“Eight Loving Women” and a Male Director

Rehearsals for the play “Eight Loving Women” based on the play by French playwright Robert Thomas are in full swing at the By The Way Studio Theatre. The theatre’s founder and director Vyacheslav Kaganovich is making his debut as a director.

Robert Thomas (1927-1989) is an entire era in the French theater of the second half of the 20th century. He directed films, acted in them, worked on television, wrote prose, scripts, and plays. He was a creative person, ready to live in the theater and accepted everything in art except boredom. Thomas succeeded most in dramaturgy. Two of his plays are well known to many of us from popular film adaptations: based on the play “The Parrot and the Chicken”, in 1982 Alla Surikova’s film “Look for a Woman” was released with S. Chiaureli, L. Kuravlev, S. Yursky, E. Solovei, A. Abdulov, and L. Yarmolnik; Based on the play “A Trap for a Lonely Man”, in 1990 Alexey Korenev made a film of the same name with N. Karachentsov, Yu. Yakovlev, I. Shmeleva, V. Smekhov, I. Smoktunovsky.

Thomas composed his “Eight Women” in 1958. He had to wait three years for the premiere – it took place in 1961 at the “Edouard VII” theatre in Paris. But then the play became incredibly popular. Performances based on it were staged in France, the former Soviet Union, Europe, America… The most famous film adaptation to this day remains the French film of 2002. Director François Ozon for the first time in history united three generations of the best French actresses: from Danielle Darrieux and Catherine Deneuve, Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Ludivine Sagnier to Virginie Ledoyen and Firmin Richard.

I asked the director of the play, Vyacheslav Kaganovich, why he decided to turn to Tom’s play.

– In America, I wanted to bring back to life two plays most of all – “Phenomena” based on the play by Grigory Gorin and “Eight Women”. I managed to restore “Phenomena”. The play turned out well, lasted for several years, and it marked the beginning of the history of the company, which, unfortunately, is no more today. “Eight Women” is also a memory from there, from those years “when we were young”... The play was shown for many years at the Minsk People’s Theater of the Trade Union Culture Palace. The production was directed by Yuri Vladimirovich Stepanov – my first real theater director. Over the six years of work, I played a colossal number of roles in his plays and forever remembered his lessons. With the play “The Adversary Song” based on Yakub Kolas, we took first place at the All-Union Competition of People’s Theaters in Panevezys, in the building of the Banionis Theater. We performed in Belarusian, the composer was the “songwriter” Mulyavin. The following year, we brought “The Counterfeit Coin” based on Gorky to a similar competition in Tartu… Stepanov left us a year and a half ago. I dedicate the play “Eight Loving Women” to his memory. There is a line on the poster: “To Yuri Vladimirovich Stepanov – director and teacher.”

– To what extent does the new performance repeat Stepanov’s production?

– This is a different performance simply because I have forgotten the details of Stepanov’s performance. Everything is being composed anew. From Stepanov’s production, I remember a feeling of joy and… fantastic, two-story sets. To stage them, the entire male population of the theater came two hours in advance!.. Yuri Vladimirovich left me a colossal amount of music. Several months before his death, he sent me about one hundred and fifty files. All summer I selected, edited, analyzed the music according to the text. Noises, background fragments, gunshots… In Minsk, we did it simply. We took a board, placed actors on both sides. One pulled his end of the board, let go at the right moment, and bam – a shot rang out. And in order to know where the right moment was, you had to stand and watch what was happening on the stage. Sometimes it didn’t coincide, but the shot was loud!.. Now everything is simpler. Special equipment, programmable lighting, music from a computer…

– The author called his play an ironic detective story. Does he manage to show irony?

– We try. The irony is in the text itself, there are many reprises that “shoot” right to the point. These are not reprises for the sake of reprises – they are included in the dramatic canvas. There are a lot of situational inventions that arise during rehearsals. The unusualness of the plot is that as the plot develops, the “arrows” are transferred from one woman to another, and the viewer understands that each of the eight women could be the killer. It is interesting to follow what happens at this moment with the others… It seems to me that there is not a single positive character in the play. Outwardly, all the women are well dressed, smile, smell good, but in reality they are scary. And they show their true colors when they find themselves in a “spiders in a jar” situation. This is where the most interesting part begins… But we will not reveal all the secrets. The viewers will find out who will be the scariest character in this story at the premiere!

Actors and directors love Tom's theatre. Directors - for creative freedom (the playwright never limited the imagination of the directors), actors - for witty phrases and bright characters, which in skillful hands can easily turn into benefit roles.

At one time, the play “Eight Women” was very popular in Russian theaters. It was staged mainly to provide work for actresses who had been waiting for years for new roles. Imagine how great it is for a director to take on eight actresses at once! And what if there are two casts? And what if there are three?! But this can be done in stationary theaters with a huge troupe. But here in Chicago, in the conditions of a Russian-language “actor deficit,” finding eight actresses seemed like a utopian idea. So it seemed to everyone except the director. Meet the eight beautiful ladies who will take part in the play:

Irina Keselman (Katrin). Born in Chicago. Student at Loyola University of Chicago. Loves theater since childhood. Studied ballet. Plays piano. Since 2017, she has been taking part in performances of the musical theater studio "Bravo".

Olga Umilina (Gabi). Born and raised in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia). Graduated from Nizhny Novgorod University, worked in Moscow. There she recorded her first solo album "Not a Word About Love". Plays the guitar. Participant of bard gatherings in Chicago and New York. Was noted as the best performer in the genre of bard song. Held several solo concerts in Chicago, Minneapolis and Alabama. The play "Eight Loving Women" is her debut on the theater stage.

Irina Yukilevich (Grandmother). “I work in the field of information technology, but all my life I have loved and perceived the art of theater as one of the most important and integral parts of life. This feeling and chance brought me to the theater.“

Irina (Rene) Spivak (Suzon). Designer, entrepreneur. Participant of projects of the musical and theatrical studio "Bravo", the theater "Bluebird Arts" and other creative groups of Chicago.

Alena Simonova (Pierrette) is a marketer, PhD in economics, teacher, translator, and member of the Union of Journalists of Russia. She has organized international festivals, concerts, and international music awards. She has taken part in productions at the Volgograd Officers' Club Theatre Studio and the Psychodrama Theatre Studio in Moscow. She completed the Acting for Stage and Life course at the Theatre and Teapots studio in Moscow. She has been involved in various dance styles for over twenty years. She has taken part in theatre productions, including the musical Chicago. She has played in performances at the Russian-language Mirror Theatre in Chicago. She takes part in productions at the Mister X studio. She takes part in fashion shows and fashion magazine shoots as a model.

Nonna Zeks (Chanel). Piano teacher. Laureate of the All-Union Review of Creative Youth. In different years, she was the musical director of the Theatre Studio of the Lvov House of Scientists, the jazz vocal and instrumental trio "Experiment", the Jewish vocal and dance ensemble "Mazltov". Currently - musical director and actress of the musical and theatre studio "Bravo". Author of three poetry collections, prose. Member of the International Literary Club "Andersval" (Holland).

Natalia Buiny (Augustina). “My first stage experience happened in the student theater of the Tashkent Polytechnic Institute. I fell in love with the theater forever. I studied at a music school, played the piano. In Chicago, I participated in the production of the play “Jubilee” as an assistant director. Now I am learning to be on stage again, or rather, to live on it.”

Inna Konstant (Louisa). Graduate of the Kyiv Institute of National Economy. Economist. Works in medical billing. Member of the Bard Club. Active participant of the "Laundry" glade. Prize-winner for the best clowning. "Eight Loving Women" is her first experience of participating in a theatrical production.

I asked Vyacheslav Kaganovich how he works with such a “flower garden”.

– My main task is to “knock” the actresses out of them. The word “acting” is absent at rehearsals. “How did I act?” – you can’t say that. “How did I live this fragment?” – that’s fine. And we start to figure it out. We get the emotions, intonations only from within, from ourselves, our guts, our nerves… There is a person going on stage, and there is a character in the play. Everything will work out only if a person merges with their character and there is no “acting” in them. This is the most important, difficult, but also the most interesting task. Everything else is from the evil one… I don’t know how to act. I pass everything through myself, still remaining myself – Vyacheslav Kaganovich. In one interview, Faina Ranevskaya told a young journalist: “Darling, you’ve said the word “acting” many times already. I don’t know what it is. I live. If I don’t live on stage, then I fail. I PERSONALLY have to live the role of my heroine.” For me, these words became the key to understanding the existence of an actor on stage. If a person believes me, then I am right. I must find those loops and hooks in myself that will hook me. If I start to pretend to be something, I will lose. I can only live the role... I will remember for the rest of my life a meeting that took place in Leningrad. I was sent to refresher courses. I went to the theater every evening for a month. One day I was lucky enough to meet Georgy Alexandrovich Tovstonogov. He was sitting on the stage, with a table, a pack of cigarettes, and an ashtray in front of him. After the evening was over, I rushed to him. “Georgy Alexandrovich, I am an engineer. I act in the People’s Theater. I want to ask you a stupid, amateurish question. Please tell me, don’t you think that what we do is an intrusion of amateurs into the realm of high art?” He asked: “Do people come to see you?” – “We are always sold out.” – “Here’s your answer. If what you do is needed by people and they come to your performances, then it doesn’t matter what you call yourself.” I’ve remembered Tovstonogov’s answer for the rest of my life… In fact, we are, of course, playing at theatre. This is an experiment for me and for all the participants. I didn’t think it would captivate me so much, I didn’t think it would be so interesting for me to understand the images, to search, to make mistakes, to try again, to find solutions…

Vyacheslav Kaganovich is the founder and, for ten years, one of the directors of the first Russian-language theater in Chicago, Atrium. In 2011, he created a new theater group, By The Way. While everywhere (with rare exceptions) in America a performance runs for one, two, or three months, after which its participants disperse to other projects, in the By The Way theater studio, performances run for years. I will list just a few: “Aydont understen” based on the play by V. Shenderovich “The Victim Goldiner” (director - producer - S. Kokovkin, premiere - October 22, 2011), Kaganovich's one-man show “The Voice” based on the story by S. Gansovsky (premiere - October 1, 2012), “Two-step against the background of suitcases” based on the play by R. Baer (director - G. Chernyakhovsky, premiere - January 25, 2014), “Chagall. The Color of Love” based on the play by Z. Sagalov “Flights with an Angel” (director - A. Shvetsov, premiere - May 15, 2015), “Selfie with Sclerosis” based on the play of the same name by A. Volodarsky (director - I. Shats, premiere - November 18, 2017). I will also remember the staging of “Tevye and Golda” based on the play by G. Gorin “Memorial Prayer”, “musical and poetic metamorphoses” “My Dolsky”, “My Gorin” – a touching declaration of love to a wonderful writer, a composition based on the poetry of D. Samoilov “Why do I exist…”.

The story about the play “Eight Loving Women” would be incomplete without mentioning the permanent creative team of “By The Way”: artist – Irina Ratner, make-up artist – Galina Menikhes, lighting – Petr Senchenkov, sound – Galina Shogan, assistant director – Inna Yanovskaya, poster and booklet – Grigory Dikshteyn.

The By The Way Theatre Studio lives a bright, eventful life. In March, they toured Miami, in April, the company is expected to perform the play “Aydont Understend!” in Toronto at the International Theatre Festival “Funny to Tears!”, and in May, the theatre is expected to tour London. Chicago – Toronto – London – and then everywhere… Well, the next premiere of the theatre studio is coming soon. Good luck!

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