STIPENDIATI - Latvijas Mākslas akadēmija

I had a unique possibility to create an open-air performance at the Tallinn City
Theatre, in a courtyard embraced by medieval architecture which in itself acts as
an impressive backdrop and a screen. The triangular courtyard has been sunk to
the depth of six metres and has three tiers; in fact, it presents both a forsaken
and a started construction site.
This time it is Molière’s “Scapin’s Deceits”, staged in cooperation with the director
Elmo Nüganen.
It seems that actors are of the primary importance in the theatre, which is true
because each generation remembers and knows only the actors of their time
as they are the mirror of its very essence. However, we also find it important to
know what we leave after ourselves - what kind of aggregate of elements, what
concept of the theatre, what material evidence. In my creativity I have experienced
several cyclic periods. At one time I was carried away by constructions,
then again by painting. Although, I have always been fascinated by construction
most. Initially I wanted to maximally put my own ideas into the performance,
to impose my wishes on the director because initially there is this uncertainty,
well, how shall I demonstrate myself. What if there is just one chair on the stage
- where’s the input of the stage designer? As I continued working on the staging
I came to understand that the decisive role belongs to the director because
he is the mother of the performance, he is the one who “carries” the idea of the
performance. He and the actors take the staging to its final result and accomplishment.
Scapin’s Deceits, stage design