Link: 'Thirties Forever' in the news.

Here are links to some of the various video, reviews, and interviews from the 'Thirties Forever' workshop performance last monday...

I'm in one of them (miscredited as Edward Baskin, which is hilarious in and of itself), but they caught me completely off-guard by asking me to anwer in Russian at the last second, so my Russian here is, to be quite honest, shameful. 

If anyone asks, it's Edward Baskin who speaks awful Russian, not Adam Muskin...

Сноб/Snob Magazine

Первый Канал/Channel One News

Телеканал звезда/Star TV

Голос Америки/Voice of America

Sorry, my patented 'on-the-fly translation' won't work here... there's just too much.  Hope your Russian is good...

-A

Onstage: "Thirties Forever" at the Baryshnikov Arts Center

On August 16th at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City, the 'Thirties Forever' musical workshop was performed for an invite-only audience of about 200 in the Jerome Robbins Theater.  Mikhail Shydkoi (the former Russian minister of culture) was the author of the script, idea, and is the artistic director of the project.  The cast involved approximately 10 American and 10 Russian actors, with music performed and arranged by Levon Oganezov.  The workshop was directed by Gary Cherniakhovsky.

...And the vocal coach was my good friend and colleague Taylor Sutherland, and I was the associate director.  Both of us doubled as actors as well, which was nice for a change, getting back in front of the lights instead of being in the house...

The show revolves around a concept and dream long held by Mr. Shvydkoi; to show audiences in America and Russia how similar we are by presenting us with real examples of music from the 1930's that was popular and heard in both cultures and in both languages.  The story line revolves around a Russian takeover of an American oldies radio station by the same name of the show, 'Thirties Forever', and the action takes place over the course of the thirties, forties, and today.  While the project is certainly ambitious, it underlines a very interesting, and very true point: that we as two cultures have much more in common than we realize.

Non-Sequitur: New York State of Mind...

Hello all once again...I know it's been quiet around here with the theater season in Moscow drawing to a close, but my summer is just getting started!  Throughline is coming to NYC tomorrow where I'll be doing my best to keep this site up to date with my dissertation, fundraising for my show, and anecdotes from my rehearsals at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in August!

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighbourhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line

I'm in a New York state of mind
 
-A

In Dialogue: Л.А. Сулержицский/L. A. Sulerzhitsky

As I was going through Sulerzhitsky's writings, I found this passage in one of his essays on his dislike of hysterics in the theater and in the house.  I found it to be particularly moving, and thought I'd just throw it up on the blog to share...

"Когда актер действительно живёт глубоко, когда его игра есть «творение» , то как бы сильно он ни взволновал зрителя – истерик не будет...Наоборот, люди даже с растрепанными нервами и склонные к истерике, поддаваясь их искусству, получат духовное удовлетворение и успокоятся душевно. Они, может быть, будут плакать на спектакле, но это будут совсем другие слёзы, - это будут тихие слёзы и скромные, не для публики, это будут благородные слёзы, умиления перед добром и красотой, слёзы о несчастиях и горе людей, в том числе, может быть, и о своем горе, поскольку и я человек и подвержен вместе со всеми страданиям, слёзы о том, почему мы все несчастны, почему жизнь не прекрасна, почему мы слабы в добре, почему мало любим друг друга и т.д., потому что настоящий талант, настоящее искусство только об этом говорит..."

And here's your on-the-fly translation...

"When an actor is truly living deeply, when his playing is the act of ‘creation’, then however strongly he may affect the audience – there will be no hysterics….On the contrary, even people with frayed nerves and tendencies towards hysterics, on giving themselves to the art will be spiritually satisfied and will be calmed in their soul.  Perhaps they will cry during the show, but these will be completely different tears - they will be quiet tears and humble ones, not for public display, they will be noble tears, emotional before the good and the beautiful, tears for the unhappiness and misfortunes of people, and perhaps their own misfortunes, as far as I am a person and am also subject to the same suffering as all, why are we all unhappy, why life is not beautiful, why we are weak in good deeds, why do we not love each other enough, and so on, because real talent, real art only speaks about this..."

I thought this was a very nice paragraph, and I found the end especially moving.  I always love having the greats on my bookshelf, helping me to keep things in perspective when it comes to art and the way we should approach it's creation.  It is truly a great responsibility to be an artist... 

-A

In the Classroom: 3rd Year Acting Exam/Экзамен по мастерству III-ого курса

Today the third year acting course (Козак/Брусникин) held their final acting exam of the year.  By the end of the third year of study, the acting exam consists of scenes from pieces that are meant to be expanded into a full-scale diploma project; a proposal for a project that can rejected or accepted by the faculty body in discussion afterwards.  In Russian, it's called a заявка на спетакль.  This acting exam was centered on the piece Материнское Поле (Our Mother, The Fields) by Чингиз Айматов (Chingis Aimatov).  Aitmatov was a soviet poet and writer from Kyrgyzstan, and this particular narrative tells the powerful story of the women of small village, their lives, loves, and incredible losses as they come face to face with the horrors of World War II.  The work was directed by Maria Zorina.

In The Classroom: The Graduating Class of 2010/Выпуск 2010 года

Today the senior course of 2010 (Золотовитский/Земцов) graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School in the Hall of Portraits in the Moscow Art Theater. 

The ceremony in the Hall of Portraits is always an emotional one, as the joy of the completion of a journey blends with the tears of saying farewell.  I also feel older with every one of these ceremonies I go to, as memories of my graduation come flooding back as if it were yesterday, and yet five years have already passed.  As I recall, the American Course of 2005 was the first course ever to have its graduation ceremony in the Hall of Portraits, a tradition that has stuck ever since.  It's nice to think that after the huge struggle and experiment that was our course, we were able to leave the school with at least one beautiful tradition for posterity, however small. 

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2010!  Успех, творчество, и везение!  Поздравляем!

-A

Link: 'Seeing Past the Present in Moscow, Part One' by John Freedman

This is a link to what looks to be a great mini-series of articles by Moscow Times Theater critic John Freedman.  I have the honor of being acquainted with John, and he always does fantastic work.

'Seeing Past the Present in Moscow, Part One'

And here is a link to his latest review of 'Money' Directed by Konstantin Raikin at the Satirikon theater.  I've already had the opportunity to watch it (in my pre-blog days!  Hence no blog entry!).  I love the picture of Sukhanov at the top of the article...he is obviously channelling Oscar the Grouch in this particular photo...

-A

Onstage: Рыдания/Sobbing

Victor Ryzhakov's production of Kshishtof Bize's 'Sobbing' starring Svetlana Ivanova at the Praktika theater is perhaps the most powerful one-man (or one-woman) show I have ever seen. It is a tour through the lives of three women; a middle-aged woman, her mother, and her daughter in modern day Poland.  As we hear the stories of these three women, their dreams and world views blend into a single message of love, loss, and hope for the future. 

Seeing 'Genesis № 2' a few years ago at the same theater with the same actress and the same director was certainly a defining event in my theater life (I feel like I've been writing about a lot of those recently...).  Similar to the way I went into 'Lear', I was reasonably excited to see the newest collaboration of this great director (who I also consider to have been an unofficial teacher of mine) and Svetlana Ivanova, an amazing actress and powerful performer.  I was not let down...Watch out guys, this entry's gonna be a long one...

Non Sequitur: Марьино Роща!

On a side note, part of the wonderful experience of seeing King Lear last night at the Satirikon Theater was that I got to and from the theater on....drumroll please.....THE METRO!  That's right folks, the new station at Марьино Роща opened yesterday!

It was kind of like a separate part of the fun....after 8 years of waiting, the new station FINALLY opened, making travel to and from this great theater SO much easier.  No more excuses not to go!  I took these pictures with my camera phone, so they don't really convey the full effect, but the new stations (yes, Достоевская opened yesterday as well!) are very beautiful...

...What a relief!...

-A

Onstage: Король Лир/King Lear

Last night I finally had the opportunity to enjoy Yuri Butusov's production of King Lear at the Satirikon theater. 

After having seen this dynamic combination of director (Butusov) and actor (Raikin) produce nothing short of a visionary version of Richard III at the same theater, I was understandably excited for last night's show and a reunion of the same creative team, anxiously waiting to see if lightning could strike twice.  Adding to my anticipation was the fact that I had just seen Butusov's Ivanov at the Moscow Art earlier this month, and that this was the first time I had ever seen a production of Lear. In short, I was reasonably pumped.

Lear is no simple play, neither for the directors, the actors, nor the audience.  Even writing an analysis or review of the production seems to be a task daunting in size.  As we were riding home on the metro immediately after the show, I found myself nearly overwhelmed with the seemingly simple task of summarizing the plot with my friend, not wanting to skip over or leave out any plot point which might be important later on, and at the same time trying to keep things as clear as possible.   I suspect this blog entry will resemble more of the same; trying to streamline the impressions from this particular interpretation while also trying to convey a piece of the profound significance of Lear's message. 

Keep the Date: Синяя Птица/The Bluebird.

It has been called many things:  Bizarro MXAT, Evil MXAT, MXAT Alternate Reality Version...the architecture is so imposing it looks as if it could eat you alive from the outside...so imposing in fact, that the theater circles had a secret nickname for the building when it first opened (at least, according to my Stage Tech teacher)...Moscow State Crematorium #1 (yikes!)....But whatever its current hapless nickname, it remains...The Moscow Art Theater named after Gorky...

On June 26th, at 12:00, Maeterlinck's 'The Blue Bird' will be playing at the Gorky Moscow Art...and I am planning on attending.  The show has been in repertory since 1908; it is Stanislavky's original production. 

I am fascinated by how a piece of theater can be in repertory for 102 seasons....but here it is.  They say that the show was intended for adults when it premiered in 1908, but has since become a children's theater piece.  In any event, I'm interested in what it will be like, and what the atmosphere is like INSIDE THOSE WALLS...In 8 years in Moscow, I've never been inside this theater, generally fearing my soul will be devoured or permanently stained somehow once I cross the threshold...its that freaky looking...

I'm curious to see what the administrator does when I try to get in on my student ID...I'm not sure the last time they'll have seen one of those from the Shkola-Studia...

...Angels and ministers of grace defend us...

-A

Non Sequitur: Галина Аксёнова/Galina Aksyonova

Galina Aksyonova is one of the teachers at the Moscow Art Theater School, specializing in film history.  Today, while trying to explain some of the cultural differences between Americans and Russians in regards to a film, she had the following anecdote (Russian for 'joke') to share with her American students...

"In America, boys like girls.  In Soviet Russia, girls like tractors..."

......Yes......

-A

In Dialogue: Л. А. Сулержицкий/L. A. Sulerzhitsky

I've been reading bits and pieces from Leopold Antonovich Sulerzhitsky's writings and essays on theater and his experiences with teaching the first Studio.  For those who don't know, Sulerzhitsky (or as Stanislavsky refers to him in 'My Life in Art', "Good old Suler"...) was a contemporary of Stanislavsky's, known for his character, travels, and resolve to do the hard work.  When Stanislavksy opened the first studio, Sulerzhitsky was the headmaster teacher, and in lot of ways was responsible for the original pedagogical application of Stanislavky's then brand new system.  He taught Michael Chekhov, and to a degree Vakhtangov as well.  Going through his notes and lectures, and reading one called "О взаймоотношениях актёра и режиссёра" (On the Relationships Between the Actor and Director), I discovered some surprising and particularly harsh criticism of Meyerhold...

In the Classroom: Константин Райкин, I-ый курс, и Достоевский/Konstantin Raikin, the first year course, and Dostoevsky

Tonight Konstantin Arkadyevich held his final meeting with his first year students, giving them their homework assignments for the summer, and preparing them for next year.  The students will continue their curriculum of etude work, but instead of etudes based on observations, objects, paintings, animals and the like, the students will delve into what is called этюды к образу.  In english, the best way to identify this concept of work is 'etudes as a step towards a character/image'.  It's not quite pedagogical scene work, but it is a step towards creating a sharpened representation of a character, one that is truly 'far from oneself'.  The literature to be used for the purposes of these etudes will be Dostoevsky's 'The Brothers Karamazov'. 

I've mentioned this before, but I love sitting in on Raikin's classes.  The man has a plan, and it seems he has a very good idea of where he wants his students to end up at the end of four years...and it's only the end of year one.  And he's already hinting at it.  Of course there will be changes along the way, but the amount of thought and foresight used to structure the entire four year course of study is inspiring.

Onstage: Лафкадио/Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back.

Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back  premiered last night on the small stage of the Мастерская club/cafe/theater in Moscow.  The show is based on a story by Shel Silverstein, directed by Svetlana Ivanova (An actress at the Praktika theater, Бытие № 2, Рыдания)  and stars Cazimir Liske and Odin Biron.  The set designer is Dmitry Razumov and the light designer is Yevgeniy Vinogradov.   

Before I get down to basics about this show, let me just start out by saying that Caz and Odin are two acquaintences of mine who I've had the pleasure of knowing a long time, and who have never done anything short of impress.  Caz, Odin and I share the same alma mater, but where I graduated as part of a 100% American course (well, lets say closer to 82%...three Russians graduated with us...), Caz and Odin graduated as part of a Russian course, something that always evokes a special respect and love for the two of them.  As a result, they handle the challenges of performing in a foreign language with a deftness and style all their own, making the occasional difficulties of pronunciation or translation work for them and not against them.  The result is a performance that is charming, humorous, witty, full of laughs and not short on brains or relevance.

Non Sequitur: My Jubilee, of Sorts...

A few days ago, I turned 28 years old, and I had an interesting thought...

In Russia people celebrate their 'jubilee' on their 50th birthday, and while 28 is a long way from 50, I realized that I started serious theater training at age 14 at LaGuardia H.S. in New York.  At this point I have been involved in the theater and arts for exactly 50% of my life.  Now that's a milestone...

I'm proud that I've made it this far, look forward to going further, and want to thank all of my teachers, colleagues, and students on both sides of the ocean for helping make me the artist I am today.  I truly believe there is a lesson to be learned in each and every person you ever work with...

-A

In Preview: Жизель, или обманутые несесты/Giselle, ou les Wilis

On June 13th, the third year course at the Moscow Art Theater School (Курс Д.В. Брусникин, Р.Е. Козак) held its second открытый прогон (full dress run with audience) of "Giselle, or the deceived brides" on the New Stage of the Moscow Art Theater.  The director/choreographer is Alla Sigalova.

The piece is loosely based on the balet by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier with music by Adolphe Adam.  The piece runs a little over an hour, and it is obvious that while still in 'preview', as it grows and gains experience onstage it is sure to develop into a powerful success.  Alla Sigalova continues to innovate and defies repetition within the walls of the school, while at the same time maintaining her own professional signature style; choreographical story telling to be performed by dramatic actors, not dancers. 

Onstage: Мастер-класс Константина Райкина/Konstantin Raikin Master-Class

Last night I attended Konstantin Raikin's "Master class" (a discussion about teaching and pedagogy) at the Meyerhold Center.  Raikin spoke about teaching, how and why he uses the methods he does, and his first year course performed excerpts from their acting exam to a packed house on the mainstage.  

I was extremely happy for the first years last night.  After sitting in and assisting with them any way I could this last semester, I was thrilled that they were given the opportunity to play in front of such a large house.  In general the transition from a small auditorium like 4-1 (those who know the Moscow Art Theater School know what I'm talking about) to a space the size of the one at the Meyerhold Center is always difficult, and such transitions for actors and the material being performed are always a trial by fire to some degree; both the actors and the material can be burned by the adjustments that have to be made, and things that work in the intimacy of a classroom enivornment might be lost in a larger space.  That said, all of these dangers are part of the growing pains of any process, and while not everything translated well to the bigger stage, I was thrilled that the students got to have that experience together as a course for the first time.  The step to the big stage as a course is a big but inevitable one, and they handled themselves well.  One of the students quipped afterwards 'Playing 'The Beatles' etude tonight was like performing at a stadium!...'

In Dialogue: Сергей Женовач/Sergey Zhenovach

Hello again!  This is the first post in a new category.  I have already introduced the 'Onstage' category about shows I have recently seen.  This category will be text based, reserved for observations on books about theater and art that I am reading.  I was going to go with just 'I'm Reading', but I wanted to go with something a little more theater oriented.  I went, opened my books, and found a beautifully worded introduction to the compilation "Искуссвто режиссуры ХХ века" written by Sergey Zhenovach and entitled "Dialogue with the Greats".  Here's what he has to say:

"Порой бывает, что репетиция не сложилась либо очередной поворот судьбы в профессии, и учителю позвонить вроде неловко, а каких-то учителей уже и нет рядом, и тогда спасение только в одном: приходишь домой, садишься за писменный стол, включаешь настольную лампу, открываешь книжки и встуаешь в диалог.  У каждого человека, занимающегося театром, есть своя домашняя библиотека, круг заветных книг, которые в трудную минуту что-то подскажут, чем-то помогут..."

Here's my translation for those non-Russian speakers out there...

"From time to to time it happens that rehearsal doesn't go well or you run into yet another turning point of fate in your profession, and its awkward to call your teachers, and some teachers aren't even around anymore, and then your salvation is in one thing only:  You come home, sit down at your writing desk, turn on your desk lamp, open your books and enter into dialogue.  Every person who works in the theater has their own home library, a circle of cherished books, which in difficult times can give you a hint, lend you a hand...."

It seemed to me there was no better quote to start this section, or better name to it.  Thank you Sergey Zhenovach, for lending me a helping hand...

-A

Onstage: Иванов в МХТ им чехова/Ivanov at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater

For the second night in a row, I've been blessed with fantastic seats.  At Shukshin I was ten rows back, and tonight I was third row dead center at Moscow Art.  I love being able to see these shows for free, especially when I get seats like these!  Let's hope my luck keeps up!

Yuri Butusov is a name in Moscow that is most often associated with originality, interpretation, and Shakespeare.  His production of Richard III at the Satirikon with Konstantin Raikin was life-changing theater for me, and I can't wait to see his King Lear there.  So it was with great anticipation that this season we were all awaiting the premiere of his take on one of Chekhov's more difficult plays, Ivanov at the Moscow Art Theater.  The show premiered months ago and has been embattled from the start, garnering mixed reviews from critics and theater-goers, consigning it to an uncertain fate in the repertory.  Tonight I was finally able to see the show and come to my own conclusions about this interesting piece of theater.

Onstage: Рассказы Шукшина/Shukshin Short Stories

This is the first in what I hope will be an ongoing theme of posts entitled 'Onstage'.  This category will be dedicated to analysis of theater I have recently seen, which will hopefully generate discussion and be interesting to read...And here we go!  The first show to be written up on my blog!

Last night I had the fortunate opportunity to see "Shukshin Short Stories" as staged by The Theater of Nations (Рассказы Шукшина/Театр Наций).  This is quite the show to begin my blog with, and there's a lot to say about it! I'll try and be concise and informative.  It has met with almost universal praise from everyone I know who has seen it, won three Golden Mask awards this year (Russia's theater version of the oscars), including best show, and it stars (among others) Yevgeniy Mironov (also artistic director of the company) and Chulpan Khamatova.  The director is Alvis Hermanis.

Artistic Beginnings: What is my throughline?

Hello one, hello all!

Welcome to Throughline. This has just been set up, so it's still a bit sparse around here, but there will be more to come (pictures, links, reviews, blog mission statement...) soon. As a foreword to any who may happen to be out there, here is a preview of what this blog will be...

A forum for discussion on Russian theater from the perspective of a bi-cultural actor/student at the Moscow Art Theater school.

A resource for information about Russian directors, writers, theater culture, and teachers for all students and practitioners of art, wherever they may be.

An ongoing search for an artistic identity (my own personal artistic identity and that of the theater company I have the honor to be a part of), and its effective and adequate expression both on and off the stage.

Exploration. Identification. Expression.


In Russia, they don't drink to the future, but there is one toast I've heard that is allowed...

"Here's to the success of our hopeless endeavor..."


-Adam