Just another lazy Sunday in Sofia, we decided to get out of the house and headed to the city center, stopping in the Russian Church for a quick look around.  As we emerged a line of cars came whizzing around the corner, down the block toward the Presidency.  All of a sudden what clearly sounded like automatic gunfire erupted!!  I have to admit to being a little freaked out.  Some other bystanders appeared ruffled too, but many folks seemed remarkably calm, as if this was just one of those things that can happen.  I admit to being new to Bulgaria but still there must be more to the story, right?

Not trusting (or knowing enough) Bulgarian, I urged my husband to ask someone what was happening.  “They’re filming a movie,” the man told us.  Wow, big relief to know the world had not turned sinister and dangerous with no warning.  Now the blocked off street and cluster of people and trucks in the distance made perfect sense.  Turns out we and many others had stumbled upon a film crew working on action shots with civilian and military cars, gunfire and at least one bullet ridden costume with blood stains.  A member of the crowd, maybe she was one of the crew, told us they are making “Universal Soldier” but none of the big stars are on location today.  Later the ticket seller at the Ethnographic Museum, backdrop to much of the action, told us it is a Jean Claude Van Damme movie.

We joined the crowd watching them set up the next shot, got shooed back out of harm’s way numerous times, and did see one more exciting take with the gunfire ringing out.  In the meantime we chatted with one of the actors, watched the crew get multiple cameras rigged into an SUV, including one held-held by a guy strapped to the roof, and generally took in the movie-making magic.  With my costume background, I enjoyed watching the wardrobe person on set using a public telephone for her costume rack and helping the actor in the bullet-ridden jacket make a nice, smooth pony tail - just another day at the office.  While in the museum we heard the shots again but by now we were old hands on the set so we took little notice.  

Back home I googled the movie title and Jean Claude Van Damme only to discover that this is at least the third in a series of “Universal Soldier” movies and much anticipated by fans.  What fun to be there.  I only hope Sofia doesn’t end up on the cutting room floor!

 Game of Love and Chance  (February 14, 2009)

The show

This production was in the same theatre as Much Ado but this time my seat was in a box, at the front of the first balcony, just right of center. Again the theatre was quite full and the audience was of varied ages from teens to elderly. It was Saturday night so there were lots of couples on dates. There was a cast of seven: Monsieur Orgon, his son Mario and daughter Silvia, her intended Dorante, her confidante Lisette, Dorante’s valet Arlequin and “chovekut v cherno” (the man in black?) who provided some live sound effects and narration.

Acting & costumes

The acting was uniformly very strong though, since the production relied on wit and wordplay, I missed much of the subtlety. As in Much Ado, there was a period feel to some costume pieces but this was a more contemporary treatment. The women wore short dresses and Lisette had amazing patterned tights, as did Silvia when she was in disguise as her confidante.

The Game of Love and Chance at the Bulgarian Army Theatre

Set design

Scenically this is a typical commedia piece which takes place in one location (the home of M. Orgon). The set consisted of two tall wall units at right angles which filled the stage from side to side. My recollection is that they were painted white wood with several door ways. On stage left there was a large, built-in projection screen above the actors’ head height. The video projections included an underwater “aquarium” and a great segment of hot air balloons moving through a landscape that was really captivating.

Inside program

The show

I thought at first I was going to the opera. It turns out the play by Gozzi, written in 1762 provided source material for Puccini’s opera http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turandot . The production at Sofia Theatre http://www.sofiatheatre.eu/postanovka.php?ps=3755 is a recreation of the famous 1922 Russian production at the Moscow Art Theatre by Evgenei Vakhtangov. He was a student of Stanislavski and mentor of Michael Chekhov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevgeny_Vakhtangov.

Inside the Program

The production and design

As a historical restaging, I did not hold out high hopes for the experience but I must say I was mostly proved wrong. The production with a cast of thirteen principals and a few supernumeraries (students from NATFIZ) was excellent. The four commedia types (Truffaldino, Pantalone, Brighella, and Tartaglia – see tiny image above in the program) provided a through line for the action and were particularly engaging. The scenery was clearly based on the 1920’s era renderings by Ignaty Nivinsky (also reproduced in the program), but didn’t quite live up to the charm of those images. Follow this link for a brief description of the original production http://www.ilab.org/db/book830_F518.html . Similarly, the costumes followed the original concept of a base costume of formal wear for all to start the show with the addition of pieces to transform the actors into the characters. Unfortunately the formal wear was not as spiffy and elegant as one might hope so the effect was, for me, a bit lackluster.  See my pictures on flicker for a better image from the program and photos of the theatre.

The theatre

Inside program

Sofia Theatre is a large, mid to late 20th century building; it has a sixties-seventies vibe, which unfortunately has seen better days. It’s not exactly shabby but there is an overall feeling of neglect and wear with little that’s chic and extra lobby furniture stored in corners. However, the sightlines are great, the seats are comfortable and as usual the audience was large, diverse and enthusiastic. There was no balcony and no center aisle but doorways along the sidewalls of the house and side aisles to access each row. Many high schoolers were in attendance, with their teachers along too. I was very impressed by their willingness to get in the spirit of the evening without showing a need to play the super sophisticate or cool kid.

Don Juan (February 28, 2009)

My most recent show was at the National Theatre. This is the first ticket I bought for myself and for 15 leva (about $10) I chose, via computer screen at the box office, an excellent orchestra seat about 6 rows from the stage.

The theatre

This is definitely a luxury venue! The exterior of the building is gorgeous, lobby areas and the auditorium are in beautiful condition.  The second floor lobby with portraits of company members past and present is impressive.  Again, like the others I have attended, this is a proscenium theatre. Built in 1907, it seats about 750 in a very traditional set-up with two levels of horse-shoe shaped balconies and a large, raked orchestra section. Read about the theatre at their website http://www.nationaltheatre.bg/index.php?id=309 .

The production

The production was hugely entertaining. The cast was about 19 with some leading women doubling as peasants. The directing was particularly inventive and the audience was repeatedly surprised and delighted by the action. Don Juan’s “levee” including an onstage bathtub and lots of water was the first taste of the fun to come. Not to say there weren’t dark moments too. After all this is not a sweet story. Nevertheless the feeling of play and fun kept the balance on the positive side. The audience broke into spontaneous applause during the underwater scene of Don Juan and Sganarelle being rescued from drowning. The simple, and often used, device of stretching white sheets across the stage to create “waves” felt brand new as performed by the really charming  peasant women. And the raising and lowering of the “waves” to indicate the varied depth of the water made everyone laugh out loud.

Sets and costumes

The scenery was inventive but not complex. A two story unit on casters was particularly well used by the peasant women, Don Juan and especially my favorites Charlotte and Pierrot (Charlotta and Pietro) who played their delightfully wacky scene (the beginning of Moliere’s Act II), sitting on the upper level with their legs dangling and making hats out of plastic bags. Trying to escape from the peasant women he has tricked, Don Juan stood atop the platform as two ensemble members spun it at what seemed an amazing pace. Costumes were effective and flattering. Of special note were Don Juan’s well fit breeches and full-sleeved and romantically open peasant shirt. I also liked the peasant women’s’ mostly white, ruffled dresses with inventive and individualized headwear. Other high points were excellent fencing and lots of great music.

Roman Theatre in Plovdiv

Our Front Door

Well, here it is the first actual post of my first ever blog attempt.  I’ll start by including some of the information I have already sent to some of you (my way to instantly feel as if I’ve done something).