DILSHAT MELYAEVA: MAJOR DIMENSIONS OF THEATER

It is a stage director who makes theater meaningful and fascinating. The director’s prime objective is to create a theatrical production that can bring out emotions in audiences, resonate with their thoughts and moods, find an echo in their hearts… This is when a production turns into a work of art, which exists in the system of spiritual dimensions and aesthetic values. Audience members see a production through the eyes of the director who presents his or her creative vision. The more finely developed the directorial concept is, the more expressive the production will be.

Every single play staged by the Main Drama Theater of Turkmenistan has its own emotionally charged ‘voice’ and carries a powerful message. The Theater is headed by People’s Artist of Turkmenistan, the USSR State Prize and the Magtymguly International Prize winner Kakajan Ashirov, an innovative stage director with a dynamic and vibrant personality, who has opened a new chapter in the history of national theater and has brought a cinematic code to productions with its richly diverse elements and epic depth…

Professional training is not enough to become an actor. Practicing one’s acting on stage, being able to observe, adopt and generate are necessary requirements for a successful career as a theater actor. Even with a university degree, it is necessary to continue learning, honing one’s skills, transforming one’s abilities into acting mastery, seeking to promote great teamwork and collaboration with fellow actors. A career of Dilshat Melyaeva, a leading actress of the Main Drama Theater of Turkmenistan, can be cited as a notable example.

Dilshat was born into a creative family. Her father, Annadurdy Annaklychev, worked as a stage director at the Nurmuhammed Andalib Dashoguz Music and Drama Theater. He often took his daughter to rehearsals and performances. Dilshat sometimes even performed in crowd scenes. However, Annadurdy Khapykovich did not expect his daughter to follow in his footsteps. He thought his son, Serdar, who showed plenty of promise as a boy, was born to be an actor. But Serdar chose a military career.

Unlike her brother, Dilshat was painfully shy. Her mother, Oguljeren Annaklycheva, often took her to the local Palace of Children and Youth, where she led a drama club, to help her daughter to feel more at ease and interact better with her peers. Dilshat took part in performances together with other children.

In 2007, on the advice of her father, Dilshat entered a studio school of the A. S. Pushkin State Russian Drama Theater, and found herself among her peers, who were in love with theater and full of bright creative ideas. Their enthusiasm was catching, and two weeks later she was immensely grateful to her father for the decision.

- After finishing the studio school, I continued my education and obtained a degree in Acting from Turkmen State Culture Institute. I was indeed fortunate enough to have been mentored for three years by accomplished actor, People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Ata Alolov, who remained truly dedicated to theater and his students until his last day.

After his demise, we were mentored by a different generation of teachers - Urmatkan Melyaev and Anna Melyaeva. They staged a graduation production of ‘Hamlet’ as a dance performance. I played the role of Gertrude, Hamlet's mother…

As students, we were often invited to the Main Drama Theater to perform in crowd scenes. Attending rehearsals, I watched with great admiration how a new production was being created with a touch of magic added by Kakajan Ashirov’s talent and his unique individual vision. His works have no inessential characters and insignificant details. Every element of stage sets reflects the director’s idea; voices, gestures, emotions are in tune with the plot… “I wish he were my mentor!” I dreamed.

Fate was kind to me, and after graduating I was assigned to the Theater for a two-year job placement. I was warmly welcomed by the troupe. I played small roles at that time since I was expecting a baby.

When I returned back to work after maternity leave, I was offered to understudy the role played by the actress who had fallen sick. I had only two days to prepare, but luckily I was able to manage it successfully. When a new adaptation of “Deli Domrul” was being put on, Kakajan Ashirov invited me to play the main character - Nyazlichechek.

At first, I found the work quite challenging because I could not inhabit the role fully and it was hard for me to grasp the importance of my character’s personality traits. Then, Kakajan Ashirovich showed me a video of the original production where People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Gulnabat Ashirova brilliantly performed the role of Nyazlichechek. This was enormously helpful in understanding the director’s concept, but now I had to avoid a pale imitation. As the time went by, I grew in confidence and overcame my fears. Without taking on super-tasks, I just tried to adjust my performance to the epic plot and to completely understand my character’s true motives. I targeted my efforts step by step at providing a new portrayal of Nyazlichechek.

I was well aware that Gulnabat Ashirova would attend a dress rehearsal for the production and that it was going to be a proficiency test for me. I felt very nervous as I took the stage, but when the performance was over I heard three words that were near and dear to my heart: “I like it!”

After that, I performed in a comedy play. It was difficult for me, a dramatic actress, to play the role of laughter-loving Bibijan. What is more, I had to try really hard to let out a natural laugh. Crying real tears on stage was easy, but laughing tinkling laughs was a big challenge. And then, I started to literally learn how to laugh. Laughing all day long, I tested my family’s patience. Eventually, I reached my goal.

I have played 23 roles at the Main Theater, including 15 leading roles. I do not consider myself an accomplished actress, because my professional development is well underway. I have played on stage kaleidoscopically vibrant female characters. These women, who live in different times, have different personalities, think and act differently, cherish different personal dreams, are closely united by love and kindness. And I make every effort to convey these feelings to audience members and to touch a place deep inside their hearts through my performance.

Kakajan Ashirov, whom I regard the most influential mentor in my professional career, teaches us not to play roles, but to inhabit them, living the life of characters and looking at the world through their eyes, to laugh and cry from the bottom of our hearts, to make the audience feel compassion for the characters. Working together with this extraordinary artist gifted with the power to give audiences a unique opportunity to enjoy epics in the contemporary setting and to seamlessly blend metaphor and reality, gives me never-ending practice and spurs my professional growth…

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The Main Theater is now rehearsing for a new production “Love of Oguz”, based on one of the legends from the epic ‘Gorkut Ata’. Dilshat Melyaeva acts the leading female part of Gulaim. Gulaim is yet another spectacular role and a new vivid chapter in the acting career of the young actress. During our conversation with Dilshat, I could not help having the impression of something unspoken. Apparently, it was because Dilshat’s thoughts focused on theatrical concepts and influenced by art. A slogan “Life as Creative Work” describes people like her, who think creatively, are in love with theater and continue theatrical traditions…

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