An Interview with Rasoul Kahani, Director of “Scorsese”
Two Main Characters Appear in Front of Camera
Iran Theater: Rasoul Kahani is hailed from a theatre-loving family from Nayshabour in north-eastern Iran. His plays are usually in the genre of social realism. Mr Kahani had earlier performed pieces with Nayshabour accent with the cooperation of his family.
His pieces deal with deep emotional and mental situation of the main characters. “Scorsese” is a text-oriented play, which define the relationships of the characters with framework.
The piece is designed and directed by Mr Kahani, picturing behind the scene of a short film which is being made by a young filmmaking group. The actors are called by their real names while the audience are watching different stages of a short film on a theatre stage. Khatereh Hatami, Ata Omrani, Korosh Shahouneh, Davoud Vandadeh, Ashkan Masti, Nika Zandi and Pejman Farmani are playing in “Scorsese”. Other crew includes set designer Alireza Hosseini, graphic designer Mehdi Davaei, photographer Ashkan Masti, assistant director and planner Alireza Hosseini, secretary Nika Zandi, set director Pejman Farmani, public relations and advertisement Farid Hosseini and media advisor Aida Orang.
Rasoul Kahani talks about his piece more.
Is “Scorsese” a combination of theatre and cinema?
This combination is attractive; narrowing the gap between these two environments could have new points. I like my audience will face theatre in one moment and cinema in another one. Ata Omrani and Khatereh Hatami play like that they are in front of the camera. Even the cameraman, who is out of the set, is playing for the audience. This type of cinema-oriented acting is important for me.
Does it mean you have designed the piece based on two types of acting?
I tried these two atmospheres to be close and the audience do not see much difference. Of course, the acting of the two main characters, which are playing as if they are appearing in front of camera, is different. Other cast such as assistants of stage and director have a unified acting type and they play as if they are reminding the two main characters of other cinema roles. Their acting in front of the camera is not important. They read their roles from a text to help the main characters to handle their acting in the film well.