Eugene Ionesco “The Chairs”
Director – Anna Baliashvili (Senior Project)
Student Director Anna Baliashvili chose a very difficult play for her thesis. The interpretation of this work needs a lot of experience, courage and mastery. Even if the student director has no big experience and, moreover, there is not important tradition of staging absurd play in Georgian theatre, Ana Baliashvili still managed to tell the story to the audience. She built her performance on the relationship of two actors and showed us that she not only has an managerial qualities (that the future director needs), but also a gift of working well with the actors. Both of the actors construct their stage relationship in an excellent and professional manner.
It is quite difficult to catch logical story thread in an absurd play. This difficulty was apparent in the senior project by Anna Baliashvili as well when the second half of the show stretched out a bit longer.
Anna Baliashvili showed us the knowledge of the art of directing. She chooses and manages the space well and uses it organically. In the beginning of the performance the tempo is growing, sequential and develops in a good pace. However later, in the second half, it becomes weaker and reaches climax in the finale. The director showed us that she has excellent skills of working with the actors, as well as good creative capacities.
Alec Chighvinadze “Spineless”
Director – Gela Guliashvili (Senior Project)
Student director Gela Guliashvili chose moden Georgian play for his senior project performance. Working on this kind of play is a challenge for a young director. On the other hand the choice shows that the young director is not afraid of either the challenge that lies in the structure of the modern text or of showing the important problems and themes that are in the heart of our society.
Young director showed us that he possesses the skills needed for his future carrier”: he can manage the text, organise the process, work with actors (including professionals) and create an atmosphere. I think that Gela Guliashvili stage nearly ideal show which goes beyond the demands of the senior project performance, if we close our eyes to minor errors, like empty pauses that pop us during the flow of the story.
Gela Guliashvili has all the important qualities of future director: he manages the space in a unique way, creates atmosphere of the performance and characters of the show in a particular way. He works with the actors extremely well as he could manage and show us professional and well-known actors in completely new light.
Lasha Chkhartishvili
PhD Arts, Associate Professor of Georgian University of Theatre and Film
