Review Fix chats with director Irina Abraham who discusses her upcoming production, “The (Last) Station.â€
About the Production:
EXPERIMENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND ABSURDIST THEATRES MEET THIS SUMMER IN THE (LAST) STATION AT THE 2017 PLANET CONNECTION THEATRE FESTIVITY, RUNNING JUNE 12 – JULY 9 AT THE CLEMENTE, 107 SUFFOLK STREET, NYC.
The (Last) Station is written in the avant-garde style of Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco, complete with the unlying yearning for a different reality. The distracted and neurotic characters have one objective: to go to the sea. But this turns out to be a mission impossible. Matters complicate even more because of the mysterious radio announcements in which a menacing Orwellian voice of “Mister Tenant†constantly makes vague threats. How much of their lives are governed by fear?
THE (LAST) STATION by Eugene Muzica performs June 15 @ 9:30 PM; June 18 @ 4:30 PM; June 19 @ 7:00 PM; June 29 @ 5:00 PM; and July 6 @ 7:00 PM. For tickets, visit PlanetConnections.org.
Planet Connections Theatre Festivity are multiple theater, film and music festivals. Planet Connections’ artists use their work to shed light on causes that matter and inspire audiences to get involved. All of PCTF’s artists raise awareness for an organization or topic of their own selection.
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
Irina Abraham: Most ensemble members and myself (the director) of Necessary ITEMS project are alumni of The Russian Arts Theatre and Studio. In our work we rely on Stanislavsky to build the inner logics of the characters, Michael Chekhov to bring the characters to life using imagination and sensation work and movement techniques to connect the inner life to physicality and express things that cannot be put into words through our bodies.
Review Fix: What makes this different or special?
Abraham: The (Last) Station has been very different! It is a rather mysterious experience. The text is written like a piece of jazz music. It communicates to us on an emotional level and even though logics has its place in our process, we have been relying a lot on our artistic intuition and building the play through theatre games, movement and improvisation. It almost feels as if we are leaving a lot in the realm of the subconscious in order to keep the mystery and the excitement around it.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?
Abraham: As a director I learned that sitting back and waiting patiently for the actors to find their characters and actions on their own is a rather wonderful and difficult thing. I noticed that the less I tell actors the more they wind up giving me artistically. To make things really happen it is important to come in with the right words and suggestions of physicality and choreography at the right time, when the cast is ready and can take the direction and then bring it to the next level. It has really been a fascinating process.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?
Abraham: I am simply thrilled to be working with Eugene’s text. I am finding an incredible artistic freedom and curiosity and also fear to be misunderstood and vulnerability, I think this is how doing theatre is meant to feel.
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?
Abraham: Our goal for now is to keep experimenting together as a theatre collective and see where this brings us. Finding our own artistic language is the real goal at this time.
Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?
Abraham: I hope all of it! The language, the poetry, the ensemble that has incredible chemistry together and so much love for each other and true playfulness, the soundtrack and the choreography, the overall visual feel and the atmosphere we are creating for this show.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Abraham: We hope to keep working with the writer Eugene Muzica and keep discovering. We rather hope to have a production that will run for a few weeks, and be fully produced maybe, next year.
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