Actor
EVENT: She's in the Art Theatre of Puget Sound's production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, directed by Leonid Anisimov, an acting teacher at Freehold with a devoted following.
It's been a long time since I've read The Cherry Orchard--is it sad? "It's supposed to be a comedy, or that's what Chekhov said. I don't know if I would think that."
Those Russians have a funny idea of what's funny. What's your role? "I'm playing Barrya, an adopted daughter of the family who owns the cherry orchard. She's a hard worker."
What does she do? "She's been taking care of everything in the house with all the other servants while the lady of the house--my mom--was away for five years."
Sounds like a Cinderella-type role. "Yeaaaah--but my mom is a nice person."
Do you win a handsome prince in the end? "Well, I guess you'll have to see it."
Is it a not-so-handsome prince? "I don't know how to describe it. You'll just have to see it."
What's Leonid Anisimov really like? "He's a very eccentric person, a great teacher, a great artist--he's got a lot of energy--I guess energy would be the word. He has a lot to share with the world."
Do you speak any Russian? "I'm learning a little bit here and there."
Can you say, "Get me vodka!"? "Uh, no, I can't. I can say 'vodka.' I don't know if I can say 'Get me.' I can say, 'Vodka, please.'"
Are any of the characters actresses? Chekhov seems to like actresses. "Not in The Cherry Orchard. Oh, there's one stranger who walks by who is an actor."
How do you know he's an actor? "Because he comes in and recites a line from a play."
What play? [Naho consults with her husband, who is also in the production.] "We don't know."
What else can you say in Russian? Any useful phrases? "Mostly things connected to the Stanislavsky system [of acting] that Leonid repeats over and over again."
So nothing that would help you as a tourist in Moscow? "Probably not."
