Class Notes: Jonathan Bank “Garside’s Career”

Summary

BroadwayRadio Podcast Summary Episode: Class Notes: Jonathan Bank “Garside’s Career”
Release Date: March 13, 2025

Note: This summary is based on the provided transcript of an episode featuring Verlana Koch discussing her work on "The Magic of Light" at La Mama.

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Introduction to "The Magic of Light"

In this enlightening episode of BroadwayRadio's Clash Notes, host Lauren Klash Snyder engages in a deep conversation with Verlana Koch, the visionary director behind the production "The Magic of Light" currently playing at La Mama. The discussion delves into Koch's inspiration, creative process, and the collaborative environment fostered within her team at Yara Arts Group.

Lauren Klash Snyder (Host):
"The Magic of Light, you're not just the director, you're the conceiver and the artistic vision behind interweaving poetry, language, music to illustrate the cultural and spiritual awakening of an artist in Ukraine in the 1870s." [00:02]

Inspiration Behind the Story

Koch shares the serendipitous discovery that ignited her passion for the project. A visit to a museum in Parkview in 2019 introduced her to the extraordinary pencil drawings of Porfiry Martinovich, an obscure Ukrainian artist from the 1870s. This encounter led her to uncover Martinovich's pioneering work in projections during early Ukrainian epic concerts, paralleling the projection techniques her company, Yara Arts Group, has employed since the 1990s.

Verlana Koch (Director):
"I couldn't believe it was a pencil drawing... Porfiry Martinovich did projections during the first epic concert of Ukrainian epics internationally. I was like, what? 150 years ago, somebody was doing projections." [00:40]

Collaborative Creation Process

Koch emphasizes the collaborative nature of her projects, highlighting the collective effort of her team members. Working alongside Julian Catasty, a bandura player with deep historical knowledge, and Tom Lee, a puppeteer, Koch illustrates how diverse talents converge to bring a project to life. She underscores the importance of teamwork in developing the narrative and artistic elements of their productions.

Verlana Koch:
"It isn't like I made all of it myself. We always work as a team. We make it all together." [02:15]

The Significance of the Bandura

A substantial portion of the discussion centers around the bandura, a traditional Ukrainian string instrument pivotal to their production. Koch explains its historical role in accompanying Ukrainian epics and its evolution over the centuries.

Verlana Koch:
"Bandura is a traditional Ukrainian instrument... it was originally used to accompany epics in Ukraine, sort of. Certainly at that time in the 19th century, it was used only exclusively for accompanying epics." [03:41]

Exploring Ukrainian Epic Songs

Koch delves into the rich tradition of Ukrainian epic songs, performed by blind bards who traversed villages sharing historical tales and moral stories. She discusses how these narratives, often centered around significant events like the Turkish wars, serve as the backbone for their current production.

Verlana Koch:
"The epic songs of Ukraine... telling long tales about, you know, the Turkish wars or about... As they escaped from the fortress called Azov." [04:44]

Translation and Preservation of Poetry

A notable aspect of Koch's work is the translation of Ukrainian poetry, a task she undertakes with Wanda Phipps. Koch recounts their journey from encountering poor translations to developing their nuanced approach that preserves the poetic essence.

Verlana Koch:
"We never set out to be translators... We just wanted to have them in the show. And then I thought, oh, my God. And it wasn't that they were incorrect. It just wasn't poetry the way we understand it in English." [07:09]

Founding Yara Arts Group and La Mama Residency

Koch reflects on her long-standing relationship with La Mama and the influence of Ellen Stewart, the founding artistic director. Their spontaneous collaboration led to the inception of "Light from the East," coinciding with Shochenko Day, a pivotal moment that solidified their partnership and artistic direction.

Verlana Koch:
"We wound up having to translate Shochenko. And I thought... the best of the best, you know, always said you just have to wait for the door to open at the right moment. And that was it." [11:12]

Embracing Serendipity in the Arts

The conversation highlights the role of chance encounters and moments of inspiration in Koch's creative journey. She speaks to the unpredictability of artistic endeavors and the importance of being prepared to seize opportunities when they arise.

Verlana Koch:
"You've been preparing for it all your life, I guess." [12:24]

Conclusion

Lauren Klash Snyder wraps up the episode by expressing gratitude for Koch's insights and the extraordinary work she and her team contribute to the Broadway scene. Koch's dedication to preserving and reimagining Ukrainian artistic traditions through innovative storytelling and collaboration stands as a testament to the vibrant, ever-evolving landscape of contemporary theater.

Lauren Klash Snyder:
"Thank you so much for your insight and sharing a little bit about the extraordinariness that you create. I'm so grateful." [12:44]

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Notable Quotes:

• Verlana Koch:
  "Bandura is a traditional Ukrainian instrument... it was originally used to accompany epics in Ukraine." [03:41]

• Verlana Koch:
  "We always work as a team. We make it all together." [02:15]

• Lauren Klash Snyder:
  "The Magic of Light, you're not just the director, you're the conceiver and the artistic vision behind interweaving poetry, language, music..." [00:02]

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This episode offers a profound look into the intersection of history, music, and collaborative artistry, showcasing how Verlana Koch and her team breathe new life into traditional Ukrainian narratives through innovative theater productions.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, I'm Lauren Klash Snyder with Clash Notes for Broadway Radio. I'm here with Berlana Koch, the director of the Magic of Light playing at La Mama. Hello. Hi. Well, the Magic of Light, you're not just the director, you're the conceiver and the artistic vision behind Interweaves Poetry, Language, Music to illustrate at the cultural and spiritual awakening of. Of an artist in Ukraine in the 1870s. So what compelled you to create a story of the Ukraine Ukrainian artist in 1870s for today's audience?

[B]

Well, I was at a museum in Parkview in 2019, and they had these pencil drawings that were just stunning. One of them just took my breath away. And I couldn't believe it was a pencil drawing. And I looked at the name tag, and I'd never heard of the artist. It was Porfiry Martinovich. And then a few months later, I'm reading something and the name comes up again and it says, porfiry Martinovich did projections during the first epic concert of Ukrainian epics internationally. I was like, what? 150 years ago, somebody was doing projections. And I mean, this is what Yara Arts Group, my company, has always been doing, you know, projections during traditional music or poetry or theater pieces. We've been doing projections since 1990s. And kind of, that was kind of one of the things we were really into. And here I had never heard of this person, and he was doing all this amazing things, and. And I started getting interested in his story, basically. And that's kind of how most of the projects that Yara does is start. It's just something about something gets us interested and there's nothing on it. And we start doing research and suddenly we pull this, you know, threads here and there, and a story emerges. And in this case, I was working with Julian Catasty, who's a bandura player. He plays the same kind instrument as the epic singer is played. And so. And he'd been working with us on a lot of theater pieces at La Mama. Really experimental, all kinds of things. And yet he has this very deep historical knowledge. And so it's. He seemed to be part of the project right away. And then one day, Tom Lee, who's somebody who's worked with us over the years, who's a puppeteer, told me he was really interested in this too, as a story. And this is how our project came to be. So it isn't like I made all of it myself. I made it. We always work as a team. We make it all together. We start by just sifting through these ideas. And of course, I do a lot of the text and the translation, and Tom, of course, does a lot of the design and Julian does the music. But we all cross talk to each other and sort of, we made it together.

[A]

It sounds like such a beautiful environment to be a part of that you've created among your colleagues and fellow artists and storytellers. Will you explain a little bit more about bandura?

[B]

Bandura is a traditional Ukrainian instrument. It's like a lute or a harp, and you hold it up, you know, and it has many strings. I mean, anywhere from 30 to 60 strings, you know, so it is a difficult instrument to play. And it was originally used to accompany epics in Ukraine, sort of. Certainly at that time in the 19th century, it was used only exclusively for accompanying epics. And then it's become sort of adapted to other things in the 20th and 21st centuries.

[A]

Now the magic of light is inspired by haunting epic songs of Ukrainian blind bards.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Is it accurate? And will you elaborate on that a little bit and what drew you to it in addition to the visuals that you had already seen?

[B]

Well, the epic songs of Ukraine, it's a. There's about. There's a whole series of them that were collected in the 19th century or recorded, you know, but from about the 16th through the 20th century, there were blind eyed, you know, bards that walk from village to village and would play in the village rare and. And would sing, sing these old songs. There's a lot of them are historical songs and some of them are sort of moralistic ones and others are funny. You know, there's many different types of songs, but the epics were usually the historical songs or telling long tales about, you know, the Turkish wars or about. The one we were doing was about three brothers as they escaped from the fortress called Azov. You know.

[A]

The fact that they're blind seems to be a pretty small group of individuals that could fill this. Is there.

[B]

What.

[A]

What is it about them being blind that.

[B]

Well, it's. I think this was true of traditional societies. You know, Homer was blind. Right. All the great epics, singers very often were blind because this was a job they could do. And very, very often they were, you know, some of them were blind all their lives. Others were blinded after, you know, they were captured and, and released. Blinded very often. That would happen sometimes. So this was, this was. And they had a guilt, you know, there. There was a group that they all belonged to that sort of. They had laws and just like other guilds, medieval guilds, you know, that sort of protected them.

[A]

Thank you. You frequently work on your translations with Wanda Phipps?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Well, I also just love the calling card of the fact that you've been awarded with three different New York State Council on the Arts grants. Will you collaborate? I mean, will you describe the collaboration between you and Wanda?

[B]

Well, I think we've. We've gotten three different types of grants in terms of three different languages we've dealt with, but we've gotten a number of them. Oh, you.

[A]

You explain that also.

[B]

Yeah. And Wanda and I both. We never set out to be translators. We. We just. When we read. We wanted to. My very first piece was in 1990 about Leish Kurbas, this Ukrainian theater director, and he had staged a few poems by Shevchenko, and I wanted to translate them or to have them in the show. And then I read the translations. They were just horrific. You. And I thought, oh, my God. And it's. And it wasn't that they were incorrectly. It just wasn't poetry, you know? And I don't mean rhyme or anything, but it wasn't poetry the way we understand it in English. And I had studied poetry, love poetry, really. And, of course, Wanda was my dramaturg, and she turned around to me and said, we could do much better. And that's how we started. And we. That was like, you know, 36 years ago.

[A]

Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Yeah. And this is what we've been doing. Very often at the very beginning of a piece, when I start assembling the material, you know, it's just like, usually there's a poem at the core, because I just adore poetry.

[A]

And.

[B]

And I think almost at the core of every piece, there is a poem. I could say this is at the center.

[A]

You. You talked about your company, the Yara Arts Group, and you are the founding artistic director. You have a residency at La Mama and talk about working with, collaborating, and knowing the great Ellen Stewart, who's, of course, the founding artistic director of La Mama.

[B]

Right. Alan is the one who. Well, I came to La Mama with with a show. It was Amiri Baraka's jazz opera. And Ellen asked me if I'd work on something else, and I said yes, and I did. And that's kind of how I wound up staying there. And she had me work with Native American company, with Ping Chung. I worked mostly with George Ferencz at that point, but also many Polish theater I did stuff with. And then one day, I was sitting. I saw her sitting at St Mark's in the Bowery Church. Right in front, there's a triangle. It's right near my house. And I walked up to her and I said, hi, Ellen. She said, hi, Verlanda. So what are you going to direct this year? And I was like, I hadn't thought about it at all. And she said, what do you really want to do? And I don't know what made me say it, but I said, ukrainian poetry. It was like the last thing I would have consciously have said. I thought the devil made me say, you know, because I had no. No concept, nothing. And she said, and she starts pulling out her little notebook and she says, oh, that's great. What is the name of the show? Well, I. There was no show. There was nothing. And I thought, I better say something because I'm not going to get a date otherwise.

[A]

Uhhuh.

[B]

So I said, light from the East. It was the first thing that came into my mind. I have no idea why. And she said, oh, terrific. How about March 9th? And this is like in August, you know, so.

[A]

Oh my gosh.

[B]

So I thought, oh, that's. That's great because it's far away. As far as I was concerned, it wasn't like next week. And, and, and then March 9th, it occurred to me right at that moment, like a lightning bolt. Oh, my God. Every Ukrainian knows this. This is Shochenko day. And this is why we wound up having to translate Shochenko. And I thought. I went home and I read his whole book and I like three poems. And it turned out to be the same three poems Leish Korbas had done. So it's like it was just truly a bizarre coincidence, all of it. And the best of the best, you know, always said you just have to wait for the door to open at the right moment. And that was it.

[A]

Sure. You just walk down the street and be able to run into the right people and have the right answer at the. Somehow you never know when it happens.

[B]

And there's nothing you can do to prepare for it. But you've been preparing for it all your life, I guess.

[A]

Yeah, right, right, right. Well, thank you so much for your insight and sharing a little bit about the extraordinariness that you create. I'm so. I'm so grateful.

[B]

Pleasure.

[A]

I'm Lauren Klash Schneider with Verlana Koch, the director of Magic of Light playing at La Mama. Thank you.

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