Uncle Vanya (Act 2), Final Session: "Echoes of the Past" - The Rehearsal Room - The Working Actor's Journey

Episode Transcript
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>> Nathan Agin (00:00):
Was Chekhov ever considered, controversial,
when he was doing his plays, or were
they, you know.

>> Libby (00:08):
Well, he got terrible reviews for Siegel,
when it was first produced, before the Moscow Art
Theater took and made a huge
hit out of it. But, you know, he wasn't
controversial.

Okay. Yeah.

>> Libby (00:22):
and Tolstoy was kind of mad at him
for not taking more stands, trying
to. Because Chekhov was so fair
about everything
scientifically, not
emotionally. He was a doctor.

>> Howard (00:38):
Yeah.

M. Interesting.

>> Libby (00:41):
Yeah.

I know. It's such a. Such, a novel,
idea to just, you know, not. Not be scandalous or something,
you know, because, that's. That's. That's what a lot of people
do to, you know, get attention.

>> Libby (00:57):
It was also a very,
volcanic time. The revolution
was seething, and it had been for many years.
And in 1905, the year after he died, was the
first revolution. We only know 1917,
but 1905 was a real revolution. They just
couldn't carry it through, but that

(01:18):
political atmosphere. And he
chose not to take stands
and.

>> Alison (01:25):
Interesting. Later, the Soviets kind of adopted
him as like, one of their own, even though he
hadn't bought into it.

>> Libby (01:32):
Absolutely.

>> Alison (01:33):
They certainly carried him as though he was
like a big flag bearer for ovation.

Wow, that's fascinating.
we could do a whole separate, Chekhov history class
here.

>> Libby (01:45):
Yes. Look,
are you in?

>> Alison (01:49):
I'm in.

When you allow people to nerd out in what they are,
they're just going to be like, I'm there.

>> Libby (01:58):
It's really scary, isn't it?

Well, great. on that note, well, we can kick. We can
get, into what we're doing, which has been also exciting and
lovely. so hello, everybody. my name is
Nathan Agan. I am the, host and producer of the Working
Actors Journey, that started as a podcast,
and over the last year and a half, we've been doing these
workshops, online workshops, which,
have been, really wonderful and exciting. And

(02:23):
for a number of reasons. It is able to
combine professional actors with newer and younger
actors. We're able to bring in, dramaturgs and
voice coaches and give everybody an opportunity to
work on material in a way that they very rarely
get a chance to do, especially at a professional level. You know, being
able to take one scene and just look at that one scene

(02:43):
for a month has been really exciting. And
just, you're going to see what happens,
the richness of playing that scene
when that's all you have to really think about. And there's
no concern about lights. Or costumes or sets.
And all of those things are wonderful when it comes to theater. but
it is really nice to just be able to focus, on the text

(03:04):
and characters and all that kind of stuff. and
as you'll discover, or you may know,
what is also exciting about this is that we can be very conscious
about age and gender and race in
terms of casting. we can really explore that and have
fun with it and do different things. And we've had,
you know, previous workshops where people have played

(03:24):
parts that they just figured had passed them by. and
here they have an opportunity to do that. So that's, that's really
wonderful and exciting too. and so I'll just mention a couple
other quick things. we just did, our director this
evening, Libby Apple. We just did a really fun Q and A on
Facebook. And you can find that on our Facebook
page, and learn more about Libby's career and a little
bit more about ah, her love and enjoyment,

(03:47):
with Chekhov. and then, we are also
running a class coming up in October, where
people can focus on one character. Up to now we've been doing
one scene and now we're going to focus on one character over the course of the
play. And we've chosen Lady Macbeth.
Professional, actress Susan Angelo, based in la, has
played that part a number of times at regional theaters around the

(04:08):
country. And she will walk you through
that character. So it's a part, as she said,
it's very feared and revered and a lot of
people look up to it and think of it as a part
they'd love to play. And this is something that could really
give you a leg up on understanding this
woman. so, yeah, that's coming up. You can find out more.

(04:28):
I'll send out links to all of this stuff so that you can, check out more.
But, lovely to have you here and very excited.
And at this point I'll mentally kind of go through
my list. I think that's everything I needed to do. but I'm
going to turn it over to our director, Libby,
Apple, and she'll, you know, take it from there and
you'll meet the cast. if we haven't gone through everybody at the beginning, we'll

(04:49):
do that at the end. but that's it for me. So,
Libby, thank you so much for being here and
all yours.

>> Libby (04:55):
Thanks, Nathan. When Nathan called
me, about this, he asked
me first if I would Do a Shakespeare scene
because that's what they've been
doing. And of course, a Shakespeare scene with a voice
coach and a dramaturg and
actors. What could be better?
But I said, I don't know. I'm

(05:18):
not done doing my Chekhov work yet.
And I said to Nathan, I'll do it if you let
me do Chekhov. And he was so
gracious and he read the
plays. And, we decided together
on Uncle Vanya. And
I pointed toward the second act because I

(05:38):
think it's so ripe and
full. I wanted to do the whole act, but he wouldn't let me.
I just want you to know that. And actually, I'm happy now
because there. As much time as I thought there would
be, there's never enough time. I don't know
a director in the world who doesn't say that I didn't have
enough time. but anyway,

(05:58):
I'm very grateful, to Nathan and to the
working actors.

>> Howard (06:04):
Journey.

>> Libby (06:05):
Working actors Journey. For, letting
Alison and I, in to
do the work on this play again. We had a great
time translating it, and
now it's wonderful to be
together again to do it. Alison set the
scene for us.

>> Alison (06:24):
Okay. so. Hi, everybody. I'm Alison Horsley. I did
the literal translations from the Russian to the English with
Libby. And we worked together for more than 10
years, on all of these. So, a
little background on where we are in the play. The play is set in
the late 1890s in, rural Russia.
And we're at a country estate, that is still a

(06:44):
working farm. Very much a working farm.
And the play starts with, a retired
professor named Sera Byakov, and his
younger wife Yelena Andreevna, having returned
to the estate after living away for a long
time. the people who normally have lived at the
house are a, ah, man with the last name
Voyanitsky. And, his nickname is Vanya.

(07:06):
His niece is Sonya. And Sonia's father
is the professor Serbyakov. there is a
visiting doctor in the picture who, pops
by periodically to check in on Sarabyakov,
or respond to his request for
treatment. otherwise there is an
older woman, who is, named Marina, who's

(07:27):
been the lifelong family nurse. Basically, she was
a. A wet nurse at one point. And then transitioned
to being a kind of like, you know, inhabitants of the
estate. And kind of a servant type character. But
more integral to the family than that. And then
there's Maria Vasilievna, who's, the
mother who's referred to. And she's
Vanya's mother. And she is the mother of

(07:50):
the professor's first late
wife, Zakin
Libby. Have I covered everybody who's mentioned.

>> Libby (07:58):
Just say. I think it's important to know that
the professor and his wife Yelena
normally come for a week or two in the summer.
But this year he's retired and
they've moved in. They've cut off their
ties, with the city and the university
where he worked. And they've moved in because

(08:19):
that has caused the crash that's happening in the
household.

>> Alison (08:23):
And they've been back about a month, a few
weeks. Around there?

>> Libby (08:28):
Yes. But everyone in the house knows
they're staying,
so that's a burden.

>> Alison (08:36):
Great. So we're starting with the top of Act 2. I'm going
to just read these opening stage directions. And then we'll get
going. so, act two of Uncle Vanya.
The dining room in Serebyakov's home.
Night in the garden. The watchman can be heard
tapping. Serebyakov sits in an
armchair before an open window and dozes. And Yelena
Andreevna sits beside him and also

(08:59):
dozes.

>> Alberto (09:02):
Who's there? Sonia,
is that you? I'm here,
you dear Notchka.
The pain is unbearable.

>> Sarah (09:16):
Here. Your blanket fell.
I'll shut the window.

>> Alberto (09:21):
No, I'm suffocating.
I was just nodding off. And I
dreamt that my left leg was attached,
to someone else. I woke up
with such excruciating pain.
No, this is not gout.
Probably rheumatism.

(09:43):
What time is it?

>> Sarah (09:46):
20 minutes after 12.

>> Alberto (09:54):
In the morning. go look for
Batyushkov in the library.
I'm sure we have him.

>> Deidre (10:01):
What?

>> Alberto (10:03):
Look for Batyushkov in the morning. I seem
to recall we have him. Why can't
I breathe?

>> Sarah (10:10):
You're tired. This is the second
night you haven't slept.

>> Alberto (10:16):
they say Turgenief developed
angina pectoris from
gout. I'm afraid I'm getting it
too. Damned,
disgusting. Old age. The
devil take it. Now that
I'm old, I can't stand looking at
myself. And I'm sure all of

(10:37):
you must be repulsed by me too.

>> Sarah (10:40):
Make it sound as if it's our fault you got
old.

>> Alberto (10:43):
But I'm most disgusting to you.
Of course, you're right. I'm not
stupid. I understand.
You're young, healthy,
beautiful. You want
to live. And I'm an old
man, almost a corpse.

>> Sarah (11:06):
True.

>> Alberto (11:10):
I understand all too well. And of course it's a
terrible crime I have lived this long.
But, wait a little. Soon you'll be free of me.
I won't last much longer.

>> Sarah (11:21):
I'm exhausted. For God's
sake, be quiet.

>> Alberto (11:26):
Yes, everyone is exhausted.
All because of me. They're
bored. They're wasting their time. They're wasting
their youth. I'm the only one
who's happy. I'm the only one having a
good time. Well, yes, of
course.

>> Sarah (11:43):
Be quiet. You have worn me out.

>> Alberto (11:46):
Yes, I have worn everyone out. of
course.

>> Alison (11:51):
This is unbearable.

>> Sarah (11:54):
Tell me what you want from me.

>> Alberto (11:58):
Nothing.

>> Sarah (12:04):
Well, then be quiet. I begged you.

>> Alberto (12:07):
It's so strange. Ivan
Petrovich talks his head off. And
that old idiot Maria
Vasilyevna. And it's just
fine. Everyone listens.
But when I say one word,
everyone suddenly feels
desolate. Even my

(12:28):
voice is offensive. Well,
let's assume I am offensive. I'm an
egoist. I'm a despot.
Don't I have the right to be a
despot? To be an egoist
in my old age? Think
about it. Haven't I earned it?

(12:49):
I ask you, don't I have the
right to a comfortable old age,
surrounded by my
admirers?

>> Sarah (12:59):
No one is, taking away your rights.
It's very windy. I'll close the window.
It'll rain soon.
No one's denying your rights.

>> Alberto (13:20):
All one's life to be dedicated to
scholarship, to become accustomed
to one's study, to the
classroom, to respected
colleagues. And
suddenly, for, no apparent reason,
to find oneself buried in this
tomb. Every day to deal with

(13:43):
stupid people, to. To listen to
insignificant chatter.
I want to live. I love
success. I love fame.
I love action. But
here I'm in
exile. Every minute I'm
longing for the past,

(14:05):
watching the success of others,
fearing death.
I, cannot. I don't have
the strength. And no one can
forgive me for being old.

>> Sarah (14:21):
Wait a little. Have
patience. In five or six years,
I'll be old too.

>> Deidre (14:29):
Papa, you sent for
Dr. Astro, but when he came, you refused
to see him.
It's so rude. You bothered this
man.

>> Alberto (14:41):
Why do I need your
Astrov? He understands as much about
medicine as I do
astronomy.

>> Deidre (14:49):
He cannot send for the entire medical faculty
just for your gout.

>> Alberto (14:54):
I won't talk to that idiot.

>> Corey (14:58):
As, you wish.

>> Deidre (14:59):
It's all the same to me.

>> Alberto (15:03):
What time is it?

>> Sarah (15:04):
Almost one.

>> Alberto (15:06):
It's stifling.
Sonia, give me the drops from the
table.

>> Deidre (15:13):
Of course.

>> Alberto (15:17):
Not these. I can't ask, for anything.

>> Deidre (15:21):
Please, stop acting like a
baby. It might be
fine for others, but spare me Please.
I don't like it.

>> Libby (15:31):
I don't have time.

>> Deidre (15:33):
I need to get up early tomorrow. I have the
hay. Tomo.

>> Howard (15:40):
The storm's coming.
Here we go. Helen, and
Sonia, go to sleep. I came to relieve you.

>> Alberto (15:48):
No, no, don't leave me with
him. No. He'll talk my head
off.

>> Howard (15:55):
But they've got to get some rest. They didn't sleep at all last
night.

>> Alberto (15:59):
well, let them go to sleep. But you go
too. Thank you.
I implore you in the name of a
former friendship. Just go.

>> Howard (16:13):
Our, former friendship. Former.

>> Deidre (16:16):
Be quiet, Uncle Vanya.

>> Alberto (16:19):
My dear, don't leave me with him.
He'll talk my head off.

>> Howard (16:23):
Can you believe how ludicrous this is?

>> Deidre (16:28):
you ought to be in bed, Nanya. It's very
late.

>> Julie (16:32):
Samovar is still boiling. You can't exactly
expect me to go to bed.

>> Alberto (16:36):
No one is sleeping. Everybody's
exhausted. I alone am in a
state of bliss.

>> Julie (16:45):
Oh, what is it, my dear?
Are you in pain?
My legs ache too. They ache so.
You've been in pain such a long time.
Vera Petrovna, Sonietzka's mother, may she rest
in peace, never slept either. She nearly
killed herself taking care of you.

(17:07):
she loved you very much. Oh,
yes.
Old people are like children. They
want someone to feel sorry for them. But no one
feels sorry for the old.
Let's go to bed, my dear. let's go, my little
boy. I'll make you some lime leaf

(17:27):
tea. I'll warm your legs.
I'll pray to God for you.

>> Alberto (17:33):
Let's go, Marina.

>> Julie (17:37):
Legs ache too. They ache so.
Vera Petrovna nearly killed herself.
Always crying. You, Sonietchka,
were still little then. Come, Come, my
dear.

>> Sarah (17:57):
I'm completely exhausted with
him. I can barely
stand on my feet.

>> Howard (18:05):
You're exhausted with him, and I with
myself. This is the third night I haven't
slept.

>> Sarah (18:12):
Something is wrong
in this house.
Your mother.
Your mother hates everything except her
own pamphlets. And the professor. The
professor is irritated. He doesn't trust
me. He's afraid of you.
Sonia is angry with her father.

(18:35):
Angry with me. Hasn't talked to me for two weeks.
You hate my husband and openly
hold your own mother in contempt. I am short
tempered, and at least 20 times today I started to cry.
There is something very wrong in this
house.

>> Howard (18:52):
Should we cut the philosophy, please?

>> Sarah (18:55):
You, Ivan Petrovitch, are educated,
intelligent, and you must see that the world is not being destroyed by
thieves and fires and wars, but rather
by hatred, hostility from all
these petty squabbles. You shouldn't
add to the noisy complaining around you. You should be helping to
find peace with your own family.

>> Howard (19:15):
Help me find peace in myself,
my darling.

>> Libby (19:19):
Stop.

>> Sarah (19:22):
Go away.

>> Howard (19:26):
Soon it'll stop raining and everything in
nature will be refreshed and alive.
I alone will not be
refreshed by the storm. Day and night I'm
strangled by the idea that my life is irrevocably
lost, that I'm dead, that I
wasted my life, that I spent my life on

(19:46):
trifles.
Here. Take my
life. Take my love. What
good are they to me? What have I done with them? My feelings are
dying away in vain. Like
sunbeams falling into a dark
pit. I'm dying.

>> Sarah (20:10):
When you talk to me about your love,
I just go numb. And I don't know what to
say.
Give me. I have nothing to say to you.
Good night.

>> Howard (20:26):
If you only knew how I suffer from the thought that next to me
in this very house, another life is
dying. Yours. What are
you waiting for? What damned righteous
morality stops you?

>> Sarah (20:39):
Don't you see, Ivan
Petrovich?
You're drunk.

>> Howard (20:46):
Possibly.
Possibly.

>> Sarah (20:54):
Where's the doctor?

>> Howard (20:59):
He's, here. He's spending the night.
Possibly.
Possibly everything
is possible.

>> Sarah (21:13):
Why are you drinking so much?

>> Howard (21:16):
Because it makes me feel alive.
Don't try to stop me, Helen.

>> Sarah (21:21):
You never used to drink so much. And you never
talked so much.
Go to sleep.

>> Howard (21:29):
I'm bored to death of you, my darling.
Beautiful, marvelous.

>> Sarah (21:34):
Leave me alone.
This is just disgusting.

>> Howard (21:48):
She's gone.
I first met you
10 years ago, my darling sisters.

>> Corey (22:04):
Remember?

>> Howard (22:07):
You were 17. I was
37.
Why didn't I fall in love with you and propose
to you then? Would have been
so easy.
Today you would be my wife.

(22:27):
Yes.
Tonight both of us would be
awakened by the storm.
You would be afraid of the thunder.
And I would take you in my arms and
whisper, don't be afraid, little
darling. I'm here.

(22:51):
Marvelous thoughts.
I'm laughing, but
God, I'm so mixed up.
Why m. Am I old?

(23:17):
Why doesn't she understand me?
The way she talks. Her stupid morality.
Her silly prattling about making
peace in the world. I hate it so
much.

(23:39):
I've been deceived.
I worship that professor.
That pathetic, gout ridden idiot.
I worked for him like a slave. Sonia and I
squeezed every drop out of Fist estate. We were like
kulaks haggling over
vegetable oil peas, starving

(24:00):
ourselves with crumbs just so we could save a few copecks to
send to him. I was so proud of him and
his glorious scholarship.
I lived for him, I breathed. For him, Every word he
wrote or uttered seemed like
genius to me.
God.
And now he's retired,

(24:23):
and it has become perfectly
clear that the sum total of his life adds up
to nothing.
Not one word of his, not a single
scholarly word, matters to
anyone. A. Ah.
Soap bubble.

(24:43):
And I've been swindled.
I see that now. Stupidly
swindled.

>> Libby (24:51):
Play.

>> Julie (24:54):
Everyone is sleeping, sir.

>> Alberto (24:56):
Oh.

>> Corey (24:57):
Play.
Are you alone here? No.
Ladies, go to the peasant
house. Go to the fire. There is
no place for the master to expire.
The storm woke me. Big
storm. What time is

(25:18):
it?

>> Howard (25:19):
Who knows?

>> Corey (25:20):
I thought I heard Yelena Andreyevna's
voice.

>> Howard (25:24):
She was just here.

>> Libby (25:27):
What?

>> Corey (25:27):
A gorgeous woman.
Medicines, drugs.
There's nothing missing. Kharkov,
Moscow, Tulskaya. Every
city is plagued with his
gout. Is he really
sick or faking it?

>> Howard (25:47):
Sick?

>> Corey (25:50):
And why are you so sad today?
Pity for the professor.

>> Howard (25:56):
Stop it.

>> Corey (25:57):
Or maybe you're in love with the professor's
wife?

>> Howard (26:01):
She's my friend.

>> Corey (26:03):
Already.

>> Howard (26:05):
What does that mean, already?

>> Corey (26:07):
A woman can only be friends with a man. In this
order. First an acquaintance,
then a, lover. And then finally a
friend.

>> Howard (26:17):
Vulgar.

>> Corey (26:18):
Oh, yes.
I'm becoming vulgar. I'm
drunk.

>> Libby (26:26):
Usually.

>> Corey (26:26):
I get drunk like this once a month. And when I'm drunk, I get
completely vulgar and fearless. Everything
seems so easy. Easy to me. I take on the most brilliant
operations and do them brilliantly. I
make daring plans for the future. When I'm drunk, I no
longer seem like a freak. And I actually believe I'm bringing some
enormous benefit to humanity.

(26:46):
Enormous. And when I'm
drunk, I see how valuable my own
personal universe is. And the rest of
you piddling creatures seem like
insects to me. Microbes,
waffles. Play.

>> Julie (27:03):
Dear one, I would love to play for
you with all my soul. But understand, everyone
is sleeping.

>> Alberto (27:11):
Play.

>> Corey (27:14):
You need a drink.

>> Howard (27:16):
Oh.

>> Corey (27:17):
Oh, I see there's some cognac left. In the morning, we'll go
to my place, right, Jar?
I have a medical assistant who never says right,
but, Right you are,
idiot. Right you are.
Pardon me, I forgot my tie.

>> Deidre (27:39):
And you, Uncle Vanya, you got drunk again
with the doctor.
A couple of juveniles just hanging around.
Well, he has always been like that. But what in heaven's
name is wrong with you? At your
age, you should know better.

>> Howard (27:57):
Age has nothing to do with it.
You don't have a life. You live on
soap bubbles.
Better than nothing.

>> Deidre (28:10):
Our hay needs to be cutted. It rains
every day. Everything is rotting. And all you can talk about
is soap bubbles.
You're completely neglecting the farm.
I have to work alone. I am straying to
the breaking point.
Uncle, do

(28:32):
you have tears in your eyes?

>> Howard (28:36):
Tears?
Nothing.
Nonsense.
The way you looked at me just now,
it's like your mother.

>> Corey (28:55):
M. Sweet.

>> Howard (28:59):
My sister. Sweet, dear sister.
Where is she now?
Only she knew my family. she
knew, you know.

>> Alberto (29:13):
M. What?

>> Libby (29:16):
Uncle?

>> Deidre (29:16):
What?

>> Howard (29:21):
It's so hard.

Nothing.

>> Howard (29:28):
Later. Nothing. I'm
going.

>> Alison (29:43):
End of scene.

>> Libby (29:45):
That was so good.
Come back, everybody.
Yay. That was so good, wasn't
it? God. Kind of don't want to do
it again, but I do. I do.

(30:06):
How do you feel about it? I want to know how you
feel.
Oh, come on.

>> Deidre (30:16):
You must have definitely love another pass. You know,
it's like it takes a minute to kind of get into
the. You know, I love
just the feel of the evening because, you
know, it's like having the, ambient rain and
sound and all of that. So just,
you know, it's. It's like putting on a nice,

(30:37):
blanket and sort of getting in. You got to kind of get it
settled. Yeah.

>> Libby (30:42):
Yes, of course. And, you know, it's
always difficult to start a play or, you know, to start
a scene. You know, the start is always,
always difficult. And this is the start of Act 2,
and when you come in, it's the
start of being in the middle of something.
But I just.

>> Deidre (31:01):
I thought it was lovely. It really was
so delicious.

>> Libby (31:07):
I'm kind of sad you can't hear
me because I'm laughing all the way through. I
know I'm the only one in the world who laughs at
this, but I just,
And you.

>> Sarah (31:21):
Yes, I was laughing all the time.

>> Libby (31:24):
Oh, good. I'm so glad,
Ursula.

And crying.

>> Libby (31:28):
And crying. Yes. It was very touching.
Everybody,
what other reactions? Anybody else have reactions?

>> Sarah (31:37):
Well, that actually answers my reaction, because
right as we finished, I went, oh, my God.
I think this is still supposed to be a comedy, and I
certainly don't feel like one. And I'm certainly not acting as if
I'm in one. But that's so great to know that
despite how you feel and how your
character feels, the response is very

(31:58):
different coming from the audience. And I always think that's so
fascinating, how
you can feel as if you're in a very dramatic
scene, but something's working, something
is happening.

>> Libby (32:12):
You have to trust. You have to trust the text, and you have
to trust yourself in the text for it
to happen. I don't think it's a
Laugh riot. But
it's ironic. And
when you know all of the characters in the situation,
having had an act before this, and to see them in

(32:33):
this state at this point, it
is both funny and tragic, at the same
time. And the kind of play between
both of them is,
funny. It just makes
you laugh. Other
thoughts? I have a few things for you, but I want to hear

(32:53):
from you. Yes, you want. From the
audience. Yeah, okay. No, I
don't want the audience yet, except. Oh,
okay, I'm sorry, because we're going to.
Yeah.
Oh, come on, Howard. You must have felt very good. You're really

(33:13):
getting somewhere, don't you think?

>> Howard (33:18):
I'm trying. it's interesting,
as sort of. We
sort of have this image of sort of indolence
and lethargic
check off. But once it starts moving, it's so fast,
I almost couldn't process,
you know, I was like, slow down, slow down,

(33:39):
slow down. This is going too fast.

>> Libby (33:40):
I know exactly how you.

>> Howard (33:42):
And I don't know what that feeling is exactly, but it's like,
it's like, you know, when you prepare by
yourself without like,
you know, you like, take all this time to like, sit in these
emotions and be, you know, and then it's like once it's
happening, you're like, oh my God, it's going much, much faster than I know how to.

>> Libby (33:59):
Keep up with it.

>> Howard (34:01):
That was, that. That was my experience.

>> Libby (34:06):
How about you, Alberto?
Oh, put your, put your, take your mood off,
Alberto.

>> Alberto (34:17):
I think the one thing that, kept coming to my
mind after the fact, after I accident was
the phrase the death of love. It
seems not my love, but her
love, totally gone.
Oh my God.

>> Libby (34:33):
Do you think that's a great question also,
Alberto? Do you think that you
see that she's dead to you, that.
That you're dead to her? Or,
Uh-huh.

>> Alberto (34:46):
Yeah, I think it's like.
So, my dear, why are you still
going through the motions? You know,
I mean, you. Obviously, it's. Whatever we had,
Whatever you felt for me is gone. Totally.
At least from what I can see.

>> Libby (35:04):
Do you think that you're attempting to get it back in this scene
or you're just blaming her?

>> Alberto (35:11):
a little tentative emotions, but
I, think there's a certain masculine pride.
I don't know, or human
pride, maybe. like, I'm not gonna
beg, you know, but I do anyway. I got
old.

>> Libby (35:25):
Yes. Yes.
Keep looking for Alberto the
positive. Trying to win her back.

>> Alberto (35:35):
Okay.

>> Libby (35:36):
Find any of that in There.

>> Alberto (35:38):
All right.

>> Libby (35:40):
don't give up. Yeah, I have a
few little notes.
but, there's a big question I don't think we've ever
answered. Why
does Vanya think that
Srebryakov's work is worthless now? How
did that happen? It's not in the text.

(36:00):
You have to build it, and we all have to.
And
why is he completely
disillusioned with the professor when
he has spent so many years of his life dedicating
himself to it? And Yelena,
you married,
Sebry Yakov because he was, you

(36:23):
know, a celebrity professor kind of thing. Do you
know that his work is
worthless now?

>> Sarah (36:31):
Yeah, I have my own guess on this. At
least for my character's perspective,
which is if
he actually
mattered, if his work mattered, when it came
to him retiring,
somebody, somewhere, some institution,
some patron, some something

(36:54):
would have picked up the bill
and made sure this guy was taken care of
for the rest of his life and continued to celebrate him. You know,
great, great men don't
retire to their. To,
you know, desolation in the country in
isolation. And the second he was
off the payroll, here we are,

(37:16):
we're in the middle of nowhere. And I just feel like none of
that notoriety had any substance.
Ultimately, that everybody's
gone.

>> Libby (37:26):
So what does it feel like? You don't have to answer. You just
need to have the question. What does it feel like
when Vanya
speaks aloud? What you've begun to
realize or have been realizing?
I don't want to put a time on it.

(37:47):
That has to cost you. Something, that has to
come in. I don't know the answer to it,
Sarah, but, it's important.
He's not just gabbing, he's. He's
stabbing at
something that was important to you.

>> Deidre (38:06):
Yeah.

>> Sarah (38:07):
Yeah. It's almost as much of an insult to me as it is to
him. Because I'm
aligned by being married.

>> Libby (38:16):
Exactly. And you, who could have had
anybody, you chose this
older man who was the center
of something that made
him. For a minute.
Yeah.
I just wanted to mention,

(38:37):
Alberto, maybe m
rheumatism has a little bit more,
worry for you. You throw it away
as unimportant as gout.

>> Alberto (38:48):
Oh, I totally misunderstood. I, was going
exactly the opposite. Okay, great. All right.
Thank you. All right.

>> Libby (38:58):
And I thought your thinking process up until the
pause before Batushka. I don't know why you
asked for Batushka. Are you trying to get her back?
What's your action there?

>> Alberto (39:09):
Well, it felt like
I Gave her a book of Batyushkov's
poems when she was a student, of mine.
Like, here, you'll love this.
and I think I wasn't
investing it this time around. I wasn't investing
it with any of that emotionality.

>> Libby (39:31):
That's a great choice. And yes, you need to invest
it with it.

>> Alberto (39:35):
And you know, when I mentioned her name, his name,
she's like, totally. Yeah, but you just got. Yeah, so what?
You know, it's like, I think it's like.
Don't you remember?

>> Libby (39:46):
Another stab in the heart. Right.

Okay.

>> Libby (39:49):
God, you poor guy. I feel for you.

>> Alberto (39:53):
okay.

>> Libby (40:00):
I can't agree. My own handwriting.
Sarah, no one is taking away your
life.
What's your action on that?

>> Sarah (40:14):
let me turn to it. No one's denying your rights.
Yeah,
my action on that.

>> Libby (40:29):
Are you flattering him? Are you shedding?

>> Sarah (40:31):
No, not at all. I feel like in
that moment I am pointing out,
nobody did this to you. You did this to yourself.

>> Libby (40:41):
okay. Yeah, that's big.

>> Sarah (40:44):
Yeah. and that I
like how she goes away from it
and then comes back
again. It's like she can't let it go of
this. You have got to stop blaming
other people for this. This was not me. This was not anybody else.
You lost your own friends. You lost all of your own.
Everything. You did this to yourself.

(41:08):
But she's not able to say it correctly.

>> Libby (41:11):
How able are you to tell him that?

>> Sarah (41:13):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. She's not able to come out and say it. So
she says it passively.

>> Libby (41:18):
Right.

>> Sarah (41:18):
It's as far as she's able to go.

>> Libby (41:21):
That's good, Sarah. That's a very good choice.
Sonia, exactly what you were saying. Deidre, I
didn't know where you were coming from. Were you just
woken? I know you're not spending
the time with Astro. Astros getting, drunk in
another room. So where were
you coming from? Were you trying to get some sleep

(41:41):
before. And what brought you to the
room?

>> Deidre (41:45):
Well, I think, I don't think she's
asleep. I think she's, you know,
she's checking in on.
Checking in on everyone. I mean, it's
late. There seems to be.
You, know, I'm recognizing that Dr.
Astro. That he's still awake and
he's still in the house.

(42:06):
And you know, sending. And that he
hasn't, he hasn't met. So I've been waiting for him
to go in and meet with my father
and then be on his way. So I keep thinking
that that's going to happen and it hasn't.
So I think I just come in to say what's the
hold up? What's happening? It's where, you know, this man
is still here. And I'm now having

(42:28):
to, you know, take care of yet one more
person in our in.

>> Libby (42:32):
And do you hear, do you hear that,
Sebriar. Well, you know that he's in the wrong room. They're not in
their bedroom or they're in the dining room.

>> Deidre (42:42):
Exactly.

>> Libby (42:43):
So I'm just interested to know if
you. It isn't that you overheard
what they were saying, but did you hear their voices?
Did you know that?

>> Deidre (42:53):
Yeah, you know, I didn't give myself that, but yes, I mean,
my feeling.

>> Libby (42:57):
Is look at that and see how that informs your end.

>> Deidre (43:00):
Yeah, absolutely.

>> Libby (43:02):
Okay,
Vanya, same, question. Where, where are you
coming from? What brings you to the room
to take over?

>> Howard (43:19):
I'm. I think I'm. I'm coming from my
bedroom and I think I must.
I think I was up. I was up
late drinking in bed, not able to fall asleep. And
then I hear voices and I think that drew me
down there. And you
know, there's just, just all this activity in the house in the middle of

(43:40):
the night. What's happening.

>> Libby (43:42):
Right. And you know it. There aren't
electric lights, of course, but there's some light going
on in this room. and
I just want you to build for yourself the sir. The
little bit of circumstances of what
did the light did. The voices did. Her
voice did hit.

(44:03):
What part did his voice play? Just
the way we come into a room is because of
something that brought us into the room.

>> Howard (44:12):
Okay.

>> Libby (44:13):
Okay. So just take a look at that and see if there's
something in that for you.
the most important. Wait, Marina.
Oh, yes, Marina, same question. Really,
Julie, by the way, really good work. Really good
work. Julie, what brought

(44:36):
you into the room finally? I mean,
you're the last one in of this group.

>> Julie (44:41):
Yeah, well, I have to tend to the samovar
still boiling. So as a caretaker of the
home, I think I'm always up at this time. I
mean, since Jelena and
Sarah Bracho has, you know, come
right. Regularly. My
last thing that I do of the day.

>> Libby (45:01):
Yes. And of course at this hour,
12:30 at night, you should have long been
asleep because you're up so early and do the
house. So is it their
voices or is it the light
or is it the agitation
that you sense? I don't know. And you don't have to answer,
Julie. But you need to answer it for you. That brings

(45:23):
you into the room.
Now, the biggest question of all.
Why did the professor's work go
so badly for you? Vanya,
what created
Jekhov? Doesn't tell us. So it's
gotta. We've gotta create it.

>> Howard (45:45):
I've,
been working a lot. Did you want me to answer that?

>> Libby (45:53):
If you have some thoughts to share with us. I think.

>> Howard (45:56):
I don't know is the short answer. And I've really
been playing around with it, like
I've invented all kinds of different scenarios in my
head. I mean, the closest thing in
my own life that I can put it down
to is sometimes
when you are jealous of somebody or,

(46:19):
envious. That it just
becomes its own.

>> Libby (46:23):
That.

>> Howard (46:23):
That becomes the needle that then begins poking a
hole in that person.

>> Libby (46:27):
Uh-huh.

>> Howard (46:28):
And, you know, I had an experience about 10 years ago
I was working with.

>> Libby (46:32):
Wait a minute. Hold it. Hold it. I. I
lost. I lost my picture.
How do I come back into it? Guys?

>> Sarah (46:41):
We see you minimize.

>> Libby (46:45):
Yeah.

You just probably want to find a zoom window.

>> Libby (46:48):
Just try the arrow back. But that's not getting
me. Your meeting is launched. I'm, Launching meeting.

>> Sarah (46:55):
We're already with you.

>> Libby (46:59):
Okay. I'm so sorry
if you're making fun of me, Deidre, you're in deep trouble.

>> Deidre (47:07):
I'm not. I'm not. Not at all.

>> Libby (47:12):
Okay, finish what you were saying,
Howard.

>> Howard (47:15):
I was in my own life about 10 years ago.
I was working with a writer of some renown.
And there was this moment we
were working together. Were many people in the room at this
conversation where they
displayed
certain amount of vanity and human
fallibility in front of everybody. And

(47:37):
from that moment on, it colored all
the work for me. Like, I just. I was.
I could never hear that conversation.
And so with Vanya, because he's so
not specific about it. Nobody else seems to have clocked that the
professor had this
fall, necessarily.

>> Libby (47:57):
Well, you don't know whether Yelena has clocked it.
That's something.

>> Howard (48:00):
Yeah. I
was. I finally kind of. I mean, at one point,
I was like. I was like. Did reviews appear when he retired?
Of people saying, of course he's passe now, but that seemed
a little on the nose. But a lot of
his reasoning just seems to be very subjective. I was so
proud of him, his glorious scholarship.

>> Libby (48:20):
Yes.

>> Howard (48:21):
Everything seemed like genius. And now it's clear that
it's just nothing. You know, that. That. That whatever
the. Whatever the, The
glue that was holding it all Together. Just
disappeared for Vanya. And then the whole thing just fell
down.

>> Libby (48:37):
Yes. And. And. And
I think everyone in the house has to have
some version of what's
going. Whether. What's going on here?
why. Why does Vanya think
that the professor is so terrible? I think
Yelena is on her way
to. As you were saying, Sarah, before,

(48:59):
about no celebration,
you know, no big tribute.

>> Sarah (49:05):
Yeah. But I think Yelena was out even before the
retirement. I think Yelena's been out
for a while. I was kind of answering the
wrong question. Now I'm realizing what you were asking.
I think for Yelena, it's been, several
years that she has been utterly
disillusioned by the hot air. because
she doesn't exist in the marriage. She's. She's

(49:28):
not a person there. And there's only so long you can go
not being a person before you realize it's
a terrible position to be in. And I
actually wonder, you know, for
Vanya. Take this or leave this, Howard,
if seeing
Yelena's disillusionment
also, sparked Vanya's

(49:50):
disillusionment. Because before, he's this great guy who has all the
thoughts and has this beautiful woman. Well, if
this beautiful woman has fallen out of love with him, it must not
be his brain. Then there's got
to. You know, we have to reject that in order for you to
get after the other thing that you want. I didn't say that very clearly,
even though it makes sense in my head.

>> Howard (50:08):
I understand.

>> Libby (50:10):
Yeah, I understand, too. And, of course, in a
rehearsal room, we would be able to
see each other eye to eye. And, you know.
But I think it's important to share these ideas,
even if it's, on
Zoomy Boom.

>> Howard (50:27):
It's so interesting to me that
Vanya. I criticize her
first. The way she talks.

>> Libby (50:36):
That's really important, Howard. That's really
important.

>> Howard (50:40):
And then that's, like, too much of a
nerve to touch.

>> Libby (50:45):
Yes. It hurts too much.

>> Howard (50:48):
Yeah.

>> Libby (50:49):
And so you have to turn. And you
turn pretty viciously in
your. I mean, you were on your
way, Howard, with this. And I
urge you to think that way. This very personal.
Setting up your dolly right in front of you
to talk about would have

(51:10):
been so great if we would have been married. You know, you're
really on your way. Well, that's
opening. That's very
vulnerable.
And as we would have
continued to work through this if we were going to put
it on a stage in the whole play,

(51:31):
I, would continue to urge you to Go
to let that personal little
dialogue between you and Yelena
and then it will help you make the
turn more
violently about
Sebryakov. You've just

(51:51):
exposed your nerves. Do you understand?
Yeah. Okay. I'm going to move along because we
haven't got very much time here.
Yelena, it's just
disgusting. That's an
ending for you with Vanya, of
course, but

(52:11):
that, that's a whole evening's worth.
I just want you to find that it's.
It's kind of a. It's
months worth, worth
years, maybe that this has been going on, but
it. It's what you have to feel
this moment.

(52:33):
Astrov, do you have, Corey, do
you have any
bottles or cans? Can you.

>> Corey (52:43):
Bottles.

>> Libby (52:44):
Great. So that's what
it is. Moscow.

>> Corey (52:51):
Oh, Moscow. Tulskaya Carpool.

>> Libby (52:54):
We are looking at all of the different
medicines. That's right. That's exactly right.
It's like crazy
that the whole world is suffering from his gout.

>> Corey (53:06):
Great. Okay. Yeah.

>> Libby (53:10):
I just want to say it's not talked about
in this scene. It's talked about in the very first scene in the
play. Corey, when you and
Marina are together, you talk about
the dead woman, you know, on
the operating table when you were operating.
And that is a weight. I mean,
you must have seen thousands of dead

(53:32):
people. It is a very poverty
stricken part of Russia where nobody
takes care of their health or themselves. So
you must have seen. But something touched a nerve
there. And that
is the opposite of what
you're saying. I don't
know if I'm going to say this right, what you're saying

(53:55):
about when I'm drunk, I feel the
master of the world. I could operate on anybody. I could
win. Because it's bothering
you inside here.

>> Corey (54:06):
Yeah.

>> Libby (54:07):
Yes. So I want you to consider
as we work it through this or run it through this last
time. And don't worry, don't push anything,
but consider the idea that this
master of the universe moment,
he needs the liquor to inflate it.
So, don't be afraid of it.

>> Corey (54:27):
Okay? Okay.

>> Libby (54:29):
Okay. I don't think you're afraid of it, but I
don't think you're allowing it. And I don't think
you're allowing the thought of that
dead woman to inform how
you have to get over it. Does that make sense?

>> Corey (54:43):
Definitely.

>> Libby (54:44):
Yes.

>> Corey (54:44):
thank you.

>> Libby (54:44):
Great.
Yes. Let yourself get high on the image
of being the master of the world, you know?

>> Corey (54:53):
Okay.

>> Libby (54:54):
Yeah.

>> Corey (54:54):
Yeah.

>> Libby (54:55):
Okay. Any other.
Alison, do you have any comments? And Ursula, do You have any
comments? Because we're going to do it again.

>> Alison (55:05):
Just going off of that, the idea that
Vanya might be kind of
maybe pushed to fall a
little more out of love with Serebyakov because of
Yelena's comments, it just made me
think about the fact that in so many Chekhov plays,
characters lash out at each other over things that they

(55:25):
see within themselves, you know, and they're kind of like, I
can't, you know, this kind of like, I can't believe you're so
vain, when actually they're just directing it back at
themselves.

>> Libby (55:34):
Yes, yes.

>> Alison (55:36):
In this kind of wonderful. Little
bit childish, little bit self loathing
it out on the closest person available.
And I feel like with this kind of cabin fever, this
shows up a lot in this play
in particular, so I don't know.

>> Libby (55:54):
And in this act in particular, this scene that
we're doing. Yes, that's beautiful. Alison,
Ursula, do you have any comments?

>> Sarah (56:03):
All I will say is, the zoom world, our
little tiny rectangles, tends.

>> Libby (56:07):
To limit our pitch range.

>> Sarah (56:09):
And there's so
much inside that wants to go to another
octave. And I think it's okay
to let.

>> Libby (56:18):
It go when the stakes get
high.

>> Sarah (56:21):
Your voice can, fill that.

>> Libby (56:25):
Thank you. All right, my friends,
we're. We're perfect timing here.
let's do it again.
Okay.

>> Alison (56:42):
Everybody good to go?

>> Libby (56:43):
You'll read the first stage direction,
yeah? Okay.

>> Alison (56:49):
Act two, Uncle Vanya. The dining room
in Serebyakov's home. Night in
the garden. The watchman can be heard tapping.
Serebyakov sits in an armchair before an
open window and dozes. And Yelena Andreevna
sits beside him and also dozes.

>> Alberto (57:08):
Who's there? Sonia, is that
you?

>> Sarah (57:13):
I, am here.

>> Alberto (57:15):
You.
The pain is unbearable.

>> Libby (57:24):
Here.

>> Sarah (57:25):
Your blanket fell.
I'll close the window.

>> Alberto (57:30):
No, I'm suffocating.
I was just nodding off and I dreamt that my
left leg was attached to someone else.
I woke up with such excruciating pain.
No, this is not gout.
Probably rheumatism.

(57:54):
what time is it?

>> Sarah (57:56):
20 minutes after 12.

>> Alberto (58:01):
In the morning. Go look for
Batyushkov in the library. I'm
sure we have him.

>> Libby (58:09):
What?

>> Alberto (58:11):
Look for Batyushkov in the morning.
I seem to recall we have him.
My cat. I breathe.

>> Sarah (58:21):
You're tired. This is the second
night you haven't slept.

>> Alberto (58:26):
they say Turgenev developed angina
pectoris from gout.
I'm afraid I'm getting it too.
Damned disgusting old age.
The I will take it.
Now that I'm old,
I can't stand looking at myself.

(58:47):
And I'm sure all of you must
be repulsed by me too.

>> Sarah (58:53):
You make it sound as if it's our fault you got old.

>> Alberto (58:57):
But I'm most disgusting
to you.
Of course, you're right. I'm not stupid. I
understand. You're young,
healthy,
beautiful. You want to
live. And I'm an old

(59:19):
man, almost a, corpse.
True,
I understand all too well. And of
course it's a terrible crime I have
lived this long. But, wait a little.
Soon you'll be free of me. I won't
last much longer.

>> Sarah (59:38):
I am exhausted. For
God's sake, just be quiet.

>> Alberto (59:43):
Yes, everyone is exhausted. All
because of me. They're
bored. They're wasting their time. They're
wasting their youth. I'm the only
one who's happy. I'm the only one
having a good, good time. Well,
yes, of course.

>> Julie (01:00:02):
Quiet.

>> Sarah (01:00:04):
You have worn me out.

>> Alberto (01:00:06):
Yes, I have worn everyone
out. Of course.

>> Sarah (01:00:11):
This is unbearable.
Tell me what you want from me.

>> Alberto (01:00:19):
Nothing.

>> Sarah (01:00:23):
Well, then be quiet,
I beg you.

>> Alberto (01:00:29):
It's so strange. Ivan
Petrovich talks his head off, or that old
idiot Maria Vasilyevna. And it's
just fine. Everyone
listens. But when I say one
word, everyone suddenly feels
desolate. Even my
voice is offensive.

(01:00:51):
Well, let's assume I'm offensive.
I'm an egoist. I'm a despot.
Don't I have the right to be an egoist
in my old age? Think
about it. Haven't I earned, it?
I ask you, don't I have the
right to a comfortable, ah,

(01:01:13):
old age, surrounded by.
By my admirers?

>> Sarah (01:01:18):
No one's, taking away your rights.
It's very windy. I'll close the window.
It'll rain soon.
No one's denying your
rights.

>> Alberto (01:01:40):
All one's life to be dedicated to
scholarship, to become accustomed to
one's study, to the classroom,
to respected
colleagues. And suddenly, for
no apparent reason, to find
oneself buried in this tomb.
Every day to deal with stupid people,

(01:02:02):
to listen to insignificant
chatter. I want to live.
I love success. I
love fame. I love action.
But here I'm in exile.
Every minute I'm longing
for the past,

(01:02:26):
watching the success of others,
fearing death.
I cannot. I
don't have the strength.
And no one can forgive me for being, old.

>> Sarah (01:02:43):
Wait a little. Have patience.
In five or six years, I'll be old too.

>> Deidre (01:02:55):
Papa, you sent for Dr. Astro, but when he came,
you.

>> Libby (01:02:58):
You.
So rude.

>> Deidre (01:03:03):
You bothered this man.

>> Alberto (01:03:04):
And why do I need your astro.
he understands about as much about medicine
as. As I do astronomy.

>> Deidre (01:03:13):
We cannot send for the entire medical faculty
just for your doubt.

>> Alberto (01:03:18):
I won't talk to that idiot.

>> Sarah (01:03:23):
As you wish.

>> Deidre (01:03:25):
All the same to me.

>> Alberto (01:03:28):
Well, what time is
it?

>> Sarah (01:03:31):
It's almost one.

>> Alberto (01:03:34):
It's stifling.
Sonia, give me the drops from the
table.
Ah, not these. I, can't
ask for anything.

>> Deidre (01:03:50):
Please stop acting like a.
Stop acting like a baby. It may be fine for others,
but spare me,
please.

>> Alison (01:04:03):
I don't like it.

>> Deidre (01:04:04):
I don't have time. I need to get up
early tomorrow. I have the hay to mow, and
I.

>> Howard (01:04:11):
No. The storm's coming.
Here we go. Leon
and Sonja, go to sleep. I came to relieve you.

>> Alberto (01:04:19):
No, no.
Don't leave me with him. No.
Just talk my head off.

>> Howard (01:04:27):
But they've got to get some rest. They didn't sleep at all last
night.

>> Alberto (01:04:31):
Doesn't go to sleep. But you go too.
Thank you. I implore
you in the name of a former friendship.
Just go. We'll talk later.

>> Howard (01:04:43):
Our, former friendship. Former.

>> Deidre (01:04:46):
Be quiet, Uncle Vanya.

>> Libby (01:04:51):
My dear, don't.

>> Alberto (01:04:53):
Leave me with him. He'll talk my head
off.

>> Howard (01:04:56):
Can you believe how ludicrous this is?

>> Deidre (01:05:00):
You ought to be in bed, Nanya. It's
late. It's very late.

>> Julie (01:05:05):
Samovar is still boiling. You can't exactly expect
me to go to bed.

>> Alberto (01:05:10):
No one is sleeping. Everybody is
exhausted. I alone am
in a state of bliss.

>> Julie (01:05:18):
Oh, what is it, my dear? Are
you in pain?
my legs ache too. they ache.
So, you've been in
pain such a long time. Vera
Petrovna, Sanotzka's mother, may she rescue in
peace. Never slept either. She nearly killed

(01:05:39):
herself taking care of you.
Oh, she loved you very much.
Oh, yes.
Old people are like children.
They want someone to feel sorry for them.
But no one feels sorry for the old.
Let's go to bed, my dear. Let's go,

(01:06:01):
my little boy. I'll make you some lime
leaf tea. I'll, warm your legs.
I'll pray God for you.

>> Alberto (01:06:10):
Let's go, Marina.

>> Julie (01:06:15):
my legs ache too. They ache so
navera. Petrovna nearly killed herself.
Always crying. You,
Sonietchka, were still little then.
Come, come, my dear.

>> Sarah (01:06:35):
I'm completely exhausted
with him.
I can barely stand on my feet.

>> Howard (01:06:45):
You're exhausted with him? I'm with
myself. This is the
third night I haven't slept.

>> Sarah (01:06:56):
Something is wrong with this
house.
Your mother hates everything
except for her pamphlets and the professor.
The professor's irritated. He doesn't trust
me. He's afraid of you.
Sonia is angry with her

(01:07:17):
father, angry with me, and hasn't talked
to me in two weeks. You
hate my husband and openly hold
your own mother in contempt. I am short
tempered, and at least 20 times a day I have started to
cry.
Something is very wrong with this house.

>> Howard (01:07:39):
Should we cut the philosophy, please?

>> Sarah (01:07:43):
You, Ivan Petrovitch, are, educated,
intelligent. And you must see that the world is not being
destroyed by thieves and fires
and wars, but rather by hatred,
hostility. And from all these petty squabbles,
you shouldn't add to the noisy complaining around us. You should be helping
to find peace in your own family.

>> Howard (01:08:03):
Help me find peace in myself. My
darling.

>> Libby (01:08:06):
Stop.

>> Sarah (01:08:11):
go away.

>> Howard (01:08:15):
Soon it'll stop raining.
everything in nature will be refreshed
and alive. I
alone will not be refreshed by the
storm. Day
and night I'm strangled by the idea that my
life is irrevocably
lost, that I'm dead,

(01:08:38):
that I. I wasted my life, that I spent my
life on trifles.
Here.
Take my life. Take my
love. what, good are they to me? What have I done with
them? My feelings are
dying away in vain. Like

(01:09:00):
sunbeams falling into a dark pit.
Dying.

>> Sarah (01:09:10):
When you talk to me about your love,
I just go numb. And I don't know what to
say.
Forgive me. I have nothing to say to
you.

>> Libby (01:09:29):
Good night.

>> Howard (01:09:31):
If you only knew how I suffer from the thought that
next to me, in this very house, another
life is dying. Yours.
What are you waiting for? What damned righteous
morality stops you?

>> Sarah (01:09:45):
Don't you see, Ivan
Petrovich,
you are drunk.

>> Howard (01:09:57):
Possibly.
Possibly.

>> Sarah (01:10:03):
Where's the doctor?

>> Howard (01:10:05):
he's here. He's spending the
night.
Possibly.
Possibly.
Everything is possible.

>> Sarah (01:10:26):
Why are you drinking so much?

>> Howard (01:10:29):
Because it makes me feel alive.
Don't try to stop me, then.

>> Sarah (01:10:41):
You never used to drink so much.
And you never used to talk so much.
Go to sleep. I am bored to death of
you, my darling.

>> Howard (01:10:55):
Beautiful, marvelous.

>> Libby (01:10:57):
Leave me alone.

>> Sarah (01:11:02):
This is just
disgusting.

>> Howard (01:11:14):
Scum.

(01:11:36):
I first met you 10 years ago,
my darling sisters. Remember?
You were 17 and I was
37.
Why didn't I fall in love with you and
propose to you then? It would have been so

(01:11:57):
easy.
And, today
you would be my wife.

>> Libby (01:12:13):
Yes.

>> Howard (01:12:20):
Tonight both of us would be awakened by the
storm.
You would be afraid of the thunder. And
I would take you in my arms and whisper.
Don't be afraid, little darling. I'm
here.
Marvelous thoughts.

(01:12:47):
Wonderful. I'm laughing
But my God. So mixed up.

(01:13:11):
Why am I old?
Why doesn't she understand me?
The way she talks. Her stupid
morality. Her silly prattling about making peace
in the world. Hates so
much.

(01:13:48):
Now I've been deceived.
I worship that professor. That
pathetic, gout ridden idiot. I work
for him like a slave. Sonia and I
squeezed every drop out of this estate. We were
like kulaks, haggling over vegetable

(01:14:09):
oil peas, starving
ourselves with crumbs just so we could save a few kopecks to send
to him. I was so proud of him and his
glorious scholarship. I lived for him.
I breathed for him. Every word he wrote
or uttered seemed like genius to me

(01:14:35):
now. Now he's
retired and it has become
perfectly clear that the sum total of his
life adds up to nothing. Not one
word of his, not a single scholarly
word matters to anyone.
There's a soap bubble.

(01:14:58):
I've been swindled.
She not. Ah, now.
Stupidly swindled.

>> Libby (01:15:07):
Play.

>> Julie (01:15:10):
Everyone is sleeping, sir.

>> Alberto (01:15:13):
Play.

>> Corey (01:15:16):
Are you alone here? No.
Ladies, Go to the peasant
house. Go to the fire. There is
no place for the master to expire.

>> Libby (01:15:29):
No.

>> Corey (01:15:29):
The storm woke me. Big
storm. What time is
it?

>> Howard (01:15:36):
Who knows?

>> Corey (01:15:38):
I thought I heard Yelena Andreevna's
voice.

>> Howard (01:15:42):
She was just here.

>> Corey (01:15:44):
What a gorgeous woman.
Medicines.
Drugs. Well, there's
nothing missing. Kharkov. Moscow,
Tskaya. Every
city is plagued with his gout.
Is he really sick or faking it?

>> Howard (01:16:07):
Sick.

>> Corey (01:16:12):
Why are you so sad today? Pity
for the professor.

>> Howard (01:16:17):
Quit it.

>> Corey (01:16:18):
Or maybe you're in love with the professor? Professor's
wife.

>> Howard (01:16:23):
She's my friend.

>> Corey (01:16:25):
Already.

>> Howard (01:16:27):
What does that mean, already?

>> Corey (01:16:29):
A woman can only be friends with a man. In this order.
First an acquaintance, then
a lover, and then finally a
friend.

>> Howard (01:16:39):
Vulgar.

>> Alberto (01:16:40):
Oh.

>> Corey (01:16:43):
Yes, it's. It's true. I'm
becoming vulgar. I'm. I'm drunk.
Usually I get drunk like this once a, month. And when
I'm drunk, I get completely vulgar. And
fearless. Everything
seems so easy to
me. I take on the most difficult operations

(01:17:04):
and do them brilliantly. I make daring
plans for the future. When I'm drunk, I no longer seem like
a freak. And I actually believe I'm bringing some
enormous benefit to humanity.
Enormous. And when I'm drunk, I
see how valuable my own personal universe is.
And the rest of you piddling creatures seem like

(01:17:24):
insects to me.
Microbes.

>> Alberto (01:17:28):
Waffles.

>> Nathan Agin (01:17:29):
Play.

>> Julie (01:17:32):
Dear one, I would love to play for you with
all my soul. But understand, everyone
is sleeping.

>> Libby (01:17:39):
Play.

>> Corey (01:17:42):
You need a drink.

>> Howard (01:17:44):
Oh.

>> Corey (01:17:45):
Oh, I see there's some Cognac left.
In the morning, we'll go to my place, right,
Char? I have a medical
assistant that never says right, but, Right,
Shar?
Idiot. Right, Shar.
pardon me, I forgot my tie.

>> Deidre (01:18:12):
And you, Uncle Vanya, you got drunk again with
the doctor.
A couple of juveniles hanging around together.
Well, he's always been like that.
But what in heaven's name is wrong with
you at, your age? You should
know better.

>> Howard (01:18:31):
Age has nothing to do with it.
When you don't have a life, you live on
soap bubbles.
Better than nothing.

>> Deidre (01:18:44):
Our hay needs to be cut. It's raining every day.
Everything is rotting. And all you
can talk about is
soap bubbles.
you're completely neglecting the farm.
I have to work alone. I. I'm
strained. I'm strained to the breaking

(01:19:06):
point.
Uncle, you have tears in your eyes.

>> Howard (01:19:16):
Tears? M.
There's nothing
where you looked at me
just now.

(01:19:37):
It's like your mother.
So sweet.

>> Libby (01:19:44):
Sister.

>> Howard (01:19:46):
My dear, sweet
sister.
Where is she now.

>> Julie (01:20:10):
Uncle?

>> Nathan Agin (01:20:11):
What?

>> Howard (01:20:17):
It's so hard.
Nothing. Later. Nothing.
I'm, going.

>> Alison (01:20:44):
End of scene.

>> Libby (01:20:48):
Oh, gosh. Was so nice.
Well, you know, I feel like you're
really starting to fill, in
specifics,
Alberto. That was so many
specific choices
there. Really,

(01:21:09):
Really. I feel like you were all getting somewhere with this in
a big way. and I do want to
say that if anything, any
transition feels unfilled,
to you, not quite right.
You're probably right. It probably isn't
filled. And you must find the

(01:21:30):
specific that makes that
happen. This was
so touching to me that
for the first time I began to see
a kind of sexuality
between Szebryakov and Yelena.
Really, Alberto, after the

(01:21:50):
lenochka and you
tried, I felt like on the
stage you would hold onto her hand
a little or try to hold onto her arm a little bit
more. You know, there was a time you wooed
her, and I felt
that starting to develop in there.
Just. And it just needs a little bit.

(01:22:15):
it was wonderful. I
also just want to tell you that soap
bubbles is purposeful, Howard.
you can play with. Because your
whole life adds up to A. we all know what happens to
soap bubbles. So the B and the
P. The P and the B, I should

(01:22:35):
say. Well, you know,
but play around with that, because
it's so
pathetic and horrible that his whole life adds
up to that to him. And
that's the image he chooses.

(01:22:56):
Well, what do you guys think?
I mean, we're kind of done. What do you
think?

>> Sarah (01:23:04):
I had a thought Going through this,
that of each of the times we've run
it, at least for me,
with the Sarah Bryakov
relationship,
there's an infinite number of
places to live as far as, is there

(01:23:24):
lack of love? But there's still the natural care you have for
another human being. Is there a lack of love, and
actual disgust, like, can't be
around this person? Is there, you know,
the love has changed. It's just no longer
romantic, you know, and
then on top of that, you know, what does

(01:23:45):
somebody show versus what does somebody try to
hide? And I don't have the final
answer for where, you know, that
lives for me, but there's just a billion
different combinations of where that could live. And there's, you
know, a whole rehearsal process to keep exploring where that might
land.

>> Libby (01:24:02):
Exactly. Exactly, Sarah.
And maybe all of that is in there at different
moments.
Because being married for 10
years is complicated.
And your
disappointment and
your pain and you're being admired by other

(01:24:24):
men. It's really important for you to
recognize that you've had a lifetime of men looking at
you m. And wanting you.
So all of that is lost.
Very, very good thinking. What
other thoughts? Alberto, turn

(01:24:45):
your sound back on. Sonia, turn your
sound back on. Oh, come join
us, everybody.

>> Nathan Agin (01:24:52):
Everybody, turn your unmute
and I'll just jump in, very quickly. If people in
the audience, if you have comments, a few have come in through the
chat. You, can also send in questions that way,
and I'll collect those. Or if you're feeling brave
enough when we open it up, you can always come on the mic,
yourself. But, I just want to let people know

(01:25:13):
if there are things that you want to ask, that'll be good way
for me to collect all of that. But, but yeah, if any of the cast
have, other thoughts they want to share, that'd be great.
Now that I put you on the spot.

>> Libby (01:25:28):
I did too. Both of us did.

>> Deidre (01:25:30):
I think, Libby, that just. Just the note of,
of that. She catches that. She possibly
catches some of that. Because I, like, I was just
following it and it's like my feeling is maybe what
brought, brought Sonia in was the
banging of the window. And so the
bang.

>> Libby (01:25:47):
Okay.

>> Deidre (01:25:48):
Why is the window open? I thought I closed it. All right, let me go
in. So she's, you know, so then she's
catching some of that. And there's. There
is the moment with Jelena that's
like, you know, there she
is. And there's this, you know, there's this woman that's
just making my life, you know,

(01:26:09):
I guess make either making my life difficult or
she's not lending a hand. You know, I'm
serving her, too. And, you know, we're,
You know, I mean, because clearly we've been fighting for a couple of
weeks.

>> Libby (01:26:21):
Yes, yes, yes. And
probably she has felt your
mistrust for a long time. Not just the
basketball.

>> Alberto (01:26:31):
Two weeks.

>> Deidre (01:26:31):
Yeah.

>> Libby (01:26:32):
Yeah.

>> Deidre (01:26:34):
But it was just something.

>> Libby (01:26:35):
And it was so much more specific when you came m
in. Yes.
Made a big difference. It makes a big difference. You
have with Chekhov. You have to
fill in every blank
or it's flat. Who cares? You know, I got
the message that married couples shouldn't be together

(01:26:56):
anymore, and this guy loves her and can't get her.
But, when it's filled in with
all the personal
specifics, that's when it
reaches us out here in the audience,
and it makes us cry and makes us
laugh. It touches
us. That's when Chekhov works. It

(01:27:18):
only works when you are
specific and, committed
to the action. Acting
101. But it really needs acting
101. It needs you to fill in every
blank

(01:27:38):
way. The storm is starting to come where I am.
There's, thunder, and.
Which is, of course, perfect timing. And
my electricity is shaking a little bit.
So if I get lost. Get lost,
Nathan.

>> Nathan Agin (01:27:52):
Yeah, no, I. I keep. I keep hearing, the storms coming because I'm at the
top of the canyon. I can. I'm seeing lightning coming
down, like, at the other end of the canyon. And it's
like, oh, yeah, that storm is coming this way. I better
watch out. that had a massive boom in.

>> Sarah (01:28:06):
The middle of our first run.

>> Deidre (01:28:07):
In the middle of.
Yeah.

>> Libby (01:28:11):
Oh, well, that's kind of good. Yeah.
Did you start to see the difference?

>> Corey (01:28:18):
Definitely, yes. Yeah, no, I was trying to
play around with it. like, I would love more rehearsal this
gave me.

>> Libby (01:28:24):
I know. We should be doing the whole act
and the whole play, shouldn't we?

>> Nathan Agin (01:28:30):
I mean, isn't it. Isn't it funny? Because, as you said, Libby,
at the beginning, it's like, oh, yeah. Well, you know, four weeks will be
plenty of time to work a scene, and you guys could work another
six weeks on this scene.

>> Libby (01:28:40):
It's really true. It is true. I don't know
about six weeks, but we certain could do more on the
scene. But, without finishing the act,
without Sonia and Astro coming
together and Yelena and Sonja
coming together, and the
cry in Yelena's soul for the music at
the end of the act. I mean,

(01:29:02):
that's what makes the act perfect, the whole
arc.

>> Nathan Agin (01:29:06):
well, I think it's exciting that it
makes, You know, I, think many of you
hungry to continue, you know, developing
these characters. And I, you know, at least for me
as an audience member, hungry to see where this
goes, you know, what happens with these
characters, you know, and even if you're familiar with the story, but just to see
it played out, it's really exciting. I

(01:29:29):
will, I'll just, mention a few comments
that have come in. Jan said, this is such
a wonderful project. So good to see Libby.
Paul mentioned, that, watching and listening to
this workshop, I can see the Racine
in Chekhov and the
Chekhov in Beckett. So he was kind of

(01:29:50):
seeing, some inspirations there. Eileen
says lovely work. Back in the room with Libby. Thank you.
Annalisa, beautiful. I love the rawness
and how the cast is able to show the complexity of the
relationships and yet bring about the joy and humor
of Chekhov. I love being a part of this. Thank you.
So, yeah, no, it's just, great to see

(01:30:11):
those comments come in. And, again,
if anyone has questions, you can send them in, or I'll open up in just a little
bit. But there's so much we could talk
about. And you guys did talk about so many things,
over the weeks. one of the first things
I'm curious about, and this is open to any of the
cast, if there were particular

(01:30:31):
things that, either coming into this
or during the weeks
really challenged, you about what
was ahead of you or, you know, parts of,
parts of the scene or understanding the
character. I'd be curious to hear what, you know,
how you saw that and then maybe a little bit of how

(01:30:52):
you overcame that to some degree.

>> Julie (01:30:57):
Yeah, Well, I had a concern because my character is so much
older than I am, and I actually had a question for Ursula
and how to embody an older voice. and
she gave me some great advice saying, like, not to play
at being old. Not to, like, fake it, you
know, but to work on breath work and trying to, like, have that
belabored breath, to kind of inform, what's

(01:31:18):
happening in her body physically, and. And that really
helped.

>> Libby (01:31:21):
You were starting to do that, weren't you,
Julie? In this last run of the scene, I felt as
if you found the
center a little more. Did you?

>> Julie (01:31:31):
Yeah, it was interesting because he told me to come in
possibly. Maybe she's Irritated. And I was like, oh, I like that. So
I came in a little more agitated, and then when
Gabrielle cough was complaining, it made me so much more.

>> Libby (01:31:43):
Oh.

>> Julie (01:31:43):
Because I'm already in a heightened agitated state. It made me feel
more like I wanted to serve him.

>> Libby (01:31:48):
Yes.

>> Julie (01:31:48):
And I felt myself being more physically, in service to
him, which created more of a physical.

>> Libby (01:31:53):
Yes, absolutely. Came through. And it made things more
specific.

>> Howard (01:31:58):
It also, like, the more
nannying, like you. I mean, you were talking
like a nanny to a child, and
it was so annoying.
Like, I mean, not. Not
annoying. You know, I mean, it was great acting,
but. But. But, like the. I, was just like,

(01:32:18):
why does he.

>> Nathan Agin (01:32:19):
Why.

>> Howard (01:32:20):
Why. You know, why are you catering to him? And the more
you did it as, like, this nursey,
you know, nanny character in the nursery,
it was just like. It was like, oh, God. It was just. It was kind of
repulsive a little bit.

>> Libby (01:32:32):
But that's. Isn't that great that you're in the room to get
those signals?

>> Julie (01:32:36):
That's so funny, because I'm really your nanny.

>> Sarah (01:32:39):
Really?

>> Howard (01:32:40):
right. Yeah. Well, then maybe it's,
like, jealous. It's like that you
get. You know, it's like, that's my nanny, not
your nanny. You know, there's a little. There's a little bit of that in
there, so.

>> Libby (01:32:53):
And. And, there's that little selfish streak in
Vanya.

>> Julie (01:32:58):
And it's a shame that we're not in person because I. I was kind
of, clocking Yelena, trying to, like, a little
bit for your benefit, what I'm saying.

>> Deidre (01:33:05):
Oh, I got it.

>> Julie (01:33:06):
You got it?

>> Sarah (01:33:07):
Oh, yeah, I got that. Eye contact.

>> Libby (01:33:12):
That's good.
Well, that's why it's there, I think.
Julie. I think it's there for you. And you found
it
reminding her who. Who was the
mistress of this house before you came

(01:33:32):
on the scene and how
wonderful and devoted she
was, because I'm sure you take
in Yelena's,
indifference toward him. Whatever is the word.

>> Nathan Agin (01:33:46):
I don't know.

>> Howard (01:33:51):
She's also the first one
Marina throws out.
The dead sister, Right?

>> Libby (01:33:59):
Yes.

>> Howard (01:34:00):
Like.

>> Libby (01:34:00):
Like, yes.

>> Howard (01:34:02):
May she rest in peace. Never slept
either. Near nearly killed it like this last go through.
I really heard that very clearly,
that. That everybody, for.
For decades now has been taking care of him
like. Like that. It's all been. I mean, we were in sort
of almost a, pact together to, like, make it

(01:34:23):
work. Right?

>> Libby (01:34:23):
This my absolutely true.
He's gotten the attention of everyone in this
household. Not as, of course,
who sees through him immediately.

>> Deidre (01:34:36):
But the thing is, those moments, I think there
was probably a different intention in
taking care of him because he wasn't around for that period
of time. So it was like, we'll lavish him for.
You know, so he's going to be here for two weeks,
you know, two weeks in the summer or just one month, you
know, in the summer we can lavish all of that, and then

(01:34:56):
we can get back to our real life.

>> Libby (01:34:58):
Yes.

>> Deidre (01:34:59):
Now knowing that we have the pressure of his.
Never be. He's never going to be satisfied.
Everybody's tired because he's up.
everybody's up.

>> Libby (01:35:08):
Yes.

>> Deidre (01:35:09):
The pressure is just on and, like, things
are rotting in the field. I mean, it's just
too much.

>> Libby (01:35:17):
Yes, that's exactly right.
And it's interesting carrying the
scene through. Deidre. This
also becomes this irritation, this
impossibility, this exhaustion. And
yet it also is the
beginning of your expression of your

(01:35:37):
love. You. You never
talk to anybody about that. This before.
Yeah. So this night is
bringing about this ultra
irritation and
misery. What's going on in that.
In this house, as Yelena would say, brings
about really

(01:35:59):
raw feelings, really
opening hearts.
That's why it's so great.

>> Deidre (01:36:07):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The pressure and the
agitation is weeding out all of the stuff
to get to the core of what's really going on.

>> Libby (01:36:15):
Yes, exactly.
Yes.

>> Nathan Agin (01:36:21):
there were a couple other comments that, came in, and there was one
that, I want to jump off of. But, Ursula wrote that her
husband, Jamie Newcomb, or many, on this call, know.
And others listening may know he's a great
actor. and he's directed scenes here as well. But he said, bravo.
really enjoyed it. Would like to see the production.
and the comment that comes to

(01:36:42):
mind, Libby, brought this up, and then I
actually heard it from another audience member who,
said, you know, watching these rehearsals, they said if
I went to go see this play, I think I'd be
disappointed if it weren't these actors, because I
think they, you know, they. They'd kind of gotten
so used, to, you know, hearing all of you guys

(01:37:02):
work on these parts and. And Libby, I know you. You made a
comment that you felt like, you know, the casting was just so. So
perfect. And. And, as much as
I'd love to take credit for that, a lot of it is just
logistics. And m. You know, like any. Any producer, you're
just trying to make sure you get everybody, you know, every. Every
part filled. But the comment. I wanted to

(01:37:22):
make, and I'm curious if any of the actors wanted to speak
to this, is that. I think that
feeling from the audience and what Libby brought
up, that having this kind of
time to drop into
these parts, it seems like
it allows each of you to

(01:37:42):
really connect on a very deep, genuine
level with these characters. So that it
becomes so seamless that,
you are these players. And so when it
seems so perfect, I think what people
are speaking to is that you guys have had
the time to really connect on very personal

(01:38:03):
levels with each of these people. So that
you're not playing anything. You've had the time to
really think about where these people are
coming from. So I'm curious if any of the
actors, wanted to speak to that point at all.
Did this. That. This process allow
you to, you know, kind of drop in in a different way
or, you know, connect in a different way?

>> Howard (01:38:26):
Well, it's interesting, you know, living near the. I
think at our very first rehearsal, maybe
she said, it's hard to reveal things about
yourself and
doing this playwright and this
particular character. For me,

(01:38:46):
it's. It's almost kind of a striptease.
Like a personal striptease.
Like. Like, I felt. I felt, you know, like. Because I've been
here doing Shakespeare all summer, which is like you're sort of
trying to bring your emotions up to the level of
the thing, you know? And this. It's
like I just found. The more I took

(01:39:06):
away and took away and took away
until it was just exposing myself more
and more and more that it. That was where it started
to kind of work,
for me, at least. And I think that's been one of
the things I've always struggled with, with Chekhov, is that it
doesn't really.

(01:39:30):
There's nowhere to hide in some of this. You know, it's
like you're just putting yourself on display a little
bit. And,
without feeling like you're on stage, like, whatever
that thing is, you know, I'm on display and not on display at the
same time. I'd be really curious to try this with
an audience. Just because I'm like,

(01:39:51):
what would you do the first time they laughed? And
you're in this so enclosed,
hermetically sealed world. And it's like, who's out
there? Who's out there laughing at this? Like, who are
those people? You know?

>> Libby (01:40:05):
Oh, I think you'd get. You'd love the laughter.
You'd love it.

>> Howard (01:40:08):
I think I would take to it pretty quickly, but,
it'd be the nights where they didn't laugh. I'd be like, what's
wrong?

>> Libby (01:40:16):
Oh, well, that's true. That always happens, you
know. Has there ever been a time when. When
you haven't walked off stage and said,
the audience is great tonight, or the audience is dead.
It's always their fault.

>> Howard (01:40:34):
They didn't show up. It wasn't.

>> Libby (01:40:35):
They didn't show up. By the way, I want
to tell you, I saw. I don't.
I haven't seen Vanya on stage in a long time,
but I saw the pbs,
film. They didn't film it, but they produced the
film, from the. I think the National
Theater did it somewhere. Somewhere in England. It was

(01:40:56):
just recently. It was past six
months. Look it up, Uncle Vanya,
pbs. It's a really good
production, and I don't say that very often.
Did you see it, Allison? Did you. Did you catch
it?

>> Howard (01:41:12):
I saw it.

>> Libby (01:41:13):
Well, didn't you think it was good?

>> Howard (01:41:15):
I thought it was extraordinary.

>> Libby (01:41:17):
Yeah.

>> Howard (01:41:17):
I've watched it a couple times.

>> Libby (01:41:18):
Yeah, I agree. Extraordinary. It
was very special. I'd actually
like. You know, I feel like I've
taken the bait. I'd like to watch it
again now.

>> Howard (01:41:35):
You can rent it on itunes.
Available.

>> Nathan Agin (01:41:39):
Oh, a lot of times in the
theater, they, you know, people have the idea of, you know,
steal what isn't nailed down. You know, if you. If you see a good idea,
it's always something you can use later or try out and try
your own work. a few other comments that have come in. see,
Paul said, it was a most interesting interpretive comment that in a
marriage quote, when you are no one, it

(01:42:00):
just can't go on.
And, that's really, really good.
Yeah. Gail says, I found the first
round of the scene bittersweet. I didn't feel like laughing
out loud, but I found a lot of it funny. And then I'd
find a lot of other parts moving and sad, but not
tragic. I enjoyed it very much. Bravo.
Brava. Thank you. That, was from Gail. And then

(01:42:22):
Annalisa said, thank you so much. Have, to take a child to
work. So. But isn't that nice that, you know,
we live in the virtual world where people can drop in, see some
checkups, see some rehearsal, and then, ah, and then get somebody
off to work. I'll open up to
comments in a second if anyone has any other, comments,
either from the audience or the actors. But, I just want to
ask, for example, Corey. You know, I Don't know

(01:42:45):
how much you've had an opportunity to do this
kind of work or certainly in this format. So I would just love to
hear your experience of being able
to spend, this much time
on a character and work
not only with Libby and Allison and Ursula in the
room, but just all the other actors and hearing everything. So I would just love

(01:43:05):
to hear, your experience.

>> Corey (01:43:07):
Yeah, this is the first zoom thing that I've
ever done. It was, Very, very scary for me to
walk into here, honestly. And, Yeah. And I guess
having heard that, the atmosphere.
I've only read Chekhov a couple times. I've done a scene
in school, and that's about it. But
hearing how the atmosphere really plays a huge, huge

(01:43:27):
role in this play, and probably all of
Chekhov in particular in any play, really. But
to not be in the room with the other actors was
kind of daunting for me to take on that
atmospheric challenge. But it's all in the
writing. It's all in the ensemble. And I really felt from
everybody that that helped me a

(01:43:47):
lot. So I just want to say thank you to everybody. And it
was a really, really wonderful process, and I had a
great time working with everybody.

>> Libby (01:43:56):
Yes. Right.

>> Nathan Agin (01:43:58):
I'm glad to hear it. And, yeah, I mean, that's one. That's one of the wonderful
things about this, is that we have the time where
it can be so collaborative that, you
know, anyone, you know, even if they're not
on stage during a scene, that they might have an
idea or a thought or whatever, that
we can. You know, the good ideas can come from

(01:44:18):
anywhere, really. and so that's really wonderful
that, you guys have the time to explore the
scene, in that way. And, Alison, I'm curious.
You know, I know for a lot of dramaturgs, if you're
lucky enough to work on a production, maybe you have the first
day, and then it's, you know, talk to this actor for
20 minutes and then talk to that actor for 20 minutes. So what was

(01:44:38):
it like for you to have a little bit more
time, really, and dive into some of the things probably you
never get a chance to talk about?

>> Sarah (01:44:46):
Oh, yeah.

>> Alison (01:44:47):
I mean, table work is. I mean, obviously, that table work is
the part of the process that I'm the most involved in,
usually. And it's cool to be able to
evolve along with the process and be able to keep
participating in that way, because
I love even just, like, what we did today,
just talking about. Just having that

(01:45:07):
conversation about character and about why somebody is doing
something right now and what it means. That's something
as a dramaturg. It's a version of
dramaturgy that you don't get to do all the time
unless you're in table work with a trusted group of
people. And that was a wonderful thing
to experience. And, I mean, the whole process
has been so bizarre because Libby and I,

(01:45:29):
you know, we've been, going down this road
since, like, 2004, I think.

>> Libby (01:45:38):
No, the 2000. Was it four?

>> Alison (01:45:41):
I started on the Cherry Orchard
stuff in the fall of 04.
yeah, so I was working on it
for the time before.

>> Nathan Agin (01:45:53):
So you've birthed a teenager who can drive,
basically.

>> Alison (01:45:56):
Yeah, certainly that's the m. Length of.

>> Nathan Agin (01:45:58):
Time you've been working on it.

>> Libby (01:45:59):
Yeah.

>> Alison (01:46:00):
And so I feel like my understanding of Chekhov has
changed so much, and yet. And it
just continues to grow so much deeper.
And working with this group of actors and
seeing your observations and how you've played with
it, and being able to see Libby
working with this amazing group,

(01:46:20):
you know, 10 years later, all these
years later, as an older human being
who's been through more of this
stuff, it's so
extraordinary. It's wonderful.
and just to constantly be revisiting it at different
stages.

>> Nathan Agin (01:46:38):
That's great, wonderful. Wonderful to hear.
you know, just to honor everybody's time, we'll probably wrap
things up shortly. the whole Vanya crew. You guys can just
stay put. I'll, put everybody back into
the. All the audience back in the waiting room in a second.
if there's any final comments or
questions, you know, anything burning that people really want to, you know,
bring up, I'll give you a chance in a second. There is one

(01:47:01):
more comment. Another comment from, Jamie, Ursula's husband.
He says, whenever I watch Chekhov, I'm reminded of the
line from the film the Sixth Sense. I
see dead people.

>> Deidre (01:47:13):
Oh, dear.

>> Libby (01:47:14):
So.

>> Nathan Agin (01:47:17):
Probably, It seems like a very Jacobian line that there's a lot.
There's a lot in there. but, But, But, yeah. So thank you,
Jamie, for that. any, Any final things, Anything
from the actors or the audience. If not, we'll. We'll kind
of have a. You know,
Mark, an official wrap on, on the Vanya work.
So well. Yes, Sarah.

>> Sarah (01:47:36):
I just want to, you know, props to Libby. Obviously,
you don't need props from me, Libby, but
props from the world with your career and
experience. But, you know, I came into this
very intimidated because I,
Yelen. Is a very intimidating character to me. But also
Chekhov is in general, there's this. I was like, I

(01:47:57):
don't know how to play this. And,
all you did was ask questions. But you're so
good at asking questions that the
questions just created all of the
character and all of this scene. and that. It's
pretty.

>> Libby (01:48:11):
You created it. You created it.

>> Sarah (01:48:14):
Yeah. I mean, yes. And I
mean, it was so. It was remarkable,
the experience with you. and, you know, it makes me
want to do that with every rehearsal process I go to of just.
God, how can I get better at,
thinking of those detailed
questions? The way you, you know, like, I do my own pass and

(01:48:34):
I come up with maybe 10% of the questions that, that you thought to ask. And so
it's just, it's cool to learn through that
and, a very rich
way to dig into something very quickly the way you've done
it.

>> Libby (01:48:46):
Thank you. Appreciate that. I do want to say
that this whole four week period
is two hours a week.
It's like doing table work when we're
together in a rehearsal room. But it's also
your work. This is, this
is, I feel like this is a process

(01:49:07):
class in doing
the work on the scene that we're
helping to strengthen the actors
journey. Process, in all of
this, you know, you might
not have a director who has. No
director, has eight

(01:49:27):
hours to spend on 10 pages. No, no
director. You
know, so this is
all what you have to do. You have to ask
yourself every. Why does she say
this? What's she holding on to, what
she's letting go, what, you know, you have to
do. Of course, you know that. But I hope that this is

(01:49:50):
a spur you to recognize
that this is the way to work. Always.

>> Sarah (01:49:55):
It is.

>> Nathan Agin (01:49:58):
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Thank you. and so,
yes, one more comment that came in. People were curious, you know, well, how do
I get involved in future scenes? by, you
know, if you register to watch this, you'll be part of
our email list. So we can definitely let you know about future opportunities to
get involved. Like I said, we have a class coming up with Lady
Macbeth to focus on that role. And again,
it's, as Libby just so,

(01:50:21):
eloquently said, it's about the process. That's what, I
love about these projects, is that we can really
make it about what is the work that goes
into doing this stuff. So thank
you all so much for the audience, for attending and thank
you so much to the, creative team and cast and again, the
Vanya group. You guys can stay put, and I will,

(01:50:41):
move everybody else into, the waiting room. The
attendees. but thank you again so much for being
here, everybody. Hope you had a great night. Enjoyed,
the scene from Chekhov, and,
yeah, hopefully we'll see you for another one.

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Uncle Vanya (Act 2), Final Session: "Echoes of the Past" - The Rehearsal Room

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Uncle Vanya (Act 2), Final Session: "Echoes of the Past" - The Rehearsal Room