I was emailing with Gary Winter about the talk with GRZEGORZ JARZYNA on Monday at MESTC/CUNY, the artistic director of TR Warszawa that will be doing MACBETH at the Tobacco Warehouse, produced by St. Ann’s. (which, by the way, is going to be amazing)  I had to leave early so he sent me his notes. I thought they were kind of like a work of literature unto themselves, so, here they are:

Notes. By Gary Winter.

Some notes from last night. He showed some clips from his shows then spoke a bit with susan feldman, then took some questions.

-He is interested in the techniques of film and TV, NOT that they are better, but in how they create intimate moments by use of close-ups. And how they use transitions. That’s why he likes smaller theater spaces.

-His take on Macbeth? A character torn by two impulses, good and bad. But he is interested in the third; the thing is, he doesn’t know what the third impulse is. This is his metaphysical dilemma. He feels that we reach a border in our lives, then we can’t go beyond that border, then we give in, then we recreate ourselves, then we hit that border again.

One line can influence how he sees a play. In 4:48 psychosis it was:

Child she never was; Old woman she’ll never be.

In site specific pieces, he is interested in how the outside light affects Inner life on stage.

Interested in Illusion: He wants the audience to identify with the actors as much as possible. This is why he likes intimate, film-like performances, close-ups.

I talk too much

I do too little

So much experience

Disappears in talk.

During company rehearsals, we talk about a piece of the script for hours, then

Rehearse a small detail. It is important for the actors to think about the piece, ask questions, talk. I want there to be a “flow” between director and actor, which translates into a flow between actor and audience. We are going down the same river towards one goal.

Comedie Francaise has some strange habits.

He wants the public to be responsible for what they’re seeing.

PLATO: Actors cheat the audience, and the more actors cheat the more the audience is delighted.

Theater is about creating the same reality as in real life (i.e.-killing someone); that is we can experience things that happen in real life. Theater can learn from TV and film-atmosphere; how to bring the audience closer to the actor