Actors who got WhatsApp

Theater News Base: The play “Symphony of Death” directed by Dariush Rezvani will be staged tonight, March 22nd. The play has three actors, two of whom live in London and the other travels between Tehran and Poland. They have done part of their WhatsApp rehearsal.

Motivated to perform this play, we talked with Mojgan Maqoli and Berdia Jalali, two actors of this play, about the rehearsal and preparation stages.

Impossibilities that finally became possible

Maqoli is a theater graduate who has been living in Poland for more than ten years and performs plays using classical Iranian literature in this country and other countries. Praising the support and cooperation of Iranian artists in preparing the play “Symphony of Death”, he hopes that next spring he will stage a play in Iran as a director.

“I live in both Iran and Poland,” says the theater artist about his collaboration with the “Symphony of Death” troupe. I came to Iran a few months earlier than my colleagues and at that stage we started reading the text on WhatsApp. Then, with the help of our friend and colleague Tara Taban, we practiced the mezzanines. My other two colleagues were Dariush Rezvani and Berdia Jalali from London. Tara Taban was with them and performed my mezzanines and I was in the mood of my mezzanines. The last ten days of training we were all in Iran and we did the last steps together.

At first, this group of three thought that this method of training was impossible, but after three or four days, they realized that it was possible with all its difficulties.

The main character of “Death and Miss” is still alive

The play “Symphony of Death” is an adaptation of the play “Death and the Maiden” by the famous Ariel Dorfman.

Mogholi explains about his performance in this play and what caused him to face so much difficulty: This play raises a theme that I have always dreamed of talking about or doing something about one day. Therefore, I wholeheartedly accepted the offer to play in this play, because the main character of this play is still alive and well in our lives.

“Death Symphony” is only on stage for a week. Naturally, this number of performances does not meet the efforts of its executive group, but it was not a solution because the interference of some of the group’s programs has caused them to be satisfied with these few performances, but Mogholi hopes that they will be able to bring this play back on stage next spring.

I just tried to listen

He, who is happy with the sympathy and support of Iranian theater artists for the performance of this play, adds: I have seen this love and affection in few people and I would like to thank the executive team of this play with all my heart. Two or three of the guys who helped us with this performance are professional theater directors who have been with us in various positions.

Mogholi, who also works in theater in Poland, talks about the difficulty of working in two different cultures: Polish culture is not far from us. My biggest problem was the language, to solve which I turned to non-verbal and performance plays. I do the same things in Poland as in Iran. Because I mainly work on classical Iranian literature. Of course, I mostly direct in Poland, and I had not been an actor for eight years before this play took place.

Asked how difficult it was for his acting experience after just eight years of directing, he explains: “It was not difficult because I accept the job and as a student and actor I tried to just listen and not guard myself. I hired a director.

“Sweet” wordless loneliness

Maqooli has previously performed the play “Shirin” based on the love poems “Khosrow and Shirin” and “Shirin and Farhad”. A wordless performance about “sweet” loneliness who has been very lonely despite having two restless lovers.

He says that the play has been very popular in countries such as Poland, England, Scotland, Germany and Turkey, and he hopes to bring the same play to the stage in Iran next spring.

Our story and social networks in the Corona

But Berdia Jalali, another actress in the play, describes her experiences from the rehearsal stages of this play as follows: Before Corona, our presence on social networks was to communicate and we did not think that one day this presence would go beyond this, but after the corona epidemic, people communicate. Most were drawn to these networks. Because man is a social being and communication is one of the necessities of his life.

He recalls the early days of the Corona epidemic, in which families used video calls on social media to keep abreast of each other.

Jalali points to the growing presence of people in social networks and says: “Little by little, we saw that these networks can have other uses as well, until some time later, an online puppet show festival was held, which is a happy, unique and interesting event that Iranian artists in Utilization of these networks was outstanding.

Once upon a time, the theater was taken to the streets

The theater teacher reminds that each period has its own requirements and says that once upon a time, theatrical artists of the world came out of the halls and started performing in the streets and squares and formed a street theater and instead of waiting for the audience to come to the hall. , Themselves went to the spectator.

Jalali points out that many artists these days use new technologies such as zoom to stay in touch. In this other form, the spatial distance is eliminated.

When it comes to helping the actor

“At first we did not think of trying to rehearse theater on WhatsApp and Zoom, but there was no way out,” he said of his band’s experience in performing “Symphony of Death.” One of our actors was Iran and we could communicate with him by using technology. After reaching the mezzanine, one of our colleagues played his role. It was a strange experience. We had the presence of a substitute actor and the voice of the main actor coming to us from WhatsApp

He would arrive and Ms. Mogholi would see her conversion in the exercises and find out her mezzanines through her.

They then rehearsed physically in Iran for ten days until their play was ready for performance.

I like to feel the physical presence of the actor in front of me

Jalali says about the resistance to the use of technology in theater and that most artists consider the essence of theater to be the simultaneous presence of the actor and the spectator and the atmosphere of the two: I speak about this story from two perspectives of actors and theater experts; As an actor, I believe that theater is a ritual and process in which human beings form a whole, and I always like to feel the physical presence of the actor in front of me, and I believe that our work becomes meaningful and complete with the live soul of the spectator and his reactions.

He then analyzes the story from the point of view of a theater expert as follows: At one time, candlelight was used to illuminate a theater, and no one imagined that one day electricity would help the theater. It did not occur to nineteenth-century artists to use video art in theaters one day, but twentieth-century artists took full advantage of it. In the 21st century, we are also facing the growth of technology. The use of technology in this century does not disappear after the corona. In general, the use of new technologies is not just about Corona, but humans have found their way to creativity and communication, and in the near future we will have new types of theater and cinema. As today, home cinema has expanded and companies such as Netflix are active around the world, and in Iran we also have films and shows. New companies are the product of man today and his needs.

There was a time when filmmakers were terrified of television

Jalali recalls a time when filmmakers feared the presence of television and considered it a rival to cinema, but in practice television never narrowed the field of cinema, but created a new form of entertainment.

According to him, art forms are changing in the 21st century, and although there is now resistance in Iran and around the world about these new forms, theater artists are gradually being persuaded to make high-quality films from their plays until they are finished. It can be presented through platforms.

The only original that remains the same

A student of theater at the School of Fine Arts 20 years ago, he recalls the resistance of photographers to the digital camera of that time: After a few years, all the photographers in the world used digital cameras, and companies have built cameras that can take analog photography. Thus, in different historical periods, there is always resistance at the beginning of the metamorphosis, but after that peeling occurs, these resistances diminish.

Berdia Jalali ends her speech as follows: Theater has experienced various changes in different periods, but one theme has always been fixed in it; The spectator is the inseparable principle of theater and he is the one who has the final say.

The play “Symphony of Death” will start its performance tonight, the first Sunday of Esfand, at the Mehregan Theater, and will go on stage every night at 8:30 PM until the 7th of this month.