K.I.

When we arrived at the theater, eating at the buffet as usual, everything was fine and normal. Then we came upstairs to a sort of hall with chairs and a few pillow-like chairs in the front, all facing typical Russian doors (which I love). I was surprised to see such a set, because it was even stranger than the smaller theater we had been in the night before at the fomenko. What I didn't know was that we would transfer into another set through the typical Russian doors. The lighting for the first "set" was essentially nothing, with florescent lighting. After Oksana came out, the look on the faces of the other Russians in the audience were essentially priceless. Especially when she either spoke in English or pointed out to different people and got in their faces. I forgot that Oksana was going to say a couple of phrases in English, and I was (and still am) very curious as to how the Russians felt about that. I should have asked but by the end I felt exhausted. Maybe emotionally or maybe just because. I felt bad for the little boy at first, because he was being thrown around, but then I remembered that this is a performance, and this has obviously been rehearsed beforehand. I enjoyed how Oksana improvised a few times, such as when a cell phone rang, she gave a...not nasty, but not nice face to the woman. And when one woman got up and left, it seemed like Oksana was looking to see where she was. I forgot what she said, but she used that situation in the performance.

After entering the second all-white room, which was interesting in and of itself, we saw another actress who was on her knees. The lighting was kind of weird, with two large lamps shining in through two windows and florescent lights from above. There was a large table, which audience members sat around, and also two chairs in the corner, where the children sat. I liked the "second half" of the performance more that the first. I think this is because it wasn't just Oksana coming in and out of the Russian-style doors. The kids were still treated the same, although in the white room, it became more apparent that the kids had become accustomed to taking care of their mother (or at least it seemed to me). For example, when Oksana was throwing the purse on the floor repeatedly, her children kept saying "Мама, не надо! Мама, не надо!"

Overall I really enjoyed the play. Oksana had absolutely amazing energy, and afterwards while talking with her she even said that she was tired that day because she had two rehearsals in the morning, but to me it wasn't obvious at all that she was tired. It was cool to talk with both John Freedman and Oksana after the performance to get their opinions on theater in Russia, and also Russia in general. I find that the idea of having a "troop" within a theater is very Russian, mostly because no matter where you are, Russians (for the most part) are willing to help you out in any way they can (while also being more than willing to point out what you are doing wrong).

I'm including a picture of my friend Anya and a few of her friends that I met here, because I think they are neat.