I write this blog entry with something of a heavy heart, knowing that this is going to be the last one, and that I have less than 48 hours left in this city that I’ve come to love so much. It’s tough to put my finger on what exactly it is that I will miss so much about St. Petersburg because so much has happened here, and it’s all been so different from any American experience that I’ve ever had. A lot of it has to do with the people that I’ve met here, that’s for sure. I went into this trip feeling those familiar anxieties that one gets while traveling alone. I was worried about settling in in a new city, not knowing a single soul, and not knowing how to get around. And now I’m going to have a hard time saying good-bye to all of the friends I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.
The instructors of our classes are one part of all of those who will be missed. We have our big show tonight of scenes from Chekhov’s “Seagull,” and several old friends who have taught us will be in attendance. I regret that we have only had a short time to work on this, but we have definitely made the most of that time. And it seems like all of our training is being put into this, like it’s the culmination of all our efforts. So it doesn’t feel as if we’re putting on some last minute production due to the time constraints. It feels like another farewell to someone we’ve been getting to know and would like to spend just one last day with.
The city of St. Petersburg itself feels like another friend we will have bid adieu to. I will miss walking its crowded streets with vendors on every corner, bright pastel colors, and beautiful stonework and statues. This last week, we went to the palace gardens of Peterhof, and I was amazed by the symmetry of the lush gardens, and the exquisite fountains covered in gold. It looks like a gorgeous, gigantic web meant to ensnare anyone with even the crudest aesthetic sensibilities. The day after that, we visited the Hermitage. That building is, quite simply, the biggest, densest art museum I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. It was a delight to be able to see works of art that I had only been able to view in textbooks and had always longed to see in person. And the building itself is a work of art that almost eclipses the brilliance of the objects displayed in it. I could visit every day of the week for three weeks straight and still not be able to take it all in.
The hardest group to part with will be all the friends I’ve made over here. Everyone in Russia has this infectious zest for life that draws you in and makes you yearn for every opportunity that you can get to talk to a stranger, climb onto a rooftop to hang out, or have an all night jam session on guitars or piano. They know how to enjoy life over here, and all the American students in this program all have the most interesting stories about the adventures we’ve all gotten into over here. And now we can take some of that spirit back home with us.
I will miss everything about this country, good and bad. I’ll miss late nights where you have trouble getting to sleep because the sun doesn’t quite set. I’ll miss boat rides down the canals and swimming in them after. I’ll miss our classes where we have no idea what they are trying to teach us, and then having some breakthrough and loving that instructor for what they got out of us as actors. And I’ll miss everyone I’ve come across that has helped to make this the trip of a lifetime.

As this week winds down, it’s nice to be able to get a bit of rest in, but it’s very sad to know that this next week is going to be our last one here in St. Petersburg. There is still so much I want to see and do here, and I’m sure going to miss all of my friends that I’ve made over the past month or so. There are so many experiences that are worth repeating too, and we just don’t have the time since we are so busy! We’ve had such a great time, made so many memories, and share so many little private in-jokes that it’s going to be pretty tough to just say good-bye to all of that.
But we’ve sure been making the most of our time here! Russian language class has been going great this week. I look at all the things we’ve learned so far and it’s kind of hard to believe that everyone in class came in knowing little to no Russian upon entry. I’m going to have to find some people to practice with in the States because I would be a little bummed if I just let it all go to waste and forgot it all. And there’s still so much more to learn, too!
Voice and speech is pretty interesting. We do so many tongue twisters and enunciation exercises and I would never have imagined what kind of hard work that can be. I’m doing well in the enunciation and have been getting compliments from the teacher, Maria, on it. That has been a nice self-esteem boost, but tongue twisters are killing me! It gets much easier with practice, and I know it will pay off with amazing articulation skills. I have a big problem with rolling my R’s though. Our teacher speaks only Russian, a language with a lot of R rolling, so that figures into the exercises. It’s just going to take a lot of practice, and I do love a good challenge, so this is really fun despite its little stumbling blocks.
Acting class has been really intense. We are working through every little detail that we can in our scenes from “The Seagull.” Our teacher, Mikhail, is really a stickler for detail, so sometimes we’ll do a scene over and over and over again. He is so insightful however, that it is really a pleasure to hear his feedback, and he also is giving some amazing notions on how to see the characters and circumstances in this show. I just wish we could do the whole show instead of just a part of it, and I’m considering trying to find some way to do it in the States later on.
We went on a little adventure to a town called Vyborg just the other day that wasn’t on the school’s agenda, but is be a destination that anyone traveling near St. Petersburg should see. It’s a medieval town with buildings dating back to the thirteenth century, and it is simply one of the most beautiful spots I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in Russia. We hiked around the whole day, had a great meal at a local restaurant, and saw some of the most amazing architecture. Yulia, one of the coordinators from our school, came with and she told us stories and little facts that made the trip all the more entertaining. We climbed up a castle tower, which I was super excited about since I had never even seen a real castle before. And then we went to Monrepos Park, which sits on a lake, is full of statues and islands, and is just too beautiful to describe. We even caught a free concert at a rustic mansion on the lake. The trip might be coming to an end soon, but we have been seeing it out in the most exciting ways you can imagine.

This week was a bit shorter than the previous one since some of our fellow classmates went on a trip to Moscow and the rest of us didn’t have classes for those two days. It was really eventful and exciting despite its brevity. This week was also full of goodbyes to friends we had just met and teachers we worked with too. We made friends with a group of Spanish students who were in the same program but their session lasted only two weeks. We sent them off with a lot of hugs and tears, and I plan on trying to pay them a visit once our program is over. We also had our last sessions with Yuri for dance and Elena for acting.
In dance class we worked all session on an exercise where we mimic different organisms and go from simple sea creatures and plants to animals and people, all in a snapshot of evolution in dance form. This time, it felt like we were all working together so well, from weeks of muscles working in unison. It also had a sort of swansong feel to the dance since we knew it would be the last time we would work on it with our group. We also did our country-dances, and had some fun, and Yuri sent us off with some words of encouragement. Everyone wanted photos with Yuri and the whole group together, and we still do the dance moves even when we’re walking around town here.
Our last Biomechanics-based acting class was a little different in that we didn’t have the class for quite as long, but I for one felt like it was just as tough to see it go. I felt like that class was an extremely difficult one physically, but I enjoyed the workout. Mentally it was a bit of a challenge as well, but once we applied our exercises to our scene work in “The Seagull,” it made perfect sense to see how it applied to acting work. We had been doing balancing work with broomsticks and we applied them to our scenes, and it really looked amazing when you saw the finished product. I found that using a physical focus to fine-tune our psychological intentions was very effective. I plan on looking into Meyerhold and Michael Chekhov on my own and I’m thankful I had a chance to get a great start on their methods.
We started a voice training class and a new acting class this week. Voice training seems very tricky and full of impossible tongue twisters, but the more we practice, the more I realize that voice work involves muscles and exercise, just like any other acting work with any other part of the body. The tongue twisters get easier and easier and the work in out class pays off after only an hour of practice. Our acting classis great fun and it looks like we will get a chance to put all of our acting training into doing our final scenes. I’m really excited about seeing where this goes.
We went to the Russian Museum yesterday and that place is simply the most colossal and ornate museum I’ve ever been in. It is dedicated exclusively to Russian works and artists, and it has them from all periods starting with very early religious icons and leading up to Impressionist style works and even political posters. My favorite work was a huge woodcarving called, “The Marvellous Fish Whale.” It was a huge block of wood, carved to look like a whale, with a small town on his back including houses, horses and people all over his back.
Today, we went to a service in the Spilled Blood Cathedral right down the street, and we were all amazed by the interiors. The whole inside of the cathedral is covered in mosaics made from tiny bits of tile that depict saints and scenes from the bible. It was a bit strange because none of us were used to the sort of mass that they had and we didn’t want to look too out of place, but the chants of the priests were mesmerizing and the whole of the church smelled of incense. The mosaics were all in brilliant colors, and there was so much beautiful stonework. I know our time here is limited, but seeing this beautiful church made me realize that there is still so much to take in here in St. Petersburg, and that I’m grateful for everything I’ve seen and done here.

Every day this city is feeling more like home. I’ve been using Russian more often in the streets and with my professors. The goal for this weekend is to try to carry out as many transactions as possible in Russian. It’s a little tricky because a surprising number of clerks and waiters know a little bit of English so they try to speak it when they hear an accent or a mispronounced word. I’m going to try to carry on a conversation with the friendly lady who sells us cheese pies down the street. I’ve also made friends with a girl from the academy named Sonia that I’ve been hanging out with and she is helping me practice outside of the classroom. Tomorrow she’s teaching me how to make vegetarian borscht. It really is great meeting all these new people here!
My acting class is getting a bit more interesting, as if it wasn’t interesting enough! It’s quite a workout now that we’re doing the whole Biomechanics of Meyerhold, and I always come back from my classes covered in sweat. This class is providing me with some really intense character breakthroughs and moments of connection. Our teacher Elena said something interesting that I kind of took to heart about needing to find the balance between relaxation and tension. It certainly seems to be the case with these exercises, because we’re doing a lot to shape get in touch with the physical apparatus of our bodies, and then we’re also trying to free our minds to get in touch with our characters from “The Seagull.” This all sounds like I’m waxing philosophical, I know, but it is really working and I’ll definitely be using these techniques back in the States.
We’ve also been working on some Michael Chekhov’s techniques and using them to create archetypal gestures for emotions and actions. This is a bit tricky to get the hang of, but Elena is a good teacher and it’s really giving us a lot to work on our characters with. We find a whole body gesture and use it to work on our scenes and lines. I’m definitely a fan of this and can’t wait to see how this works out. We got a chance to work in a park on these, and we must have seemed silly to all the Russian passersby, but it was a beautiful setting, and it was a nice way to take in the city.
Dance class has been going great too. We got a chance to do some Russian folk dances, and some Spanish dance as well. I think this is great because I’m getting the hang of dances that I previously thought would be impossible to master, and I’m having a great time doing it. Sonia is a dance teacher as well, and she promised some dance lessons in exchange for English practice, so I’ll even be able to work on these after we’re through with Yuri’s dance lessons. We’ve also made friends with some Spanish students from the Academy, and we do a lot of singing and dancing in parks around the city with those guys. We learned a Russian pirate song, and sang birthday songs to one of the students. This has been an exciting week, and definitely one of the best of my life.

Settling In

We have been getting more art and culture in during the last week and a half than I usually see in a year in the U.S. They certainly do take their theater-going seriously here in Russia in general and St. Petersburg in particular and it is really refreshing. We saw a fantastic production of “Don Juan” with amazing sets and choreography. Even though it was entirely in Russian and we’ve only had a handful of Russian lessons so far, I could tell that the actors were right on with their portrayals of the characters. You really felt Don Juan’s impetuous and independent nature as well as his rapport with Sganarelle.
We also saw some top-notch student productions of some Tennessee Williams plays and a production of Hamlet. The students really give it their all, and I was surprised to find out how much time and effort goes into the whole process. The students have actually been working on these plays for several years in some cases and they choose their own roles in the plays. We were able to speak with the actors after their show and they were really friendly and extra enthusiastic about telling us about their preparations for the show. I would love the opportunity to be able to know a play inside and out like they do, because it really pays off in the quality of the production.
The classes are going great, and we’re always really busy. My Russian is improving, and the Russian alphabet is getting much easier to read. I can pretty much read all the signs on the buildings and ask street vendors for food. It seems a bit like everything is going by a bit too fast. We’ll be through with our dance classes next week and I’m going to miss Yuri, our teacher. The class is a great workout and a great way to explore our bodies as actors. In our acting class, we’ve been working on etudes, which are sort of like improvisations based on a character. Our teacher Alisa was great at showing us how to pull these off. It was such a strange thing to be working with so much freedom to do what you want, while at the same time keeping your character’s traits and situations in mind, but Alisa was a great guide.
We’re now in a new acting class based on the Meyerhold’s Biomechanics. Our teacher Elena is amazing. She’s a pupil of one of Meyerhold’s pupils, so it’s nice to know that our teachers are a few generations from some of these great theater artists. At first the class just seemed like we were doing crazy and nearly impossible dances and stretches, but she showed us how these movements can be used to convincingly act out a whole coherent scene. It’s going to be a bit of a Herculean task to work out all these exercises, but it is well worth the sweat and aching muscles at the end of the day.
We’ve been having a great time seeing all there is to see of the city as well. We saw the opening of the bridges, which I can only describe as a miniature combination of Burning Man and a Semana Santa in Mexico. The whole town crowds around these huge bridges to see the boats pass through when they lift them late ate night. There’s lights, dancing, music, and everyone just goes nuts. This really is a helluva town. It’s as fun as any American city, but with that exciting tinge of something exotic and new, plus a love of art and culture you can feel in the very stones that line the streets.

Welcome to St. Petersburg

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Charles Close. I’m an actor, and one of the more adventurous ones you’re likely to meet, as I believe this Russian adventure proves. I’ve been a theater student and lover of all things drama for the better part of my life and hold a BA in Theater Arts from the University of California, San Diego. Acting is something I’m passionate about and what I intend to make a career in. I also like to travel, meet new people, and love learning about new cultures and languages. Through the miracle of the internet, I was able to find out about this unique opportunity with the St. Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy to combine these two loves of mine and venture out here on a whim to Russia for a chance to learn more and have an amazing time furthering my career.
The first thing I’d like to do is set the scene, so to speak. I took a long series of plane rides to get out here from California, and after about twenty-four hours of flying and airports, I felt like I was rolled up wet and put away dry. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice airline and I talked to a friendly Russian girl who taught me a few words, but I was dead on my feet. Getting into St. Petersburg was like of jolt of energy jump starting my system. The city is absolutely gorgeous! Olga, part of the academy staff picked me up at the airport and pointed out several places of interest and explained some of the history of the city along the way.

I was a little apprehensive about the whole apartment situation, because I told before arrival that they were having issues with finding living quarters for some of us, but boy did they ever come through! I’m living on a beautiful canal, in a fully furnished apartment (piano included!) that’s between two enormous ornate cathedrals; the Kazan Cathedral and the Church of Spilled Blood. Travel writers would give their left eye for this experience. It’s not all one hundred percent idyllic though. There is a bit of culture shock to take in, and it definitely makes one feel like a it of an outsider when you aren’t fluent in the language. But that’s all part of the adventure.

The classes are really something. I like the system of education that they have here. The students are all in highly specialized programs where they take an intensive course load with a tight knit group that they remain with for the duration of their studies. Our classes aren’t nearly as long into the day as theirs, but we are taking several hours all the same. We’re learning the Russian language, and even though I always feel like we could use more time in that class, we’re definitely getting a lot out of it and our teacher is great. We have a dance class, with an instructor who is one of the top talents in his field. Our acting teacher is amazing, and I feel like we’re definitely getting a lot out of her class. Some of our exercises are a bit back to basics, but then some are just out of this world. We went to a bath house and got to get a crazy spa treatment where we were beaten with birch branches in a sauna and then immersed in cold water. It sounds rather intense and at some points it was, but it was also invigorating. We get to recreate the experience in class to work on sensory memory and physicality.

I already feel like I’ve learned so much on this trip and about myself as an actor, and it hasn’t even been a week yet. We get to see a show about every other night, and it’s refreshing to see how Russians appreciate their theater over here. Their zest for the arts is contagious, and it is driving me towards new heights as a performer.