The name of the Suziria Theater (Suziria means “constellation” in Ukrainian) speaks for itself. It is a virtual constellation of actors, stage directors, and playwrights. Like a living organism, Suziria’s creative workshop quickly responds to the demands of The Day. In this historic building every nook and cranny is part of a single grand play. It has witnessed everything from classic productions to avant-garde experiments to musical soirees to Salvador Dali tributes held in Daliesque style.
On Sept. 19, Suziria launched its 20th jubilee season. Its artistic director Oleksii Kuzhelnyi, who also does creative and administrative work, is always willing to share his ideas about the theater, society, and his contemporaries.
Has anything changed in your relations with the theater over the past 20 years?
What has changed first and foremost is the theater. This genuine device for studying man and the universe allows us to predict a number of processes in society. For example, in the past every play consisted of three acts, but with the development of the theater and society in general, performances became shorter. Today we have a number of plays that last 75 minutes or an hour and a half. By the way, I watched a 10-minute play at a festival in Amsterdam. This isn’t surprising. Such reductions in time on stage are caused by the dynamics of our life, which goes by very quickly. I have a collection of abacuses that were used not so long ago and are now genuine antiques. Likewise, our life quickly becomes antiquated. The theater responds to the well-known Chinese curse “May you live in interesting times!” by showing that the times of change are already here. We must be aware of this.
The whole world has become considerably smaller too. Whereas before certain countries seemed too remote, unreachable, today we can visit any corner of the planet, for example, by accessing the Internet. Mankind is in close union, which is what modern dramaturgy and dramatic art are all about. This is why the ideas of humanism, humaneness are so close to contemporary audiences. For example, one of our latest productions, Eric Schmitt’s Oscar to God [known in the West as Oscar and the Lady in Pink – trans.] is about a boy dying of leukemia. By his side is a Lady in Pink who, as an embodiment of sincerity and mercy, is his friend and adviser. After watching this play, people want to build clinics and donate money to save the afflicted. In other words, I believe that over the past 20 years the theater has turned into an instrument that not only studies (demonstrates certain processes in life), but also urges mankind to take a closer look at this and reflect.
The contemporary theater approaches certain themes differently, with an eye to the mentality of a given nation; this also applies to such notions as family and love. It has proved its necessity, the innateness of its existence in society, so that people can reach understanding in the world not by military means through art. The theater not only demonstrates the conflictual basis of our society, it also offers ways to solve these conflicts. Life has become aesthetically saturated, dramatic, and the theater has upheld this particularity.
Suziria operates on an engagement basis. What are the advantages and shortcomings of this system? If we talk about the specific mentality of the theater, why do you think this system has not been adopted by the Ukrainian theater?
Our company has used the engagement system since its inception. When the Suziria Theater was being created, it was very important for us to do something fundamentally new. I think this pattern has completely justified itself over the past 20 years. After all, we give our actors an extra opportunity to work. We all know that the bigger the actor, the fewer roles he can find at a stationary drama company. In our first production Bohdan Stupka played the role of Hryhorii Skovoroda. We have calculated the number of People’s and Merited Actors of Ukraine who have played on our stage, and the result is that we are rivaled only by the National Opera of Ukraine. Therefore, this system has both creative and economic advantages.
As for shortcomings, honestly, every production makes everybody very nervous because there is only one cast.
Why hasn’t the Ukrainian theater adopted this system? First of all, it costs a lot in terms of cast resources and maintenance costs. Second, the Ukrainian theater would need time to switch to the new system. We know that many theaters in the world work on a contractual basis. Well, we can’t retire all our actors regardless of age and sign contracts with new ones, can we? Another important thing: over many years a very stable tradition of the theater as family has developed. On the one hand, this is great because the Ukrainian theater has a very strong framework, but on the other, this system is somewhat slowing down the creative quest.
When you say “drama workshop,” do you mean Suziria’s experimental character?
I believe that a drama company cannot exist without experimentation. A well-known classic production is also an experiment, and a very important one. Remember Kaidash’s Family staged by the Ivan Franko Theater? Wasn’t that an experiment? The actors probably played the way Natalia Sumska’s parents did. But audiences have also changed. Will they understand this interpretation?
In fact, Les Kurbas called the theater a drama workshop, so we wanted to partake of this great stage director’s experience.
To construct something or learn a craft is a great mystery that is transmitted from generation to generation. In our case, it is not some sort of school; it is simply about conveying certain kind of scenic and general human experience, which is also a part of talent. The Suziria actors vary in age and world views, and each one has his or her life story. Their communication with each other has considerable creative meaning, all the more so as the audience is actively involved. Nor is it coincidental that the modern world has become so fond of the chamber theater, because communicating with the viewer is a very important component of his work and life.
What are audience members seeking in this creatively intimate contact with actors when they are watching a play on a small stage?
The contemporary individual is tired of the lies and hypocrisy that the world is simply oversaturated with. The small space allows them to have a keener perception of the dividing line between truth and falsehood. One noted personality said that the theater is a “lie that speaks a great truth.” The viewer realizes that tears and suffering on stage are not real, but a gifted, skillful actor can achieve dramatic identification so as to produce a very strong effect on the viewer’s consciousness and feelings. Here we are dealing with a different truth-an actor’s. To a certain degree, a small stage teaches one to feel the truth.
How do you organize your collaboration with contemporary Ukrainian playwrights?
I’m glad you asked this question because I’m a recipient of the Ivan Kotliarevsky Prize for fruitful work with young authors. I’m proud to say that there hasn’t been a single Suziria season without a play written by a contemporary Ukrainian dramatist. Somehow, I have the reputation of a person who reads everything. People who are not heard are a big problem, so at one time we even organized readings of contemporary works that have never been staged.
If our country had a policy aimed at supporting drama groups that undertake to make such production – which is even risky, I’d say – there would more works like this on stage. As it is, contemporary directors think in terms of brands. It is much easier to conceal oneself behind the Shakespeare brand, for example, than to stage a play written by a contemporary Ukrainian author. At one festival I watched a play entitled Storm 2. If I had not read in the brochure that it was based on a Shakespearean drama, I would have never guessed it watching the play.
Or take Mykolaichuk. We have his play Asso and Piaf in our repertoire. So, the problem isn’t about playwrights or theaters, but about the absence of a system of work with this kind of literature. There are no mechanisms for popularizing contemporary dramaturgy, so there is no dialog between the theater and the playwright.
In addition to staging plays, Suziria puts on various creative projects. Do you feel cramped within the limits of pure theater, or is this kind of work a device, so to speak, for entering the general cultural and artistic context?
To a certain degree, our theater has a club-like set of styles, which allows us to expand the range of genres. We are happy that we are regarded as more than a theater for spectators. We organize concerts, jubilees, launches, ceremonies to unveil memorial plaques (Pasternak, Voloshyn) and monuments, literary soirees, and so on. This creative synthesis is instrumental in the overall progress of art. In the context of dramatizing life, which we talked about earlier, one must test oneself. Of course, the theater needs money, and additional engagements would be welcome, but the question of “How much?” has always been our last consideration. The main thing is what to do and how.
What are your surprises in the new season?
There will be surprises because there is no theater without surprises. When a stage director decides on a production, it means that something in it has surprised him. Art is becoming the locomotive of life. There is enough material for research. But in the meantime I will not take about specific works. Our audiences will eventually see all of them.
