Ivo van Hove on Scenes and Angels

[Jon_sense]

Posted: 10/23/14 at 11:51pm

Slant Magazine is now running my interview with Ivo van Hove. For those who don't like posts with only a link, here's a sample exchange:

Jon: Passionate conflict, with balls-to-the-wall brutality, tends to dominate your productions. But that seems to run counter to the relationships you've nurtured with theaters, actors and designers. You choose to work with the same people repeatedly.

Ivo: I like loyalty, because it creates an atmosphere of confidence. Trusting each other is always the best environment to be creative.

In rehearsal, the first days are there to create an ensemble that cares for each other, that wants to make each other better, and not just wants to make him or herself good. Helping them be aware that the others are equally important in a production is what I do. I don't know how I do that. It's from being very patient I think.

Jan [Versweyveld], my designer who's always there, says I can be very full of temperament, but I can also be very patient with an actor and give them time to discover things. For me, it's important that the personality of an actor shines through and that the actor doesn't pretend to be somebody else because that's an illusion.



Ivo van Hove Interview Updated On: 10/23/14 at 11:51 PM