The Mischievous Duo Returns

Andrei Belgrader, Shelley Berc – the creative team that master-minded two of A.R.T.’s most delerious comedies,The Servant of Two Mastersand Ubu Rock– are back! For the third time, they will collaborate at the A.R.T., this time on Molière’s final sparking satire,The Imaginary Invalid.

Michelle Powell spoke with director Andrei Belgrader and Shelley Berc, who is adapting the play with Mr. Belgrader, about realizing one of Molière’s most highly acclaimed plays. Ms. Berc is certain that the three-hundred-year-old work can entertain a modern-day audience. “Molière’s plays are perfect for the ‘me’ generation,” Berc says. “Some of his characters are absolutely shameless, self-centered, and paranoid. Yet, they all possess a grain of wisdom despite how silly and foolish they first appear. This wisdom is Molière’s, which he ingeniously weaves into his dramas. Molière is a comic genius to whom today’s audiences can easily relate.”

Michelle Powell: Mr. Belgrader, Molière’s plays demand a lot from an actor physically and emotionally. How will you rehearse the actors for this type of comic theatre?

Andrei Belgrader: I never really know how I will work with actors, because the assembly of artists differs for every show. For first rehearsals, I need to be a silent observer, watching to see how the actor/director relationship might work. I discover each actor’s unique ability, whether it be voice, acrobatics, or farcical gestures. I never know what I will discover, and that is part of the excitement of working in the theatre: you can never predict the outcome. Typically, I begin with improvisational exercises. I find that is the best way to familiarize the actors with each other and, most importantly, with the text. Molière was a superb comedic actor, influenced by the Italian commedia dell’arte tradition that uses slapstick and word games. For American actors who are often trained in a more psychological and not a physical method, it is important that first rehearsals focus on the actors’ spatial relationship to each other, to the rehearsal space, and to the imaginary world that Molière creates for them. Getting the actors to move around as Molière’s characters is my primary concern for the first two weeks.

MP: How will you encourage the actors to move in certain ways?

AB: Every text dictates a certain rehearsal as well as performance style. ForThe Imaginary InvalidI will familiarize the actors with the comic routines of artists like Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges. These comedians, who owe their talent to the commedia tradition, inspire the actors to use their bodies as comic tools.

MP: Ms. Berc, how did you approach The Imaginary Invalid?

Shelley Berc: I am not a straight translator who finds an equivalent for every one of Molière’s original words. That type of translation is lifeless. I come to adaptation as a novelist and playwright, so I am aware that a play needs to tell a story as well as entertain. Molière provides the observer with a wonderful cast of players: the miser, the impostor, the hypochondriac, the ridiculous doctor. What makes these figures come alive is their truth. Take the miser, for example. I know people who repeat sums obsessively over and over. In the case of the hypochondriac, consider the pollutants in the world, the chemicals in our food, the reports of nature turning wild. We can understand his paranoia.

MP: What is the challenge in adapting a comedy as opposed to a serious play.

SB: It’s always difficult to adapt a comedy. First, I ask, “What is funny about Molière’s plays in general.” For me, the sound and speed of the language, its overall rhythm, is where the real humor lies; liars speak quickly and colorfully as if they are trying to distract the listener from what is actually being said. In order to be faithful to the original text, I retain the essence of the play: aphorism, comedy, and spirit – which is all in the timing. Then I transpose the jokes into a comparable American idiom that evokes the same feeling.

MP: Mr. Belgrader, how do you feel about your return to the A.R.T.?

AB: I love Cambridge. A director meets a different breed of audience there. It is the combination of intelligence and awareness about the theatre that challenges any artist.

MP: And what would you hope to create for them?

AB: The fantastic world Molière imagined. Molière created his magic with an ensemble of gifted actors. How lucky artists are to work consistently with the same people – a luxury rarely found in today’s theatre. In an ensemble, the players strive together for excellence. This is the reason Molière was faithful to the idea of ensemble. It was a family that spoke as one unit to the audience about their dreams.

SB: I agree. That’s why I adore working with Bob Brustein’s ensemble at A.R.T. You could say my job is made wonderfully simple because I am adapting famous recipes for the A.R.T. group of spices. Like Molière, who wrote his plays with certain performers in mind, I know when I write for the A.R.T. I’m writing for gifted comedians like Will LeBow, Tommy Derrah, and Jeremy Geidt. Understanding their acting strengths allows me to tailor roles to them. I can’t imagine a better way to capitalize on a performer’s strong-points, and, overall, I believe the audience receives the best possible experience.

Michelle Powell is a second-year dramaturgy student at the A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theatre Training.