The Theatre is My Birthplace with Polina Ionina

Rebel-Actor, today we are moving through cultures, languages, and artistic mediums with my very special guest, dear friend and creative powerhouse: Polina Ionina!

 

Polina Ionina is an innovative movement theater maker, director, and actor from Almaty, Kazakhstan. Classically trained at Pace University BFA Acting program in lower Manhattan, Polina has also studied abroad in Kyrgyzstan and Poland.

 

Polina is a founder of The How, an international performance ensemble of movers, actors, and musicians from all over the world. Visceral, simple and theatrical, her work is characterized by the unique methodology she employs with her dancer-actors. Polina has also worked with up and coming film-makers in NYC such as Alex Blackstorm, Sonoko Ogata, and Steve Perterson as well as industry giants such as Bob Balaban, and Lisa Robinson.

 

From an early age, immigrating and acclimating to new cultures, Polina learned to be adaptable anywhere, which was prime conditioning for her life as a multi-hyphenate artist. Polina soon found her sense of self, sense of comfort and her birthplace in the theatre, where she could honor her true identity: a creative being. 

 

You will learn:

• How to adapt to any situation (and why it’s crucial to working with the partner)
• Polina’s movement influences from her time spent at the Grotowski Institut in Poland
• What to do if you’re not finding the work you want to see
• How Polina started her company The How in 2016
• What to do if you feel stagnant or creatively stuck (and how to get out of it)
• How the seed of an impulse can come to life if you honor its timeline and water the soil
• How to trust the creative process even with no “logical step” to grip onto
• How Polina found a residency to workshop a new piece with 5 performers in a pandemic
• Limiting beliefs we carry as artists and how to diffuse their charge
• Finding catharsis through grief

 

And SO much more. The conversation is just beginning, so be sure to take a snapshot of this episode and tag @mspyaari and @serabanda in your Instagram stories to share your thoughts and takeaways!

 

Polina offers some tasty #speechforthestage so meet us on IG and let us know how the tongue twisters feel for you. Better yet, snap a video and tag us!

 

Check out The How and their incredible classes (starting tonight, April 27th woohoo)!

 

Connect with The How on IG! @thehow.nyc

 

Connect with Polina on IG! @mspyaari

 

Visit Polina’s website!

 

Join the International Ensemble on IG: @actortoartist

 

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