查尔斯·霍尔特 ’89 is an actor that has performed in such celebrated productions as: 斯莫基·乔咖啡馆, 耶稣基督超级巨星, The Rocky Horror Show, and 狮子王. He is currently preparing to be the headliner for the cruise ship, 海洋的光辉, 2019年3月初启航. 霍尔特是开放框架项目的创始人和创造者, a non-profit organization that is designed in training individuals in the course of emotional literacy and its importance in learning to navigate the challenges of tough life experiences, 有问题的接触, 和困难的关系. He took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for 校友关系. 这是交换的一部分.
校友关系: How did you decide to attend betvictor伟德学院 and was your plan to always focus on the Performing Arts?
查尔斯·霍尔特: I initially enrolled at the University of North Alabama, where I had received a football scholarship. 在一次非常令人失望的经历之后, I called Coach Mike Clary and asked if he would consider helping me in my efforts to betvictor伟德学院. 他有义务. I knew Coach Clary from a recruiting visit he and Coach Ellingsworth made to my house while I was still in high school.
我的计划是获得工商管理学位. 然而, after struggling through one of former Professor Sue Legge’s Accounting classes, I heeded her advice and began searching for other disciplines that seemed to interest me. Performing Arts had never entered my mind as a possible study or career. 我根本没怎么看过戏. During my entire time at Rhodes I did not enter the McCoy for a class nor did I ever attend a performance.
从罗兹毕业后，我在IBM开始了我的职业生涯. After about six months, I knew that I would not be spending the rest of my career with “Big Blue.” I left IBM after two years and signed on with another corporate outfit, 想着“草会更绿”.事实并非如此. 这家公司位于亚特兰大, 我搬迁的地方, 从我开始工作的那一天算起一年, 他们解雇了我. It was one of the most devastating, liberating times of my life. I knew I didn’t fit the corporate style, but getting fired was a blow nonetheless.
As soon as I moved to Atlanta, I began going to a jazz dive bar and participating in their “open mic.“我会唱我在纳什维尔长大的歌. 有一天晚上, a gentleman encouraged me to think about auditioning for some of 音乐al theatre shows in town. 在最初的犹豫之后，我决定试一试.
经过多次试镜和表演, I got a big break by being cast in the Alliance Theatre’s production of 阿门角，改编自詹姆斯·鲍德温的小说. 我在1996年3月完成了这个节目. July 6, 1996 I moved to New York City with $400 in my pocket and a big dream of landing on a Broadway stage. 在我到达一个月后，我被选中扮演西蒙 耶稣基督超级巨星 with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, both stars of the 1973 movie. A month after that show closed, I was cast in the first national tour of 斯莫基·乔咖啡馆, which became the longest running musical review in Broadway history. I was later cast as the first African American to play Rocky in the European Tour of 洛基恐怖秀. 1999年，我出演了我人生中最重要的一出戏， 狮子王. 我在荣耀之地度过了光辉的八年.
AR: Do you have any advice for current Rhodes students that are interested in being an actor?
CH: My advice for aspiring actors is to take as many classes as possible, 在外出和参加社区演出时. 了解你的手艺的历史. Continue to work on areas in which you feel you need improvement. 追求卓越. 平庸不是任何学科的选择. The performance arts call for an individual’s best at all times. If one cannot commit to this, then being an actor will not be a good choice of direction.
AR: You just finished up a performance with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, 十字路口的魔鬼，你能谈谈这个项目和你的角色吗?
CH: 罗伯特·穆迪, 孟菲斯交响乐团的音乐指挥, saw me in a performance that was hosted by the Memphis chapter of Facing 历史 and Ourselves. 演出结束后，罗伯特让我给他打个电话. “我想和你合作，”他说. Two years later, he brought me back to Memphis for his brilliant rendition of 十字路口的魔鬼. 这是伊戈尔·斯特拉文斯基的作品 士兵的故事 and Delta Blues prodigy Robert Johnson – an unfolding story of how the Devil bargains his way into possessing the fiddle of the soldier in exchange for a book that predicts the future. As with most bargains of this type, things don’t work out too well for the soldier in the end.
AR: 你还将在游轮上开始一份工作. 这个职位是什么?这个机会是怎么来的?
CH: I am going to perform on a cruise ship, 海洋的光辉, for the first time in my career. When the opportunity to audition came, I was hesitant and not excited. The day before leaving for Memphis and my premiere with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, I decided to submit my songs to the casting office of the cruise ship. Two days later they emailed me offering me the role of “featured” singer, touring parts of the world.
AR: 演出前怎么热身?
CH: 我以一些热身运动开始我的一天. I spend around forty-five minutes to an hour casually, yet consciously, tuning my voice. 然而，我最好的热身是与他人交谈. This warms my voice up and gives me a gauge on where I may need more preparation. 我尽量在演出前两小时不吃东西. If I get too hungry before a show I eat an apple or have some steamed vegetables.
AR: What has been you most memorable role/experience thus far and why?
CH: All of my performances have made a lasting impression on my career as well as my personal life. 《betvictor伟德》名列榜首. 这个故事, 音乐, 的语言, and the time in which I performed the show all made the experience life changing and transformational. Being on the Broadway stage is one of the most blissful encounters I have had as a performer. 没有什么能比得上它，也没有什么感觉比得上它.