Associate Professor of Theater Yuriy Kordonskiy, the master director behind this semester’s theater department production of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Great God Brown,” has been imparting his vast knowledge of directing and acting to Wesleyan students since 2002. Additionally, he is responsible for numerous extremely successful theatrical productions across the globe. Now that the show is over, he had time to sit down and discuss his impressive career, teaching, and theatrical philosophies with The Argus.
Argus: What was your career like before you came to Wesleyan?
Yuriy Kordonskiy: I grew up in Southern Ukraine, which was in the USSR at the time, and first I got my Masters degree in Math and Computer Science—that was even before I started thinking about theater. I was in a movie when I was 11. I was in and out of arts, but I didn’t think of making this my profession. But there was a very strong, powerful student theater group in the university where I studied, so I got involved step by step. After I graduated, I worked just a little bit as a software programmer and then I moved to St. Petersburg to [work with] a very famous theater academy, the State Academy of Theater Arts. After that I became a permanent member of the Maly Drama Theater, also in St. Petersburg, where I was resident actor and director. And that was going on until I moved to the States.
A: How did you become a professor here at Wesleyan?
YK: Well, I first came to the U.S. in 2001 and I went to D.C.—there was a theater company called Classica Theatre, which invited me to direct. They promised me a couple of projects. I had my first rehearsal the morning after my arrival in the country, which was completely fantastic. But then the shows I did were very successful and we extended the runs, so I ended up directing their entire season for the whole year. My first teaching job was at George Washington University in D.C. and then I saw an ad—Wesleyan was doing a search for an Assistant Professor in Directing and Acting. I applied and, for some mysterious reasons, I was selected for an interview. That was in spring 2002.
A: I hear many of your plays are still running around the world. Can you tell me about these productions?
YK: In New York the last time was two years ago—that was Canterbury tales by Chaucer. That was fall 2009. It’s true that a lot of the productions I directed in Eastern Europe still run. This last May, I had ten years of “Uncle Vanya.” That is still running with full houses in Romania. The same cast for ten years. Basically my two longest productions that are still alive are “Uncle Vanya” in Romania and “Disappearance” in St. Peterburg, in Russia. They both will turn 11 next spring and they’re still playing in rep with other shows.
A: Is it hard to split your time between being a professor here and directing elsewhere?
YK: It is a challenge, especially in theater because I need two months of rehearsal time to do a production, at least. I like working slowly and having enough time to do things—I only have such time in the summer when there are no classes here. Theaters are really hesitant to open the shows in the summer, even if some theaters go for rehearsals. So on several occasions, including this year, I would rehearse May, June, July, have couple of previews at the end of July, and then I’d come home and fly back for a week in October. We revive everything and we open in October or November. Several times it’s happened this way. It’s really bad timing. This joggling between classes and professional work is not easy, but it’s fun. I’m not giving this up for anything in the world.
A: What is your method for teaching directing to students? Does the fact that you teach in a liberal arts environment influence your method—would it be different if you taught in a conservatory setting?
YK: Yeah, it would be different, probably. I believe in learning much more than I believe in teaching. I do believe that you can only learn something when you actively seek for that lesson, when you go out of your way to learn. I put a lot of responsibility on the students. I don’t believe in lecturing on directing because it’s a very hands-on art. I do believe in doing and learning by trial and error. So that’s why, in directing classes, from day one, from minute one, it’s about doing things. Doing things, and then discussing things that are done, hearing the proposals, the ideas students have—basically just giving students the floor, and then giving feedback and reflecting on that. Which brings me to the second part of your question, [whether or not] I believe in a liberal arts environment. It really goes well with the liberal arts environment because that’s all about an active learning process, as opposed to a conservatory with a more structured program, where students may sometimes feel that they may just get into the rigid structure, as opposed to the liberal arts where it’s much more fluid and they are much more responsible for learning. It [re]lies on students a lot, on them choosing the ways they learn.
A: How was the experience of directing “The Great God Brown”? Is it different working with students versus professional actors?
YK: It is different. It’s not just doing the show; it’s an actual education experience. Take mask acting, for example. It’s something we don’t have a specialized class in and I see those shows not just like another production, but like another class. But at the same time, the beauty of working with students on a production is the freedom that you don’t always have in professional companies. The freedom to fail, the freedom to experiment, the freedom to take risks, the freedom not to play safe. Because in professional companies, again, not always, I don’t want to generalize, there are many cases when the actors are already set in their ways, the companies are set in their ways, and the audience expects certain things from a certain company. With students, that kind of experimentation and discovery process gives you much more freedom and, in a way, much less pressure. There is no business component, which is a great feeling.
A: Do you have any advice for aspiring directors and people who want to go professionally into the theater world?
YK: See as much as you can. Not only in theater but also in music, in visual arts. Take classes in different arts. I do believe in a synthetic approach to art. If you know visual arts, you are a better theater director. If you understand how music works, you become a better theater director. So don’t stay narrowly focused only in one craft. Educate yourself widely, as wide as possible. Go see other shows. If you’re lucky and you can sneak in a rehearsal and see how other people work, I learned a lot from that. Take it into your hands. This is my advice: don’t wait for things to happen to you. Make them happen.
A: What are your next plans?
YK: Well, last year I directed four productions back to back on top of teaching at Wesleyan, three of them in professional companies in different countries. So I’m taking this a little slower now because I don’t believe in he assembly line type of work. I really need to regenerate and recharge my batteries. But yes, I have some plans for the summer. I have some teaching plans at Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in the spring, teaching a directing curriculum there in the National Theater Institute. I have several discussions that are going on, one for this coming spring, but this is just in he initial stages and discussions.
A: Is Chekhov your favorite playwright? What is it about Chekhov that brings you back to him?
YK: Not necessarily my favorite. I don’t have just one favorite. Chekhov definitely is one of my favorite playwrights just because I see the universe that he created in his plays and it’s every word, every syllable, and every letter in his plays that are relevant. Again, I wouldn’t say that he’s the one, as life is fluid and I change. Today I may love something else and in a year from now, a different one of Chekhov’s plays will speak to me, differently at different times of my life, as well. Now I’m in the stage of “Three Sisters,” for some reason. So if you asked me to direct “The Seagull,” I wouldn’t be interested right now. We live and change. To me, the main thing about Chekhov is that incredible richness of the plays, with their seemingly simple, even sometimes simplistic way of telling stories. What you find in his plays are the big things about existence, about life, about human nature, and that is what is interesting.