The works of Alessandro Barrico (1958) have been translated and published all over the world. The novel “La Sposa giovane” was written in 2016 and published in Latvia in 2019, so it is currently one of the most discussed works of the writer. The director himself has created a stage version and called the upcoming show an unusual story in two parts.
The main event of the story is the arrival of the bride to fulfill a long-promised promise to marry her son. However, the fact that the son is not present makes it difficult to keep the promise. The family, whose young bride has arrived at the manor, measuring a long way from Argentina, is also unaware of when her son will return. And all you have to do is wait to spend time in this unique house, which has its own rules and regulations.
The topics addressed by the heroes are as philosophical as they are understood by each viewer. The secrets of the past choices that dictate our actions today, the secrets that haunt our freedom, the legacies that give not only things but also fear to future generations …
Cast: Madara Kalna, Inese Kučinska, Edgars Pujāts, Ilze Trukšāne or Signe Dancīte, Kaspars Gods, Egons Dombrovskis, Leons Leščinskis, Karīna Tatarinova and Edgars Ozoliņš.
Author of the drama – J. J. Gillinger, assistant director and choreographer – Linda Kalniņa, set designer – Mārtiņš Vilkārsis, costume designer – Marina Medvedeva, composer – Andris Vilcāns, who created the original music of the show, one of the most important of which is tango theme, video artist – Artis Dzērve, light , a novel translated from Italian by Dace Meiere.
This year, the production will be available on December 5.
“Neatkarīgā” has invited the young actress of Liepāja Theater Madara Kalns, who graduated from the acting course of Liepāja University this spring and started her first season at the theater.
Exactly after a week you get a big and important event – the first major role, moreover, on the big stage. Please open the curtain of the premiere – what is being created in the Liepaja Theater?
It is a dramatization of the novel by the writer Alessandro Barico, the author of which is the director of the play himself, and the form and message of the play are, in my opinion, a little different from the novel itself. This is, of course, the director’s artistic interpretation. But I have formulated for myself that Barrico’s “New Bride” is a fantastic tale for adults, because it is an absolute flight of fantasy, even a little fantasy, and the overall atmosphere of the show is also fabulous. The play takes place in a big house where a girl from the countryside arrives. She is promised to marry the son of a family living in this house, but she is not home and the girl stays there to wait for her. In anticipation of her love, she gradually settles into this strange family, and it awakens her sexuality, which has been deeply hidden and depressed since childhood. On the one hand, it is a story of growth, about the path of a young person, about self-awareness and the rise of sexuality, but on the other hand, it is a “story of decay”, because this girl is ready to do anything for love. But the end, thank goodness, is happy. And yet this story is quite peculiar, because it is fabulous and, in my opinion, unreal.
What was the most difficult task in creating the role of the Bride?
First of all, the show is a footage, because this is my first experience of being on stage for three hours. Secondly, I have to tell this story from beginning to end, “taking with me” everything that happens to this girl, but even months pass between scenes. How to play role development, how to show what is happening to her and why she is acting the way she is. The scope of the role – this is the most difficult, because the bride’s line goes through the whole show. And third, to be as powerful as my stage partners. In this show, my partners are the big, experienced and powerful actors of the Liepāja Theater, and it is, of course, very easy to get lost next to them, because they all have a huge stage power. But I don’t think I need to force myself either – it will come with experience. I’m more interested in seeing them do it than trying to catch them at all costs.
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How did the collaboration with experienced stage colleagues develop, and how much did the director help?
Everyone helped me a lot. We started preparing for this show in the spring, and I really felt very accepted and very supported by everyone who was here. I learned a lot because so far I didn’t have the role-building experience on the big stage. The director taught me a lot about purely technical things, how to behave on the big stage in general and what the rules of the game are, because it’s not the same as playing in small halls. It was a big and invaluable school for me – to learn how to be and to play a role on the big stage. We also had a good human contact, a collaboration in which we helped each other create. This was my first such an ambitious experience, and it is no secret that Gillinger is an ambitious director and personality. I will not say that it was easy for me to create this role. It was quite difficult for me – considering the material of the play, the tasks I have to perform on stage, and working with the director, because we are very different people – different genders, different generations and experiences, also different opinions. It all formed my inner difficulty. While studying acting, certain principles and truths were instilled in us, and with them we entered the theater, confidently believing that this was the case in the theater. But in the face of reality, many notions collapsed. I think it happens to everyone, but when you have an idea of what to give to those who have holy faith, it is always difficult.
Does this collapse of ideas and illusions give you the strength to continue exploring this art, or is there a feeling that your hands are lowering at some point?
After an unofficial premiere without spectators, I spoke to one of my colleagues and it was during this conversation that I realized how much I wanted to work and do much more. When we started this job, I was still a fourth-year student. When you are given a key role as a student, it is, of course, a great responsibility, but I do not want to cling to it, stop at it and consider it an achievement. Because this role is just the beginning, and the experience gained during the production of this show inspires me to work more, better, to continue to develop myself as a person and, of course, to believe in my own strength and, if necessary, to praise myself. Because if you’re scared and tied up, it won’t work for any show. You just have to keep going – you have to study and work, that’s all. And it is also the charm of this profession that when you start working on each new role, you have to start all over again, and the work you have done so far is only an experience, no more and no less.
Already during your studies, you were given a responsible task – just by watching the recorded material of the show, to “jump” into the already finished “Bernardas Alba’s House”, directed by Viesturs Meikšāns.
Yes, it was. This was the second year of study. I had to prepare for this role just by seeing the video, but I was very helped by Laura Jeruma, who instead “jumped” – she told me everything and really “appointed” her role in her role. It was terribly scary and disturbing, because there were no real attempts. When the big ramp was built, I tried to slide and run down it a couple of times, and I knew where to stand and what to say. I played this show three times, of course, every time I try to understand it more and more, because I can’t jump into the role technically, I have to live in it. But it was a good experience for me and I seem to have coped with it. I also really liked this show, I was in love with it, and I am sorry that this show has already been removed from the repertoire.
The new season started with another new role for you – with director Valters Sīlis.
Yes, in the show «Biography. Game », which premiered on November 21 and where I played Assistants. I also really enjoyed working on this show because it was a very positive experience – both with colleagues and the director. I have several roles in this show, I have to switch between them quickly, and acting is a great opportunity to try myself in bright characters.
I am really glad that in the first season I have something to do in the theater, in principle – constantly, because rehearsals will soon begin with the director Laura Groza, who will perform the cabaret show “Theater”. We will be in it all the way, we will sing and dance. The fact that this experience is developing, in addition, the opportunity to work with different directors, in different styles, is very, very valuable. It is a great success.
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Madara, please introduce yourself. Where are you from, and what is your short story about the road to the acting course at the Liepaja Theater?
I am from Sigulda, and I had a dream about the profession of an actress from childhood. My story is exactly diametrically opposed to the story of my classmate Artūrs Irbe, who met girls from Liepāja who suggested trying to join the actors, and – Artūrs is an actor! On the contrary, I knew what I wanted and went quite consciously. I think it’s a lot of my mother’s merit, because she’s an actress, both in her heart and in her profession. My love of theater and possibly my talent is definitely inherited from my mother.
Who is your mom
My mother is Agnese Kalniņa, but she does not work in her profession, does everything else and is basically a man – an orchestra. She graduated from Juris Rijnieks, before the New Riga Theater was taken over by director Alvis Hermanis. She stayed in that “gray area” and did not get a job in any of the theaters.
Was it your dream to get directly to the Liepaja Theater?
It coincided that I was received in Liepaja. Before that I tried to enter the course of Valmiera Theater, I got to the last round, but I fell out. It was important to me that I was given the opportunity to study to be an actress, and Liepāja gave me that opportunity.
Knowing my mother’s experience with the theater, what was her position in learning that her daughter wanted to become an actress?
I don’t remember my mother ever saying that I wanted to be an actress. It was my dream, and she knew it. My mother has never questioned my strength, and I think she is happy for me today. Of course, I don’t think children can fulfill their parents’ unfulfilled dreams. My mom and I each have our dreams, and we’re all fulfilling our dreams. But my mother is my biggest support, and I can tell her absolutely everything, because I know she understands me in half. Mom is always present at all my premieres. Even if it is initially said that there will be, it is still present and comes on stage with flowers. She is a very, very big support to me, we both go through this life together.
Is the mother also a counselor or just a support, and is the professional advice given by the educators?
You know, probably yes – counselors are more educators, colleagues, classmates, but my mother is support in all life situations, no matter what and how it happens. She helps me move forward.
When you take your first steps on the theater stage as a professional actress, do you have a dream role that you would love to play?
I know how I would like to work in the theater – I would very much like to take part in a good show for children. I remember Dirty Deal Teatro’s White Paper, it was such a cool job! Everything was so nice, so lovely, so cozy, there was a heartfelt and undivided attention paid to every spectator, bigger and smaller. In a show where I can talk to children wisely and sweetly, I would ever like to play. Because it’s beautiful, and more needs to be done in the theater.
But in general, I’m interested in all kinds of “madness” – the different roles, the cooler, and the more you can beat, the better. The main thing – to be in a good show, to be a part of a good show.
During my studies, in the third or fourth year, we had independent works – we had to make sketches, and I tried one scene from Federico Garcia Lorca’s “Jermas”. Lorca is one of my favorite playwrights, and I would probably like to play that role someday.
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