What does Laura want?

Question

I'm trying to portray Laura Wingfield in the Glass Menagerie. As far as objectives go, can anyone think of an ACTABLE one to sum up what exactly she wants? I'm having trouble doing so because I feel like everything she strives for is defined by negation- she is affected by her mother and brother and rarely ever actively affects either.

I need to be able to strive for something in Amanda (who's so aggressive to begin with), something more active than "to push away", "to distract" or "to guilt trip".

Answer 1

Actable objectives? Bull! What garbage!! The playwright has provided an entire play of actable role, why louse it up with some plastered-on idiocy? All you have to do to play the role is react to the stimuli of each moment of the play the way Laura would react to it., and with honestly and with nothing held back. Yours sounds like a Practical Aesthetics approach, Worthless and dealing with things that have nothing to do with acting. Stand up and say the lines as Laura's emotional reactions to the things that are happening around her. That is acting or rather it is reacting which is what today's better actors do instead of the planned acting you are working on.

Answer 2

The Glass Menagerie Laura Wingfield

Answer 3

You sound like you are over-thinking all of this. READ the play and concentrate! Laura is a fragile soul and has been dominated by her mother. She is not really affected by her brother, per se. You need to convey that her mind has been crippled by her mother and to realize that Laura is her own worst enemy (a condition fueled of course, by Amanda); her "crippled" mind affects her much more than her physical infirmity does. If you cannot do this effectively then relinquish the role to someone who can.

Answer 4

I read this play last year, and played Laura at the state Drama Competition. To me, it wasn't a tough character to figure out. The way I see it, she wants to please her mother and her brother. She is a homebody, happy just staying alone, polishing her glass collection, etc. She has no confidence, and only makes contact with the outside world to please her mother. She also tries to be the mediator between Tom and Amanda, both very strong personalities, in stark contrast to Laura's delicate character. I hope this helped a little.