EXPERIMENT WITH AUDIENCE

Director Tarlan Rasulov presented his experimental work titled Step at the YARAT exhibition complex. In essence, this theatrical experiment includes three short dramatic novelettes of the young playwright Sevinj Chalpyg. Novelettes do not have interconnected plots but are ideologically related to the problems of human relationships, feelings, passions, virtues and vices including drug addiction, jealousy, indifference, and compassion.

About the dOM Theatre

It was established by Tarlan Rasulov in 2016 and is an independent creative structure. As part of the Polygon platform, it is implemented with the support of one of the Baku creative centres headed by Asmer Abdullayeva and the Union of Theatre Workers of Azerbaijan (UTW). Students and young professionals from different fields of activity who became participants in the experimental research program Polygon hold their rehearsals and classes here. The title of the program, like the theatre itself, is a wordplay meaning diverse actions. It’s quite a suitable style for the interested minds. On the one hand, it seems somewhat outrageous, and on the other - quite in the spirit of our times: creative, daring and fascinating. At least the participants who have completed the three-month course of acting and presented Step to the audience as a test performance, the process of creative experiment seems extraordinarily interesting and exciting. This work is the first step in mastering acting skills. Since they study in different universities (mostly not creative ones!) and some are already working, it’s up to them to decide if they want to continue participation in the next step of Tarlan Rasulov’s master class. Everyone can leave or stay. But they already felt the effect of their efforts in both the technique of speech and acting. Of course, this Step is the first, but it has already demonstrated that learning to act is accessible to everyone. Or the director was just lucky with his group of students. By the way, everyone can take these master classes, without exams or special talents. And people with psychological problems, those who cannot overcome shyness, experience problems in communicating with strangers are the most interesting objects of Tarlan's system. According to the author of the Polygon, the system of training includes a lot of structural moments that can help any person to be liberated, get rid of unnecessary clips, gain an ability to open and sincere dialogue with others, which is a necessary component for people of different professions.

“The first Step confirmed that your idea of ​​an inner actor in each of us works”

“Absolutely! And I was once again convinced that acting is in the nature of everyone. Under certain conditions and a set of exercises that are precisely designed to solve the problem, a person discovers abilities that he did not even suspect of. The first stage of training has shown impressive results. Seizing this opportunity, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Asmer Abdullayeva and the chairman of UTW Azer Neymatov for providing premises for training and rehearsals, the Actors Agency and the YARAT management for an opportunity to use their workspace for conducting experimental research.”

“What is your experiment about?”

“It’s all about psychological interaction with the audience in terms of practical action combined with dramaturgical predetermination.”

“In other words, any person in the auditorium can get involved in the action and be completely organic?”

“Yes. By accepting the rules of the game, everyone can act within the given situation trying to help solve the problem.”

“But should not this moment be attributed to the worldview (social activity or lack thereof) and personal qualities associated with such concepts as compassion, sympathy, indifference, and so on instead of mastering the profession of actor?”

“Yes, these aspects are important too. But! By demonstrating personal features of character under the influence of actors' performance, the spectator also becomes an actor!”

“But it is not always possible to consider a professional actor and an ordinary spectator as equals. Perhaps, in this situation, we are dealing only with the role function of “actor” but not a profession?”

“Formally, you are right. In fact, if a person is able to react and accept the rules of the game emotionally and effectively, then he begins to act as an actor. Even if it is a role function! By the way, does not a professional actor who plays the character X take on a “role function” of being a different person for 2-3 hours of action?”

“This is a different topic related to the concept of psychology of creativity, which we can discuss separately.”

“With pleasure. I am ready for any creative discussion.”

“The manner of speech and diction of your actors draw attention. This is an important part of the craft. Are you directing this as well?”

“No. This is done by Yagut Pashayeva.”

“Is she your assistant?”

“Sort of... But she is also a co-author of the creative program Polygon.”

“Do you plan to continue conducting this course further? How long does the course take, by the way?”

“Those who want to stay in the project will pass to the next level of practical mastering. The learning process itself does not have a time limit, because the project has a direct link to real life. And since we are engaged in sort of a laboratory study of the limit that separates real life from a profession, and a profession from life, this process can take more than a year...”

“Is Step already a passed stage for you and Yagut?”

“I do not think so. We believe that Step is the basic model for the development and expansion of our idea.”

About the play Step

An action was unfolding around the perimeter of the YARAT studio. In fact, there were three actions taking place at the same time in three points of the hall. The audience was standing at a very short distance from the scene of action. The rules of the game, which unfolded directly among the spectators and not on the stage, first aroused a slight distrust bordering with irony. But the sincerity of performers who believe in the momentary nature of what is happening and provoke the spectators to active interaction, after all, has reached its goal after the third circle of repetitive scenes: spectators began to interfere in the plot offering their services in solving problems. The first version of the story by Sevinj Chilgyn: inconsolable mother mourns her untimely-departed son, a drug addict; her partners on stage and then the spectators are trying to calm her down. In the second version, we can see a young woman who suddenly suffers a heart attack and needs emergency help from the people surrounding her. Actors should get the spectators involved to solve this problem. The third version is jealousy. A classic story when there is him and two girls. Each of them is good. But with one of them, he has already established relationships, while the other one attracts him with her beauty. There is a conflict that spectators are offered to resolve.

Each of the three plots has no completion point per se, because the plot rotates in a circle, letting in new members of the ‘game’ – first the actors, their colleagues and only then the spectators.

The result

Experimental and laboratory work of Tarlan Rasulov is focused on investigating the creative interaction of actors with the viewers, revealing the level of emotional mobility of the “actor-spectator” psycho-structure, displaying a sincere belief in “the proposed circumstances here and now”, as well as psychological motivation prompting a spectator to participate in action.