Emile Aslan Lacheny: Franco-Turkish Actor Talks Ukrainian Play & Upcoming Projects.

Edition Six- Week Six:

By: Jacob West / Photography By: Guido Venitucci

Recently, I found myself sitting in the auditorium of what I knew was going to be something extremely emotional. There are times when you are more than aware that a show you are about to see is going to be important, and Maïdan Inferno did not disappoint. The show was produced by a company called Between Us, founded by Emile Aslan Lacheny and Alessandro Paiano, both of whom featured as leads in this show, to remarkable success. “Between Us” is a theatre company for immigrants by immigrants focusing primarily on international and immigrant stories for immigrants by immigrants, according to their mission statement. Having seen that this was a Ukrainian play translated into English, I was intrigued. The show pulls no punches but rather strikes at the very heart of this Eastern European nation, highlighting that they are not simply going through hard times now but have been struggling for a while. Maïdan Inferno follows the story of seven Ukrainian citizens and their journey from peaceful protesters to freedom fighters during the 2014 Maidan Revolution. Also known as The Revolution of Dignity, the conflict lasted five days and culminated in the ousting of elected President Viktor Yanukovych and the overthrow of the Ukrainian government. As well as Lacheny and Paiano, the latter had a remarkable tendency to steal every scene he was in just by walking onto the stage. The cast was flawless to the maximum. Lexy Dewland played the lead with such power and was a joy to watch. Kevin Rios has a solid vulnerability in his work, which made it even more tragic when spoiler alert his character meets a horrible end. Brooke Baumgart and Cristy Shaner likewise demonstrated remarkable talent, driving their characters’ passion home on every note. And, of course, because I am not someone who can see a show without talking to the brains behind the operation, I was lucky enough to corner Lacheny and have a little chat. Delightfully witty and humble to boot, Emile Aslan Lacheny had a fascinating story to tell, as I knew he would.

Emile, tell us about yourself, where you’re from, your dreams, aspirations, and your story.

“My name is Emile Aslan Lacheny, and I am a Franco-Turk originally from Paris, France. My mom is Turkish, and my dad is French. My dream has always been to be a storyteller – an actor, a writer, a director – to have the freedom to tell all the stories that I want to tell and help people tell the stories we want to see. That’s always been my dream since I was very young, which is why I decided, early on, to learn how to speak English because I knew that most of the art that is being shared and seen in the world was predominantly in English. So, I made a real effort to learn English by watching movies, putting the subtitles in French before switching them to English, and then finally repeating what I heard over and over again.

As for what inspires me, there were cartoons when I was younger. Batman, Digimon (as silly as that sounds). Shows like that would show me something different that I hadn’t seen until then. The heroes and villains were portrayed as morally grey. The stories weren’t simple, and they made you feel and think about things. I thought it was so powerful! I then took that to school with my friends, and I would write little stories and create roles for them (almost like DND), and we’d act them out. I didn’t just like telling the stories, though. I liked being in the stories and would always play every character they wouldn’t. This was in the 90s before DND was even a thing in France, so that didn’t inspire it. We pretended to be in these magical worlds, using characters that I had made, and we would interact with each other. It was so much fun. This was how it began, and it took me years to figure out that this was what I wanted to do with my life! I’d say my aspiration at this point would be to rise through the ranks as an actor, writer, and director – thereby demonstrating that I can do all three and show that I have agency. I don’t want to do all three all the time, but I really admire people like Donald Glover or Tina Fey, or even Clint Eastwood! These artists are very successful in all these different aspects.”

Tell us about Maïdan Inferno. What was your role in this project, and why did you get involved?

“So, for Maïdan Inferno, it all started with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. My roommate has family in Ukraine, and it was affecting her. So, she looked into Ukrainian theatre and found that very little had been translated into English. She couldn’t find any modern Ukrainian plays in English, but she did find one from 2014 called Maiden Inferno in French. So, I had the idea of buying the play, having it sent to me from Paris, where I would translate it and then ask for the rights from the playwright, and go from there. And then, my roommate and I would work to make this affair happen. And we’d do it for Ukraine. Back then, we thought it would be just us, but we didn’t know there was a whole festival of Ukrainian plays worldwide being produced, and we were happy to join them.”

You worked with some wonderful actors in this production. Anything to say about them?

“Our whole cast was incredible, really patient, and talented. I was proud of them all. I was in it, and then we had Lexi Dewland, who was both the lead actor and the director. Kevin Rios did a fantastic job, and Alessandro Paiano (who is also my co-creator of our theatre company) was fantastic. Brooke Baumgart, Cristy Shaner, Joe Mariani, and Cristy Shaner were all great and brought great sensitivity to the work, elevating the show! They all took on the challenge we had given them, helping the work transcend the text.”

What do you hope the audience took away from the show?

“The main thing I wanted people to take away is the last two pages, where spoilers, after all the events that transpire and Ukraine has freed itself from its repressive government, they learn that Russia has annexed Crimea. That constant cycle of terrible things happening to Ukraine, which hit me so hard, was something I wanted to share. It keeps happening. It has to stop. That was very important to me. And also, learning about what happened in 2014 was quite interesting, as it gave it that much more insight into Ukrainian culture and how this whole thing started, leading to what’s happening today. Finally, the play is intercut with many monologues, which gives the audience a significant insight into Ukrainian culture, their relationship to Russia, and how they view themselves and their society. I wanted these powerful monologues to inspire people.”

I understand you’re going to be in this year’s Global Form Theatre Festival with the esteemed Rattlestick Playwright’s Theatre. How are you involved?

“I’m thrilled to be involved in Global Forms, which I believe Rattlestick has been producing for about four years. I was a part of it last year as an actor for two of their projects, and this year I’m going to be sharing a little bit about my culture with a two-minute video on their Instagram about how to make Turkish coffee! So if you want to check it out, I had a lot of fun! I love Rattlestick, and I love their mission! My theatre company shares many values with them, and I love working with them in any way that I can.”

About which upcoming projects are you most excited?

“I’ve got quite a bit, thankfully! I’m currently in rehearsal for Shakespeare’s The Tempest with Arachne Theatre, which will be performed on June 17th and 18th. I’m also in rehearsals for The Magical Journey of Arlekina, a new musical, where I will be playing Mr. Fire. I also currently have two movies in pre-production. I’m very excited to say that I have a play being produced at The New York Winter Festival. I’m hoping to have another one produced somewhere else! So, great times are ahead!”