Director: Ding Ruru, Yang Shuo
Playwright: Victoria Nikiforova
Institution: Central Academy of Drama, China
Venue: Experimental Theatre
Time: 19:30~21:40, May 18, 2010
Event: ATEC 5th International Forum with the 1st Asian Theatre Schools Festival
Director’s Notes
Directing plays for graduation present is not only a process of teaching, but more a process of creation. The inspiring academic atmosphere provided by the school and the students’ active attitude to create allow and also request us to continuously make artistic attempts to experience something new and peculiar to theatre in our creation, so that our theatrical expression can be more diverse and full of the charm of theatre in itself.
I hope that this performance will enable both the creators and the audience experience the creation process and achieve some spiritual awakening. I also hope that through this last creation practice prior to graduation, the students will lay a solid foundation for the theatre career that they are passionate about and be well prepared for stepping into the society.
Synopsis
This story happened in the 21st century in Moscow, where there were a brother and sister sticking together and taking care of each other from childhood. The elder brother named Vasya was the deputy director of computer-selling department at a company, and the younger sister Liza was a professional screenwriter, working at a TV station.
One day, Vasya spent all his savings and impawned his house which was left by his parents in buying a forward apartment with 3 bedrooms. At the same time, he met Zhenya, a beautiful and cute bank clerk. And Liza was ready to have a baby through a surrogate mother, which needed a large sum of money. But Liza’s lover, the baby’s biological father, Pawell refused to pay the bill due to his religious belief.
Then things were gradually getting out of control. Vasya found out that his beloved Zhenya had cheated him on her daily expenses so that he lost a lot of money from his bank account. He was then deeply stranded in the fraud of the house mortgage and would eventually come to nothing. In a rage, he left Zhenya, who he loved passionately.
Having broken up with Liza, Pawell was stung by his conscience and paid the surrogate’s expenses. However when the baby was about to be born, the surrogate mother, a prostitute named Amanda, refused to give the baby to Liza unless getting more money from Liza.
Then, the brother and sister were both placed into a dilemma of life.