"Moments"

I found this performance interesting in its search for means to portray "dry" historical and biographical material by intertwining it with the genius of the poetry of Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin,

together with artistic plastic expression.

I was offered the role of one of Pushkin's heroines, but I argued and won in my position that the role should be the abstract Vision of a woman in his works.

The setting was gratifying - his home, now a museum, where the performance moves throughout each and every room, following the poet's road of life and poetry, his authentic and historical objects and books.

It allowed me, the heroine, to drift down the stairs from the attic

and through the entire house as a ghost and consistently, in monologue form, experience the entire historical and emotional journey, disregarding completely the people grouped around me, the audience, the guests of both the museum and the performance.

 

As if they are not there, I pull the drapes aside, observe and take in the park and the buildings through the eyes of the heroine, buildings which are either no longer there or have come to ruin. But I see them as they were at their peak, I take pleasure in them, see their beauty, I even hear the approach of coaches.

I was delighted with such a form of presenting the museum, it introduced emotion and did away with the standard and dull guided tour. The rooms were set up with a sound system. I also had a tiny microphone attached to my mask, allowing me to regulate the volume to even the most silent of whispers. Each room on display had its own theme, its own poetry and music.

The performance was acted out in my own native language, Lithuanian, although the majority of the poetry was read in its original language. The use of a mask gave the character a surreal quality,

and every detail or ray of light gave the face a different mood. It helped experience each step of the character's life until the last testament,

 

before death.

With a farewell glance the character closes the door behind her and leaves the guests, the audience, in the last room to dwell on their thoughts amidst the throng of chimes.

No bows taken after such a performance.

 

This page was last updated on  01/06/00.