Lev Dodin vs Eva Tessler

Last night, the Borderlands group moved everything into Zuzi theater. Only about a half an hour was spent setting up all the walls, doors, and furniture and then the actors began a full run-through to get them used to the new setting. Also the light and sound board operators tested all of their equipment during the run-through. If before there were any props or costumes not yet bought, they were all bought and brought in last night. Tonight they will run the play again but this time in costume. Tonight's rehearsal (as well as the rest of the rehearsals this week) should be a test of all of the elements of the show combined. All in all, everything is perfectly under control and everyone is preparing for a month of performances (starting with a preview on Thursday night).

Now after finishing 'Directors/Directing,' a book that summarizes and interviews nine contemporary directors from different parts of the world, I have decided that Eva Tessler is the most like Russian director, Lev Dodin (born 1944). Dodin is known for generating ethos among the actors and is said to direct one of the closest knit ensembles in the world. He allows his students to develop his plays (though he still directs them). Dodin's methods are similar to Eva's because of the closeness she encourages among the actors. When the actors had only known each other for about two weeks, they were going to bars together after rehearsal was over and even rehearsing together at one of their houses on the one day a week when there was no rehearsal. Eva encourages this closeness by her intimacy with all the actors and with her almost daily rehearsals. Also Eva lets the actors figure out for themselves mostly what the connotations of their lines are though she still gives them a lot of direction. From what I understand about Dodin, Eva has the same method of giving the actors freedom while still directing them.