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Charles Chemin Has Been Training to Lead Watermill His Whole Life

In conversation with Observer, Robert Wilson's protégé, collaborator and successor reflects on 33 years of working alongside the director and playwright and the art of carrying that vision forward.

Last month, the Watermill Center in Water Mill, New York, announced that Charles Chemin would serve as its new artistic director. The announcement follows the death of Watermill’s legendary founder Robert Wilson last summer, and it was difficult to picture what the institution would look like without the legendary director and playwright. Chemin steps into big shoes, but seems particularly well-suited to fill them, as a protégé and longtime collaborator of Wilson’s. Observer caught up with him to hear about his experience with Wilson and plans for his new job.

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Your history with Robert Wilson was long and remarkable. Could you explain why the two of you used to bark at each other like dogs? In what other unique ways did the two of you communicate?

I have known Bob Wilson since I was born. In the months before I could speak, he would sometimes call home, ask my parents to talk to me, bark over the phone, and I would answer by barking back. This non-verbal communication could take a while. It was pure playfulness and an escape from rationality. A common practice in Wilson’s world. We often used it in our collaboration, with a similar purpose, during the rehearsal process while co-directing works together, and even on-stage once while performing together. Sometimes, it was simply about making the moment more special or rerouting the attention. Sometimes it had a more precise purpose, like to de-escalate a disagreement, express doubt or encourage a bolder approach. A lot of his communication with his collaborators was non-verbal. His silence was as revealing as words, and not only by the negative. In most cases, it was a constructive silence. One could grasp a lot of meaning in it. We also used the eyes. Bob and I were usually understanding each other’s thoughts by sharing a glance. And then, either one of us would simply say “I get it,” with a mischievous smile.

You grew up in a deeply creative household—your father is an actor and director, your mother a costume designer and your sisters became a painter and an opera soloist. Was there ever a moment you considered doing something outside the arts, or was it inevitable?

I thought about doing other kinds of work, but it was always somehow linked to the arts. I didn’t try very hard to escape. More seriously, I owe my parents a lot. While being modest, they offered us an incredible exposure to groundbreaking artists, whether they were famous or completely unknown. They brought us to museums, theatres and operas. We sometimes traveled to see an exhibition in another country. We had no TV for a good part of our childhood and mostly watched........

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