An actor should not care about being watched - Interview with Kata Huszárik / 2017
Kata Huszárik recently won the Golden Medal Award in the category of Actress of the Year. The actress, who is a member of Maladype Theater, spoke about the award, her most important works, and her plans.
What was your first thought when you found out that you had won the Golden Medal Award for Actress of the Year?
I was waiting for a doctor's appointment when Márton Mészáros called me. I thought he was calling about an interview. He told me that it was about an award and that he would send me all the details by email. I was very happy, but the email didn't arrive that evening, so I thought it was a joke. There was a performance at the theatre that day, and it turned out that it wasn't a joke when Zoli Balázs [the artistic director of Maladype Theater] came in and congratulated me. I didn't expect it; it took me by surprise.
The Golden Medal Award is given based on a public vote. According to its creator, voters evaluate the best artistic performances of the year. As an actress, what were the works and milestones during the year that were particularly significant for you, both at Maladype and outside the company?
Three Sisters was an exciting project in every respect, and I look forward to reviving it, putting on many performances and finding its place. It was great working with Zoli Balázs, and I enjoyed seeing all of our creativity, inventiveness and enthusiasm come together. It was a real joy to work on. We recently premiered The Balcony, which I love despite the fact that it is not an "easy" performance. It takes me into an area of acting that is not so familiar to me, I express myself in a different way than I have done before, which makes it exciting. From performance to performance, I try to find myself in the role of the Envoy, and I try to achieve the state of not acting on stage at all. When people are being watched, they behave a little differently; when an actor stands in front of an audience, they "act"; this is what we train for over many years. I find it most difficult for an actor not to care that they are being watched: to be able to exist in the same way as before and after the performance.
You recently returned from Poland, where you performed László Sáry's play "Great Sound in the Rush" as part of the Hungarian Cultural Season in Poland. How were you received, and what were your experiences of performing in Gdańsk and Warsaw?
Both performances were very successful; it seems that the people who live there love us. I have performed in Poland several times, and the Poles not only love theatre, they also understand it; they are a grateful audience. I find them a very likeable people.
Until the end of December, audiences at Maladype can see you as Queen Elizabeth in Richard III and as the Envoy in The Balcony, and on Tuesday, December 26, at 7 p.m., also at Maladype, in a staged reading program, in György Csepeli's play Charles IV, which was already staged like that once, a year ago. What can you tell us about this year's performance; how will it be different from last year's?
Usually, the essence of a staged reading is that we work on the material for a short time, then in the evening the audience sits down and sees it in its current state and form. Compared to last year's premiere, which was directed by Zoli Balázs, it is exciting that although we know the play, director Lóránd Bartha clearly has a completely different take on it than Zoli. For those who saw Charles IV a year ago, it will be a special opportunity to compare the two.
As the year draws to a close, have you formulated any thoughts, plans, or possibilities for the coming year?
I read a lot of Hungarian literature. Reading itself is a rare pastime these days, and reading contemporary Hungarian literature is definitely so, but so many of our great writers have written short stories about women's issues. Male and female authors who approach the subject wittily, sensitively, and delicately and talk about "womanhood." I have been planning a one-woman show for a long time, which is quite a bold undertaking on my part, because I like working with others, and it makes me feel secure when colleagues other than myself are performing on stage. Obviously, I am pushing my own boundaries, so next spring I will try my hand at a literary compilation.
Zsolt Oláh, szinhaz.hu, 2017
What was your first thought when you found out that you had won the Golden Medal Award for Actress of the Year?
I was waiting for a doctor's appointment when Márton Mészáros called me. I thought he was calling about an interview. He told me that it was about an award and that he would send me all the details by email. I was very happy, but the email didn't arrive that evening, so I thought it was a joke. There was a performance at the theatre that day, and it turned out that it wasn't a joke when Zoli Balázs [the artistic director of Maladype Theater] came in and congratulated me. I didn't expect it; it took me by surprise.
The Golden Medal Award is given based on a public vote. According to its creator, voters evaluate the best artistic performances of the year. As an actress, what were the works and milestones during the year that were particularly significant for you, both at Maladype and outside the company?
Three Sisters was an exciting project in every respect, and I look forward to reviving it, putting on many performances and finding its place. It was great working with Zoli Balázs, and I enjoyed seeing all of our creativity, inventiveness and enthusiasm come together. It was a real joy to work on. We recently premiered The Balcony, which I love despite the fact that it is not an "easy" performance. It takes me into an area of acting that is not so familiar to me, I express myself in a different way than I have done before, which makes it exciting. From performance to performance, I try to find myself in the role of the Envoy, and I try to achieve the state of not acting on stage at all. When people are being watched, they behave a little differently; when an actor stands in front of an audience, they "act"; this is what we train for over many years. I find it most difficult for an actor not to care that they are being watched: to be able to exist in the same way as before and after the performance.
You recently returned from Poland, where you performed László Sáry's play "Great Sound in the Rush" as part of the Hungarian Cultural Season in Poland. How were you received, and what were your experiences of performing in Gdańsk and Warsaw?
Both performances were very successful; it seems that the people who live there love us. I have performed in Poland several times, and the Poles not only love theatre, they also understand it; they are a grateful audience. I find them a very likeable people.
Until the end of December, audiences at Maladype can see you as Queen Elizabeth in Richard III and as the Envoy in The Balcony, and on Tuesday, December 26, at 7 p.m., also at Maladype, in a staged reading program, in György Csepeli's play Charles IV, which was already staged like that once, a year ago. What can you tell us about this year's performance; how will it be different from last year's?
Usually, the essence of a staged reading is that we work on the material for a short time, then in the evening the audience sits down and sees it in its current state and form. Compared to last year's premiere, which was directed by Zoli Balázs, it is exciting that although we know the play, director Lóránd Bartha clearly has a completely different take on it than Zoli. For those who saw Charles IV a year ago, it will be a special opportunity to compare the two.
As the year draws to a close, have you formulated any thoughts, plans, or possibilities for the coming year?
I read a lot of Hungarian literature. Reading itself is a rare pastime these days, and reading contemporary Hungarian literature is definitely so, but so many of our great writers have written short stories about women's issues. Male and female authors who approach the subject wittily, sensitively, and delicately and talk about "womanhood." I have been planning a one-woman show for a long time, which is quite a bold undertaking on my part, because I like working with others, and it makes me feel secure when colleagues other than myself are performing on stage. Obviously, I am pushing my own boundaries, so next spring I will try my hand at a literary compilation.
Zsolt Oláh, szinhaz.hu, 2017