Actor Kim Jeong-hwa expressed her feelings about returning to the theater stage after 13 years and explained why she chose Schumann as her comeback work.
On the afternoon of the 17th, OSEN met actor Kim Jeong-hwa at The Good Theater in Hyehwa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and conducted an interview.
The play Schumann is set in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1853 and is based on the true story of maestro Robert Schumann, his wife Clara Schumann, and the young genius Johannes Brahms. It vividly portrays the artistic ambition and sublime love among the three musicians and received great love at its premiere.
Clara Schumann, whom Kim Jeong-hwa plays, is a pioneering figure who proved herself by ability in the male-dominated classical music world. She will delicately and strongly portray Clara's inner self, who protected her life and music as an independent artist rather than as someone's wife, on this stage.
Through Schumann, Kim Jeong-hwa returns to the stage for the first time in 13 years since the 2013 musical Those Days. She recalled, "2013 was the last time, and now coming in, it's been 13 years. I was very nervous during rehearsal and very shaky at the first performance. There's a scene where I drink coffee, and because my hands trembled I thought the cup might make a clinking sound, so I deliberately tried not to hold it. I rehearsed a lot so there were no mistakes in the blocking or lines, but it felt more like I just finished the performance well rather than that I acted."
She continued, "I remember there was tension even after it ended. After that the stage started to feel comfortable, and now it's been about a month. Now I'm thinking about how to bring out the details; it feels like a process of studying Clara's 모습. Now it's a stage where I can enjoy developing something and showing it, being on stage is enjoyable, and for an hour and a half I feel like I'm living as Clara," mentioning that she has become accustomed to being on stage.
Regarding why she chose Schumann as her comeback work, Kim Jeong-hwa said, "When I received the script and read it, it read easily from beginning to end. It read very quickly, and the character of Clara Schumann itself came across as very attractive. So I developed a desire to try playing such a character as a female actor. I was reading the script on my way home after finishing my schedule at the time, and I immediately told our manager, 'I think it would be good to try it.'"
Asked specifically which aspects of Clara attracted her, she said, "Clara is a real person, and in the play this woman herself is very resolute, famous, and a genius pianist, but she leads the household and devotes herself to her livelihood as well. And in our play, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms make very devoted choices. The three all make admirable choices, and Clara Schumann ultimately keeps her fidelity and lives a life devoted to her family and Robert."
Kim Jeong-hwa added, "That kind of woman's image seemed very cool to me. In a way it's a character that doesn't match today's times, but it's also an inner feeling that anyone can have, and because it was the image of a woman who actually lived that way, I think I found it very admirable."
When asked whether she found parts of that relatable to real life, Kim Jeong-hwa confessed, "What I felt I resembled in this regard is that it represents the lives of all mothers to some extent. Clara Schumann was a very genius pianist, but she didn't step forward to support her husband. She supported him, performed Schumann's pieces herself to promote her husband's works, devoted herself to raising many children, and after Robert Schumann passed away she took responsibility for the children and livelihood by doing solo concerts and performing. Those images are just like the lives of all mothers, aren't they."
Kim Jeong-hwa said, "So most mothers live devotedly. There are things you give up for your children and your husband. But that's not only mothers; fathers do that too. But since I'm a woman, I thought Clara's 모습 closely resembled the 모습 of many mothers."
Kim Jeong-hwa also said, "Raising a child felt like a career interruption in some ways, and during pregnancy and childcare there are parts where you can't be active, so I felt a lot that this might be a form of devotion that a mother can make. But I didn't feel that it was necessarily unhappy. I think Clara felt that way too. She would have considered it a natural life and found gratitude and happiness within it, and since I now live that life too, I felt a lot of empathy that it could be that way."
Meanwhile, the play Schumann, in which Kim Jeong-hwa appears, runs at The Good Theater in Daehangno, Seoul, through Apr. 12.
[photo] H E&M, UMI Entertainment
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