I have a sense of adventure

A conversation with Jalal Tehrani writer, coordinator and the director of the play Cinderella^[1]

Cinderella is one of those scripts that was written in the mid-2000s and now after 7 years it's being performed in the main hall of city’s theater by the writer himself; a Cinderella different from the fairy tales; a woman who gradually finds a reputation from the rumors and of course with some trouble on the side. We have conducted an interview with the writer, coordinator and director of this piece Jalal Tehrani.

How did you start writing the script for Cinderella?

Like always it started with a bunch of dialogue.

How did the concept of rumor connect with the script?

Well, in the process of writing, little by little, the rumor became the main theme of the text.

9 years ago, you performed "Hey Big Man Don't Cry" in the main hall, and now You are performing Cinderella in this hall again, do you consider the reason for this gap to be related to the management or are there some other reasons?

It is related to many things. It has also been related to management. there is something to be thankful for In all these years when I couldn't direct, I was able to write and shape “Maktab Tehran”.

Did you choose the main hall for this performance for a reason?

I wanted a big hall for this project. It was necessary to develope audience's position.

Does this mean that this position is part of the stage design?

Yes, I needed some kind of calculated development in the details of the scene. Like seats in a theater.

Is there the same level of precision in details of decoration?

Yes.

How did the audience react to this show, which makes almost everything seem unconventional?

very good! A range of viewers have a history with us, they have followed our work throughout all these years. We have grown together. There are other spectrums that have appeared for the first time. Maybe they have come to see theater for the first time.

Can these halls also be turned into known so that the audience does not get confused and weirded out by these types of choices?

Iranian theater has not yet reached this stage and this is not an easy task.

Why do you try to be different from your previous works in every performance?

One of the most important reasons is that I seek experience and I have a sense of adventure.

Surely it was necessary for Cinderella that some of the actors were not in the group and were replaced by more well-known people?

This time, I was curious to see how this model would turn out.

Of course, maybe the big hall has also opened this thought?

It sure. Contrary to what it seems, Cinderella is an audience project. It needs a crowd of spectators for the experience to be complete.

Maybe the experience of the group is also important because you said that in the first week you go a quarter, the second week half, the third week three quarters and the last week full, maybe you wanted to break this rule?

Yes, we wanted to feel the audience's pressure on the performance from the very beginning.

Did you succeed to rich this goal?

Yes, every night the hall is almost full.

Maybe the fact that your Cinderella is different will repel the audience?

Some even think that they have come to see the movie, Cinderella. They also bring chips and puffs for themselves and come with small children.

How did you go to the composer Behzad Abdi?

One of the ideas of this performance was the presence of actors that the audience had no prior knowledge of them and their performance. In addition, when we invited Mr. Abdi, the piano was established as one of the main elements of the scene. It was tempting for the captain to play the piano as well.

How was this collaboration?

He has a unique and fresh presence on the stage. There is no trace of professional acting clichés in him, nor of the handy techniques that actors use all the time. On the stage, he plays safe and sound with no principles. He also knows rhythm and tempo very well because he is a musician.

How did the music accompany the work?

It’s a long story. Naqda Sepideh Sifouri, Shahrazad Jafari and of course Behzad Abdi have organized the music of this project.

Golab Adineh?

I am proud of her presence in Iranian theater. Her seriousness with so much experience and the fact that she faces the theater like a young armature has taught us all many lessons.

How has she coped with this different environment?

More than all the actors, she insists on new performance ideas, and regardless of her 40 years of acting experience, she is looking for new things every day.

Behnoosh Tabatabaei?

She has a theatrical spirit and is focused, she took time to practice and perform, and for me, such an attribute is the first priority.

The idea of ​​the airplane wing, a gothic period staircase, and its unrelated components that are arranged together in the design will provide an abstract space; How was this idea and process formed?

During the writing and rehearsals, these ideas were found little by little, and all the elements of this performance are related to aspects of the past and present.

Even in sound and lighting?

Yes.

Could this reference to the past and the present time and the intermingling of following the past and the present indicate a postmodern form in your Cinderella?

If we want to attribute Cinderella to the postmodern, we have to talk about it.

Reza Ashofteh

[1] Bahar newspaper- 2013