As Nikos said, the purpose of the show is to have audience leave the stadium feeling “skeptical” about traditions, including the tradition ideal of Socrates. This contrast resonated with the contrast of the old school education and sophistry that was being presented in the show, escalating the tension of the show. The production intended to create a Socrates as an irritable and snobbish character and to contrast that with a narrator (a reflection of the real Socrates) who is controlled and scholarly. The ancient drama is powerful because they allow us to use the past as mirror to examine the present and that they trigger us to reexamine the past in creating a better future.Īlexandros and Nikos also allowed us to have a better understanding of the performance last night and the process of putting together such performance in the ancient theatre. The reason that the stadium was still packed with audience for an ancient drama like Clouds is that all the humor and all the jokes generated in the production are relevant to today’s world reality. This idea goes back to the discussion the class had a while back about performing ancient drama in today’s modern world. And these reflections are fuel for actors to generate characters that are relatable and powerful: characters in that trigger more discussions and thoughts amongst the modern audience. In order to create and bring to life a dynamic, powerful character, one first has to allow oneself the time to enrich one’s knowledge base about the world and to contemplate about the dynamics between countries, between cultures, and between people in today’s world. However, acting is never just about these basics. As I learn more and more about acting from this seminar, I truly feel that in order to become a good actor, it is important to be well trained (voice, body, movements, etc.). Also, Nikos gave us advice that if one wants to become an actor, reading and keeping oneself updated are always vital. As for acting, it is never about proving to the audience how good one is in acting rather, it is about how one can best create a character that works best for the whole production as a whole. In every profession, and especially in performing arts industry, one has to balance personal needs to express and enact one’s own ideas with the group’s interest and harmony. However, as an actor, he would only leave these doubts “in the dressing room.” I think this is not just true for being an actor. He personally thought that it was too fashionable and would potentially infuriate the Greek audience who valued the tradition of performing ancient drama in original styles (with the use of natural acoustics). According to Nikos, the use of microphone in the performance last night was the director’s idea. Hearing these words from two professional actors who devoted their lives to acting made me think a lot, not just about acting but about choosing a profession in real life. This process demands dedication and focus, with the endpoint not being perfection, but rather a step closer to perfection. It’s about creating and giving life to a new character. This reminds me of what Tim once told the class, acting is never about putting oneself into spotlight. It’s not just because of the competition that’s existent, but also because it is challenging to remain truthful to this chosen profession and to always devote oneself to building worthwhile characters when external circumstances go astray. As both actors told us, being an actor is hard, no matter where one is. I guess that the reason he could become an actor and could still remain being an actor was that he always had faith in this profession and always fought with reality for opportunities. As an immigrant myself, I understand the amount of effort and courage it took to fight against all obstacles and to restart out from scratch in a new country. In order to get an education for himself, Alexandros fought with the government to get a passport and made his way to United States and UK to pursue his childhood dream of being an actor. During the dictatorship era in Greece, his father was imprisoned and exiled to an island by the government. The actor who played Socrates, Alexandros Mylonas told us his study abroad story. What surprised me further was that both actors had study abroad experiences in America. Last night, I could only watch them from a distance, amazed by the amount of power that’s conveyed through their characters on stage, but today, I got to talk to them face to face! This morning, two actors, Alexandros Mylonas (who played Socrates) and Nikos Psarras (who played Just Discourse) from The Clouds came to Magda! I have to admit that as they slowly walked towards us through the garden, I could not believe my eyes.
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