My solidarity account is open around the clock
The National Theatre of Cluj has a new performance in its repertory the correspondent of the most recent premiere of director Radu Afrim, and also of the most recent role of the actress Ramona Dumitrean, one of the most highly praised actresses in the country. The Cosmonaut's Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union by David Greig will be premiered this autumn, in the 2010/2011 season opening at the NTC.
Din spectacolul "ULTIMUL MESAJ AL COSMONAUTULUI CĂTRE FEMEIA PE CARE A IUBIT-O CÎNDVA ÎN FOSTA UNIUNE SOVIETICĂ", foto și regia Radu Afrim.
The Facebook page is full of photos from the new performance by Radu Afrim, staged at the National Theatre of Cluj. What part do you play the The Cosmonaut's Last Message
?
Nastasia ... lets say, the central character; the cosmonauts daughter, waiting for her father to return from space.
Din spectacolul "ULTIMUL MESAJ AL COSMONAUTULUI CĂTRE FEMEIA PE CARE A IUBIT-O CÎNDVA ÎN FOSTA UNIUNE SOVIETICĂ", foto și regia Radu Afrim.
What inner buttons did Nastasia had you press ?
It is a very difficult role. David Greigs world in this text resembles that of David Lynch. And any actor needs that red thread of the character, so much discussed. I think I have read the text at least 10 times and still felt like I was missing something ...; and I was, I have no idea what exactly, but Ill let you know as soon as I find out (laughs Ed. note). Instead, I think I rediscovered the power of improvisation, the power of fooling around, of not taking myself too seriously, of not being afraid of making mistakes. For Nastasia I chose the uncensored part in myself, I relied on limits and I dont regret it, regardless of the echoes. I have no idea yet what the matter is with this character, but it is certainly the closest to my heart.
Din spectacolul Hecuba de M. Chris Nedea
You also worked with Radu Afrim at the time when wasnt so well known yet. During university in Cluj, you played in his performance, The House of Bernarda Alba. What are the major changes that you can notice with Radu Afrim, over time, especially since you worked together in An Attic in Paris...?
Afrim is one of the few directors contemporary with the pulse of current reality; his performances have at least a European air. They are accessible and marketable beyond the borders of our country. Since university he came up with his own universe. He knows very well how to combine images with music, technology, text, scenery, and movement. Radu Afrim is a complete performance. I think that he makes shows in the best meaning of the word. Afrim has not changed since college, but simply continued to reveal his own universe. He has not changed even physically... he is a rebellious kid with an extraordinary sense of humour, sensitive, keen on good music and an incredible photographer. Working with him is always like a breath of fresh air for me. In rehearsals, Afrim can be very cruel, very annoying, of on excruciating cynicism, even mischievous. Those who havent worked with him before can become so inhibited that they seriously wonder whether they were right in choosing their profession. Afrim has a cinematic thinking. He demands the impossible of the actor. To give an example: Now I want you to do a string, then jump over the couch, and once in the air, stay there a little, and then land in a split on a carpet of nails . Le Cirque du Soleil is nothing in comparison to what Afrim is asking from the actors. I think The Cosmonauts Last Message... was the most demanding in what I am concerned... I only managed to stay in the air for one second, but he helped me to land with my feet well planted on the earth - to use a metaphor. Afrim challenges you!
Din spectacolul Mansarda, regia Radu Afrim
How does it actually help you, as an actress, an indication like Now I want you to do a string, then jump over the couch, and once in the air, stay there a little, and then land in a split on a carpet of nails? How do you use that? Or do you not use it at all and youre only talking about his cynicism, as you said?
Well, since I already am institutionalized (that is to say that I am an actress with a national theatre!), the Afrim type of challenges are very rare. As a national theatre actor you adjust to the repertoire of a national theatre... now, you know what that means: great texts, realist interpretation, serious characters, - whereas Afrim is the one deconstructing the text and then building the performance, hes never simply content with the didascalia. He builds his direction together with the, little by little, he is involves body and soul in each indication. He knows how to ask the actor what he wants. It is a how that can ruin you or challenge you. In his case, the hows have good results on a long-term. Working with him makes me feel as if I would still be a student and that's something big for a so-called institutionalized actor.
Are you satisfied, in general, as an actress, with the National Theatre in Cluj?
I am never satisfied with anything but this is a personal state of facts. I'm OK at the National Theatre in Cluj, I find my place here, I have friends, good colleagues, dear performances and roles, but I am skittish by nature. I feel like I am never in the right place, at the right time. But, as I said, this is only me, my own nature.
Din spectacolul Purificare de Andrei Serban, foto de Nicu Cherciu
In 2001 and 2002 you were in France, at the invitation of the Renata Scant Company. Under what circumstances have been invited and how did you perceive this study time?
I had been initially to France at the end of the third year in university, for a role in a play staged by Renata Scant. She was auditioning for the role when she came to a performance in Romania, and I took it. We got along well and she called me back for a scholarship, then for a contract. I returned supposedly on vacation, at the beginning off the 2003, and I was going to leave again in September, but I got employed at the National Theatre following an audition of Alexandru Dabija made for The Colonel Bird. And so ... I chose!
You created a special relation, in time, with France - in 2001 you have been part of the organizing team of the European Theatre Festival in Grenoble, when you also attended a workshop with director Andriy Zholdak. How do you maintain this relationship at present and under what circumstances would you move to France permanently?
Well Im maintaining it by mail, by chat... I went over to visit them, some French friends came to see me, we met at festivals, but I never kept a professional relationship, because we never managed to arrange our schedules for that. I would not move to France permanently. To be honest, I do not like the French they are so much only into their own thing... and convinced nationalists! Apart from a few friends, I dislike French people.
Din spectacolul Un caz clinic de Claudiu Goga
Are the artistic director of the Impossible Theatre Company in Cluj-Napoca. How demanding is this position at present?
It is no longer demanding, for lack of funds. Impossible Theatre is on stand-by nationally. At another level, there are European projects still ongoing. We are awaiting responses.
What are the directors that have challenged you to madness?
In this profession, you happen to coincide or not you with the directors that you work with. Those with whom I coincided are the ones who brought me close to madness. And those with whom I I did not coincide were not demanding but challenging.
What is the place that the director Andrei Serban, with whom you have worked on several projects, occupies in your professional life?
The 4th.
Din spectacolul Cenusa de piatra de M. Chris Nedea
After whom?
My husband (Cristian Nedea / m.chris.nedeea ed. note), Alexandru Dabija, and Radu Afrim.
What is it that you want very much right now?
Finish my house in the neighbourhoods of Cluj (my solidarity account is open around the clock... and empty for the moment), have a baby and dinner with John Malkovich. Im not asking much of life, am I?
