The Upstage Interview: Stacey Christodoulou

The Upstage Interview is a weekly feature at CharPo and is a result of The Charlebois Post's partnership with Upstage: Theatre on Radio on CKUT.

Upstage and CharPo contributor Sarah Deshaies spoke with Director Stacey Christodoulou about The Other Theatre’s presentation of Réhabilitation by Greg MacArthur. Below is an abridged version of the interview transcribed by Estelle Rosen, CharPo Editor-in-Chief.

Réhabilitation takes place at a recovery centre in Antarctica where a unique treatment bringing peace, tranquility and forgetfulness is used on those deemed to be in the grip of an addiction that must be cured before it reaches catastrophic consequences. Greg MacArthur’s play warns against the suppression of individuality in the face of conformity, consumerism, and the pursuit of comfort at any cost.

Sunday Feature: Stacey Christodoulou on Translation

Transmutation of Soul

"As a director, I believed that my role in this process was to be the devil’s advocate, to question every word that did not sound quite right"

By Stacey Christodoulou

Translating is more than a transformation of words; it is a transmutation of soul.  Taking an original dramatic work and making it understandable in another language means not only changing words but weaving them in such a way that the play’s essential meaning is illuminated and preserved. For The Other Theatre’s piece, Recovery by Greg MacArthur, Emmanuel Schwartz graciously took up this task. As a director, I believed that my role in this process was to be the devil’s advocate, to question every word that did not sound quite right – whether it be in meaning, rhythm, or in tone. I knew that with a translation of great feeling and intelligence that it would be a stimulating conversation. So after the first draft, I pulled out the fat dictionary and the even fatter thesaurus at the local library and went to work – checking, re-checking proposing alternatives and asking for explanations.