The Slovenian director Tomi Janežičius, who recently started working in Vilnius's small theater, is convinced that the performance he and the theater actors are creating based on Anton Chekhov's play "Uncle Vania" is an extremely relevant work. Especially these days, when the prevailing ideology of achievement seems to leave no room for failure.
The conversation with T. Janežičius includes his thoughts on the unusual and coronavirus-adjusted year, the psychodrama method used in his works, as well as his special relationship with Anton Chekhov's work and the upcoming performance "Uncle Vania".
You came from Slovenia and a few days ago you started rehearsals in the small theater in Vilnius. What mood are you in?
I am happy that I was invited to Vilnius - this city is great. It's small enough to feel at home, but big enough to get lost sometimes. And in the small theater of Vilnius, I am very impressed not only by the hospitality, but also by the variety of actors. I am very interested in people's creativity, different types of sensitivity, intelligence, creativity. I am suspicious when I see someone working under the same rule.
Generally speaking, Lithuania is quite similar to Slovenia, where I came from. One such similarity, if we talk about the theater world, is famous theater directors. We, Slovenians, can boast of them too. I myself have seen Lithuanian performances and I have great respect for the theater of your country.
This year is unusual for all of us. How has your own life and work been affected by COVID-19 and quarantine?
Yes, at the beginning of the year I knew all the actions from March to the end of October - flights, dates, festivals, rehearsals, premieres... Suddenly it turned upside down, but I have to say, it didn't stress me much. I even felt a kind of relief. It was a pause to which we all obeyed without exception.
I was lucky, because during the quarantine I lived with my family in the countryside, between forests and mountains, - I have there
creative center. Life there did not change even during the quarantine, on the contrary, it was a wonderful spring, I was able to spend a lot of time with my children. This was very different from the situation in the cities, where people had to stay in isolation.
There is a lot of talk about the changed world, and the mood in the theaters is also unusual. How do you think this pandemic will affect us?
Of course, our world has changed, that's for sure. But examples from history give me hope. The fate of Shakespeare's theater, one might say, depended on the fire, the activities of other theaters were also affected by diseases spreading in society or global disasters. However, everything worked out. I think it's quite easy for people to forget everything and go back to their old lives. The theater will probably return to normal after a while. Or will this situation teach us something new about theater? In any case, one thing will not change - theater requires being together, being here and now. This is essential.
You use the psychodrama method in your work. It is unique and of great interest. What is psychodrama and how did you start working in it?
As a theater director, I am interested in the techniques of creating roles. I always wanted to understand the experience of actors. At one point I came across psychodrama, which is a group therapy that uses acting as a tool. In such a group, people don't just sit and talk - they act. They can act out situations that actually happened in life, or situations that could have happened but didn't. It allows you to explore your life, relationships, conflicts, dilemmas…
The psychodrama method allows you to get to know, learn more - this is very useful when it comes time to transfer the action to the stage. After becoming interested in psychodrama, I learned a lot, not only about acting, but also about therapy. I discovered interesting things that changed my creativity and pedagogical work.
The psychodrama method opens up many emotions. It is very intensive, but at the same time it is inseparable from respect for personal needs. I gradually realized that a creative challenge is also a personal human challenge - and vice versa. In addition, as in life, cycles and patterns prevail in art, and sometimes certain situations cannot be solved by artistic techniques alone.
I have seen how a person who has gone through internal personal transformations has also changed his thinking about art, opening up a different kind of creativity. I am very interested in this - what does a person need to be creative, what does it take to find the courage to be creative.
You are working on Anton Chekhov's play "Uncle Vania" in the Vilnius Small Theater. What is your relationship with the work of this Russian playwright?
There was a time when I wasn't interested in A. Chekhov and his work at all, I didn't understand, I used to watch plays, but I was bored. But at one point I had an epiphany that changed everything. And when I was about 26 years old, I staged the first work based on A. Chekhov's "The Seagull", which was a success. Thus began my experience with the famous developer.
A. Chekhov is unique in many ways. It is very interesting to read his works and observe what strategies were used in the creation, what result was achieved, what elements were combined. You can find a lot of contrasts and conflicts in the plays of this writer, but everything is so organic that it creates the impression of simplicity. Achieving such a result is very difficult.
In my opinion, A. Chekhov is characterized by something that is rare among playwrights. On the one hand, he can be very empathetic to the heroes, but at the same time he does not identify with them, watches everything from the sidelines, with a calm smile. He doesn't judge the heroes, he lets them be who they are. It is unique. But the next challenge is how to play such heroes.
And what is interesting to you about the play "Uncle Vania"?
"Uncle Vania" is a very specific play. At first, A. Chekhov wrote a piece called "Forest". Later, this work transformed into "Uncle Vania", a play about which one can say an infinite amount. One of the important topics is work. Why and for whom do we work? What does work give us? What is success or failure? The topic of failure is especially important here.
On YouTube, we can find millions of videos depicting various failures. We like to watch it, we enjoy it, we laugh. When we see other people getting together, we feel a certain relaxation, don't we? A. Chekhov knew how to talk about it. It would be wonderful if we could laugh at people who fail but love them at the same time. I would like to achieve this.
Today, it is more important than ever to build "Uncle Vania" and for one more reason - the extremely widespread ideology of success. We only talk about achievements, being happy, being successful, achieving goals… The pressure is so high. This play - "Uncle Vania" - shows the opposite situation. We may fail, but accept it as normal. At the same time, to show that the ideology of success and winning is simply too artificial.
Prepared by Virginija Sližauskaitė
