We all love Budapest for its bustling contemporary cultural scene, spanning local and international acts alike. The Misero Prospero Project is a Spanish-Hungarian company, spearheaded by director Carlos Rodero and choreographer Daniela H. Faith, the much-loved member of Megatánc jury. We had a great chat with them about Hungary and its contemporary art scene…
You were both born abroad and have studied dance and theater arts in other countries. What brought you to Hungary?
Carlos: Obviously, growing up, living, and working in different cultural environments with their own identities contributes to differences in approach and attitude. Spain and Hungary vary on some basic, practical level with regards to work, as well as the notion of cultural identity. Spain is a country divided into a diversity of communities. I’m Catalan from Catalonia, which gives me a different profile than a (theater) guy from Madrid or the north would have. Being Catalan, with the typical notions of the Mediterranean, the sea, the good weather, and the prosperity, as well as the character of accepting both good and bad in life helped me in Hungary to face and approach many practical problems over the years. I came here unplanned, by the chance of fate. After working hard in professional theater in Barcelona for 10 years, I felt the urge to move around the world and see what could be the next step in my development; to look around and find what to do with my career. I started to travel, and ended up living in many cities of Europe until one day I met a Hungarian couple in Berlin talking about Budapest – a city I had no particular connection to, and didn’t know anyone from, and I came.
Daniela: I was born in Mexico, yet I don’t feel like a stranger in Hungary. Since I was a child, I had the inclination to live here as I belong to and embrace both places and both cultures inside of me. In fact, both cultures made an integral impact upon my artistic expression. Early on, I had the opportunity to study and investigate Hungarian and Mexican dance, and I found the two styles and cultures fascinating. I am interested in the exchange these two differing styles offer, and am looking at the ways Hungarian style can translate into a Mexican environment and style and vice versa.
What do you think about Budapest’s contemporary art scene? Have you noticed any recent tendencies?
Carlos: I can see Hungary is growing fast with the theatrical scene changing slowly but rapidly, as well. The major focus of Hungarian theater in the past was on text-based theater, and it’s only now that more body-based or physical theater is evolving. What I can bring to the Hungarian scene is my knowledge and experience in the independent world of theater, as in Spain the situation is completely the reverse; the playwright is now gaining more recognition over the tradition of gesture based theater.
In Hungary, the phenomenon of the independent company is increasing and multiplying by the second. As opposed to the classic notion of the stone-theater, independent theater companies are in formation. It has its positive and fresh aspects to it, as well as some dangers. Dangers as this process is not supported by a structural change as well, which would be necessary to allow them and help them find a place in the context of theater. I can see the serious and dedicated work of all those interested and actively participating in this process of change, as we, an independent Hungarian company, are also an integral part of this change. It would be a great pleasure and honor to add our energy and knowledge to this effort.
Daniela: I can see a lot of interesting things going on in Hungary at the moment. Hungary and the region have always tended to follow patterns and artistic tendencies in the contemporary or multi-art frame of other countries; however, I am pleased to see that this embrace of foreign techniques and methods occurs while holding on to the characteristically Hungarian features of culture. Instead of fully giving into some strange and foreign realm of approach, Hungarian companies manage and actually strive to create something uniquely Hungarian.
Do you think that contemporary art has a wide audience in Budapest?
Carlos: I believe so. However, that the word ‘contemporary’ is a dangerous label to use. No one can or should push audiences towards defining their likes in theater and dance by the label. People go to theater for many reasons and we, all people working in theater, should be careful in using terms such as alternative, underground, contemporary as opposed to the “official” theater… Also, what does contemporary stand for, anyway?
Daniela: Well, I’d say yes. There is a demand and a desire in people to see new and fresh things on stage. What’s even more important is when people find these things, they are grateful and continue to search for them and return to the theaters.
Russian Dolls
During December Misero Prospero Project will perform their mysterious sounding performance, Matruska – Russian Dolls, directed by Carlos and choreographed by Daniela. Here’s what they had to say about those Russian ‘toys’…
Matruska had its premiere last year; have you changed or redesigned anything in the performance since?
Carlos: We had the premier in Millenáris in December 2008, and then a new performance in Gödör in April 2009. Now, we have a new so-called premier in Bakelit Multi Art Center. In all three performances, we executed some changes, worked on some details. After Millenáris, we invited Erica Mendez, a Mexican dancer and choreographer who contributed to our performance with her personal style and understanding of dance. In all productions, I had a new excuse and/or opportunity to further the dramaturgy, implement changes in clothes, music and the overall rhythm of the play. I’ve always strived to improve it till the moment arrives to call the play ready. With the new cast now, we had another opportunity to make the play stronger and to add things we considered missing in our last performance. Substitution, therefore, now means improvement. I hope that this performance in Bakelit can be the end of a process we started in November last year.
How was it welcomed in Hungary? Have you taken it somewhere abroad?
Carlos: The performances in Millenáris and in Gödör were for a much narrower audience, comprised of friends and collaborators. Their enthusiasm about the play propelled us to investigate further into the possibilities and bringing it to a wider audience. This process is now initiated with the Bakelit performance, and the doors have been opened up for wider audiences, in Budapest and in the country-side, too. We have performances scheduled in other spaces for the next year, as well as a performance in Madrid in September 2010 and a tour throughout Mexico and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe and elsewhere.
What does the Matruska doll represent in the performance?
Carlos: It’s the metaphor of the main dramaturgical idea. And as well, it’s an inspirational guideline for our methodology. The dramaturgy is based on the character, a woman, the dancer specifically who starts a personal journey in search of her identity. We visualize this search by continuously opening up or into the layers of the matruska doll. As for the methodology, we attempt to harmonize or synthesize the different languages in theater and dance, ranging from contemporary through physical theater to clown technique. This all gives the impression of things being inside one another, similar to the matruska doll.
What is the central theme in Matruska, and what issues are touched upon?
Carlos: The central subject is the search for identity. This search is, indeed, extremely voluntary. Many choose not to do it at all, not to look deeply into themselves. As for the other themes of the play: when we were selecting ideas, we were often told that we are fishing in some dark waters, at some very pessimistic places. Personally, I believe there is much use in discussing happy things. I’m more interested in discussing the dark side, the contradictions on stage. Our guiding light in Matruska was everybody’s desire to want to know what you can find inside. When you begin the process, you have no idea what you may encounter –you may find things that make you happy or extremely unhappy; and somehow, submission, fear, anxiety, security and isolation came up. Some cruel selection of the female sphere.
Daniela: Matruska is about a human being, the character of the female human being. We were studying the psychology of the woman who encounters an inner conflict. A conflict that brings her to the question of who she is exactly. The most important method for us is observation. We aim at bringing the woman’s sensibility to the surface. We were searching for exploring whether we are satisfied with ourselves or not. We wanted to find out how many more and what identities this confusion of the selves leads to. We wanted to see who we really are. This conflict with the self, with our identity is not bound to gender. We gain an identity at birth but the question is whether we retain it. Who are we? And for how long are we who we are? It is an eternal search to find answers to these questions.
What artistic channels of expression did you choose as the perfect multi-art frame for Matruska? Why?
Carlos: Obviously, expressions of dance and traditional theater communication. My soft spot is the clown techniques. It’s a technique but also a philosophy, a way to understand life. It fits our methodology of observation as the technique somehow requires a strong compromise with oneself where an actor is dedicated to finding a character absolutely connected to him or herself and to be developed for the rest of their lives. There is a clown inside of everyone, even the most boring person. To work with this clown, one has to have a special willingness and some set of special psychological characteristic features. It is a technique seriously built onto physical theater. I do not know about any other theater that would be more physical than this. Clown being more than traditional or contemporary theater, although, as well combined with them, suit our methodology in allowing for the individual to become completely crazy and enabling her find how to influence one another and work on and with the result of such influence. Through this synthesis of techniques, it’s easy to see how a new kind of performance, a new style can be born.
Daniela: The form of expression is more a necessity, an inner call of what is to be performed, rather then a choice. As it is an inner call for the dancer to look inside of herself as well. The end result is produced by adhering to and following the requirements of the subject matter and the basic idea. Working together, complementing each others’ work the two of us has a large set of instruments (such as theater, music, dance) that serves as tools in mapping this internal need. We do not want to force anything onto the process. We do not want to tell what we want to do. We go with our inner need, demand, and desire. In the process, we dedicate our own attention to the inside, which, in result, will produce what and how we want to express.
How are improvisation and preparation combined in the performance?
Carlos: Unfortunately, the practical circumstances of production have not yet allowed us to make long enough rehearsals to fully take advantage of all what improvisation can entail and enrich a performance with. Impro is absolutely important in our methodology but it, at the same time, requires time and a solid conditions of a relaxed and calm rehearsal space and atmosphere. As you approach the day of the premier, you are more and more concrete and improvise less and less. This process is only possible with a rehearsal period of at least three months. Improvisation can be tricky, as a lot of people do not have the habit or the training to work with impro. My task therefore is to find the people who are interested and train them in order to create a team of personally trained professionals. This would be extremely useful for our work.
Daniela: The life and soul, the moving spirit of the play is the performer. It means that the one on stage has to be alive. She needs as much skill and opportunity in improvisation as she is willing to take while following our instructions. The performance lays on her shoulders as they represent us and the philosophy of the whole performance live, 100%. It’s crucial that they can give and create things on their own.
Carlos: Finally, I’d like to emphasize that Matruska is the beginning of something that we will go deeper into with our next production. Orpheus Stomped in Dirt is a theater-dance play with the language of physical theater based upon Monteverdi’s opera. The performance is a coproduction between Spain and Hungary; both financially and artistically, and entails that the play will have both a Hungarian and a Spanish premier.
Performances:
December 14, 15, 16
Bakelit Multi Art Center
Dancers: Ágnes Fülöp, Enikő Vajda Kulcsár, Kata Hucker