Author Topic: Working with a Russian Director  (Read 11660 times)

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smccain

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Working with a Russian Director
« on: Oct 24, 2008, 05:20 pm »
This year, I will be stage managing a show at my college as my senior project. The playwright a faculty member in our department and is about the 900 Day Siege in Leningrad. (When the Nazis surrounded St. Petersburg and cut off food supplies, dropped bombs, etc.) The director has been chosen and is from Russia. She speaks first grade level English and will be bringing an interpreter with her to translate for her. This is going to be an incredible process. I have spoken with the playwright, who has been arranging for her to come. She has an extensive background in theatre, working at the Moscow Art Theatre and being the current artistic director for the Russian Theatre of Estonia.

Here's the deal. The playwright has told me that she doesn't know what a stage manager is. I am a little worried about this. He has tried to explain to her what I do and that I am very competent, but she is under the impression that I am like an assistant director. Has anyone been in this situation before? Do you know what the equivalent of a stage manager is in Russian theatre? Does anyone have experience working with a Russian director who has never directed in the United States? I am just looking to get some background information, but I have been unable to find information on Russian theatre that I can actually read.

I look forward to this experience as I believe it will challenge me as a stage manager and collaborator, but it makes me nervous. To add to the stress, it's a world premiere and our college is making a really big deal about this production, so a lot of eyes will be in our direction.

Any background, advice, help, etc?
« Last Edit: Oct 24, 2008, 05:24 pm by smccain »
Sean

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #1 on: Oct 24, 2008, 08:55 pm »
I don't have experience introducing the concept of a stage manager to a foreign director, but I do have experience in working with directors who do not speak the language.  In the main case that I'm thinking of the directors were bilingual (Russian/English) and the cast was split evenly between those who spoke English and those who spoke Russian as their first language.

I can recall several scenes where I had to commit the biggest no-no in the book and take down blocking based on what the actors were doing rather than what the director was telling them to do.  I had no understanding of the table work at all.

When a large part of your role consists of facilitating communication and you do not speak the language of one of your major players, it becomes necessary to redefine that role accordingly.  Play it by ear.

Also, depending on how long this director has been working, you'll also want to remember that for many many years in the USSR shows ran in rehearsals and preview for sometimes years on end but never opened in order to skirt censorship laws.  The tradition went on for long enough that there's still a trend of tweaking the show indefinitely - press opening is not really an established concept and certainly not as much of an absolute as it is over here.

ChaCha

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #2 on: Oct 25, 2008, 10:10 am »
I have worked with people who dont really understand my role. Just keep doing what needs to be done and communicating as best you can. Take responsibility for doing your job and if you would normally wait for a request or instruction which isnt forthcoming just either do it or ask if you should do it - maybe this director wont know  they should be asking you. Dont get all caught up in titles - quite likely there is no stage manager in russian theatre but somehow they still put on shows, so someone does the work. Maybe in russia its the 'assistant director' who does the blocking (as often happens in opera here).It dosen't matter. So long as you are stepping up and helping the process you and the russian will get along fine and your project will flourish.
Just check your assumptions in at the door and all will be well. Bon chance!
ChaCha

Nbayard

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #3 on: Oct 26, 2008, 12:51 am »
I went to a school that was closely worked with Moscow Art Theatre - we did semesters there (well our actors did)... They don't used Stage Managers in their productions. What they do instead, I'm not sure - But I do know that part 

Should be a really awesome experience for both of you. GL!

Srlaupan

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #4 on: Oct 26, 2008, 01:50 pm »
I would say that you should definitely take the time to try to sit down and talk with the director w/ their translator before the first production meeting or reading, or auditions if you'll be involved in that. Hopefully the translator will have some experience with theatre so they know what blocking and such is so they don't have to try to make up a word for it in russian lol...but bring one of your old books with and go through it with them. You can tell them that you'll be making up this type of form for this, you'll be filling out rehearsal reports that will have these details, you'll take blocking during rehearsals that will be based on their direction (as well as you'll be able to follow it), and all that good stuff. Also ask them what they will need from you during the production. Maybe they haven't had the experience of having a stage manager assist with all the things that we do during a production but they have had another person that they've depended on for other things that are integral to their process of directing a show. Taking the time to do this will help you meet in the middle and hybrid your stage managing experience with them.

centaura

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #5 on: Oct 29, 2008, 12:42 pm »
Quote
Just check your assumptions in at the door and all will be well. Bon chance!

I have to second this piece of advice - it sounds like you're going to end up either being under-utilized, or asked to do things that would otherwise not be a stage manager's job.  I say go with the flow, try not to get upset over differences, and just do your best.  This is not the advice I'd give to someone in another situation, but in your case working once with a director who is not going to be resident at any theatre over here, there's no point getting worried over exact job descriptions.

-Centaura

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #6 on: Oct 29, 2008, 01:53 pm »
I've worked with Russian singers, dancers and some type of director/manager.  It was only for two shows the same night with one rehearsal that day, so there was not any rehearsal process like you'll be having.  Their director/manager, the guy in charge, could only say "thank you" in English and the singers spoke none, so that was a tough line of communication.  They were middle-aged and had grown up in the cold war era, so English was certainly not something they'd learn in school.  The dancers were younger, between 16 and 24 I'd guess, and most spoke some basic English.  Their English though was not specialized enough to explain in detail their needs for a performance, which sounds similar to what your language barrier will be like.

Personally, I approach the job of stage management with my job description as: create an environment where everyone can do their best work (designers, directors, actors, etc...).  I think everything a stage manager does falls under this basic idea.  This is how I approach every show I SM.  With that in mind, when working with the Russians I and my staff did what we had to do to facilitate their show.  The basic approach was not "I am an SM, I will do this, this, this and this to get the show up tonight", it was "What do we need to do to get the show up tonight". This approach went very well, and though they couldn't express it in words, their body language definitely indicated they were happy with how things went.

The "check your assumptions" at the door is a very good piece of advice as well.  Also, when she's speaking with her translator, be sure to key in on non-verbal communication.  Inflection, tone of voice, gestures.  This will add context to the words given to you by the translator.  Be prepared to step outside your comfort zone of what an SM does and don't bring an ego into the room, you will be just fine.

Please do keep us updated, this is a great opportunity for you and I'm sure all of us are eager to hear how it goes!
« Last Edit: Oct 29, 2008, 02:00 pm by kmc307 »
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ljh007

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #7 on: Oct 30, 2008, 08:39 am »
Centaura makes a great point - you will really need to go with the flow on this one.

At the risk of sounding overly generalizing, my only piece of advice for you would be to stay very "businesslike" when working with this Russian director. I have worked with many Russians over the years, and one of my best friends is a Russian working in arts management. They are all wonderful to work with, but to many Americans it seems like they take their work more "seriously" than our culture. Less smiling, lots of focus,  and details squared away before anyone even has to ask. Sometimes I talk with my friend about a project that's driving me nuts and I finish by saying "But I'm not worried, I'll get it done and it'll be okay." And she, in her very Russian way, replies, "Of course you'll get it done. It's your job. What else would you ever do?" This is sort of what I'm trying to get at. No whining, no sympathy, no bs. Just everyone getting their work done. And as long as that's happening, Russians like to joke and play plenty - until the very second break is over, and then it's back to business.

centaura

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #8 on: Oct 30, 2008, 10:18 am »
Oh, I would also make a note about having a Russian-English dictionary on hand, just in case you run into something that either the translator doesn't know, or maybe run into a moment when the translator is not there.

One thing I have done in the past, when I've had Russian ballets in my venue - I made signs in Russian and posted them up around - directions to the stage, the dressing rooms, etc.  I know absolutely no Russian, but found that there are Russian letters as one of the fonts in my word processing program and was able to copy and paste them into signs, putting the letters in the same order as I saw in the dictionary.  I got one or two things slightly wrong, but their main English speaker just chuckled and wrote out the correct version.  I think they appreciated the little touch of welcome to my venue.

-Centaura

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #9 on: Nov 04, 2008, 02:41 pm »
Oh what a fun question.  After college I did a study abroad program to the Moscow Arts Theatre with my school.  As a stage manager they had no real program set up for me since like you mentioned Russian's dont really have stage managers, but i had some cool tech classes and theatre management experiences. 

Anyway I also work with a director now who was originally from Russia (hes the one who set up the study abroad program).  Like some have said Russian theatre does have a difference.  They do in fact have shows that rehearse but really have no set deadlines like show is opening on this date.  They will rehearse till they find its ready to open and then it will run till they feel its done, often not in a straight run like here in the US where we have like an 8week run.  Their shows might run a couple times a month.  Its a really interesting system and does allow for the show to continually evolve. 

Now while Russian's don't have a typical stage manager I never got a good sense of how everything does work.  It seemed most tech knew they show and just called their own cues.  In terms of rehearsal I think that yes you would be looked at as kind of an assistant director.  I think the important thing for you would be to sit down with the director and translator, and probably even the faculty person who is bringing the director in and just talk through how things would work.  You would still be that communication line of taking notes in rehearsal and dispersing them out and having blocking notations, and will most likely do everything you normally would but the director wont necessarily know everything you are doing, but after what will probably a bumpy start things will start to work. 

To me the job of the SM is always a loose description that is adapted show to show.  This show will definitely define your role outside the normal but it will be a great experience and opportunity for you. 

smccain

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #10 on: Nov 27, 2008, 02:50 pm »
Thanks for your outstanding advice. I will most definitely keep you all updated on this project. The director isn't slated to come to the United States until January 12th-ish. We open the end of February, so there is still a bit of time left. Thanks for your interest and help!


Sean

smccain

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #11 on: Dec 21, 2008, 06:11 pm »
Good news! The director got her visa and has her interpreter picked! She arrives in the United States on January 12th and auditions are going to be held over two days. It will be the 13th and 14th. Exciting times!
Sean

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #12 on: Dec 22, 2008, 11:02 pm »
Let us know how it goes. Best of luck!

smccain

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #13 on: Feb 02, 2009, 03:48 am »
We have been in rehearsal for a while now and I figured it was definitely time to update on this process. When I first met her, I was surprised how young she was. She was only about 28 or 29. Her translator is 23. They are both very nice people. Since the show is a world premiere, I am again charged with the fun task of script upkeep. I made copies of the script for the actors and also created my production scripts and the scripts for the designers and my ASM. About 3 days after I made the copies, the playwright told me that he was working on some major rewrites. I asked him to send me the updates so that I could distribute them to the actors. He told me that the script rewrites he was making was going to be the base script that we would work off of. So, I put the 600+ pages in the garbage and used 600+ more sheets of paper re-copying the scripts. A bit frustrating, but I just moved on and rolled with the punches.

The playwright, might have done a world premiere before, but it was definitely not with the use of a computer. He doesn't know how to do the changes so that the page numbers don't get all messed up and so that the general formatting is maintained. He has been making changes with the director and then, without my knowledge, he as been giving the changes only to the actors in that scene. I don't get the changes and my ASM doesn't either. Because of this, the actors have all different versions as I have not been allowed to do the distribution of the copies. I make new versions different colors so that they know right away if they have the right copy. I asked him to let me do the distributing of the copies. In addition to all of this, he is completely re-writing Act 2, so no one has a copy of it, including the director and the set designer and lighting designer. This has been upsetting some of the actors as well as me. We have been rehearsing for two weeks now and I just got the first 3 scenes of Act 2. The last two scenes have been deemed unacceptable by the director, so the playwright now has to re-do them again. Finally, we have a good system in place for future rewrites, although it is not what I would hope for. My system works a lot better than his, but he is the playwright...and also the head of our department.

Now to the director. We had our first production meeting and it went pretty well, but it quickly soured after that. In the individual meeting with the set designer, she gave very vague images and ideas for the set. After much persuading her to elaborate, we thought we had the general idea down. She said "Next meeting, we will do drawings." To both the set designer and me, that meant that we would do some collaborative drawing with the director at the next meeting. This is where things were lost in translation, for sure. What she meant was,"Next meeting, we will look at your drawings." So, we came in with blown up ground plans of the theatre to draw on and brainstorm. Apparently she thought that she had provided enough information for him to come up with a design. So, we told her that we were confused and we didn't know what she wanted. In Russia, apparently the set designer just creates a design and the director works with whatever is provided. Normally, for us, the director will give some kind of an idea of what he is looking for and the set designer creates a design realizing the director's vision. They talked and finally there is some kind of design for the show.

The rehearsal process seems very wasteful with time. Typically, we will rehearse 3 hours in the evening and that's all. Well, this director has 4.5-7 hour rehearsals everyday. Since we are not a conservatory theatre school, we have classes and other things going on in our lives. She just doesn't understand that we are students first and thespians second. She expects the entire production staff to be on call 24/7 and she expects, even during school breaks and weekends for things to get done. Today, our TD/Set Designer was in working on things. Today is Sunday and he was very upset that he was being told to work this weekend. She also started asking the actors what classes they want to skip second semester so that they can rehearse during the daytime. At our school, the professors require attendance and your grade lowers when you miss a class.

The costume designer is very stressed out because she wants the costumes done NOW! We don't open the show for 4 weeks, yet. I think she wants to use the costumes during all of the rehearsals so that the actors can "live" in them. This is a problem because it means that laundry will have to be done as well as dry-cleaning. That is expensive and very time-intensive when we are still trying to get the show built. She also wants the sound designer to get all of the equipment ready now. She wants to hear how the sound will be in the theatre so that they can play with it and discover new things during the rehearsal process. What that means for me is that my ASM will spend all her time running sound during the rehearsal.

She also wants working food props throughout the entire rehearsal process, which means we are spending $5 every day on bread alone. She has also come up with a plan to
Another thing is that she doesn't block the scenes. She lets the actors move wherever they want and EVERY SINGLE TIME it is different. I have no blocking taken down for the scenes. Has anyone else had this blocking dilemma? What have you done to solve that problem?

Overall, the process isn't awful. I can deal with it, but I hate to see how much she upsets and stresses out the production staff. I just know that it's going to get worse and my grandmother instincts (my stage manager instincts) are kicking into high gear and throwing up warning signs. Any advice with all of this, especially the blocking issue?
Sean

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Re: Working with a Russian Director
« Reply #14 on: Feb 02, 2009, 06:32 pm »
In terms of blocking, do you notice actors doing similar things every time you do a scene?  Even if the blocking is not officially set, if the actor has a basic routine, you will at least have something to write down and work off of. 

Also, is there someone you can go to about being expected to skip classes.  In an academic situation, even if the department head is the playwright, there has to be someone looking out for the students.  If not the department head, how about the dean?

Good luck.