I think each of us has an opinion on the contingency of
events: someone thinks that the events occurring in the world around us do not
depend on anything other than natural influences, and if a rock falls, it is
only because there is gravity which has surpassed all the other forces applied
to that rock in the moment before the start of its fall, and there is nothing
more than this. No chance is involved. According to them, events taking place
in the society are subject to certain social laws, and so on. But there are
those among us to whom such explanation would not be enough. They try to look
taller and dig deeper.
During the two latest performances on the stage of our Small
Theatre, I thought a lot (or rather, my brain was working on a subconscious
level) about what was happening on stage. No, I'm not talking about the actors’
play, lighting, change of scenery, and other attributes of modern performance.
I'm talking about the Magic that occurs regularly on the stage of the Small
Theatre. This is the Magic to which myself and the rest of the audience – from
young to old – happily entrust our souls’ strings responsible for resonating certain
feelings, like joy, pain, pride, admiration, sympathy. I cannot be 100% sure that
this is exactly how it happens, but for some reason we are already used to the procedure
of placement of spectators right before every performance, whose number always exceeds
the number of seats. People come to the theater, and the Word about it – one step
ahead of them!
I'm forty-five now, and I am surprised that, up to February
this year, I was not aware of the Small Theater that had been operating for thirty-five
years by that time, I did not know about the studio, which has been working for
two decades already, and have not met in my life these wonderful, beautiful and
bright talented people, half my age but without whom I cannot quite imagine myself
as a regenerated man. What have kept me away from this meeting all these years?
What is "It" knowing exactly when this should happen? What led me
here?
I already lost count of each of the four performances I’ve
seen that are played regularly at the Small Theatre, as well as lost count of the
visits I paid to this little place in a small town in this small land. And all
this happened (and, fortunately, continues to happen) this year. 2016 – the year
when Brexit and Trump started, when Syria and Ukraine continued, and so many
great artists of the global importance ended their lifetime – turned out to be
a very happy one for me, I would say it was a wonderful year. Somewhere in the
beginning of this year, I met someone, a stranger, just like that, on my way
home. In the end of our short meeting, I was invited to visit the Small Theatre
and watch a new show related to the worldwide commemoration of 400 years since the
death of William Shakespeare (the
23rd of April date is uncertain; therefore, it has been fairly
stretched across the whole year). And so, I came to the theater.
Was this meeting accidental, or was it going to happen
exactly as it happened? I do not see the point in defining my position on this
matter. Here is my story, here I am, carefully attending any (!) show the
actors would play, here is the text I am writing after another visit. Writing
about this is not easy, because I want to convey a lot of things, but
"talking" about this does not work. You cannot dance about
architecture, it is pointless to write a song, it is useless to describe the a
masterpiece painting.
The performances that I have seen – they are wonderful. So
different and deep, so beautiful and heartfelt. They are easy to watch, for
they do not last more than an hour, they are accessible, aesthetic and dynamic.
During the 1-hour "SHAKE" – the first performance
I’ve ever seen on this stage – we naturally reflect on Shakespearean
characters, consider the intertwining of their fates, map the world classics onto
the world day-to-day, finally – and that it is quite normal for Shakespeare – we
do not find anything new in the revelations and still we wonder just "How
could he know so much?". All this is accompanied by the enchanting music, soliloquies
and dialogues, read by the famous actors (I would like to specially note that
all audio materials are obtained in full compliance with international
copyright laws). And finally – the actors!
Then, in February, I returned to public life and began to
attend performances at different theaters. Again, Shakespear’s name in the
title of another play staged on the scene of another theater, attracted me. I
liked "that" show, too, I even went to see it twice. Once I dared to compare
the physical fit of the actors (after I attended "SHAKE" for the
second time, too). Well, “those” guys were all professional actors, and me – I
still was missing something. But here I am attending “SHAKE” for the third
time, the fourth, I bring my friends with me, I spread the word about my discovery,
fifth, sixth .... It is not boring at all! I watch the show from the fourth row,
then from the first row, from the right wing, from the left, from the back rows.
Something is happening to me....
Then I had to get used to the idea that the Small Theater is
not only about William Shakespeare, but Richard Bach as well. The first viewing
of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" shook me with the same impeccable
characteristics, depth and ease of prescription of images and brilliant Director's
findings. Only a few actors from "SHAKE" are involved in
"Seagull", but apart from them – a dozen of energetic young boys and girls.
Here is my second "Seagull", the third, the fourth.... What is
happening to me?...
The third performance I was going to watch should have been "Pierrot"
after the novel by Guy de Maupassant, beloved and highly acclaimed by many, but
due to a force majeure situation we left without the show that evening after
waiting outside for one hour and a half. Therefore, the next for me was the
"Ne Me Quitte Pas" ("Do not leave me"), based on the famous
song by Jacques Brel, translated into two dozen languages (including Armenian),
and recorded in even more number of versions. Some of them – different in
arrangement and performance, but with a common thematic core – inspired the Director
to come up with various scenic solutions so sensitively traced and flawlessly performed
by our beloved actors. What is it that is happening to me?!...
And here is the fourth of the performances played at the Small
Theatre this year, the long-awaited "Pierrot". Again, a large troupe composed
of young boys and girls, each of them being a standalone picture, bright (even
if gray) identities with their characters, habits, mannerisms, pros and cons, be
that human or animal. And if in "Shakespeare" we are enchanted by the
scenes consonant with the visuals of Tarsem Singh and embellished with the
music of Trent Reznor, Katie Melua and other famous musicians, in "Livingston"
we feel ourselves being a part of the Truth, manifested in gulls’ minds and spoken
by them, and in "Do not leave me" people sitting in rows are sobbing
and wipe off their tears stealthily when they hear the words "leave
"," love", "mother", "home", "family",
in "Pierrot" we are laughing unrestrained most of the time, and only for
a few minutes become silent, as if ruled by a magic wand, instantly realizing
the depth of the tragedy, so naturally shown by these pure personalities – the actors
of the Small Theatre. And we are crying. Again and again, even if we know by
heart all the lines, spoken by actors.
So, that's what is happening to me! I shed tears. The tears
of varying specificity. Tears of joy of realizing our greatness; bitter tears
of knowing the mistakes – both our own and others'; tears of Love, leading us
through darkening corridors of life; tears of laughter born out of subtle jokes
and vivid images; tears of memories and losses; unexplained tears caused by
vibrations of the soul strings, resonating with the music we've heard, sigh we've noticed, scene we've just seen.
All performances are so different, but they have a special common
core: they are beautiful, and they go deep into the soul. And the performances are
played by the actors. Or I’d rather said Artists? Or maybe... just people who
love what they can do well, who see just how much their work is important to
the viewer (I boldly go ahead and say "city", "country",
"nation") and who are able to show feelings and invisibly play on the
strings of our souls? And maybe all of the above? And we – the audience,
continuing visiting those mental therapy sessions, giving standing ovations,
looking at each other and seeing smiles on our tear-stained faces – we will no
longer do anything wrong on this particular evening and by the end of this day!
We won’t be able to, because our souls have already been healed during that
evening by these wonderful young people who have just started their career, yet
already play such an important role in the life of our society.
Each of us has definite priceless talent, but alas, not all
of us feel them, and some of those who do know not how to use them. Sometimes so
little is necessary to do – just to open a door and to invite to come in (like
it happened in my case when I was invited to attend the performance). And
there, inside, in this magical place called Theater, miracles begin to develop.
Yes, hardly they will show up by themselves. There must be someone who knows
what to do, and how. In the theater, such a man is called the Artistic Director, or Director.
It’s not only me who calls Vahan Badalyan "the magician."
Many people agree with me, and, above all, they agree with themselves. After
all, if you do not believe in something, then no matter how much you are told
about the someone’s point of view – you are not going to accept it! Having felt
the effect of what is happening on the stage to the matter of the soul we
determine for ourselves the form which we will operate with when telling others
about that. I, for example, chose to say "He is a Magician!". I like
this option, because it seems to me the most authentic. How else can I call a
person, not concentrating public’s attention on the shortcomings (both mental
and physical) inherent to all, seeing the talent in the child, understanding
how to summon it and to develop, how to bring into the group of many others
like him or her, and to the miracle called "Theatre", how to learn to
play such roles without affecting their psyche, gently explaining and
developing such important concepts as "work", "love",
"beauty", "friendship", "happiness". Happiness!
Happiness of working and creating, of loving and being loved, of being beautiful
in every respect, the most important of which is the spiritual beauty,
happiness of being able to say "I have a friend," and to know the
price of the friendship, happiness to consider oneself deserving to be happy?
How to describe a person reaching the harmony by using "the material not
intended for harmony", like our society often speaks about people with disabilities?!
Magician – and that's it!
Too much words for today, I think…. The saying goes, "better
to see something once than hear about it hundred times". So, trust His
Majesty the Chance, select one of the performances of the Small Theatre and attend
it. Sit down, listen, look, and maybe you will want to come back to that place.
And again. And again. I think this theatre-studio will be the cradle of our
common future to some extent. Those children are honoured to carry the charge
of happiness and love with them and to illuminate the road not only for themselves,
but also for all of us. The Director does not make any experiment. He once
again proves that in every person there is a particle of the Light that can
guide us through life and illuminate our path.
But is it necessary to prove that at all? Is not this a
common truth? Proving, perhaps, not worth it, reminding about it from time to
time you can. And since this is done in such a wonderful way, then, I believe, it
is even necessary. At least, for me it was at the time when, by happy
coincidence, by chance, an important meeting occasionally happened. Maybe I had
to wait for this occasion all these years? Or maybe I needed to mature for
this? And maybe this was not by chance at all? Then what is it? What is
happening to me? Probably, this is a kind of Magic again...