DAY TWENTY SEVEN - Saturday April 21

DAY TWENTY SEVEN - Saturday April 21

In the morning, I started staging the last scene of the show while Patti worked with kid soldiers for the number with children.  

In the last scene, our Prince Sandor (romantic lead) has to get very angry at Bondy (the comic lead) because the latter is baiting the former as a way to build up the tension before revealing the deus ex machina that the romantic leads will end up together. One of the actors I was working with, while having many strengths as a performer, does not gravitate towards anger too easily.  I decided to do an exercise with him that I often do back home in scenes that need more emotional stakes - an exercise, by the way, which has never failed to succeed. It is a way to physical-ize the tension in a scene by having two actors lean into each other with their hands on each others' shoulders. Whomever has the line, is pushing the other performer backwards. Whomever has the power in the scene should be winning the pushing. It is impossible to speak lines without engaging in this exercise because of the strength needed to push the other actor, even a few feet (or meters!).  I explained to these two performers that we were going to do an exercise that would NOT be the way we would ultimately perform the scene - it was just that... an exercise.  

One of the actors refused to do the exercise.  He said his character does not have that tension - which is true. The contrast in tension/lack of tension is what gives the scene humor. I, again, explained that it was simply an EXERCISE - and that his participating in the exercise would help his fellow performer.  He said he'd rather just express the tension in the lines. I repeated that I was simply asking him to HELP HIS COLLEAGUE. He said he couldn't do it because that's not how he will be in the scene. I got really pissed.  I said, "I can do it and I'm not even in the scene!!!!  Ok, you stand over there and say the lines while I do the exercise to HELP ANOTHER ACTOR find something deeper in their performance."  

He at least (begrudgingly) agreed to do that.  So I was pushing against the actor as the other actor was pushing against me.  He is a very soft-spoken, gentle creature so I was surprised with his strength - I had a lot of trouble not losing ground. 

After the exercise, the two gents did the scene again.  The actor who WAS willing to do the exercise found a new level of passion heretofore unseen. After the scene I asked the actor who was UNWILLING to participate in the exercise if he noticed the difference in the other guy's performance. HE replied, "He wasn't angrier. He was just louder." I looked around the room and every single other person agreed that the WILLING actor had taken a great leap. I explained that it wasn't the final performance and that he had a ways to go - but that it was great progress and the exercise helped. At that point, some of the other performers seemed to scold UNWILLING actor for his unwillingness to bend at all, on anything. He shouted back at them - I think saying how he was behaving very well - and was not out of line. Judging from the others' reaction, he was the only one of that opinion - everyone else felt he was being difficult.

I explained, rather loudly (and in his face) that I found it very upsetting that he was unwilling to help his fellow actor and that his behavior was very unfair.  He, of course, disagreed.

I had to explain, again, that my methods may be different from what they are used to but these were not necessarily American/Russian differences. Just different ways to achieve the same common goal - the best show possible. 

It should be said, at this juncture, that the UNWILLING actor is EXTREMELY talented - is great in the show and always was from day one. He NEVER stops working and has a great work ethic - excepting the above story. 

So, I felt very good about the rehearsal - in spite of the fireworks.

We had lunch at new little bistro we found. I found yet another favorite chicken dish - chicken breast and vegetables in a Parmesan/mushroom cream sauce.  DEE-licious. It reminded me of the Popeye Chicken at Pizza Capri in Chicago, near Steppenwolf.

We then took care of some business. The SIM card on my cell phone had run out of minutes - which was odd since nobody had this number except Pisha and Grisha and calls to and from them were free since we were on the same network. It turns out I had been paying 50 rubles a day for a service that played music when people called me - rather than simply ringing. I explained that I would never purchase that service since only two people had my number and that I didn't need to entertain them any more than I already had. They will credit me the minutes. 

I then went to take some money out of the cash machine.  With 1 dollar equaling 30 rubles, the balance at the bottom is always very exciting.  If only it had a dollar sign in front of it!

We had the evening off because the specTACle (show) onstage has most of our principals in it.  So I went to see it while Patti and Gregg did some work with the Ballet company.  It was called "Dead Souls" and is a pop opera of the Gorky novel. Gorky is a national hero - and this show includes many characters from other novels of his - so it is a glorious Gorky-fest for Russians. The show was directed by Kirill - the artistic director here and has real style. I thought it was fantastic. The costume design was really amazing and the entire production had real vision. It won four Golden Mask Awards - the Russian Tony. For best show, best director, best costume design and best music.  

Click here for a link to the show's page at the theatre - check out the photos.  The final image - over 40 performers all slithering up a single grid of a set piece which came crashing down from the top of the proscenium was one of the most stunning I've seen.

A little wine and cheese with Pisha and Grisha afterwards.