Chatting with John Freedman

John Freedman, an American-born translator who lives and works in Russia, spoke to my Russian Theatre and Politics class today about his experiences both in Russia and with translating some of the plays we're studying.

With regards to choosing the title for the play Frozen in Time, a modern day Russian Romeo and Juliet, Freedman noted that the original Russian title, Exhibits, didn't exactly do the piece justice.

"It's interesting, the power of choices," he said. "'Exhibits' doesn't really give you a feeling. It doesn't give you anything. A title should point you in a certain direction, make a suggestion. I thought 'Frozen in Time' sounded much more influential. It implies not moving on, losing something that is part of human experience."

After seeing one of the first performances of Frozen in Time in Moscow, Freedman left disappointed and confused.

"For me, it lost a lot of course," he said. "You didn't get the way little things kind of build up and lead to the explosion. It's a difficult play to do. If I were directing it, I'd come back to this: you cannot create characters of these people. The ambiguity is very strong. You're encouraged to take sides and make judgments. If you have done that, you've started losing touch with the play. Everybody's life has its right to be expressed fully. The difficulties and conflicts we experience are legitimate. I love that ambiguity; it makes me accept everyone and everything."

Freedman also clued the class in about certain aspects of Russian culture. Infidelity, he said, while frowned upon, is not such a moral problem as it is in the United States. Gender roles that used to exist in the United States are still prevalent there, where in the most general terms, the females typically are the nurturers and the males are the protectors.

"There's a certain understanding of life that Russians have," Freedman said. "There's a sense that life itself is sacred, not the morals attached to it."

Freedman's endeavors in the emerging Russian theatre world will be transformed from page to stage this fall in the premier of the TU Theatre Department's "Russian Season," featuring several of the plays he's translated over the span of his impressive career.

For more on Freedman's experiences and life in Russia, journalism and theatre, head here.

I remain your Drama Queen.