Playwriting is growing and every role leaves its mark. I don't believe, but I know that after all the characters I have created, I am different. And this is the priceless side of Theatre, which encompasses me and has not let go for a good decade now.
And my journey to Theatre started with childhood plays. Even when I watched them, I dreamt of being in the shoes of those actors. In my teens I started to create roles on my own and performed them wherever I could - at home, in the classroom, at events, at the celebrations of my parents and their friends.
So, my very first character that is still alive today was Banguola (Banguola, 2000), an elderly woman with a slight quack. It is probably thanks to her that I came to the Theatre of the Greenwoods. After a while, thanks to Banguola, I was also noticed by the director Šarūnas in the meetings "From the Auditorium to the Stage". Such humoristic characters come to me when I least expect it. The second one, not so old, but no less alive, is the charismatic owner of a Russian accent, Ksusha (2016). I remember at one event a lady interacted with the red-haired Ksiusha as if she were not a character. She consoled me that my Russian accent was not even noticeable and told me that I spoke perfect Lithuanian. And even funnier, I don't actually speak any Russian at all.
I'm going to run through my memories of the most precious characters I grew up with, in every possible sense...
Text "Sudiev Kvietkeli", dir. Alma Eigerdiene (2008) (Here I felt like a child who had not seen the sea, but had been thrown into the ocean.
Emma "Behind the Door", dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (2015) (I remember sitting with a friend at a concert and the director came up and put the play in my hands and said "read it".
Cannipolis "River on the Asphalt", dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (2016) (During one of the performances I was so late to the stage, my colleagues thought it was the longest couple of minutes on stage, with all possible scenarios, that I probably won't appear again.)
Širdies hlasas "I can't do it for you"(2017), Dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (I realised how infinitely our hearts need patience before we hear them.)
Goda "Letter in the Sand", Dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (2018) (I've never been in a more moving performance, every time the music plays, I get chills)
Woman "I Heard Your Sigh", Dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (2018) (Before this performance I didn't believe that poetry could be so beautiful and so close to me)
Agota "America in the Bathhouse" dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (2019) (There was one performance during which my colleague and I burst out laughing while improvising and started to shake with laughter. The audience is laughing, we are laughing, and the director... is laughing too, but that time he thought we would not finish the performance.)
Vaida "Hermetikum, the third way out of the two possible ways" (2019m.) Dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (Something inexplicable in Vaida is very close to me, even though the story seems to have nothing to do with my life.)
The Witch "The Witch Who Wanted to Dance So Badly" dir. Šarūnas Kunickas (2019) (The first time I saw the children on stage I was shocked and it was a real challenge to get out of it somehow.)
I believe this is just the beginning. Although I say before every performance that it's the last time because I feel a huge excitement when I go on stage. After every performance I realise that I am addicted and I always want more.
So, in conclusion, Theatre for me is a home of depth, growth, creative muses, eyes wet with laughter or sensitivity, a distinctive smell, the buzz of the audience, the mirror of the grim reaper, play and of course the stage that gives me a thrill every time. Only Theatre can so undress, inspire, challenge and make you feel so alive. See you soon, in all these spells...
