Interview
Euripides Laskaridis
June
2021
Wed
9
Creator of ELENIT, presented on 11th and 12th june at Teatro Rivoli.
Despite ELENIT's direction is pointing to an “urgency” of the moment, of the present, the characters' characterizations and actions seem to be based on another timeline, sometimes futuristic, sometimes ancestor. Was there an intention to merge epochs and make these scenarios coexist?
In my works I tend to start building from one centre and that is a character that at some point comes to haunt me. In this case it was a short manic creature that felt entitled to everything — even adjusting its own height. Then slowly yet steadily a whole universe begins to be unveiled to me around this centre. This universe has a specific feel to it and this way I know that some things belong to it and some don’t. In rehearsals there is a lot of work in order to formulate and shape the general and initial feeling I have and within months the show starts to take form. There is no predetermined calculation involved in this process in terms of time. Time is yet one more relative and fluid constant as language, movement, sounds and light which I let - along everything else - play organically in my works. I don’t like to frame it as I don’t like to frame meaning. The intention is to explore combinations that move me as a performer and as a director of the work and not to impose a specific and narrow meaning.
In the documentary “Here not here”, work that emerged as a reaction to the postponement of the performance plays, we watched an experimental and abstract soundtrack performed live during rehearsals and performance. What was the inspiration behind these sound pieces and what role do they play on stage?
The sounds of the universe that is created on stage are of paramount importance and when I say sounds I mean the sum total of music, soundscapes, sounds recorded and sounds emitted by the objects on stage - amplified or not-, the voices, the screams, the laughters, even the silences that may surface. This rich pallet of audible textiles bears the same weight as other pallets we play with such as the movement pallet or the colour pallet and so on and so forth. But these are no other than the tools I have in hand to create my art work. Exactly like a builder needs bricks and cement to build a house for someone else to enjoy shelter. The inspiration for me seems to come from a deep wish to foster human imagination.
Chaos, mystery, and shock are keywords in ELENIT's universe. Taking that into account, how do you see the play after a completely unforeseen pandemic scenario? Did this year of hiatus have any impact on your interpretation?
It is too soon for me to answer your question. The work managed to be performed outside Greece only once, in February 2020 in Brussels, right after its world premier in Athens, and then March of lockdowns came! This is the first time we travel again since and the work has stayed dormant for many months. It has been growing inside of us during the pandemic months as we have grown inside the pandemic. I am eager to discover how this unforeseen halt will transcend through ELENIT — an undaunted piece that in its core has wished to bare the big questions and mysteries of our existence.
Interview conducted on June 8, 2021, by Pedro Sousa (TMP’s communication office).
Despite ELENIT's direction is pointing to an “urgency” of the moment, of the present, the characters' characterizations and actions seem to be based on another timeline, sometimes futuristic, sometimes ancestor. Was there an intention to merge epochs and make these scenarios coexist?
In my works I tend to start building from one centre and that is a character that at some point comes to haunt me. In this case it was a short manic creature that felt entitled to everything — even adjusting its own height. Then slowly yet steadily a whole universe begins to be unveiled to me around this centre. This universe has a specific feel to it and this way I know that some things belong to it and some don’t. In rehearsals there is a lot of work in order to formulate and shape the general and initial feeling I have and within months the show starts to take form. There is no predetermined calculation involved in this process in terms of time. Time is yet one more relative and fluid constant as language, movement, sounds and light which I let - along everything else - play organically in my works. I don’t like to frame it as I don’t like to frame meaning. The intention is to explore combinations that move me as a performer and as a director of the work and not to impose a specific and narrow meaning.
In the documentary “Here not here”, work that emerged as a reaction to the postponement of the performance plays, we watched an experimental and abstract soundtrack performed live during rehearsals and performance. What was the inspiration behind these sound pieces and what role do they play on stage?
The sounds of the universe that is created on stage are of paramount importance and when I say sounds I mean the sum total of music, soundscapes, sounds recorded and sounds emitted by the objects on stage - amplified or not-, the voices, the screams, the laughters, even the silences that may surface. This rich pallet of audible textiles bears the same weight as other pallets we play with such as the movement pallet or the colour pallet and so on and so forth. But these are no other than the tools I have in hand to create my art work. Exactly like a builder needs bricks and cement to build a house for someone else to enjoy shelter. The inspiration for me seems to come from a deep wish to foster human imagination.
Chaos, mystery, and shock are keywords in ELENIT's universe. Taking that into account, how do you see the play after a completely unforeseen pandemic scenario? Did this year of hiatus have any impact on your interpretation?
It is too soon for me to answer your question. The work managed to be performed outside Greece only once, in February 2020 in Brussels, right after its world premier in Athens, and then March of lockdowns came! This is the first time we travel again since and the work has stayed dormant for many months. It has been growing inside of us during the pandemic months as we have grown inside the pandemic. I am eager to discover how this unforeseen halt will transcend through ELENIT — an undaunted piece that in its core has wished to bare the big questions and mysteries of our existence.
Interview conducted on June 8, 2021, by Pedro Sousa (TMP’s communication office).
© Marilena Stafylidou
