“The play in two acts is based on 10 stories by Bunin,” shares Galina Sergeevna. – Four directors are involved. It is undoubtedly an incredible experience. And complex. It’s hard to decide on a directorial debut. This is still a slightly different specificity, completely different powers. As an actor, you fulfill the will of the director and the author. But when you follow a certain path in life in the acting profession, and I have been in the theater for more than 20 years, the desire arises to say something of your own, more than what the role allows.
The story chosen by the new director is called “Muse.” But in the production, in addition to Buninov’s curator, Muse Graf, and the hapless artist, the characters of Ket appear: spirits and a composer played by the talented vocalist Marina Shipulina. One of the “characters” on stage will be the piano. He will have live music from the stage.
“Few people know that Rachmaninov has a romance based on Bunin’s poems; I discovered it while working on the material for the production,” says Galina Ketova. – By the way, they were very similar in appearance. Therefore, the choice is obvious: the performance will be accompanied by the music of Sergei Vasilyevich.
The main place in the work, according to Galina Sergeevna, is love. Its search, its absence, the anticipation of the state in which love is with you and the bitterness it leaves. For Ketova, an Orthodox person, this is evident.
“For me, the question of comparing religion and theater is very important, which, let’s be honest, is not a measure of morality,” he explains. “When I started down the path of acting, I didn’t think about that. I didn’t realize how much power you have in creativity, its responsibility. Now I understand clearly: the viewer comes to us not only for aesthetics, but also for some kind of catharsis, to think about something important, to ask himself questions, to cry or laugh, to think about something, to feel the action with his soul and take a decision. a step forward, and this always means: towards God. Unfortunately, sometimes I see: instead of all this, the public is shown anti-human and anti-Christian performances. Some unhealthy emotions, hang-ups and outright vulgarity are spilled onto the audience. I think this is mean-spirited and dishonest toward the viewer who purchased a ticket and attended the performance because they trust you and expect to receive something invaluable in return. Of course, I wish there were more brilliant productions that help people live in our difficult times. And for a director this is very important: to be able to speak to the soul of the viewer, to ask the right questions.
Galina still does not think about the reviews of her directorial debut. Her life has already been both the worst and the best.
“There were terribly failed, stupid, incomprehensible and false papers,” he admits. – And it’s not about the role, but about me, it’s always about the artist. You can also reproduce a phone book brilliantly – theater buffs have that concept. Saying goodbye after a performance in which I played and, by the way, I really liked the role, a close friend was silent for a long time. And then, in the heat of the moment, he revealed that I was fake on stage. It was painful, but it was true. And I understood it myself: a terrible feeling! And the best one was my father’s, at the beginning of my creative journey. Then he admitted that he didn’t immediately recognize me on stage. Whatever the criticism is now, I intend to move on.
By the way
Rehearsals of the play “The Vicissitudes of a Woman” began at the Russian Drama Theater, based on the work of Larisa Khoperskaya, a doctor in political science and director of the Center for Eurasian Studies at the KRSU. This is not her first experience in the artistic field. According to Galina Ketova, who will stage the play, the play is an ode to women, to each stage of their development. The work ahead is difficult, as each stage of life will be represented on stage by different actresses. The viewer is also promised stunning costumes by Russian artist Elena Toptygina, equally beloved in both Bishkek and St. Petersburg.