[On Stage] "A Poet's Harsh Life... An Opportunity to Quench Thirst as an Actor"

"It felt like loosening a belt that had been tightly fastened for decades in one go." (Joo Daon) "That expression just now, it was like Sylvia Plath's poetry." (Park Ranju)

Park Ranju and Joo Daon, the two actresses playing the lead role of Sylvia in the musical Sylvia, Salda, which is performing at Daehangno TOM Theater 2 until the 16th, described their feelings after their first performance this way. Although the role is demanding, it also brings great joy as actors.

Sylvia, Salda is based on the life of American female poet Sylvia Plath (1932?1963). Plath was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1982. Her husband was the British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. They were a campus couple who shared the same dreams. Plath was born in Boston, USA, and at the age of twenty-three, she received a Fulbright scholarship and enrolled at Cambridge in the UK, where she met Hughes. Although her life seemed perfectly happy, Plath ended her own life at the age of thirty-one, in the prime of her youth. The paradoxical life of Plath attracted Hollywood's interest. In 2005, the film Sylvia, depicting Plath's life, was released. Gwyneth Paltrow played Plath, and Daniel Craig played Ted. As the title Sylvia, Salda suggests, the theme is to not give in to despair like Plath but to do one's best in life.

Plath wrote many poems that openly revealed raw emotions, giving a grotesque feeling. Park Ranju, who is reading The Complete Poems of Sylvia Plath (Maumsanchaek), said, "As a female poet, there are many expressions that are not pretty, like scabs, lizards, pimples."

Park Ran-ju [Photo by Gongyeon Jejakso Jakjak]

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The devil tore my pretty heart in two./When they buried my father in the ground, I was ten./At twenty, I tried to die/And tried to return to you again, again, again/I thought even bones would turn back./But they pulled me out of the sack/And glued me back together with adhesive.

This poem appearing in the performance is part of "Daddy," written by Plath in 1962. Due to its emotional and explicit expressions, Plath's poetry was criticized during her lifetime as not beautiful. Recognition came late, and she was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize nearly twenty years after her death.

Was it difficult to express the emotions of a person who ended her own life? Above all, the greatest challenge for the two actresses was how to understand the sorrow of Plath, who could not resolve her inner turmoil as a poet. Diaries seemed to be a clue. Diaries are the most intimate self-confessional writings. Both actresses have likely experienced sorting out extreme sadness themselves, which helped them approach the depths of sorrow Plath felt.

Park Ranju said that Plath's honest and unrestrained poetry sometimes feels like diary writing. She wrote diaries until her mid-twenties but not as honestly as Sylvia did. "I wrote from childhood into adulthood, but in the end, it didn't feel like a diary for myself. When I was young, teachers always evaluated my diaries, so I had a sense that someone would see them. Also, I was afraid someone might see them if I lost the diary. So unconsciously, I couldn't write honestly."

Therefore, Park Ranju felt that Plath's unrestrained poetry was different from ordinary poetry. "A female poet wrote unpretty words without any filter, and it felt like she wrote the truth, not a fake. That's why I think she was later able to receive different evaluations."

Joo Daon [Photo by Gongyeon Jejakso Jakjak]

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Joo Daon, in her mid-twenties, still writes diaries. She said she writes them as honestly as Sylvia did. "I write curses and write my feelings as they are that day."

What did she write while preparing for the performance? Joo Daon said, "I think I wrote 'It's hard' countless times."

This seems to mean that it was not easy to understand Sylvia's pent-up emotions. Moreover, this performance requires the lead actress to maintain a wider emotional range than usual. Because the play, which leads to the protagonist's death, might become too heavy, the first half is filled with scenes that are almost forcibly cheerful. It is also physically demanding. During the two-hour performance, Sylvia practically never leaves the stage. However, the two actresses also feel the joy of growing as actors by portraying such a challenging role.

Joo Daon said, "There aren't many roles where you can pour out such extreme emotions. I think those things have great meaning as an actor. It's hard, but it doesn't end with just being hard; it's a work where you can feel joy together. Even during the audition, I poured out emotions in a short moment, and that itself gave me great joy as an actor. Physically, it's very demanding, but the strange thing is that after finishing a hard performance, I look forward to the next one."

The feeling of loosening the tightly fastened belt was the expression she wrote in her diary after the first performance. "During the preparation process, I wondered if this expression was right, if I could do well. After the performance, I felt I did well and that I could do the next performance too."

Park Ranju also said, "Usually, there aren't many works where female actors can feel a variety of joys and sorrows. I think this role might be a work that can quench an unfulfilled thirst (as an actor)."

Park Ranju said she wants to convey the theme that everyone is a precious and meaningful existence through the play. "This play delivers the message that you are a necessary and useful being through the character Sylvia. I hope the audience, who think 'I am too ordinary,' will leave with the thought that even my trivial smile or a single word can be a great resonance and give strength, and that they too can be a source of strength."

Musical 'Sylvia, Salda' performance scene
Photo by Gongjak Production Studio

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Musical 'Sylvia, Salda' performance scene
Photo by Gongjak Production Studio

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