Teenagers everywhere could learn a lesson from Reeths-Puffer junior Holden Earnest:
Listen to your mother more often!
Before his sophomore year, Earnest never gave much thought to the idea of theater or acting. He’s a varsity baseball and tennis player and figured his high school extracurricular experience would be focused on sports.
But his mother thought he had the type of personality that’s perfect for the stage and encouraged him to enroll in a theater class.
Actually, encouraged might be a nice way to put it, the way Earnest tells it.
Holden Earnest
“My mom kind of pushed me to do it,” Earnest said. “She just told me I had been kind of charismatic my whole life.”
So he took Theater 1, taught by R-P drama teacher and director Adrienne Lewis, and quickly warmed up to acting.
“I just fell in love with it right away,” Earnest said. “It’s a very welcoming community.”
Earnest had a role in the ensemble for last spring’s well-received production of the musical Mama Mia! and very much enjoyed the experience, even though he had a dancing, non-speaking part.
This fall he aimed much higher, trying out for and landing the lead role in this weekend’s production of “One Wife Too Many.” Show times are Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m.
The lead role may seem like a big leap for a kid who only had a small part in one production a few months ago, but Earnest had a “brilliant” audition, according to Lewis.
“I knew he was the right person for the role,” the director said. “He has the most lines and blocking by far and has handled it like a champ. In fact, he has been exceeding in his role for the amount of experience he has. This is his moment to shine and show that he can do anything he sets his mind or heart to.”
Earnest said he wasn’t as much interested in having the lead role as he was in playing a character who shares part of his name.
His first name is Holden, of course, and he plays a television actor named James Holden. That was enough to draw his interest.
“I just felt like I had to go out for that, and I’m glad I did,” Earnest said.
Surprisingly, the inexperienced actor said he didn’t put much effort into preparing for the audition, explaining that “I’m a very big procrastinator, but we read through it in class last year, so I had a pretty good feel for it.”
The character of James Holden creates a lot of problems with his love life. In the beginning of the play, he’s returning home from his honeymoon with his fourth wife, only to learn that his three previous marriages were never legally dissolved, leaving him with four angry wives and a lot of funny problems.
Earnest obviously shares part of a name with his character – but does that mean he’s a lot like the fictional James Holden?
“No!” Earnest said, when asked that question. “I don’t like conflict at all!”
The four wives meet and address their rather funny grievances.
So we can assume that Earnest avoids overlapping romances, unlike the character he plays?
“Yes!” he said with a laugh.
On one hand, Earnest said he doesn’t experience stage fright, largely because he’s used to playing sports in front of audiences.
But he admits he’s a little bit nervous – and very excited - with opening night only two days away.
“We got the script in August, and it seemed like such a long time away – and now we’re here," he said. "It’s crazy!”
