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The wait for the premiere lasted until September 12. In this interview, we talk about anticipation intertwined in reality and performance and challenges that are not over yet.
Jasha Kocel is one of the most interesting and promising Slovenian theater directors, having performed at the Slovenian National Theater in Nova Gorica, the National Opera and Ballet Theater, the Ljubljana City and Puppet Theaters, the Novo Mesto Theater and others. He deepened his knowledge of art direction by working as an assistant to famous directors such as Dušan Jovanović, Janez Pipan, Ivica Buljan, and Tomažas Pandur. It is assisted by a large team of artists from Slovenia: the set designer Darjan Mihajlovich Cerar, the costume designer Branka Pavlič, the music of Miha Petric, leader of the well-known Slovenian jazz group Moonlight Sky, and the choreographer Tajda Podobnik. The team is joined by playwright Daiva Čepauskaitė and NKDT stage actors Greta Šepliakovaitė, Jūratė Onaitytė, Daiva Rudokaitė, Tomas Erbrėderis Ričardas Vitkaitis, Kamilė Lebedytė, Jurgita Maskoliūnaitė, Saulvaitė
– You had to go through a real drama: the premiere was canceled a couple of weeks before the final. How would you describe the feeling at the time and how easily did you manage to return to Kaunas?
“It’s a truly extraordinary feeling”, we were so close to the premiere and suddenly we had to stop everything. It took me a week to get used to the idea and to think again about the future. In fact, due to the pandemic, two of my projects were not carried out and the premiere of “Elektros” was postponed until fall. But getting to Lithuania was not so easy.
As the trip got closer, I followed all the news from Lithuania related to travel restrictions. There was uncertainty about whether we would be able to fly, whether we would need to be isolated and things like that. At the end of August, the choreographer Tajda Pobodnik and the painter Darjan Michajlovich Cerar flew with me. The situation changed over the days, as Slovenia found itself in the yellow zone. We had to change the ticket of the composer Miha Petric and anticipate the arrival of the light artist David Andrei Francky until the situation worsened.
The costume designer couldn’t change her plans, so she works from her home in Ljubljana. Unfortunately the photographer Mankica Kranjec, with whom we collaborate on all my projects, cannot come.
– Is this probably the first time a costume designer has supervised the final work online?
– Yes. While still in Kaunas, Branka did a great job and the theater tailors had almost finished her costumes, so final preparations and minor corrections are now underway. It is working on WhatsApp. Probably no one has experienced it yet.
– And what plan would you have prepared if the composer or the artist of light had not arrived?
– I am very glad that they arrived by plane (smiles). Now calm down. I have been a light artist in various performances in my hometown, including the staging of an opera. The lights are not new to me, I know them very well, but, you know, some lights, then the actors look less on the stage: the thoughts are focused on one: the performance of the actors or the visual side. The same goes for music.
– To calm you down, did you take the COVID-19 tests?
– Yes. Upon arriving in Kaunas, a day later we all did the tests. It wasn’t necessary, but we wanted to make sure we could get in touch with the actors, the theater staff. The Kaunas National Drama Theater is a great institution, so you can’t take chances.
– How do you recreate the performance after such a long hiatus?
– During the first rehearsal for “Elektros”, we joked that the creation of the performance will take nine months, from last January to September. It will finally be born. We last saw it in early March, so I was concerned about how it would be remembered, but was amazed at how perfectly the actors captured the material, text, and staging. It was as if our last meeting had taken place ten days ago, not a few months ago. I didn’t even expect such a pleasant surprise.
– Maybe you came up with some fixes, new solutions?
– In fact, the performance will remain as conceived and as recorded before the pandemic. We have already come a long way. I follow the rule that the more you start to think, the more you start to doubt. However, all this time my thinking revolves around the premiere of “Elektros”. I have prepared some new solutions. I’m glad that already during the first meeting with the actors, we perfectly solved a complicated scene.
– I went back to the quarantine period. How did the Slovenian theater survive?
The theatrical silence went on for a long time. Theatricals hurt us a lot. The problems of how to work in such conditions have been solved. During the quarantine, we saw performances from virtually all over the world, I watched a lot the broadcasts of TV Theater ONL1NE and the concerts of the actors; It was great, but this is not the theater, what is its real purpose. It is necessary to visit the theater. In Slovenia, there was a summer scene: various cultural institutions tried to keep it open throughout the summer.
It featured performances and concerts. My performance Psycho also participated in this program. Personally, I think we have to fight for what I love and move on and inject as much positive energy as possible, especially at a time that is not conducive to the theater. Even now, the speculation continues about what will happen in the future. I think we will create. You have to believe that, it strengthens us and supports us. The theaters in Slovenia have returned to their rhythm, let the Prime Minister, because like you, many of them have moved to the autumn.
– For most developers, the difficult period of stagnation also gave new impetus, provided opportunities for new occupations. And you?
– I had to work on an interesting project in the field of tourism this summer. – We created and shot a visual advertisement for a region of Slovenia. I wrote the script and directed. I was able to pay more than usual to create an ad because clients were more open to artistic ideas. Maybe they were so affected by the quarantine (laughs). True, I had to direct from home, because at that time movement in the country was restricted and I couldn’t go out. The operator, who lives near the mountains, sent pictures, reviewed and commented. It was interesting and the result was very gratifying. We create various video stories.
– Yasha, you had to direct not only in your homeland. You did performances in Serbia, Hungary. Lithuania will now be included in the creative biography. During this project, she learned Lithuanian words, observed daily and cultural life, attended basketball competitions, events, exhibitions, and the like. And you are very own in the theater. Is Lithuania getting closer to you?
– I know little words: “this plan”, “everything is fine” (laughs). Your language is very beautiful. I think you can work in the theater in a very personal way or not, but you cannot be indifferent. A very nice human relationship developed between the team and me. I cannot ignore the country where I work. I respect customs and traditions.
It inspires me. Even some of the scenes in the play “Elektra” were inspired by works of artists, for example Čiurlionis’s painting “Sacrifice”. We will use kankles and a Lithuanian folk song in the performance. I’m not speculating on that, but those elements inspired me and naturally blended into the acting.
The play takes us to Greece and I think there are echoes of Greek culture in all cultures. Lithuania’s cultural heritage is very extensive. There are many similarities between my country and Lithuania, both small countries with 2 and 2.5 million. population. They both won independence at a similar time. When I toured the ’90s exhibit at the MO Museum, I was amazed that so many similar things bring us together. I believe that small nations have a lot in common. In theater, we share our experience, our humanity, and we experience it on stage.
– The main theme of the play “Elektra” is waiting, and how it affects people. What are you waiting for?
– I’m waiting for the premiere, of course (laughs).
About the premiere:
The dramaturgical fabric of the performance is created from the texts of ancient Greek authors: Sophocles, Euripides, Eschil. At its center is a woman waiting. Elektra, the daughter of the Trojan war hero Agamemnon and Clithemnestra, mourns the murder of her father and waits for her brother to return to take revenge for her father’s death. Electricity is not only a character in ancient Greek drama, but also a symbol of the modern fighting woman. Their destiny is a historical reality for women.
Premiere on September 12 and 13 on the Grand Stage. On September 12, the performance will be shown with English subtitles.
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