NUCLEAR KIDS LEARN FROM THEIR CHARACTERS

22.07.2011

“There is one step from love to hate”, – folk wisdom tells us. In life, of course, this is not always true, but on stage it is a different matter. Here the transformation of characters happens instantly, because each actor exists as if in an accelerated pace: the whole life can fly by in 2 hours. So the images of three Chicks from the musical assume more than one metamorphosis: from friendship to quarrel, from love to deceit (and vice versa!). Such roles, according to the actresses, will be useful not only as acting, but also life experience. Three gymnast girlfriends from Sosnovy Bor – Masha, Nadia and Natasha – got the central character roles of the musical – the beautiful Chicks that came to take over the capital and become real stars. However, the path of these heroines to fame is not easy. The girls in the script have to work hard to live and move to their dream: to sing on the big stage. In the Bunker of Freedom, a place where teenagers gather, the Chicks find both shelter and home, and are revealed as unusually integral, united characters. “Our heroines,” says Masha, “are both completely different and alike. But I know for sure: they will be able to stand up for themselves!”. “And will not allow any of them be pushed around!”, – adds Nadia with a smile. However, even such friendship has to pass a test. One of the Chicks falls in love, which is perceived by her friends with youthful maximalism. Her friends considered it as a betrayal! “We are really close, but we never quarrel,” Masha reasoned. – “And it’s oh-so-hard to even imagine how one could fight like that!”. “Yes,” Natasha agrees. – “In this scene, the quarrel reaches its peak! Nadia and I push Masha away, and she literally has to fall.” The role of Chick “traitor” is very difficult, and Masha confesses that if it weren’t for the teachers and directors, she would never have managed it herself. “Betrayal is really hard. They explain it to us, help us, otherwise it wouldn’t be possible at all! But you still have to experience it, to feel it. My friends push me away, and I fall on the stage take after take. I work in kneepads, but still not very pleasant. What keeps you going is that you think: “We need to do this perfectly well!”.

Director Alena Zakharova helps Nuclear Kids to live and feel the moment of this quarrel as if it were real. Alena constantly demands more severity, harshness in gestures and words, because no matter how hard the girls try to quarrel, the absence of conflict between them in real life can be seen with the naked eye. It’s hard to deceive the viewer! According to the mise-en-scene, all of Chicks’ friends from “The Bunker” stand around and support Masha when she falls, but they are not going to defend her. The drama of misunderstanding and loneliness is close to every teenager and it is thanks to the acting profession, the girls will be able to live these teenage quarrels not in their personal lives, but on the theater stage. “It will be very useful,” says Masha. “We will better understand what they are like – quarrel, deceit, resentment – on the stage, and we will never allow it in life!”. Other characters of Nuclear Kids also transform: hard worker Ryu (Roma from Novovoronezh), who has to help his family with money, lonely Tema (Anton from Nizhny Novgorod) from a rich family where they don’t take care of the child, catchy and stylish Addy (Masha from Nizhny Novgorod), who is looking for warmth and friendship, but is afraid to open her heart to people… The transformation of a character is what the audience wants to see, although it is challenging for any actor. There are 19 days left until the premiere of the “nuclear” musical…