Long-lasting meeting
As a kind of reckoning, the ten-year-old Maladype Theater holds a one-week jubilee series with performances, screenings, and a book launch. As part of this, a gala evening will be organized tonight at the Pesti Theater, where Mari Törőcsik, Ilona Béres, Éva Almási, László Sinkó will appear, among others, and the list of performers is very long. We spoke with Zoltán Balázs, the head of the troupe, about the beginnings, the present, and the chances of the company's survival.
- I don't want to sum it up, but since Maladype means meeting, I thought it was stylish to meet yourself again, with someone who fell into this adventure by accident, together with the spectators who grew up with us. - Zoltán Balázs justifies the necessity of the jubilee week - We are researching where we came from and where we are going. I learned from director Robert Wilson, who I consider one of my important masters, that sometimes you have to stop for a while to see the direction you are heading towards, put the risk factors in their place, you have to motorize things again.
Today's gala evening at the Pesti Theater is primarily a meeting with those who have been and will continue to be associated with the Maladype Theatre.
- Many people thought that they belonged there, and this is also important because now independent and permanent theater artists come together not against something, but for something - Zoltán Balázs adds. Many people come to the gala from many directions, and according to the head of Maladype, the fact that Éva and Ágnes Almási are performing on the same stage says a lot about the openness of the initiative, this can also prove that there is still an opportunity for meeting and dialogue today - claims the Transylvanian-born actor, thirty-four-year-old Zoltán Balázs, who also holds a degree in directing. He had just graduated from college when a Serbian producer approached him to create a performance in Gypsy and Hungarian, and offered him a play by Ionesco, Jack or the submission, the young director was attracted by the adventure and said yes.
- The Maladype troupe was created from the team at that time. Then they made the School for Fools, which was also a success, then new members joined the team. Later, a new task always arose, and this courage, risk-taking, and enthusiasm kept the team together. The actors became playmates and mediums who demanded the attention of the troupe leader, the excitement of playing together and traveling together. The team has changed in the meantime, almost all members of today's troupe are trained actors, having attended university in Budapest or abroad. Kamilla Fátyol is the only one who can be considered Maladype's own upbringing.
- It is a big thing that we proved to be viable, that we developed our own image and that we entered the international market. The actors became more confident in being able to communicate with the world. But together with the troupe, my job is to constantly passionately and greedily search for and research the new - says Zoltán Balázs - of course this involves fights and struggles. They can be my mouthpieces, but they can also deny what I ask of them, and this results in rethinking and reformulation. We are full of new goals and new dreams.
- An important stage in the life of Maladype is that they recently got their own performing venue, the Base on Mikszáth Square, a three-room flat, where, for example The Marriage of Figaro was made, Mari Törőcsik also took a role in this production, but the troupe currently has eight performances in its repertoire. In addition to their own base, they continue to play at the Thália Theater and Trafó.
The Maladype Theater, as an independent company, received 34 million state subsidies for one year three years ago, 22 million last year, and only 15.5 million this year.
- The existence of the team is uncertain. We can pray and lobby, but I still believe primarily in work, for example, foreign co-production opportunities represent a serious opportunity - says Zoltán Balázs about the future, who cannot predict whether Maladype will be able to stay together for another ten years - So far, nothing has happened but from one side of the boulevard of Tavaszmező Street, we moved to the other side, Mikszáth Square. We cannot know in advance how long a meeting will last - he notes with a wry smile.
Gyula Balogh, Népszava, 2011
Translation by Zsuzsanna Juraszek
- I don't want to sum it up, but since Maladype means meeting, I thought it was stylish to meet yourself again, with someone who fell into this adventure by accident, together with the spectators who grew up with us. - Zoltán Balázs justifies the necessity of the jubilee week - We are researching where we came from and where we are going. I learned from director Robert Wilson, who I consider one of my important masters, that sometimes you have to stop for a while to see the direction you are heading towards, put the risk factors in their place, you have to motorize things again.
Today's gala evening at the Pesti Theater is primarily a meeting with those who have been and will continue to be associated with the Maladype Theatre.
- Many people thought that they belonged there, and this is also important because now independent and permanent theater artists come together not against something, but for something - Zoltán Balázs adds. Many people come to the gala from many directions, and according to the head of Maladype, the fact that Éva and Ágnes Almási are performing on the same stage says a lot about the openness of the initiative, this can also prove that there is still an opportunity for meeting and dialogue today - claims the Transylvanian-born actor, thirty-four-year-old Zoltán Balázs, who also holds a degree in directing. He had just graduated from college when a Serbian producer approached him to create a performance in Gypsy and Hungarian, and offered him a play by Ionesco, Jack or the submission, the young director was attracted by the adventure and said yes.
- The Maladype troupe was created from the team at that time. Then they made the School for Fools, which was also a success, then new members joined the team. Later, a new task always arose, and this courage, risk-taking, and enthusiasm kept the team together. The actors became playmates and mediums who demanded the attention of the troupe leader, the excitement of playing together and traveling together. The team has changed in the meantime, almost all members of today's troupe are trained actors, having attended university in Budapest or abroad. Kamilla Fátyol is the only one who can be considered Maladype's own upbringing.
- It is a big thing that we proved to be viable, that we developed our own image and that we entered the international market. The actors became more confident in being able to communicate with the world. But together with the troupe, my job is to constantly passionately and greedily search for and research the new - says Zoltán Balázs - of course this involves fights and struggles. They can be my mouthpieces, but they can also deny what I ask of them, and this results in rethinking and reformulation. We are full of new goals and new dreams.
- An important stage in the life of Maladype is that they recently got their own performing venue, the Base on Mikszáth Square, a three-room flat, where, for example The Marriage of Figaro was made, Mari Törőcsik also took a role in this production, but the troupe currently has eight performances in its repertoire. In addition to their own base, they continue to play at the Thália Theater and Trafó.
The Maladype Theater, as an independent company, received 34 million state subsidies for one year three years ago, 22 million last year, and only 15.5 million this year.
- The existence of the team is uncertain. We can pray and lobby, but I still believe primarily in work, for example, foreign co-production opportunities represent a serious opportunity - says Zoltán Balázs about the future, who cannot predict whether Maladype will be able to stay together for another ten years - So far, nothing has happened but from one side of the boulevard of Tavaszmező Street, we moved to the other side, Mikszáth Square. We cannot know in advance how long a meeting will last - he notes with a wry smile.
Gyula Balogh, Népszava, 2011
Translation by Zsuzsanna Juraszek