{"id":7671,"date":"2008-01-31T17:06:36","date_gmt":"2008-01-31T22:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=7671"},"modified":"2015-06-06T08:07:49","modified_gmt":"2015-06-06T12:07:49","slug":"acting-chekhov-imagine-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=7671","title":{"rendered":"Acting Chekhov: “Imagine things.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Excerpt from The Actor’s Chekhov: Nikos Psacharopoulos and the Company of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, on the Plays of Anton Chekhov<\/a>\"\"<\/i>:<\/p>\n

Intreview with Nikos Psacharopoulos:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Imagine things. Imagine many more things. Imagine that the water you drink is awful, that the house is hot, imagine that the sheets are smelly, imagine that the house has an echo, imagine there’s a big nail, your mother put it underneath, so that you can be stepping on nails all the time. You know? Deal sufficiently with the underlying imaginary circumstances. It’s kind of interesting. In life, some people do it, they believe they’re always persecuted. I think you should get persecuted on stage, or you should be wooed when you’re on stage. \u00e2\u0080\u00a6 I think you have to allow that paranoia and program for paranoia. Create problems for yourself. \u00e2\u0080\u00a6 Make your own blocks. If you put a chair in front of the door, there will be something so interesting about opening that goddamn door. Have your props messed up so you can’t really reach them. Get something on your hands and have nothing to wipe them with.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n