WITTY, WACKY, WISE
The seventeenth interview of the FemGems in the Arts series features the actress and writer, Elena Telbis.
The sevententh interview of the FemGems in the Arts series features the actress and writer, Elena Telbis.
Elena Telbis is an amazing actress with an intelligent noir sense of humor, and a talent for sharp, dark, and funny writing. She prefers hesitations and fears over self-admiration and self-glorification; she is observant, finding inspiration in long and lonely city walks, and seeing the world in its tragicomical complexity; on stage, she could play a really dramatic character or a sardonic existential comic. She beats the boredom in life with wittiness and irony, and the fussy daily grind with a profundity and sensitivity.
Elena first appeared on the big screen with a leading role in Losers, which won the biggest award at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2015. After her graduation from National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts “Krastyo Sarafov”, Elena becamе part of the company of actors at the prestigious National Theatre “Ivan Vazov”. She now works with some of the best Bulgarian theatre and film directors (such as Yavor Gardev, Alexander Morfov, Dessilava Shpatova, Petar Popzlatev and Ivailo Hristov etc.), and is currently studying Film Directing in New Bulgarian University.
Еlena plays a police officer in a popular criminal TV series, and she explains with her specific sense of humor and deadpan voice that “there is nothing more pitiful for a woman than going to the WC with a gun and handcuffs in your pocket”.
Her first play “Bokluk” (“Rubbish”) turn out to be the theatrical event of the year and have has already received numerous national awards and nominations for best dramaturgical text, best theatre performance, best director, best leading actress and best supporting actress. The originality of the characters, the rich emotional tonality and the general simplicity and depth of Elena Telbis’ first play, indicates that the best is yet to come for her.
When did you decide to became an actress? What was the initial impulse?
I don’t have a concrete story, so I don’t remember the initial impulse. It’s like I’ve always knew that I’ll do this.
What provokes and motivates you — the good text, the talented director, the symbiosis with your colleagues on set/on stage?
I guess, the best in everything comes when you do it with pleasure, willingness and desire.
But, yeah… The dramaturgy is not always good. The director is not always clear about where he is actually leading the team and what his final decisions will be about the production. Also, you’re not always surrounded by colleagues who are, let’s say on fire with enthusiasm.
The best possible situation is to have a good text and a strong team. But no one ever promised that it would be so. It turns out that these are the moments when you can learn more. I guess the text, the dramaturgy, is my favorite part of the whole puzzle.
When do you feel most freedom in your work?
I feel the most freedom in my work, when something that I have thought over in the details, and that I have put in a lot of endeavors, turns out to exactly like I wanted to be and affects the audience. Rare moments.
Which of your roles are important for you, because they made you try something new, something braver?
Fortunately, I had the opportunity to work with directors who tried putting me in roles which so many others wouldn’t think were right for me. I’m really grateful about that. The danger of falling into the trap of specific character is something that every actor should be really careful about. I’m trying to work with the same effort on every new project and to look for provocations. The famous Bulgarian director, Leon Daniel, has said that the actor should change artistic means every five years. I don’t know how to do that, but I often think about this.
What does it take to create something really deep, honest and brave – which speaks with a strong and unique voice in cinema and in theatre?
I’m not sure that I have ever been able to create something like that. If I’ve managed to make such an impression on someone, it’s highly likely to be because of my personal commitment to what I do.
What makes a character interesting for you? What kind of literature, plays or scripts do you like?
It’s hard to think of uninteresting characters. Every each of them comes with her own universe. Every each of them has its personal reasons and motives to act in a certain way. I don’t have a particular genre which I like the best.
Some years ago, I’ve watched “Fleabag” by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Then I’ve watched it again and again. I think I know every line by heart. I like the way she tells the story easily and sensibly, without being annoying at any point and with no attempt for pointing out herself through her work.
What kind of subjects or situations provoke you to write? What is leading you during the writing process — a particular character or a feeling?
The provocation sometimes comes with the moment I sit in front of the computer. Anyway, the whole thing can’t be written by itself. And no matter how many times I overwork the idea in my head, at some point I have to sit down and start working on it. Sometimes I sit for hours in front of the blank page with only three sentences written down and just before the critical moment in which I’m about to decide that nothing good will ever come out, something new passes through my mind and the story starts to unfold. I often imagine the play as a spectator in the audience hall. I want to write things that I would like to watch and like.
What was that particular feeling that inspired you to write your first play “Bokluk”? What’s the core of the play for you?
At first, I liked the idea of writing about three sisters who are totally different one from each other. Soon after this initial impulse, I wrote the protagonists’ characteristics on a piece of paper, and surprisingly they didn’t change at all during the writing. The play is about their gathering together after their mother’s death. They try to get closer to one another, but they even get further apart, because of their background stories and the realization of their current status in life. This meeting is not easy. Their paths towards each other are filled with dust and waste from a younger age. What are the reasons for the decay of their family? Who is to blame? They accuse each other for traumatic past events for which their memories differ considerably. They need to throw all of this crap away in order to clean up the mess.
How did you compose all of the future play elements in your head? How did you manage to motivate and involve your team to work on this vision?
From the very beginning, I knew that I want Svetlana Yancheva, Anastasia Lutova, and Vessela Babinova to play these characters. I wrote down only half of the first part, but I wanted to tell them all. They are my close friends, so I called the three of them. I told each one what’s going in my mind. I needed to hear what they think about the idea, because no matter how well I know them, there is always a risk of writing something that they won’t find interesting. Luckily, they were very excited and often asked me about the writing progress.
Shortly later, it appeared that the director of the stage version would be my professor from the Academy (“NATFA”), Ivailo Hristov. The scenography, design, and costumes are made by Marina Yaneva. I’m immensely happy to have this team and I’m really grateful for the fact that Theatre 199 was chosen in this particular text. They supported us throughout the whole creative process, which was full of many different obstacles.
Is it necessary for you to have a very personal urge behind every project?
It’s not always absolutely necessary, but it helps a lot when you have a personal involvement. I guess it comes anyways, because nothing can work really well without discovering a personal connection to the topic.
Which of your qualities serve you the best and what are the weaknesses that you are trying to overcome?
I always rely on my sense of humor, which is probably good for me. Sometimes I become so focused on a certain thing, and I start to feel that the world is going to end because I can’t deal with something. But the truth is that the end of the world won’t come because of my incapability to do something. It will come for different reasons. I want to be calmer sometimes.
Have you ever have lacked confidence? How are you dealing with hesitations, insecurity and fears?
I guess that I’m a self-critical person and very demanding regarding my own work. I’m glad about that. I prefer hesitations and fears over self-admiration and self-glorification.
Is there something new that you want to try? Like directing a play or a film?
I’m going to shoot my graduation film as director. It’s called “12:10”. I will try to gather a team of like-minded people who will help me to the tell a simple, and hopefully, meaningful story of a woman realizing that it’s never too late to live your life the way you want.
This portrait is the 17th one of the FemGems in the Arts series, proudly part of FemGems, a labor of love boosting female entrepreneurship.
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Big thanks to Felia Barouh and Ellieshava Marcus.
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