Chat With Cast of ‘Neva’ at Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City

By Robert Gagnier

In collaboration with the South Coast Repertory and La Jolla Playhouse, Neva, Guillermo Calderón’s politically charged play, opened Wednesday at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.

The show takes audiences to St. Petersburg in 1905, where Anton Chekhov’s widow, the actress Olga Knipper, is huddled with fellow actors in a dimly lit rehearsal room, while striking workers are being gunned down by the tsarist regime in the streets outside. 

Patch spoke with the three actors involved in the production: Sue Cremin, Ramon De Ocampo and Ruth Livier

Culver City Patch: What attracted you to Neva

Sue Cremin: Well Ibsen and Chekhov are among my favorite writers. A while back I won a fellowship to go to Russia and go to both Chekov’s birthplace and where he was buried. I would say that the love of Chekhov was a big factor.

Patch: What can you tell us about your character in Neva?

Cremin: She is strong, funny, smart, and emotional.

Patch:  How much of a factor does a particular director or playwright have on whether you take on a production?

Cremin: It has to be a great play and great director, and preferably both.  I found Guillermo Calderón to be very interesting. I was very intrigued by him during the audition process and found the play very interesting.

Patch: Had you been able to do any homework on Mr. Calderón?

Cremin: I honestly didn’t have a clue. I had to Google him. So honestly I came into the play with minimum knowledge about him and essentially took a leap of faith. And that goes for him dealing with us too!

Patch: Ramon, you won the Obie award for your performance in the Romance of Magno Rubio. How has your focus for your character in Neva differed from the way you prepared for your role in that show?

Ramon De Ocampo: Romance of Magno Rubio was a very unstructured sort of play to begin with. We were working from source material that wasn’t quite a play itself. We had hired a very interesting playwright and had a short story that we were working on. We went on to create a theatrical play and a movement piece and were able to put a beautiful piece of theater together by wrestling with it. The difference with Neva is that right from the start you realize that Guillermo really knows what he wants.  It was really interesting to be with a director who had already done it and already knew what he was looking for, but was still able to find a sort of organic way to connect us to his vision. So there is something very liberating with Guillermo despite any constraints and direction.

Patch: How much weight do you put into what playwright or director is attached to a production before you think about coming aboard?

Ocampo: A lot! And after seeing Guillermo’s Villa & Discurso at Red Cat during our own audition process really swayed my views. To be able to hear and see both his words and his vision inside of his plays made me see that he is really a force to be reckoned with and it would really be a great idea to be connected with that force. There is an artistry there that I am interested in understanding and I consider myself fortunate to be able to do that with someone who is at the forefront of this type of theatre.

Patch: What has it been like working with Calderon?

Ruth Livier: I have loved it. He has a very clear vision as both the writer and director. There is a very real comfort in that as an actor, given the tight time frame that we had to work with. So to come in and to feel so secure with the person that is leading the team helps you relax. There is a sense of freedom in that you know that he knows exactly what he wants from you. He is so specific and so clear as to what he wants and yet, at that same time, he makes you feel as though your energy is coming organically and that it is fresh.

Neva closes on Sunday. Tickets are available at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, the CTG box office located at the Ahmanson Theatre or at the Kirk Douglas Theatre box office two hours prior to the performance, or by calling (213) 628-2772. Tickets are $30 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232.