Character Questions with Chad Marriott

Chad Marriott answers some questions about the character of Octavius Caesar.

1) Pick three adjectives that describe your (major) character and explain why you chose them:

If I had to choose three words to describe Octavius they’d be confident, angry, and inspired. First of all, the fact that Octavius goes against Brutus and challenges Antony show that he is confident almost to a fault. He draws his sword on Brutus, who is a much more experienced in battle than Octavius. The next word, angry, is why he is so rash and is quick to fight. He is mad at what has happened. This is threatening his future and his father has been killed. Octavius is understandably angry and it doesn’t go away until Brutus is dead just like he said:

“When think you that the sword goes up again?

Never till Caesar’s three and thirty wounds

be well avenged;”

The last word, inspired, is why he’s doing all of this. This moment causes Octavius to become a man. When he returns to Rome after the death of Julius Caesar and chooses to join Antony in his pursuit of justice, Octavius chooses to grow up.

2) What was the last role you played (for Pigeon Creek or any other company)? Describe some key differences between that character and your current character:

The last time I worked with Pigeon Creek I played the Second Lord Dumaine in their production of All’s Well that Ends Well. There are several differences between the Second Lord Dumaine and my role in Julius Caesar of Octavius. Octavius is much more serious, better educated, and more arrogant than SLD. The stakes for Octavius are a lot higher as well. (Spoilers) His father has been murdered and he is seeking vengeance with Marc Antony to set things right. Octavius is also challenging Brutus, who is way more experienced than himself and is having a power struggle on his own side with the much more experienced Marc Antony. SLD’s goal was to mess with that pesky Parolles after convincing Bertram to let him. The difference in stakes is large and this is inherent in the difference between a comedy and a tragedy.