernels of authenticity within him as he was clearly a man hiding secrets and it was with that very word that Carlos began to speak to me in volumes.

I made a list of fifty secrets that Carlos had, any number of which were playing in the background while he spoke and moved through his life. He to me was like a Labrador puppy playful, inquisitive and sweet but always looking for approval in Carlos’ case this is from his abrasive and controlling mother, Lucia.

I changed his walk to a shuffle so as to never lift his feet or ground him this often led to him falling over or stumbling over laces. Throughout the musical play Carlos has a romantic attachment of Marisa and then seems to be forced on Candela by circumstance it was initially a challenge to find why he was doing it but when considering secrets and a life not in his control with no freedom to make his own decision playing a character who was concealing layers of their identity like personality the urge to be extravagant , silly , take control and of course his sexuality just to please his mother and fiancé.

Portraying him meant being physically smaller and vocally sounding more childlike, naïve and slighter higher in register than I would speak which helped bring out the vulnerability of this character and connect with the audience. This helped me anchor him as a person and effectively convey his vulnerability and inner turmoil.