M.F.A. Program Students in Moscow: Elyse Price

-

The A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program class of 2014 recently returned from Moscow, where they were honored as the only U.S. acting school invited to attend the prestigious Stanislavsky Festival. They performed Federico García Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba, were featured on the evening news, and interacted with students from England, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Poland, France, and Russia.

We asked the students to share their photos and reflections from this unforgettable trip. To read more about their experiences, search for hashtag #ACTinMoscow on Facebook and Twitter.

A backstage sign at Moscow Art Theatre. Photo courtesy Elyse Price.
Elyse Price

Dobre OOtra!

Good morning from the foggy streets of Moscow City. I woke up this morning to the smell of cigarette smoke and the sensation of the cold, crisp Russian air creeping in through my hotel room window. This is not a complaint, rather a surreal reckoning.

In this past week, several of my dreams have come true. For this entry, I’ll focus on Wednesday’s.

On the day of the performance, my class and I were greeted at the theatre with individual dressing rooms, water bottles, laundry service—the whole nine! After getting settled in my space, I walked into the theatre. Gulp. The stage was set. Our linoleum platform, the windows, the green shutters in all their glory! Is this a dream? The massive projector screen flies out and we are ready to be translated into Russian. We managed to run through all of the costume quick changes with our Russian team and then it was magically time for a lunch break. Time flies fast when the focus is fierce amongst the ensemble.

After a few bites of buckwheat and stew (deliciously crafted by the MXAT babushkas) we returned for the last leg of tech. After going cue to cue through the show in what seemed like mere seconds, 6 p.m. arrived.

Now is the time.

The fabulous Mr. Daley calmly requests, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please get into costume and check your props.”

NOW is the time.

Costume on. Hair pulled back. Voice warmed. Body stretch. Awareness of space.

I hear Ilya’s voice asking for all actors to get into place. I see my classmates and Stephen, filling in the backstage area one by one. 

We are all ready. Circle up. Hands held. Sweaty palms. We are ready. Three breaths together and GO!

NOW IS THE TIME.

From that moment on, we did our jobs. The theatre was huge but I’m proud to say that we filled it with our story. The rope was pulled taught and “Allelujiah” was begged through tears of rage and pain in the Alba family.

Blackout.

The audience's applause matched my heart beat racing. I couldn’t be more proud to have the opportunity to share Bernarda Alba with some of the top Acting schools in the world at the Moscow Art Theatre.

All that’s left to say is an endless thank you to every person who has supported this waking dream.

Thank you endlessly. 
Location: Moscow, Russia

Popular posts from this blog

“To Be or Not to Be”: The Iconic Speech’s Origins, Interpretations, and Impact

-
Image
By A.C.T. Publications Staff The opening line of Hamlet ’s “To be or not to be” soliloquy is theater’s most iconic, most referenced quote. What’s less known is the famous speech’s history, with Hamlet ’s earliest publications offering varying versions of its language. Also questioned is its meaning—is Hamlet contemplating suicide or is he weighing the consequences of murder? Though definitive answers are unlikely to arise, the questions “To be or not to be” asks have kept audiences, scholars, and actors engaged for centuries. Hamlet ’ s "To be or not to be" speech as it appears in the three original editions of the play. Photo by Georgelazenby. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. The first edition, or First Quarto (Q1), of Hamlet was published in 1603. Because the text is much shorter than later editions and its language is less poetic, it is nicknamed the “Bad Quarto” by scholars. “To be or not to be” in Q1 reads as: To be, or not to be—ay, there’s the point. To die,
Read more

The American Sound: The Evolution of Jazz

-
Image
By Cecilia Padilla There is nothing so uniquely American as jazz music. In its simplest form, jazz embodies the essence of the American people: bold and inventive. The improvisation of the jazz ensemble can even be seen as a metaphor for the American democratic ideal: musicians playing solos have the liberty to express themselves as long as they adhere to the overall structure of the tune—individual freedom but with responsibility to the group. The evolution of jazz music also carries with it the social development of our nation from slavery to the swinging songs of World War II. Musically, jazz contributed immensely to the way contemporary musicians approach instrumentation, composition, and vocal arrangements. It is difficult to find a popular tune today that does not derive from such jazz icons as Joe Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. Jazz is the great equalizer; for more than a hundred years, it has been the common ground between blacks and whites, me
Read more

A Hell of a Businessman: A Biography of Joe Glaser

-
By Simon Hodgson Born in 1897, Joe Glaser was the son of a successful Russian Jewish physician in Chicago. He originally intended to follow a similar career and entered medical school, but after passing out in the operating room, he realized he wasn’t cut out to be a doctor. He started off in business selling used cars, but found better luck managing prizefighters. In his biography of Al Capone, Laurence Bergreen notes, “Glaser’s power to fix fights earned him a reputation as a sage of boxing, especially among reporters.” With advanced word as to which fights were fixed, Glaser could predict the results—and even the number of rounds—of many bouts in Chicago. His connections with organized crime continued in his next career change, when he began running nightclubs and whorehouses in the South Side for the Chicago Outfit, the powerful underworld gang led by Capone. Glaser’s tendency toward illegal action nearly ended his career. In 1928, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for
Read more