Katerina Kisten: “The theater made me an actress”

The article was first published in Makeup&YOU Professional magazine.

You became popular thanks to your comedic roles in the TV series “Servant of the People” and “Koli mi vdoma”. What roles bring you the most pleasure? Roles in which there is room for play and imagination bring me maximum pleasure. I would divide them into two categories. The first is those that I subtly feel, as if they were written for me! I already know at the casting how to play them, I’m ready to immediately burst out with ideas, and usually, if I’m approved for such a role, it turns out to be bright and loved by the audience. The role in “When I Go Home” is just one of those. This is my nature - eccentrically, easily and with humor, like a Rubik's cube, shimmering with different faces and colors, changing characters in an instant, like gloves! There I am like a fish in water! And the second category is my complete opposite, the so-called “overcoming” roles, which become an experiment for me and often reveal a completely unexpected side! For example, the iron lady in “Trap”, the seasoned convict in “Jamaica”, the sharp gay girl in “Squad” - these are all images that are unusual for me. I managed to fish them out of my consciousness, from memory and observations, to appropriate their features to myself so much that they were able to surprise me and convince the viewer of their verisimilitude. This is always interesting! I don’t know only one thing: what to do with the insipid, banal roles of some random “soap” characters. There I just wither away from boredom. Which famous women: legendary singers or actresses, historical characters, would you like to play and why? This may sound strange, but I wouldn’t want to play the role of one of the Great Ones. I believe that it is impossible to replay the brilliant “original”! It will always be secondary. A kind of attempt to copy, interpret, add “for the sake of words,” almost to sit down in order to bask in the rays of someone else’s glorious fate... I don’t know... And God forbid I also distort the facts. This is such a responsibility! We know everything from someone’s words, but whether it really happened or not - who knows? But at the same time, I am interested in getting acquainted with the biographies of famous people. They always have something to learn, their path inspires and stimulates creativity! And how wonderful it is when you can see and hear them live, energetically connect to the source itself... This is simply an invaluable experience! That is why I try to attend performances, concerts, and creative evenings of artists as much as possible. I have so many favorites: Inna Churikova, Faina Ranevskaya, Isabelle Huppert, Julia Roberts, Marilyn Monroe, Renata Litvinova, Chulpan Khamatova, Alla Pugacheva, Edith Piaf, Madonna, Lara Fabian, Nino Katamadze, Elena Kamburova, Zemfira, Madonna... Now I’m in love with Vaenga’s acting concerts. This list can be extended endlessly. And every day a new hobby arises. These are all strong women, with strong characters and difficult fates, they have something to say to this world, and they bring it to catharsis! I admire them! And I wouldn’t dare to play any of them, but I would be happy to play with one of them on the same stage! Wow! This is my dream! What does theater mean to you, and what does cinema mean? These are two very different worlds, each of which is special. How did they influence you, and do you prefer one of them? Theater and cinema are like two twins, completely different from each other! The roots are the same, but the fruits are different - both in taste and color. And I can’t choose between them - I love both! The theater made me an actress. Cinema made me a famous actress. Theater is a laboratory in which ideas boil. There, every rehearsal I dissect life and myself, look for a paradoxical solution to the scene, try a new style of acting, change my voice and appearance beyond recognition, try on any age and gender, in a word, I can play anything I write! There's no time to compose in movies! There you are and a role that you immediately need to master and produce high-quality results! Therefore, there I always use the experience gained in the theater. Theater is an existence in real time, where I, together with the viewer, live through the events created here and now, experiencing the same feelings that are organically born from what is happening on stage. Cinema is always time squeezed into unnatural frames! This is a “montage” of feelings! After the sound of the firecracker, I should burst into hysterics, or passionately declare my love to an actor unknown to me who had just arrived on the set. And no one cares how pleasant he is to me. And this will have to be repeated... And more than one take, and preferably word for word, gesture for gesture... Theater is always one take! It's a challenge! This is a risk! It's like a locomotive that you accelerate, but it is no longer possible to stop, and if you jump off while running, you will no longer be able to catch up with it. That's it, the train has left! A movie is always a frame in the center of which you are, but a whole team of alchemists is working on you - from the make-up artist and cameraman to the director, who during editing can simply either cut your scene from the film or make you a star! Theater is every evening, even if you are sick, through “I can’t”. And this is a waste of energy and emotions! Cinema means, when you’re lucky, it’s a close-up, it’s filming in the most unusual locations, and it’s meetings with brilliant partners! Theater is, unfortunately, but sometimes, fortunately, temporary! Cinema is, fortunately, but sometimes, unfortunately, forever! Do you like to change images? What taboos do you have, experiments that you would never dare to try? I love changing images. This is my weakness and my pleasure. And when a director or photographer appears who sees me in some unexpected role for me, I cling to this opportunity with a stranglehold! I’m not afraid to experiment, I’m ready to go on a diet, learn some skill, cut or dye my hair in any style and color, wear a mini or hoodie, paint any war paint on my face. But I also have taboos! I definitely never want to have plastic surgery and reshape my face and body, I’m already used to loving my reflection, and I’m not ready to part with it. Also, I will not get large tattoos anywhere. My mood is so changeable that within a week I will want to erase the boring pattern from myself. And I won’t act “nude” in cheap films where the body is not aesthetic beauty, but a reason to increase ratings. During a photo shoot for our magazine, how radically did you change something about yourself? What emotions did you get? I am grateful to everyone who participated in this photo shoot, because these wonderful people helped me finally show that I can be stylish, feminine, elegant, sexy, mysterious... I would like to send these photos to all the “experts” who invite me to the castings! Maybe stop thinking that I’m just a funny, eccentric, eccentric “ugly girl” with eccentric manners and rude jokes? Sometimes I'm a lady, and I could very well play the main character, and not play along with her secondary friend! That's me. About painful things. What is your main source of inspiration? I am inspired by everything that makes me better! And what gives you strength and the desire to move! And these are very different phenomena. Dawn - I love to meet the rising sun, it carries the energy of the Beginning. The transition from season to season - the smell of blooming spring or the first snow fills me with a sense of change. Surprises and unexpected turns of fate are always exciting, like a contrast shower. Children's spontaneity, in general, children's reaction to the world - this is my favorite observation. It’s like a tuning fork of sincerity, and sincerity has always inspired me. Of course, travel is a change of colors and configurations of the world, the exotic wonders of nature, how it feeds with impressions... Memories, heart-to-heart conversations, humane participation in my destiny, smart and kind films, favorite artists, good music inspire me - these are the vibrations on which I still you can create for a long time. But, you know, falls are also very inspiring. They directly encourage you to drop your tail like a lizard, shake yourself off and start growing a new one. And there are many such tails left on my way. But the beauty is that the new one grows stronger than the previous one. It lasts longer, although it is more painful to lose it again! I am incredibly inspired by the example of people who, contrary to the laws of logic, accomplish the impossible; feat and fortitude are a strong argument for my inspiration! And Love... Love, which I learn every day, and which is the most beautiful thing that could happen to me. She reminds me of the true values of my life and, perhaps, she is the main source of my inspiration! How do you like to spend your free time? I simply don’t have any free time now! As soon as a gap appears in my calendar, a cross is immediately placed there (which means that some events are booked). In those rare free hours, I still relax actively! I don't know how to lie on the couch. My brain requires food, and my heart requires new sensations! That's why I go on a trip - it's always a new place! I don't like to repeat myself. I go to a concert or an exhibition, get on my bike to create a new route around Kyiv, wander through psychological sites, rewatch a long-delayed film, or many years later (terribly embarrassing) visit my relatives! Just not to sit still. Do you spend a lot of time on self-care? What are your favorite beauty treatments? I still want to accustom myself to perseverance, or rather even to “steadiness”, so that I can start visiting SPA salons, massage rooms and other women’s relaxation zones. This must feel so good! But it’s as if I’m afraid to allow myself to relax, as if later they won’t force me to tense up, they won’t pull me out onto the set. I'm a man of extremes, so while it's time to soak in jokes from the stage, it's not time to soak your feet in a fish bowl! But I still dive into the pool regularly! This is my paradise! There I have sports, relieving fatigue, cleansing myself of negative energy, and thinking about new projects. Do you wear makeup in everyday life? What is always in your makeup bag? Due to my profession, I wear makeup too often. Sometimes it happens all day long. So when I have a slice of “everyday” life, I want my face to “breathe”! I would happily put just a nourishing mask on it, or walk around with cucumber circles under my eyes or moisturized with a bloody strawberry mess! But when I go out “to the people,” people recognize me. Therefore, whether you like it or not, you must not destroy the myth! But I still don't wear all the war paint! I always highlight my eyes! This is my most expressive place, so mascara and eye shadow are always in my makeup bag! The shadows are exclusively lilac! I accidentally discovered that when combined with them, my eyes become unusually green! Very beautiful! What brands of cosmetics do you prefer? Do you follow fashion news and trends? I can not answer this question. I constantly change brands, try something new. Lately, a childhood friend has been sending me a cream based on sheep placenta from Australia. It nourishes perfectly, and, most importantly, I know that it has a natural composition. This is the main thing for me! Do you collaborate with the same make-up artists or change artists? It’s a difficult question, I’m not a presenter or a singer, so I have my own individual permanent makeup artist! In the theater and on the set there is a team of make-up artists, to whom I go one by one. There are different ones among them... But I already know so well all the advantages and disadvantages of my appearance that I delicately direct the master’s hand to emphasize or disguise this or that detail of my, by the way, not the simplest face. But the make-up artists love to paint me, they say that there is room for me to roam around. “Veki is an airfield,” they say. To name a few, I really love Irina Belina. She and I created a whole gallery of characters in the series “Pretty Women”. She is a professional! With a slight movement of the hand, Katya turns from a glamorous diva into a wizened old woman! Wonderful make-up artists in “Koli mi vdoma” - Nadya and Ksyusha. Very cool make-up artists on television, especially in entertainment programs like “Who is the Animal” or “Good Evening on Inter”. Well, and, of course, special thanks to Olesya, who created my images for the photo shoot in this magazine! We worked together in the theater for a long time, and I know for sure that she can do anything! And lengthen, and build, and hide, and rejuvenate by twenty years - sleight of hand and no injections! How do you take care of your hair? Do you often change the color/shape of your haircut? What are the most radical experiments you've ever tried? I take care of my hair quickly: I wet it with water, crushed it with my hands and did not comb it, but let it dry naturally - and the effect of a large perm is ready. Nature spoiled me with obedient curls. And sometimes I pamper them by rubbing argan oil into the ends. That's all. My most daring experiments with appearance are, of course, far from extreme. It’s just that one day, in order to cut off a love affair at the root, for some reason I decided to cut my hair almost to the root... I ran to a hairdresser I knew at night and convinced her to cut it all off. And then I walked around with a hedgehog, tormented by how unruly and slowly they grow. And temporarily starring in the roles of convicts and lesbians. Then I wanted to become red, but the hairdresser had his own idea about this color, I repainted it three times in a day, but remained copper with rusty strands. The period of bitches and insidious homewreckers began in cinema. Then I wanted to become a brunette, they prudently dyed me chocolate... And a “black streak” of negative heroines began. I think the next stage is either dreadlocks or going bald. Do you like shopping? Tell a funny story related to it. Once I had the opportunity to film in Western Ukraine. The border with Europe is just a stone's throw away. And so I went for a walk through a small colorful town called Skole, taking my wallet with me “for a snack,” and dived into the first local store. Some bags were just being unpacked at the counter and brand new items with tags from a variety of brands were falling out - Sisley, Calvin Klein, H&M, s'Oliver, Marks and Spencer. And all at ridiculously penny prices... While I, with my mouth open, tried to understand what was happening here, local grannies quickly rushed into the thicket and began to fish out some blouses from there. It was too wasteful to think for long! So I grabbed a large suitcase that was sold there from the shelf and began to “pack it with brands,” dressing myself for the year ahead! I only stopped when I ran out of money in my wallet. It was a great catch. Happy, I dragged him towards the exit. And the perplexed local beauties looked after me, tightly clutching their colorful colorful robes and scarves snatched from their rivals, and with sympathetic glances they followed my strange monochromatic choice. Bright is not always a sign of quality! Oh, if only they knew what they missed. What would you wish to the readers of our magazine? Dear readers of Makeup & YOU Professional magazine, since you are holding it in your hands, it means that you are interested in always looking great! So focus your attention on caring for yourself. Don’t waste your precious nerves on inventing unnecessary flaws, appreciate your unique features! Don't strive for beauty stereotypes. A stereotype is always boring! Look for your piquant twist, and you will see that it is by this that you will be remembered and recognized! While it's summer, run to preen your feathers and head south! Have a safe flight! Model: Ekaterina Kisten; idea, style: Vika Pisarenko; makeup: Olesya Koryakina; hairstyles: Julia Ksenita; clothes: ao2 - s/s2017; accessories: Potlova C&D Group; photo: Vadim Sery