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Sunday, January 29, 2006
Risk taker
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||||
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Also on this page: MICHAEL RAFKIN BIO | |||||||||
Over the course of a 30-year theater career in Maine, Michael Rafkin has staged plays that explore psychological and emotional issues. He always allows room for comedy, but Rafkin favors plays that challenge the audience members to look inside themselves and ask the difficult questions. In recent years at Portland Stage Company, Rafkin tackled such weighty topics as the ethics of science in "Copenhagen," inherited psychosis in "Proof" and marital discord in "Dinner With Friends." That's why it is somewhat surprising that Rafkin has taken on the challenge of directing Portland Stage's big winter comedy, "Rough Crossing," which plays through Feb. 19. Written by Tom Stoppard, the wayward farce feels out of character with Rafkin's serious reputation. He laughs at the thought. "Ah, yes," he says. "It doesn't take much to get the reputation as the prince of darkness if you do it well. But you know what they say - the brighter the light, the darker the shadow." "Rough Crossing" is all about the light. Set in the 1930s, it's a play within a play about an ensemble cast working on a musical project aboard a cruise ship that is crossing the Atlantic. Cast members are to debut their musical when they arrive in New York, but their efforts are interrupted when the composer catches his actress-financee in an off-stage moment with another actor. The resolution of that untimely romantic interlude provides the contact point in "Rough Crossing." It's classic Stoppard - fast-paced and packed with nuance. Stop paying attention for a few seconds and you might miss something important. The process of getting "Rough Crossing" ready for the stage has been exhausting for cast and crew alike. It has proven to be an ambitious undertaking. The cruise-ship set, with its winding staircase, multi-level decks and art deco elegance, is as large and detailed as any assembled at Portland Stage in recent years. And Stoppard's script is stimulating, demanding and unforgiving, with word play and precise moments of physical comedy. "We are pushing the limits of what we're capable of, but we are succeeding," Rafkin said. "This is not a script for actors who are not at the top of their form. It's unbelievably difficult. I don't often get to work on something with these challenges. It's very, very fun, and it requires every ability that I possess. You have got to stay on top of everything here." Since he arrived in Portland in the 1970s fresh from the master's theater program at Carnegie-Mellon, Rafkin has welcomed challenge. AN ACTOR'S DIRECTOR He's known as a compassionate director who is able to bring out an actor's best work. He's also a mentor and teacher who spends as much time working with professional actors as those in community theater. Now 58 and living in Scarborough, he did his best-known work during a 12-year period that began in 1986 when he founded Mad Horse Theatre Company in Portland. He also helped establish several other theater companies and actor groups in Maine, including the Rockport Theatre Ensemble and the Profile Theatre Company, which later became Portland Stage. These days, he splits his time directing at both Portland Stage and Portland Players, a community theater in South Portland. With "Rough Crossing" up and running, he turns his attention next to "You Can't Take It With You," which opens in March at Portland Players with a cast of 19. He was attracted to "Rough Crossing" because of the challenge - and risk. With risk comes reward. That has been Rafkin's mode of operation throughout his career - he takes on the toughest plays and helps actors reach their potential by gently guiding them. An actor himself, Rafkin is known as an actor's director. He rarely tells an actor what to do, said Mark Honan, a Maine actor who plays a steward in "Rough Crossing" and who worked with Rafkin last season in "Dial M for Murder" at Portland Players. Because he is open to actors' suggestions, the play that hits the stage often results more from collaboration than from Rafkin's individual vision, Honan said. He is able to set his ego aside to bring out the collective will of the cast. "He gives you a long leash. He lets you just go off and do what you want to do. He likes you to go big over the top, and then he brings you back in if he thinks you've gone too far," Honan said. Another actor in "Rough Crossing," Marcy McGuigan of New York, noticed Rafkin's nurturing skills when she arrived in Portland a few weeks ago to work on the play. McGuigan appreciated Rafkin's ability to bring the cast of six together quickly and make them feel comfortable with each other - and the play. She said Rafkin made her introduction to the city, the theater and the script easy. "He fostered a wonderful atmosphere among all the actors. Sleeping in a strange bed in a new city, it was very comforting to come in and be able to feel at ease. Everything clicked on the first day. He has a very warm, giving, care-taking personality, and it all funnels right into the script," she said. Andrew Sokoloff, artistic director of Mad Horse, worked with Rafkin for several years in the 1990s and considers him a mentor. The most important lesson Sokoloff learned from Rafkin is that a director should always lead with his heart, Sokoloff said. "He always told me not to let my head get in the way and to listen to what's on the inside," he said. Inside Rafkin these days is a man of peace. When he left Mad Horse in 1998, he did so because he was burned out. He invested all his energy into his shows, and he reached a point where he could give no more. He withdrew from the theater community and enrolled in a Buddhist meditation center in his native Massachusetts. He had what he calls "that fabled religious experience. I got to be a monk for six months. It brought me into contact with the deepest part of myself, and that changed me for the better." These days, he begins each morning with an hour of meditation. That personal peace enables him to invest long hours into rehearsal. IN STRESSFUL TIMES, ALWAYS CALM During the stressful days leading up to opening night, Rafkin remains calm and in control of his emotions. His personal peace calms the cast, which in turn encourages more focused performances. Randy Judkins, who founded an actors studio with Rafkin and other theater artists in the early 1980s in Portland, most appreciates Rafkin's dedication as a friend. The two rarely socialize anymore, because of their schedules. But the last time they saw each other - at a local health food store - they ended up talking in the aisle for more than 30 minutes, just catching up. "We always leave saying, 'So you're in the phone book, right?' But lives go on. I really want to be with him, just spend an evening with him and invite him over for dinner. I desperately want to do that, but every time I do, he's working on a show or I have a job somewhere," said Judkins. That lack of contact does not diminish their friendship, Judkins said. They went through a lot together, both on and off the stage, and their bond is strong. "He's just always there for you. He's observed my personal journey, with its trauma and some challenges that I have had in my life. And he's always been empathetic and compassionate." Rafkin said he knows no other way. "The essence of Buddhism is compassion and kindness. The function of art is to illuminate the human condition, and by doing so to make us all kinder and more compassionate. A friend of mine once said, 'You keep asking us to look at the most outer limits of human behavior and to still embrace it all as human.' I think that's the arc of my work." Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:
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