Oh gosh, all of them are worth remembering. Like the drag queen on the streets of
Istanbul who tried to convince he had given birth to a son, the underground clubs
where I had some profound connection with a jazz singer, or artist, or fellow traveler
who I never saw again, sleeping in a cave by the water in Morocco with a bunch of
Rasta Muslims who believed in hashish, but not booze, etc. Life is wilder and more
surreal in reality than it is in fiction sometimes, particularly when you’re a constant
foreigner.
Have you had an unpleasant encounter?
Oh yes, many. And I am very grateful for them.
Can you talk about the foundations of “The Narcissist”, what made you create
it and how you blend Meisner with your own experiences/ technique?
“The Narcissist” came out of a desire to enter the theater as a teacher and explore
something through my own experience. It started from that impulse, but grew. I
wanted to set up something that resonated with young people and addressed a
timely issue without letting the concept dominate the workshop. I also wanted to
marry the strengths of American and European performance. In the States,
performance is still predominantly based on the realism that was introduced in the
early to mid-20th century from Stanislavsky in Russia - or mass entertainment, such
as musicals. In Europe, although you do get some of the same, there are also