Grigory Kofman - a very nice and interesting man from Russia

http://www.lik-masterklass.com/ - Russian speakers/readers, enjoy!

Ages ago I contacted a company called GOFF who run a week-long site-specific festival in a forest in Russia, about 300km from Moscow and not very far from Latvia. I think I told them about Communism and the artistic director Grigory (after a lot of morfix and whatnot) arranged to meet me at Kiryat Motzkin train station so's I could give him the dvd (in Hebrew with Romanian subtitles) and we could, er, chat. How we both happened to be in Kiryat Motzkin at the same time on the same day is another story which I would write if I did not mind being the sort of blog person that I don't like.

Anyhow, we had a lovely meeting on a bench with some vending machine beverages as there was nowhere to sit on the train platform and there is, er, nothing in KM. Grigory was really interesting and talked to me lots about Russian culture and antisemitism and practicalities of forest theatre festivals as well as the implications of having to cut a 19-strong cast down to 8. Nico also suggested I bring up the Karov production of Spirit Of The Forest by Chekhov which I way prefer the idea of now I know they could do it around trees and that.

The SHE Festival goes live on Kadmus, and daddy meets dorit...

Gerald got poorly in the throat and didn't come to hear Alexa's thrilled, spilled and pilled up thoughts about eating twins and subtitling the mentally ill or whatever I mentioned last time

Oh, you can change the font colour and see how it looks when you type. How exciting. Now I am going to write something that is really difficult to see hahaa oh but I can't see it either so never mind.

So thoughts for Gerry will have to wait. Instead, I took Brian to meet Dorit and co. It was great although we couldn't get any proper cookies because it is Pesach. I showed dad all the nice backstage and the wide stage and the foyer and office and tea and coffee and we talked about twinning the She Festival in particular with the New End. Ann has since made a page for this year's SF on Kadmus which is ever so nice of her. I will add some pictures here next week.

Increasingly I am excited about The Woman In The Wall. I think I would like to have a tyre as my swing, or something round-ish. They have now those wide round swings with three pieces of rope and they go round as well as up and down. The Sailor pushed me in one at Edinburgh and it was so much fun. Also, I always prefer round and round to backwards and forwards.

As a result of going to the Karov and meeting Dorit, B has an idea for a play about families in theatres, especially fathers and daughters. It sounds quite interesting actually. Anyway, we shall see. I also want to get Alef Alef to London in some shape or form, to promote the work of Jewish artists on the issue of domestic violence.

My dad said he was happy I went to the Karov and not somewhere like the Cameri, which I thought was nice. Also I felt very proud in a general way. It is sad he won't get to see anything there this time.

Chag Samech, and forthcoming meeting with Gerald :-o

It is Pesach today which should be interesting. We are going to be in Ashdod this evening for the Seder. The whole holiday is about two weeks, I think, but normal times like that don't really apply to theatre so whatever. I am very curious because on Wednesday morning, Dorit and Liron and Linor have a meeting with the Karov's head trustee Gerald. He is English and runs a big tourist newspaper in Israel. I think he sounds rather important, a bit like Conrad or Godfrey or the trustees we have at the New End.

Just on an aside, Emma I know you are reading this and I want to give you a special Chag Samech and Mazel Tov because you did so amazingly in A Big Day For The Goldbergs at the New End. My dad wrote it you see and I was so sad that I couldn't see it.

Anyway, Gerald at the Karov will come partly to hear about the ideas for the theatre's English-speakers program. I like this work et al...also, I come up with many thoughts whilst smoking which makes me worried because what if when I don't smoke I never think of anything anymore? Or what if I just never stop smoking and just die very young? Well, my thoughts for Gerald etc are:

1) The Wings Project: a fortnightly surtitle program with a pioneer session sold to Oranim, Career Israel and a selection of invited English speakers in Tel Aviv.

2) Festivalim Kanafiyiim: a foundation proposal for the Karov on the international fringe - Israeli theatre, the wider world and thoughts beyond the Exposure.

3) Theatre twinning: I have this thought to twin the Karov with a similar scale space or festival elsewhere in the English-speaking world. For a week a year say, each company prepares an exchange project with the aid of two young Israeli/exchange volunteers, bringing a different kind of arts exposure to the two countries. I've broached it with the Captial Fringe Festival in Washington, and also with Bill and Ann at Kadmus Arts, plus the International Drama and Education Association who have very boring looking chairs on their website. For this I am sad.

They are all a bit on the educational side. After my dad in theatre, I think Gerald and I will be cool because I have thought all about where the money is coming from etc and I am not very idealistic.

My session or whatever ends if 5 minutes so Chag Samech and watch my space. Please please. I still have such a hang-up about this blog thing.

I miss my trampoline also:-(

A x