L'ho perduta, me meschina!!

One of the great things about the Hagen exercises is that they continue to build on one other, adding a different element each time you do another exercise. When approaching any new exercise (whether for singing OR acting) it's important not to forget the other elements as you are adding to your exercise regimen.

In Destination (Exercise #1) we learned how to select pertinent activities from our daily lives in a three-minute time period. We see what motivates our behavior in the pursuit of a simple task, and all the little things that create a life onstage. In the Fourth Side (Exercise #2) we finally manage to create a relationship, either primary or secondary, with the Fourth Side of the theater - neither pushing out into, or ducking from the audience. Changes of Self (Exercise #3) opens us up to the potentialities in finding different aspects of ourselves and putting them to the service of any character we're called up to play.

In Hagen's fourth exercise, The Lost Object, we're able to learn many levels of information that are often overlooked in bringing a character to life. On the first level is the moment to moment existence of any part you play. It teaches you to be TRULY occupied with a task that has high stakes, and to find the way that emotions work on us as human beings.

Emotions in singing can be a deadly topic, because any intense emotionalism can wreak havoc on the singing mechanism. It is my assertion (and I believe Hagen's assertion as well) that we are creative artists, and should have complete control of any character we ever portray. In her own words, Hagen said:

"And hysteria is a state to be avoided by the actor at all costs. It is a state in which one is flooded with truly uncontrollable emotions, in which one becomes illogical to the point of losing awareness of any contact with surrounding realities. It is of no artistic use. It is anti-art!"

Emotions fluctuate like a fever chart, and they are sourced in the circumstances in which you find yourself. As human beings we NEVER plan when we're going to get angry, get happy, cry, laugh or scream, and neither do we plan the length and intensity of these emotions.

Emotions TAKE US, we can't take THEM.

In the fourth exercise you'll set up circumstances in which you find a lost object that has tremendous value to your circumstances. It can be any object - keys, a check, credit cards, directions, phone numbers, eyeglasses, jewelry, airplane tickets, theater tickets, etc. The object MUST have great value to you so that it will intensify your search. Not being able to find this object will evoke STRONG emotions in you. That's good. Make sure you know what the consequences will be IF YOU DON'T find this object.

As you rehearse this at home, observe how something in one moment leads you to the next moment. Remember, too, that you're FAITH in your circumstances is GREATEST when you are TAKING ACTION!! That way, when YOU REALLY look for the lost object, you will find emotions coming in on you and you will BELIEVE that you have really lost the object.

The purpose of the exercise is to train you to focus on your DOINGS, not on your FEELINGS. Many singers go terribly wrong in this department and play general states of emotion which do nothing to further their character's existence onstage. You'll almost always be able to tell someone how you FELT when something happened, but you'd be hard pressed to tell them what you DID in the circumstances.

You'll also notice how emotions work on you - one minute you may be calm. Don't judge that calmness and think "Oh, that's wrong. I should be FEELING SOMETHING here." Let the calm be there, continue the action - you may get something EVEN BETTER in a few moments.

Also be aware that any time you try to REPEAT an emotion you experienced in a rehearsal or performance - THAT BECOMES YOUR OBJECTIVE - and it prevents you from playing actions in the IMMEDIATE present.

You will find that the more you practice this exercise, the more you will become alive to the impulses that move in on you, and will allow you to approach character work in a FRESH and HUMAN way, every time you practice or perform.

To show an example of a "lost object" at its FINEST, here is an example from Act II of Tosca with Maria Callas and Tito Gobbi. When the lost object exercise is done correctly YOU as the audience will find that YOUR pulse quickens and that you become involved in the seach. Is she going to find it?

The lost object work begins around 5:35: