Thursday, 5/22/97 Fine arts students ‘Journey’ into humanity’s
basic needs THEATER: Director Arrick returns to ‘Journey of the
Fifth Horse’ for reinterpretation of classic work
By Stephanie Sheh Daily Bruin Contributor Larry Arrick directed
an unknown Dustin Hoffman in the world premiere of "Journey of the
Fifth Horse" 35 years ago. Now, he is doing it again, but this time
with a group of UCLA’s second year master of fine arts students.
Arrick’s most recent interpretation of Ronald Ribman’s "Journey of
the Fifth Horse" opens Friday night at the Little Theater in
Macgowan Hall. The play, which is adapted from Turgenev’s "Diary of
a Superfluous Man," runs through June 7. "When Mel (Shapiro, head
of the theater department), asked me if I would do a play and would
I think of what I’d like to do, my wife suggested this," Arrick
recounts. "I said, ‘No, no. I’ve directed it.’ She said, ‘Would you
please look at the date of when you directed it?’ It was 35 years
ago. "I think that maybe I have a couple of new ideas in 35 years
and luckily I don’t really remember Dustin’s performance that well
because I would be very worried about imposing something on another
actor." The play follows two contrasting personalities, a cranky
misogynist publishing-house employee named Zoditch and a sensitive,
lonely aristocrat named Chulkaturin, who chronicles his life and
impending death in a diary. Zoditch is ordered by his employer to
read the diary. And as he turns the pages, Chulkaturin’s life
unfolds onstage. Actor Jason Doran explains that the play contrasts
the very different lives of the two main characters and the
students use lighting and costuming techniques to underscore this.
One world is stark and realistic, while the other is romantic and
fantastical. "One world exists in real time and one world exists in
the mind of the common man," Doran says. Like the other actors, he
plays a part in each world. "So there’s this regular guy who’s
reading this diary of someone who’s lived a similar life to his.
The events that happen in the diary seem to parallel his life and
most of the diary almost influences his life. It becomes this
intricate web of dream and reality." The diary then enables
Chulkaturin to find meaning in his life which he will then
communicate to others. Arrick believes the need to communicate and
connect underlies the play. It is the artist’s vocation as well as
human vocation. The tension then revolves around whether or not
Zoditch will accept Chulkaturin’s attempt to connect. The scenes
from Chulkaturin and Zoditch’s worlds somehow flow together. Most
of the characters in one world have a counterpart in the other
world, with one actor playing both parts. "I don’t think it’s
difficult for the actors," says actress Rebecca Davis of the double
casting. "The way the play is structured you have a bit of time to
change before you come on stage again." The actors also don’t feel
pressure to emulate the 35-year-old production, since Arrick
confesses he doesn’t remember it very well. Though the original
production was televised, he actively chose not to view the tape.
"I decided it wasn’t fair to anybody for me to look at it, because
then you end up just trying to recapture something," Arrick admits.
"Somebody once asked Sir John Gielgud the greatest thing about
being an actor. He said, ‘having the opportunity to play King Lear
every 10 years for the past 60 years.’ I don’t think he meant that
every 10 years he would just do what he had done 10 years before.
It means that he has more life experience and that’s what he brings
to the role, and it changes." Arrick brings a lot of life
experience to "Journey." He started earning his living in the
theater at age 16. In addition to directing more than 40 American
and/or world premiere plays, he has taught at Yale, Bennington,
Princeton and Carnegie-Melon. Davis says that Arrick knows exactly
what he wants from the actors and is a very specific director. She
feels his strong vision gives actors a good foundation from which
to expand their performances. Davis thinks that when a director is
that specific, the actor has a greater chance to explore their
character. However, Doran points out that there are different
opinions from among the cast. "Some people really enjoy his process
of working," Doran reveals. "Some people find it restrictive and
that it doesn’t allow you to make the character your own. … I, on
the other hand, feel this is the way I prefer to work. "I think
that there are two different schools of directing," Doran
continues. "One that says to the actors, ‘You show me what I want.
I don’t know what I want, so you tell me what I want.’ And the
other school which I think Larry is from is, ‘This is what I want.
Now you make it work.’ And if you’re not making it work he’ll take
the time and say, ‘OK, what do we need to do in here?’" Davis
enjoys Arrick’s willingness to work with the actors. Even though he
is very specific, he is open to new ideas. This makes her feel part
of a collaborative effort. "Larry acts the part with you when he’s
sitting and watching it," Doran expands. "He always discredits his
own acting. He says, ‘This is what I’m looking for.’ Then he’ll do
a semi-line reading and say, ‘I’m not an actor so don’t do it the
way I did it, but that’s the sense.’" "He’s so intense because he’s
living it right with the character. It’s rare that an actor can
tell when watching other actors that they’ve hit a speed bump. But
(Arrick) knows immediately." These second-year master of fine arts
students spend a lot of time watching each other work. They are
together 13 hours a day for five or six days a week. During their
three years as graduate students every show is cast out of this
same group of 13 people. "We’ll never get a chance to work this
closely with a group of people ever again in our lives," Davis
says. "We really do get a chance to challenge each other and bond
with each other. You create a family in a sense." With much
protesting from Davis, Doran likens the group to a fraternity
rather than a family. While the closeness is a plus, Doran feels
that it can also make the experience also less artistically
challenging. He fears that since the group is intertwined
personally and professionally, constructive criticism is sometimes
swallowed. Additionally, he believes that he demands the most of
himself when working with strangers on a professional level versus
working with friends. "So there are advantages and disadvantages,
because I think (Doran is) right, it’s easy to not let yourself be
challenged," Davis adds. "At the same time, I feel very close to
everybody and I know that I can trust them implicitly." "There’s
definitely a deep sense of connection," Doran agrees. "I’ve never
been closer. I’ve never had better friends in my life. I’ve never
had a better time working on productions in my life than with these
people." Similarly Arrick is enthusiastic about those he works with
and says that the theater department at UCLA is run by "extremely
talented and committed professionals." The department allows
students to explore various artistic enterprises. To say the least.
Arrick jokes about "Journey": "There’s a lot of nudity and there’s
a lot of perverse sexuality. We give them dope with their seats."
THEATER: Ronald Ribman’s "Journey of the Fifth Horse" opens Friday
night at 8 p.m. and runs through June 7 at the Little Theater in
Macgowan Hall. Tickets are $15, $10 for senior citizens, UCLA
faculty and staff and $7 for students. For more information call
825-2101. GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily Bruin "Journey of the Fifth Horse,"
featuring some of UCLA’s second-year master of fine arts students,
opens Friday at Macgowan’s Little Theater. GENEVIEVE LIANG/Daily
Bruin (l.-r.)Master of fine arts students Robert Yonchek, Rob
Duvall and Becky Winston perform in "Journey." GENEVIEVE
LIANG/Daily Bruin David Chrisman, as dying Chulkaturin, searches
for meaning in his life. Related links: UCLA School of Theater,
Film, and Television