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.