The decorator-carpenter of the Lithuanian National Drama Theater Ernestas Volodzka works in a large carpentry workshop very close to the Great Stage. There are many works of art carved by the master himself and many different tools; chisels, drills, planes, files, hammers, saws, pliers, etc., there are several large machines - everything you need to create works of art from a simple board.
Ernest is working calmly, sawdust is flying around, which is lying around almost everything in the workshop, his favorite rock from the 80s and 90s is playing from a small tape recorder. The man often emphasizes that the most important thing for him is freedom and creativity. And although actors pass by his workshop every day for performances, Ernest rarely encounters them in his work. However, viewers should definitely recognize his works. The most recent piece is the scenery for Jo Stromgren's play The Doors, a wall across the entire Little Stage of windows and doors. "We bought boards from a sawmill, and we did everything else ourselves: we cut, glued, ironed. After us, props take over the baton, who paint and ornament the scenery," he explains.
Other works of Ernest that you can see on the stage: the pulpit of the performance "Cathedral" with the most slender carved details, the benches of this performance, the impressive windows of "Heroes' Square", the green recreation house seen in the performance "The Big Bad" seems to have been brought from the Šventoji resort, which Ernest restored from scratch according to the drawings provided, as well as mobile homes, where the action of the play "The Bear" takes place. E. Volodzka also made the memorable decoration of an abandoned house for the play "Animal (Ku Kū)", shelves, columns and steps for the play "Intimate Conversations", ancient school benches of "Atžalyn" and many other wooden stage objects for LNDT performances created in the last twenty years years. When asked which work he is most proud of, Ernests does not say much: "Basically none. Because it's not mine, it was invented by the scenographers. Here are the things that I think of myself - chapel pillars, crosses are things that I can mention, but I wouldn't say the word proud, rather I feel spiritual satisfaction."
Ernest became interested in ancient crosses and chapel pillars in his youth, and he was most impressed by Vincs Svirski's crosses. It's a classic, he says. Ernest made a living from this activity for a while - he created crosses, chapel pillars, and restored old sculptures. His works can be found in various places in Lithuania. He renewed many crosses at his father Stanislaus in Paberžė. Since he did not learn wood restoration before, Ernestas, who grew up in Vilnius, learned everything on his own and says that it does not matter to him what the material is: wood or stone, what matters is the implemented idea.
He loved to draw since childhood. At school, he says, all his classmates gathered around him to see what he would draw. And now he draws the sketches himself, set designers now more often only bring photos, so the carpenter has to decide for himself about the proportions, the width and length of the constructions, and the choice of material. It's a creative process, which is why I like working in the theater," says Ernestas, who has been working at LNDT since 1999.
His son Motiejus followed in his father's footsteps - he works as a stagehand in the theater. "I did not persuade or force him to choose this job, he has seen what I do since childhood. Maybe he inherited his love for work and hard work from me," says Ernest.
