Cherry Orchard

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When a person is born, he can embark on only one of three roads of life: if you go right, the wolves will eat you; if you go left, you'll eat the wolves; if you go straight, you'll eat yourself. (From Petrin the Fatherless) We learn about life not from plusses alone, but from minuses as well. You ask "What is life?" That is the same as asking "What is a carrot?" A carrot is a carrot and we know nothing more. On death … They say that in the end truth will triumph, but it's a lie. The world perishes not from bandits and fires, but from hatred, hostility, and all these petty squabbles. (From Uncle Vanya) After us they'll fly in hot air balloons, coat styles will change, perhaps they'll discover a sixth sense and cultivate it, but life will remain the same, a hard life full of secrets, but happy. And a thousand years from now man will still be sighing, "Oh! Life is so hard!" and will still, like now, be afraid of death and not want to die. (From Three Sisters) Interview with the Director: Curt Columbus Curt Columbus joined Trinity Rep as Artistic Director in January 2006. He was the associate artistic director of Steppenwolf Theater Company from 2000-2005, where his translations of Cherry Orchard and Uncle Vanya were presented in the Upstairs Theater. Other Steppenwolf credits include translating Maria Arndt and directing The House of Lily, Division Street: America and Our Town. He was also the artistic director of Chicago Park District’s Theater on the Lake and an artistic associate at Victory Gardens Theater from 1990- 2006. His adaptation of Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment (with Marilyn Campbell), which was presented by the Gamm Theater and Writers’ Theater in Glencoe, Illinois, was awarded a Joseph Jefferson Award for best new adaptation and is published by Dramatists’ Play Service. Curt’s new translations of Anton Chekhov’s plays have been published by Ivan R. Dee, including a volume of translations called Chekhov: The Four Major Plays. From that collection, Seagull premiered at Writers’ Theater in September 2004, and Three Sisters premiered at Strawdog Theater in October 2005. Curt was honored with a 2005-2006 Joseph Jefferson Citation for New Adaptation for his 22
translation of Three Sisters. Curt has also been director of University Theater at the University of Chicago, where he lectured in the Humanities. The following interview questions for Mr. Columbus were compiled by Tyler Dobrowsky, Artistic Associate, Caroline Azano, Education Assistant, and Jessica Corn, Literary Assistant. Stanislavsky directed this play as a tragedy, and many other directors have followed suit. In what ways is your interpretation - both as a translator, and also a director - different (or similar)? A great American genius named Mel Brooks once said that "Comedy is tragedy speeded up." The problem that I have with a traditional "Stanislavskian" interpretation is that it's slow, ponderous, and lingering. I like fast-paced things, and as an American, I'm used to boisterous art and culture. Maybe that's why I like to think of my Chekhovian interpretations as American. But the events of the play are the same, just speeded up; it's up to the audience to decide whether it's a comedy or a tragedy. When did you first become interested in the Russian language? What is it about Chekhov that inspires/moves you? What was your first experience with Anton, that handsome devil? Do you have a favorite particular play or story? I started taking Russian at college totally by accident; I was bored with French which I had already studied, and Chinese looked too hard, so I picked Russian. I was a very nonchalant student, sort of goofing off in my classes, spending all of my time in the theater instead of studying. One of my teachers said "You like theater; I want you to read Chekhov." I'd only ever read Chekhov in bad English translations, so I said “no thanks.” He persisted, and I read Seagull in the original Russian. It changed the way I thought about the Russian language in general and Chekhov specifically. I love Chekhov because the people in his stories and plays are so human, so flawed, so funny, so obsessed with unimportant things like sex and money. All of that is true in Cherry Orchard, which is by far my favorite Chekhov work ever. Do you listen to any particular music when you're working on a play? Yes, all of my inspirations are musical, every time I work on a play. Not music that will ever work its way into the play, but music that makes me think in a particular rhythm. I've been listening to the most amazing young singer named Regina Spektor, who is a Russian-born American girl, about twenty-two years old. She’s totally raw and funny and sexy. She's my inspiration these days. Tell me about your casting choices for Firs and Lopakin. I cast the play with the actors in my company. The two best actors for the roles of Lopakin and Firs were Joe and Barbara. It was certainly intentional that both actors are black, and that both characters call into question the themes of class and servitude in the play. But in the end, they are amazing actors. 23
Page 1 and 2: presents Cherry Orchard By Anton Ch
Page 3 and 4: THEATER AUDIENCE ETIQUETTE AND DISC
Page 5 and 6: Unit One: Background Information on
Page 7 and 8: Although serfdom was abolished, sin
Page 9 and 10: 1890 - Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler 1894
Page 11 and 12: Introducing Cherry Orchard Making i
Page 13 and 14: Cherry Orchard: A Summary Cherry Or
Page 15 and 16: Lost (and Found) In Translation by
Page 17 and 18: Activity: LOOKING AT THE TRANSLATIO
Page 19 and 20: Lopakin: I tell you every day. Ever
Page 21: SAY WHAT?… Anton Chekhov had a lo
Page 25 and 26: Unit Two: The Role of the Actor and
Page 27 and 28: You point at speaker one… Speaker
Page 29 and 30: 5. If only trouble would get lost.
Page 31 and 32: FEMALE MONOLOGUES Anya: We made it
Page 33 and 34: ehave like a proper gentleman, and
Page 35 and 36: Dunyasha: Anya: Dunyasha: And guess
Page 37 and 38: Gaev: Anya: Gaev: Varya: Anya: Gaev
Page 39 and 40: to do it now, today - the auction i
Page 41 and 42: Varya: Trofimov: Anya: Trofimov: Va
Page 43 and 44: ONE MALE, ONE FEMALE Laughter and w
Page 45 and 46: THE “CONCEPT” MODEL: This one c
Page 47 and 48: POST -SHOW CELEBRATION • Bow to y
Page 49 and 50: As the designs are solidified, the
Page 51 and 52: The Role of the Designers: Percepti
Page 53 and 54: FOR THE SET DESIGNERS: Create a mod
Page 55 and 56: • What steps did you need to take
Page 57: • Boal, Augusto. Games for Actors

Cherry Orchard

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