[The Pirate King]

I've been acting since sixth grade, and acting seriously for about four years now in high school. I've mostly played supporting or character roles (see below), and this year I've been cast as Marius in our school production of Les Mis. I don't need any character advice, as I've been obsessed with the show for over a year, have around 20 different recordings, five different film versions, and have read the book thoroughly. I just need to work on my stage chemistry with the actress who's playing Cosette.

I've known her for around five years, and our friendship has been on and off. We were close a few years ago, and then last year I couldn't stand her. This year we've been growing closer again. And she's attractive enough. She's a nice girl, extremely talented singer, and has potential as an actress. We have been talking a lot at rehearsals/on the internet, etc. I'm having little difficulty with the vocals, and acting by myself as the character, though a challenge, has been manageable. I'm feeling alright with the girl playing Eponine (who I've also known for years), but it's the scenes, especially A Heart Full of Love, that drag. I can't seem to make anything completely natural, and we just need to show that spark on stage.

Does anyone know how to capture this? How to make the audience believe this romance? If you don't believe Cosette and Marius are in love, the entire doesn't work, simply enough.

[PappyCat]

I had a chemistry problem with a castmate last summer. It's not the same problem, by all means, but there were some suggestions in the thread that were helpful.

http://musicals.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=60408&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=chemistry&start=12

[DaddyDiesel]

Yeah I had toplay opposite someone I didnt fully like. There was things she did on stage that I didnt agree with either. I was playing Nick Piazza and she was playing Serena in FAME.

TO try and get chemistry I basically tossed out everything I thought about her and tryed to get to know her from a brand new slate. I tryed to focus only on the things I thought were positive and not dwell on the negative. This helped me out pretty well. We still never got great chemistry. But I think developing great chemistry depends on the people. There are times that I think it is impossible to create chemistry between some people. Mainly because somtimes certain types of people just dont work well togethor.

[Che]

ummm...it's called acting. chemistry doesn't come from two actors, it comes from two characters. sure, there may be certain actors out there that you act better with, but the point is, YOU do not have to fall in love HER. marius must be in love with cosette. very different. if you are truly playing the role and are immersed in who he is and are open enough emotionally to let yourself feel his feelings instead of trying to create his feelings within yourself, it will happen. especially if she is doing the same thing, but if you're fully vulnerable and acting well, it doesn't matter if she is or not. it'll just look more like she's not a good actress if she's not hooked up to it.

just let yourself go there.