This morning started out with our last movement class… always
such a sad day! We did so much today and
pushed ourselves even farther in the work than we have. I’m really proud of the progress this group
has made together in that class (and in all of our work – but it might be most
tangible in that class I guess. The
class was concluded with us presenting Vladimir with a framed photo of us, and
then subjecting him to an endless stream of pictures.
From there, it was time for another installment of theatre
history with Anatoly. Today he sort of
just let us fire questions at him about the documentary we had watched, but
unfortunately, sometimes our questions are not worded super clearly, and the
language gap is palpable as he assumes we entirely misunderstood the
documentary, and then gallops off down some random – albeit fascinating – road.At lunch I did my very last run-around-getting-tickets
day. And it was a good one. This time I was getting tickets for Женитьба
(Marriage) at a separate theatre run
by ОлегТабаков (Oleg Tabakov) – who is also the artistic director of the MXAT. The thing is, his box office is sort of off
the beaten path, and his shows are performed at different theatres all over
town, which complicates matters even further.
Now, I had been emailing and talking on the phone (in Russian,
remember?) with a delightful woman in the box office for a few days, but I had
never been to this theatre, so I got a little lost on the way there, but
eventually found where I was going – and Гелена (Helena) was probably the
single most delightful box office person I have dealt with in all my time in
Moscow… and possibly in all my time going to the theatre period. She was super friendly and super helpful, she
even came out of the box office and around to the lobby to mark the location of
the theatre on the map in my guidebook.
And when we finished our conversation, we both were so proud of
ourselves and each other for our success that we had a sort of shared moment of
celebration in which I think we may actually have cheered for each other. I love this woman… so much so that I’m
planning on writing a letter to the theatre about her epic awesomeness!Acting class proved to be more successful than yesterday in a
lot of ways. Our group etudes were
really fun and right up the alley of what Sergei was looking for. Our group training went pretty well (except
for the un-awesome moment when, during a game that I hate which involves
everyone running around and flailing at each other in order to get a tennis
ball, a group of about four people all fell on me, bruising and floor burning
me into next Tuesday), and we were on track.
Our Seagull etudes were
interesting – not nearly as detailed as they should be, but all asking cool
questions about the play. So we’ve got
that going for us.Then, after an uneventful dinner break, we met up to see The Master and Margarita at the
MXAT. I saw the previews of this show
two years ago when I had just read the novel for the first time… and was
totally blown away. Seeing the show
today… it was even more astounding. The production
is wildly technologically advanced, using every bell and whistle available on
one of the most advanced stages in the world.
Every element is so carefully constructed and choreographed… there is
live video, recorded video, sets that move in every possible direction… from
the Metro to the moon to an asylum and even The Last Supper… everything
everything everything is just a feast for the senses… and it all builds the narrative
too! Imagine that!So, with some of the bitchin’-est stage pictures
we will probably ever see dancing through my head… I will now attempt to think
of a brilliant etude for tomorrow…and maybe I’ll get some sleep too. Maybe…
From there, it was time for another installment of theatre
history with Anatoly. Today he sort of
just let us fire questions at him about the documentary we had watched, but
unfortunately, sometimes our questions are not worded super clearly, and the
language gap is palpable as he assumes we entirely misunderstood the
documentary, and then gallops off down some random – albeit fascinating – road.At lunch I did my very last run-around-getting-tickets
day. And it was a good one. This time I was getting tickets for Женитьба
(Marriage) at a separate theatre run
by ОлегТабаков (Oleg Tabakov) – who is also the artistic director of the MXAT. The thing is, his box office is sort of off
the beaten path, and his shows are performed at different theatres all over
town, which complicates matters even further.
Now, I had been emailing and talking on the phone (in Russian,
remember?) with a delightful woman in the box office for a few days, but I had
never been to this theatre, so I got a little lost on the way there, but
eventually found where I was going – and Гелена (Helena) was probably the
single most delightful box office person I have dealt with in all my time in
Moscow… and possibly in all my time going to the theatre period. She was super friendly and super helpful, she
even came out of the box office and around to the lobby to mark the location of
the theatre on the map in my guidebook.
And when we finished our conversation, we both were so proud of
ourselves and each other for our success that we had a sort of shared moment of
celebration in which I think we may actually have cheered for each other. I love this woman… so much so that I’m
planning on writing a letter to the theatre about her epic awesomeness!Acting class proved to be more successful than yesterday in a
lot of ways. Our group etudes were
really fun and right up the alley of what Sergei was looking for. Our group training went pretty well (except
for the un-awesome moment when, during a game that I hate which involves
everyone running around and flailing at each other in order to get a tennis
ball, a group of about four people all fell on me, bruising and floor burning
me into next Tuesday), and we were on track.
Our Seagull etudes were
interesting – not nearly as detailed as they should be, but all asking cool
questions about the play. So we’ve got
that going for us.Then, after an uneventful dinner break, we met up to see The Master and Margarita at the
MXAT. I saw the previews of this show
two years ago when I had just read the novel for the first time… and was
totally blown away. Seeing the show
today… it was even more astounding. The production
is wildly technologically advanced, using every bell and whistle available on
one of the most advanced stages in the world.
Every element is so carefully constructed and choreographed… there is
live video, recorded video, sets that move in every possible direction… from
the Metro to the moon to an asylum and even The Last Supper… everything
everything everything is just a feast for the senses… and it all builds the narrative
too! Imagine that!So, with some of the bitchin’-est stage pictures
we will probably ever see dancing through my head… I will now attempt to think
of a brilliant etude for tomorrow…and maybe I’ll get some sleep too. Maybe…
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