That actor is good who plays everywhere besides the stage.

The morning was going to be rainy, and it was. We missed just by an hour the slot time to pack "dry", so the only solution was to do it hastily and to move to the next destination - the city of Valmiera.

We went there not without  reason, one of the biggest theatres of Latvia is located here. “Behind the scenes” of which we admired to see.
But before that we had a meeting with a girl, a journalist from the local newspaper. I could say it was my first interview :) It was great to share our experiences and thoughts, especially because there were good thoughts about good country.

Straight after - the theatre!

 

In the theatre we were welcomed and guided by Lija Ozolina, she works there as PR-manager (a colleague!). She said to us straight away that working in that theatre for her is more than just a job, it is a love for the place, the art and people.

So, we went into a large hall where the new play was rehearsed - "The Master and Margarita."
I love theatre very much. I even had a chance to play on a stage once. But a real rehearsal I had never seen before, and you know, it's another story, it’s another life. The life of a big family living by a common love.

Huge empty hall, director, scenery, props, and actors that are not playing neither on the stage nor in life.

With one of the actors, Ivo Martinsons, we crossed right on the ladder. He recognized us, shook hands and thanked for what we are doing. We realized that we can’t just let him go – we want a talk!

He invited us to his dressing room, where we talked about the theatre in Latvia, in Valmiera and in people's lives.

I think no one will be surprised by the fact that the theatre for Ivo - is life: 6 days per week, 7 hours per day, and a huge part of his heart is also - there.

As Ivo said, theatre "educates" without any preachment and attempts to seem to be smarter than people. Theater just tells the story, and what people do with it after – it is their business: they can forget it, ignore it, they carry it back home or they can share it with others.
When I asked what theatre gives him, Ivo said: usually we just read a book, the theatre gives the chance to read it dozens of times, to understand it better, to make a deeper exploration of it.

The talk with Ivo was very, very interesting: the charisma and the sparkling heart of the actor made it special.

We spent a bit more time looking around the theatre and speaking with Lija. During that time we clearly understood that the theatre is a huge and hard working family.
It was great to realize that they play in the theatre - every day, and the performances are full - every day as well. It means that there is a love for theatre, which is based on love of the theatre itself, on the love of the audience, on the love of the city.

When it was time to say goodbye, Lija invited us to come again when we have an opportunity. Of course, we will! We’ll definitely will.

Walked a bit in friendly Valmiera, we moved on - in a small town of Vaidava.

The sun was going down and the clouds were gathering, so we decided to ask the permission for a night-roof or a piece of land for a tent.The first house on the right, further - two kennels (have to becareful), and a garden with a big house.

We knocked the door, and soon we were answered. Aman Gundars and his wife Maija saluted us. Our question was answered immediately: "The bath-house is for you! There's a shower, a kettle with coffee and a lake nearby! And we will make a fire for you to get warm!".
For us any help isgreat, but here everything turned into an evening tale.

As soon as we entered our cozy night place, we noticed one interesting thing about it – horses were everywhere: the doorbell as the head of a horse, horseshoes on the walls, candlesticks were representing horses, plenty paintings with them, and even blankets – everything was depicting those amazingly beautiful animals.

And it was not for nothing: the hostess Maija owns one of the largest stables in Latvia. And when we told her about our Latvian documentary, she in a moment invited us to her second home to meet her second family - the family of horses.