Ghazal Azarbad: a woman with long dark hair, parted in the middle, in a maroon top, her lipstick matches her top and she is smiling broadly. Joy fills her face.
Following a long lineage of UBC Theatre and Film’s Masha’s from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, BFA Acting alum Ghazal Azarbad (2015) recently received a Canada Council for the Arts grant to create Dear Konstanin.
Dear Konstantin is a series of letters written from Masha to her unrequited love Konstantin, 20 years after his death. Inspired by The Seagull by Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), it is written, performed, and features artwork by Ghazal Azarbad, sound designed by Debashis Sinha.
The evolution of the podcast began with Ghazal’s involvement in the cancelled, due to the pandemic, production of Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre Company’s production of The Seagull where she was playing Masha. Dear Konstantin is completely original and, though it is inspired by The Seagull, it is 100% Ghazal’s creation.
“I began writing the piece as part of my journaling practice shortly after the show’s cancellation and I pitched the idea to Canada Council for the Arts back in June, “explained Ghazal. “The idea to record my writing was so I could apply for the grant; I was content with them just being personal letters for my eyes only.“
Canada Council’s Digital Originals micro-grant was for artists affected by COVID-19 cancellations and the task was to transition your craft to a digital platform.
Her grant was successful (4,200 applied and 1,000 were awarded), and the Dear Konstantin podcast was born!
1989 “The Seagull”. Photo in frame: l-r- Rod Menzies (Trigorin), Lois Anderson (Arkadina), behind Lois, Mike O’Donnell, Kathleen Duborg (Nina), Eliza Carter- was Green-Moncur (Polina)
UBC alum Lisa Beley, who played Masha at UBC in 1989 (directed by Professor Emeritus Charles Siegel with Kathleen Duborg as Nina and Lois Anderson as Irina) generously offered Ghazal voice coaching lessons with discussions about Masha ensuing.
Ghazal’s connection to Chekhov go back to the 2014 production of The Seagull directed by Kathleen Duborg.
“I played the maid. The beautiful Helena Fisher-Welsh was Masha and she was incredible,” remembers Ghazal. “That was my intro into the Chekhov world. I am so glad I got the chance to be in the room and absorb the world. It obviously came in very handy years later.”
The Seagull (2014):
http://archive.theatre.ubc.ca/seagull/index.html
What a perfect time to be delving into Chekhov, thinks Ghazal.
Dear Konstantin
“I feel like the existential aspect of the pandemic is super Chekhovian and I hope we get to return to our (Soulpepper Theatre’s) production as I believe we have never been more primed to perform Chekhov than now,” shares Ghazal.
Dear Konstantine Podcast: https://ghazooool.podbean.com/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2QrfZb5
Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/32s2o94
Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/31ArMdH
Ghazal Azarbad’s bio:
Ghazal Azarbad BFA Acting, 2015
Ghazal Azarbad was born in Mashhad, Iran and raised in Vancouver, BC. Recent credits include The Seagull, Wedding at Aulis, La Bête, Innocence Lost (Soulpepper); Shakespeare in Love, Taming of the Shrew (Bard on the Beach); It’s a Wonderful Christmas-ish Holiday Miracle, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Arts Club); and Entrances and Exits: An Improvised Farce (Howland Company/Bad Dog Comedy). Upcoming projects cancelled due to Covid19 include Paradise Lost, Love’s Labour’s Lost (Bard on the Beach) and the East Van Panto (Theatre Replacement). She is a graduate of the UBC BFA Acting program and the Soulpepper Academy; a Jessie Award nominee and the recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation Award.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ghazooool/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ghazalazarbad/
