Getting to know the actors (Part 3): The hosts
An old rich lady, a young and naive girl and a loyal housekeeper are going to prepare the set on which Don Juan will have to face the consequences of his own actions. Unaware of what is going to happen, Don Juan will accept the invitation and the story will start on the stage of Hurjaruuth on Thespians Anonymous’ spring production Don Juan on Trial by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt. Who are the actors behind those ladies and what do they have to say? Let’s read their thoughts in this third and last part of the interviews with the actors.
Q: How and when did you start acting?
Anastasia: I started acting quite early. When I was a kid my cousin and I would perform in front of parents and grandparents Also, I joined a Russian student theater group here in Finland and once I was in University I found out about Thespians Anonymous and so I joined the group.
Beatriz: I started acting now because this is my first year. I have been dancing many years but I have never been acting. So, this is very new to me that is why I wanted to do a very short part.
Junia: I started acting in our elementary school drama group when I was about 7 years old and I continued until the 9th grade.
Q: What theater means to you?
Anastasia: Something that allows me to express myself, tell stories to people, maybe move them and change their minds about things. It is a form of changing the world for the better; it is like a mirror you hold up to people.
Beatriz: For me, it is a really good way to get out my comfort zone, to explore different expressions, different thoughts that I wouldn’t have in my normal life.
Junia: Theatre means to me putting your heart and soul in something that you want to create. An illusion that helps the audience to imagine what is really happening on stage.
Q: Tell me a few things about your part in the play. Any challenges?
Anastasia: I am the Duchess. She is a very old lady of uncertain age. She is very eccentric because she is rich but also very emotional. She puts on a show for everyone but as the play progresses you get that although she sounds a little bit cocky there is actually method behind her madness. It is a fairly difficult part; it is quite big and you have to play someone that is quite older than you are. But at the same time the character is very youthful and you have to find the balance between those two.
Beatriz: My part is a very small part but it helps to build the story. My character is the only one who doesn’t know Don Juan and she is excited as she doesn’t know what is happening with all these people and why they are so nervous.
Everything is a challenge. I thought that it will be easy because I would have very few lines but then actually I realized that being on stage without any lines is more difficult than having lines because you have to react and just tell things with your face. And this is much more difficult for me than when you have to say something.
Junia: Angelique seems to be the sweet, naive and immature little girl who is really passionate about feelings and lives in her own world. However, she revolves around herself, her feelings for Don Juan and her own Happy Ending. She is not so harmless as she seems in the beginning. I find it sometimes quite difficult to portray the naive parts of her personality when she so obviously lives in her own day dream. But on the other hand, I love how she can get really furious and angry.
Dimitra Spyratou is a new Thespians Anonymous’ member and very interested in theater and anything related to it. Talking with enthousiastic actors about their experience and perception of theater was very inspiring! This blog post is the last part of getting to know the actors.
Don Juan on Trial by Eric- Emmanuel Schmitt is Thespians Anonymous’ play for Spring 1015. Shows are on the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th of April, 2015 in Hurjaruuth, Kaapelitehdas Tallberginkatu 1 A Helsinki. For more information visit Thespians Anonymous’ webpage or the Facebook event.