"If a tree falls down in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Christina Magkaki is a young actress, vocal instructor and theatre director based in Thessaloniki. Not only she is one of the few women directors in Greece but she also happens to be the chairwoman of a company called the Fleming Theatre. Christina has graduated Drama & Theare Arts at the University of Birmingham (UK) where she developed interest in child and physical theatre. In 2015 Christina Magkaki received the Audience Award for her performance in the "Naked Trap", alongside her collaborator Grigoris Mittas, at the Thessaloniki Theatre Awards. Although she is in the beginning of her career, Christina has already directed both dramas and children's plays. Among these are: "The Experiment" by Edward Albert, "Four-legged Troubles" and "The Toothless Lion" by Karina Ioannidou.
I wanted to interview Christina for some time and my questions spontaneously circled around her experience as director. Perhaps because one can rarely see shows directed by women. Of course my observations mainly concern the city of Thessaloniki where I live. Only 25% of the plays I saw during the last year were directed by women and none of these were staged at the city's big theatres. However, according to The Guardian, also the female directors in London are still very much underrepresented. Since this is the case in the British capital my Thessalonian statistic should come as no surprise.
The gender inequality in the arts is a very complex phenomenon and I argue that it involves not only aesthetic but also historical, socio-economic, psychological and philosophical matters. Why do I think so? Well, because the art professions emerged at times when mostly men were allowed to be paid for their creative work, while the majority of women were expected to concentrate on family and make art as hobby (if they had some free time). My article about Fanny Hensel née Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, a 19th century composer, explores this fact in depth.
Work opportunities for women have drastically increased ever since but has society's taste been updated? What is taste actually? And how do we develop a collective taste for art? My view is that by selecting certain qualities and labeling them as "beautiful" and "worthy", we leave out other types of beauty and worth. Subsequently, if society's attention has been focussed only on creators who have made it to the top, and who happen to be men in most cases, its taste is being educated to prefer the ways men make art. In an essence, a type of, perhaps unconscious, prejudism is being formed within society and men are expected to perform better than women. And while some argue that a piece of art itself is gender-neutral (i.e. one cannot guess if the author is male or female), there are many others who believe that women make art differently. It is hard to take a stance in this matter because there is an enormous body of work, if one considers all the art forms. Further, given the subjectivity which inevitably accompanies art, to what criteria must we account in order to draw some conclusion? Nevertheless, the fact is that women are given less support from institutions to show their works. Perhaps because, historically, society has seen fewer famous women artists compairing to men. Just like we expect our favourite singer to perform each time at their best, although their newest song might be less interesting than their older hits. My articles about musician Sylvia Hinz and the feminist art collective the Guerrilla Girls explore further the gender inequality within the arts.
What is more, there is a widespread assumption that there are no good women artists because fewer women have risen to fame. But then again, if we look back at history, since the majority of women were expected to concentrate on household and children, how could they possibly make their creations be seen, heard or read? And does fame alone determine beauty and worth? Here we come to the philosophical question: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" J.S.Bach was famous in his lifeime but his music was almost forgotten by the 19th century. It was only because of the Mendelsson-Bartholdy family, that Bach's music was brought back to the light of public attention. If that didn't happen, would his music be regarded as not good enough? And if Fanny Hensel's husband did not encourage her to publish her compositions despite her father's and brother's objections, would we reagrd her as a bad composer?
I'll leave you here with these reflections and will proceed with Christina Magkaki's thoughts on the matters we discussed.
Q1: Christina, could you tell us what got you in theatre?
CM: I studied information technology but my greatest love was always theatre. Theatre is a way of life for me, a dedication and a vow to art. You’re born an artist, you’re not made by someone or something.
I love theatre as much as life and I feel complete because my husband supports me in my passion.
Q2: You are an actress and director, could you share with us what you’ve learned from both these “roles”?
CM: The role of the actor is experiential. You've got a body and soul and you must be aware of them.
The role of the director is leading. One must have imagination and technique. However, both roles are a great experience and it is a personal gain, even if you have experienced each of these at least once in your life.
(Christina Magkaki, photo by S. Kitsios)
Q3: What components are you looking for when choosing a new play to direct?
CM: I am very interested in applying new techniques to classical works without changing the author’s message he/she meant to pass. Beside that, I am very enthusiastic about works written for physical theatre. Choosing a new work is always controversial due to the fact that one cannot tell how the audience will receive it. Still, I love that challenge.
Q4: Are there any particular challenges for a female director? What are these?
CM: The art of theatre leads me to find hidden paths. I mean, to research and experiment. The challenge for a female director in general is to build a project with three basic rules: 1) to choose a piece that has not being played too many times, 2) to confront the play's diachronicity without altering its classical form, and 3) to not have a happy ending.
Another major challenge for a woman director is to actually be appointed by institutions to direct an important theatrical work. This is extremely difficult because the big plays are usually given to male directors. Unfortunately there is sexism also in theatre, just as in the other art forms.
(Christina Magkaki and Grigoris Mittas at the 6th Thessaloniki Theatre Awards, 2015)
Q5: As far as your decisions as director are concerned, could you tell us how these are received by your male colleagues in the work process?
In Greece, there is one female for every fifteen male directors and still things aren’t getting better. Women are more likely to be employed as producers. While these positions are difficult, they're not the most coveted creative jobs. Women are still standing “alive" though.
However, although there are fewer opportunities for women to express their creative potential (i.e. to direct theatre plays), when it happens, their work receives quite significant acceptance and appreciation both from their male and female colleagues. Actually, the acceptance begins when a woman has been appointed to direct a production, and all the team involved attunes to this. Another way of preparation is being experienced with the same enthusiasm.
Personally, in all my productions the other team members reacted with positive expectations, joy and desire to learn new things, to see things from a new angle. This encourages me to continue my work.
Q6: And how about the feedback from the audience after a play has been staged?
CM: I am stunned by the success of the play each time but I’m also amazed at how rare and special it’s been. The audience is always strict, despite the fact that they have seen many of your works (and this concerns both male and female directors). However, there are people who support you no matter what you do and that is encouraging. These people are theatre's most faithful friends.
(Christina Magkaki and Grigoris Mittas perform in the "Naked Trap", an adaptation of the play "Paper Flowers" by Egon Wolff, photo by G. Chrysochoidis)
Q7: Are you planning a new project at the moment?
CM: I have in my mind a lot of works that could be done in our theatre. And I am in search of new material that will define and determine which play will be done next.
Q8: How do you imagine the ideal art environment in Thessaloniki (aprart from the fact that there is insufficient funding, which is a problem for many artists and art companies around the world) ?
CM: The idea of showing a theatre play outdoors is very appealing to me; I support it a lot. Surely, there is no funding for such thing in many countries but still it is a good opportunity to bring art and environment together. In particular, many child plays involve the environment (i.e. forest, animals) and it would be a fun experience for children to enjoy such projects outside.
Thank you Christina! Hope to see other works of yours soon. CM: Thank you!
(Christina Magkaki coaching at a physical theatre workshop)