What is the theatre for an average person, and what is it for an actor? Is it that important that you have to talk about it on the same day around the world? Katarzyna Murawska talks with the director of the Polish theatre scene in Chicago – Kinga Modjeska.
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
I graduated from Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy in Warsaw. I studied first and foremost with the likes of Anna Dereszowska, Karolina Gruszka, Małgorzata Socha and Marcin Bosak. They’re interesting personalities and very well-known actors today. My adventure with acting started much earlier than studying at the theatre academy. Firstly, there were amateur theatre groups, recitations and competitions, and later the professional Ludwik Solski Theatre in Tarnów. There, as a teenager, I took my first steps under the watchful eyes of the famous director Jacek Medwiecki, in the musical “Pinocchio.”
After graduating, I moved to Chicago. I have family here, so the decision to stay here for good was somehow determined by the fact that my core family’s chosen this country as a place of residence. Therefore I decided to give myself a chance working and playing in Chicago.
Exiling from the theatre a difficult choice.
Surely yes, but my priority was, and still is the work in my profession, the desire to share my passion my others, not the forced change of profession because of the language barrier or accent. I started teaching acting, communication and improvisation in American schools, including John Robert Powers and KCC Success. I taught children, youth and adults. The working systems in those schools were similar. Every few months I had some new classes. Each class had from 10 to 25 students. It was an interesting experience. By teaching other people I learned a lot too. At the same time I also played in American theatres such as the Dream Theatre Company and Trap Door Theatre. With the last one I am still working.
At what point did the thought of establishing your own theatre studio take shape?
I set up Modjeska Theatre Studio four years ago. There’s a lot of improvisation, fun, exercises, knowing themselves better and other things thanks to theatre. All this under the slogan “theatre entertains, theatre teaches, raises”. I believe that every child is an unwritten card and therefore I rely on individuality. The groups in which we work are cameral and a summary of these theatrical meetings is the final spectacle, in which parents can see their children on a stage and children when performing, can overcome their own fears or shyness. But more important for me is the process of teaching, the development of a child and how they work in a group, make friends and gain experience. I always say that I don’t bring up actors. My classes has a general development profile. If it happens that there’s a real talent then I absolutely show them the right way of developing.
Which children participate in your classes?
Wonderful ones! Every child, every teenager and every adult actor is very important for me, but I foretold Blake Buczkiewicz a spectacular career, who at the tender age of 8 has a more elaborate resume than I do. In 2012, he played in a big production alongside with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet. I hope that’s a real talent.
The next step was the establishment of the Polish theatre scene?
Once at a meeting of the academy in Warszaw, Jeremy Irons told us a beautiful anecdote of a master and his students, who despite the best efforts of the master, didn’t want to reach the edge. The students were afraid if they come too close, they’d fall into gulf. After a long time of persuasion, they came a little closer and then the master pushed them and they went up rapidly in the sky and flew. I’m not scared of the gulf and the edge, and I’m not limited by the fear. I like working and realising my dreams, the Polish theatre scene is such a realised dream. I once confided this dream to Krzysztof Arsenowicz, who is also an actor. Krzysztof, full of enthusiasm, said “let’s try”. We tried. The inauguration of the scene took place in Copernicus Centre on 29 January 2012 with the spectacle “Bench” by Aleksandra Gelman. I directed this play and played in it together with Krzysztof. The topic was catchy and close to all of us. Here, two hurt and experienced people met. He was looking for an adventure for a night, she for the whole life. He tried quite quickly and in invited himself to her for a night in a too pushy way. She wanted life stability, and he kept lying to her. She constantly forgot him. He didn’t say a word of truth about his life and himself until the very end. She tried to give some colours to her gray existence. Moreover, it turned out that they used to meet and the only silent witness of those “park courtships” was the self-titled bench. Two people, who as if met by chance, looking for somebody who would listen to them, understand and maybe give a little bit of warmth and intimacy to each other. No matter if it’s for the whole life or only for one night. Because what counts is here and now. “The bench” is an intimate spectacle but also very close to life. It’s a story about a great need for love and at the same time fear from taking the responsibility for another person, versus the need for stability. It’s about grey common people from the street. The people who while cheating and lying to each other, say something very significant and real. The window dressing and continuing battle of the sexes boil down to the feeling of being protected against loneliness; to unite and make the world take on colour. How close is it to our emigrants environment and how universal meanwhile!
Another project was a CD “Bajkowa Klasyka” with the most famous poems of Jan Brzechwa and Julian Tuwim that was perfectly illustrated by Mieczysław Wolny.
And then there’s the known to all musical performance “Pinocchio”; the tale of a puppet made of wood. On the stage we could admire the great actors Julia Behnka, Wladyslaw Byrd, Jaroslaw Maculewicz, Christopher Aresonowicz, Wojtek Zębała and Adam Topa. The children form Modejska Theatre Studio, Fever Dance Academy, and the team Vera also joined us, of course. We all had to dance, play and sing.
The starring role which I played, I reminisced over especially well. After all, this lazy ingrate and rascal Pinocchio is wonderfully funny, but also tragic in his struggle with his own nature to be good. What about the long nose and ears of a donkey? It’s a penalty which he’d to pay for his own laziness and lies. Together with us, children and adults play, because the fairy tale by Collodi teaches, moves and entertains the next generations as well. It’s a story about searching for humanity, friendship and love.
You also directed the nativity play “Today in Bethlehem, the story of a rebellious angel, Crakovians, Highlanders and a goat that played on the pan-pipe near the Christmas crib”. Wasn’t that comparable with the previous performances?
Absolutely not. I even think that this performance raised the prestige of our Polish scene. It’s a meeting with tradition and Polish culture, but not only. As the title suggests, Crakovians, Highlanders, African groups in their national dresses, firefighters from Chicago, as well as Scots fully dressed with Scottish bagpipes and other exotic instruments, pay tribute to Jesus by singing and dancing. I wanted a more international dimension of the spectacle. We’re experiencing the birth of Christ and we made a performance in which more than 150 professional actors and amateurs took part. It’s difficult to put everything in a good order in by directing. It’s hard, but the work gave a creative joy to all of us, both performers and audience.
We first arranged an interview at 2.30 pm, and suddenly you postponed the meeting to 6.00 pm. Why?
I’m sorry but when the Polish scene starts a new project, it’s usual in such situations that we need to discuss the details. Krzysztof and I argue creatively and… as a consequence I’m late for meetings.
What was the dispute about this time?
This time I’ll be in the radio theatre of the Polish scene; a radio play of two sorts. For children fairy tales of the Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Andersen, as well as tales of Mickiewicz, Krasicki, Brzechwa and Tuwim.
And for the adults?
For adults? Polish and world classics, but also contemporary texts. It’s interesting to add that the reading will include texts of my colleagues with whom I studied. The radio theatre of the Polish scene’s a theatre of imagination, and you will soon hear us at the radio wave 1030 AM.
To which performances will the Polish scene invite us in the near future?
We’re preparing one of the most popular farces of Rat Cooney, namely “MyDay”. It’s a story of an unlucky taxi driver and bigamist. His happy life at the side of two women is stopped by unexpected accident. The secret’s revealed and it caused a lot of absurd situations. The main character struggles, trying to hide his double life from the two wives, the media and the police. The play has been performed for many years by many theatres across the world and it’s on top of the pops.
You also participate in the big concert “Actors for Actors”.
In this concert organized under the patronage of the consulate general of the Republic of Poland, all artists from Chicago will participate in it. The whole proceeds from this concert will be allocated to a house for the actors that are veterans in Skolimów. I’ve chosen the beautiful song “Disappearing” which I sing along with the band Antykwariat. It’s a song of elusiveness and passing – “taste, smell, touch, dizziness, all windows through which I see. It’s not yet evidence that I always will be…” I couldn’t take part in such a thing.
Every year on World Theatre Day, some well-known theatre actors make speeches that are translated into 20 languages. The first one was written Jean Cocteau in 1962.
The message for the 50th anniversary of the World Theatre Day in 2012 was written by the famous actor John Malkovich. He said the following words: “Let your work be valid and original. They should be deep, moving, unique and provoke to think. They should support us in the reflection on this what it means to be a human and in those reflections you should find your heart, sincerity and grace. I hope you will be overcoming the adversities, censorship, poverty and nihilism with which many of us surely will have to face.
Be endowed with talent and discipline, which allow you to talk about the beating of the human heart in all its complexity, as well as humility and curiosity to make a the work of life from it. And let that what is within you the most powerful, because only this what is the strongest and only in the very rare and brief moments, will shape this basic question: how is our life?”
I think that your Polish scene realises those beautiful goals. Ms. Modjeska, on behalf of all who love theatre I wish you and your team all the best, I hope you play to a full house and that in Chicago there’ll be a real Polish theatre. Thank you for the interview.
I also thank you, and I want to take the chance to invite everyone to our theatre, because we all create the theatre.
Thanks to Ms. Katarzyna Murawska, and the editors of “Gwiazda Polarna” for sharing this interview with us.
Photos:
©Kamila Sumelka. Kinga Modjeska during the Concert “Actors to Actors”
©Krzysztof Babiracki
©Krzysztof Babiracki. Kinga Modjeska in ,,Barista” movie.