Saturday, 8th March 2008 - 00:00CET
A firm, female hand
The theatre scene in Malta has exploded in a big way. Here Jo Caruana chats to three of the young, female directors at the helm of it.
They say that behind every great man there is a woman. Well, maybe that's true for the theatre world too because women seem to be taking it by storm and this season's theatrical scene is packed with plays fronted by someone of the fairer sex.
From massive productions at the Manoel to smaller-scale affairs at St James Cavalier, there's a great woman behind it, and that's certainly something to celebrate.
Coryse Borg directed Glorious, for the MADC, at the Manoel Theatre last monthI started acting at the age of 14 when I joined the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Arts (MTADA). After graduating, I got involved in the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club (MADC) where my roles included Annie in Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing, Queen Vindicta in the pantomime Snow White and more recently Fairy Frumpet in Pirates of the Mediterranean.
Acting has always been "my thing", but this is not my first jaunt as a director; my first directorial experience was at the tender age of 20 when I directed a fully-fledged play called Heart of a Dog for Teatru 111 at the Manoel Theatre - it was a real baptism of fire! Last year I also got to direct a black comedy called Audacity for the MADC at St James Theatre... it was an experience that I really, really enjoyed so I was keen to repeat it!
I've grown to really love directing, mainly because I love being in control I guess! I enjoy the whole process, from the rehearsal period, to choosing the music, to helping to design the poster. Having said that, the responsibility that comes with being in charge can be overwhelming. On opening night, it is so hard knowing that your job is "done" and there is nothing more you can do but sit down and (try to) enjoy the ride! Of course, actually being on stage is always an amazing experience and wouldn't give it up for the world. I love both sides of the theatre coin equally!
It's great to suddenly see so many female directors coming forward. I mean I know there have always been women directing locally, but they've definitely grown in numbers; I'm not sure why... perhaps because of our uncanny organisational skills!
Simone Ellul recently directed Alarms and Excursions, for Masquerade, at St James CavalierI'VE been hooked on theatre since I was 11, and have been involved ever since, in various roles. I studied at the Manoel Theatre Academy for Dramatic Art for a year, and then after an absence of a number of years I went back to the drama school, which by then had been renamed the Drama Unit Theatre Programme. I learnt a lot during those four years, and complemented my learning with various workshops in the UK. In 2002 I furthered my studies with a Master of Fine Arts in Staging Shakespeare at the University of Exeter.
I directed my first play for a Sixth Form soiree, and I can say I never looked back. The following year, after I left Sixth Form, I joined the MADC, and took part in the one-act play festival as a director - I did that for four years, winning Best Production in 2004. Last season I directed my first full-length play, Boston Marriage by David Mamet, at St James Cavalier.
Directing is a creative process, and it allows you to bring a vision to life. On the other hand, precisely for that reason it can be more agonising when things don't seem to develop as you picture them. Directing gives you more freedom, but also more responsibility. The final product is your responsibility and you must know how to coax what you want to achieve from your actors. Ultimately, directing can be heart-wrenching but very fulfilling and rewarding.
I don't think I will ever be able to decide whether I prefer acting or directing! I don't consider myself to be a director or an actor as I think the two go well together, although it takes a certain amount of skill and insanity to do both in the same production! I started off this season acting with a role in Actinghouse Production's Tattoo, and now I'm directing, so who knows what will happen by the end of the season... I enjoy directing, but nothing beats the rush of being on stage.
I must say I was really surprised when I realised that the majority of directors this season are women! Maybe it's just happenstance, or coincidence but more women are definitely taking the reins in their hands. Theatre is often a reflection of life, so in the same way that women are taking a more visible role in society, this is also happening with directing.
The only issue, I suppose is why it only seems to have started now. There is always a greater number of women in theatre (and fewer roles), so perhaps there has been hesitation about directing before that no longer exists. Having said that, I believe there have been female directors in Malta for decades, and perhaps we're only starting to be more aware of them now.
Marcelle Theuma directed Equus, for Unifaun Theatre, at St James Cavalier last NovemberI've been involved in the theatre world for the past 23 years. I have a diploma in acting from MTADA and a certificate from the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art (London, 1990), as well as a degree in Theatre Studies and Philosophy and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (specialising in Theatre) from the University of Malta - so I certainly have a background in it!
I've taken part in a number of theatre productions interpreting roles by playwrights such as Dario Fo, Lorca, Michael Frayn, Max Frisch, Strindberg, Pinter, Pirandello, Chekhov and Francis Ebejer. In the early 1990s I co-founded an experimental theatre group and performed original Maltese texts. In more recent years I directed and took part as narrator in Solitudni fil-Belt which was presented in the International Festival Europamusicale in Berlin, Leipzig and Wiesbaden among others.
I'm also a teacher and I started directing when I started teaching, especially when I started teaching older students, during the evening, at Drama School. There I focused more on classical theatre texts as well as devised texts but this time in the role of director, which was quite new to me. For the first time I was able to oversee all that was happening, something which as an actor you can never get to do because of course you are in it. And I liked it, immensely, so much so that I stayed there and ever since have dragged my feet when it's come to acting. These days the only time I act is when I'm involved during the day in a Theatre in Education or when I'm asked to read in public be it poems or short stories.
Nowadays I prefer directing to acting, and I certainly find it challenging. Directing means a lot more work, a lot more preparation and is a huge responsibility. You are the driving force behind a whole team, including all those working behind the scenes. You are the one who has to answer all that needs to be questioned. If problems arise, and they always do, you have to improvise, many times rapidly in the hope that your gut directs you on the right track. You have to be capable of creating and make others willing to create with you. You have to be capable of managing and keeping a group of diverse people together.
My most recent production was Equus; it was extremely challenging especially with regards to recreating the space for it at St James Cavalier. It worked because there was a formidable cast behind who developed as a team throughout the rehearsal period and during the performances. And yes, I will treasure the experience because for the first time in Malta we challenged a taboo... nudity! I think we managed to convince our audiences that when a theatre production is well-prepared they can truly acquire an experience, and I look forward to doing that again and again.
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