Artistic director. Leadership of folk art in cultural and leisure institutions - Lecture Appointed new artistic director of "Tabakerka"

Job descriptionartistic director[name of organization, institution, etc.]

This job description has been developed and approved in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and other regulations governing labor legal relations in the Russian Federation.

1. General Provisions

1.1. The artistic director belongs to the category of leaders and is directly subordinate to the head of the Cultural Institution.

1.2. A person with a higher professional education and at least 5 years of creative work experience is accepted for the position of artistic director.

1.3. The artistic director is accepted and dismissed by the order of the head of the Cultural Institution.

1.4. The artistic director should know:

The Constitution of the Russian Federation;

Laws of the Russian Federation and decisions of the Government of the Russian Federation on culture and art;

Regional normative documents on culture and art;

Internal documents of the Cultural Institution;

Organization of theatrical (musical) production;

Psychology of management and creative work;

Contemporary and classical Russian and foreign drama and musical literature;

Classical and contemporary repertoire of musical theaters and concert organizations;

Fundamentals of Labor Organization, Labor Law and Copyright;

Rules and regulations for labor protection, safety and fire protection.

2. Job responsibilities

As part of his job duties, the artistic director:

2.1. Carries out its activities on the basis of the current legislation and the Charter of the Institution of Culture and is the organizer of the entire complex of its creative and production activities.

2.2. Responsible for creative and economic results of work.

2.3. Provides the artistic quality of the repertoire, contributing to the formation and satisfaction of the needs of the population in the stage and musical arts.

2.4. Determines the readiness of performances and makes decisions about their public performance.

2.6. Ensures the development and fulfillment of obligations under the concluded contracts.

2.7. Organizes work on the development of creative ties with the teams of enterprises, institutions, organizations, entrepreneurs in order to promote theatrical, musical art and attract extra-budgetary funds for its development.

2.8. Takes measures to provide the Cultural Institution with qualified personnel, their correct placement and rational use.

2.9. Creates the necessary conditions for the creative growth of art personnel.

2.10. Provides an organic combination of economic and administrative management methods, moral and material incentives for the development of employees' activity in creative and production activities.

2.11. Contributes to the formation and maintenance of a favorable moral and psychological climate in the team.

2.12. Assigns the solution of certain issues within his competence to other employees of the Cultural Institution.

3. Rights

The artistic director has the right to:

3.1. For all social guarantees provided by law.

3.2. To get acquainted with the draft decisions of the management of the Cultural Institution concerning its activities.

3.3. Submit proposals for improving the work related to the responsibilities provided for in this instruction for the management's consideration.

3.4. Within the limits of their competence, inform the immediate supervisor about all deficiencies identified in the process of activity and make proposals for their elimination.

3.5. Require the leadership of the Cultural Institution to assist in the performance of their duties and rights.

3.6. Improve your professional qualifications.

3.7. Other rights provided by labor law.

4. Responsibility

The artistic director is responsible for:

4.1. For non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of their duties as provided for by this job description - within the limits determined by the current labor legislation of the Russian Federation.

4.2. For causing material damage to the employer - within the limits determined by the current labor and civil legislation of the Russian Federation.

4.3. For offenses committed in the course of carrying out their activities - within the limits determined by the current administrative, criminal, civil legislation of the Russian Federation.

The job description is developed in accordance with [name, number and date of the document].

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Leadership of folk art in cultural and leisure institutions

The administrative management of the NHT in cultural and leisure institutions (club, rural House of Culture, district House of Culture, leisure center, etc.) is carried out by the Art Council.

Art council Is a public body that organizes and directs amateur performances. The Arts Council may be chaired by:

Deputy Director of the Palace of Culture;

Artistic director of the Palace of Culture;

A cultural worker who does not work in this recreation center.

The Artistic Council includes:

Deputy Director of the Palace of Culture;

Methodist of the department of amateur performances;

Leaders of the leading collectives of amateur creativity of the Palace of Culture;

Chief artist, choreographer, director;

Chief Accountant of DC;

Representatives of professional art institutions;

Representatives of public organizations;

Sponsors.

Functions of the artistic council

Artistic and creative

Discussion of repertoire plans, plans of creative activity of groups;

Development of programs, holding events;

Providing methodological assistance in the activities of collectives;

Participation in viewing and receiving new performances, concert programs, numbers.

2. Planning function - approval and adjustment of the plan of all artistic and creative activities of the House of Culture.

The regulation on folk collectives notes that the leadership of a folk amateur collective can be carried out by an artistic council at the most amateur collective, which can be created on a voluntary basis from among its staff members and leading members of the collective, cultural workers, representatives of public organizations. The composition of the artistic council is approved by the head of the club, the director of the House, the Palace of Culture. Its functions coincide with the functions of the artistic council of a cultural and leisure institution.

The next leading link in folk art in a cultural and leisure institution is the artistic director.

Artistic director - is the organizer of the artistic and creative process in a cultural and leisure institution, as a rule, a specialist in any genre of art. He must know the general features of other genres of artistic creativity and provide methodological assistance to the leaders of collectives of folk art. Often he himself is the leader of a collective of folk art.

Functions of the artistic director

Coincides with the functions of the Arts Council:

Planning the activities of amateur groups;

Methodological assistance to amateur groups;

Program planning;

Organizational function;

Control function.

The direct management of the collective of folk art is carried out by the leader Is a specialist in any genre of art with a secondary or higher specialized education.

Functions of the leader of an amateur team

Artistic and creative

Educational

Organizational

Planning

Control

Due to the fact that participation in folk art is a voluntary activity, the team leader must be a good organizer, possess communicative qualities, master teaching methods, be able to plan their activities, that is, be a good organizer and teacher.

He must understand the personality traits and see a person's abilities, that is, be a good psychologist. Without the presence of these qualities in a leader, it will be impossible to organize a successful creative process.

"Leading means leading employees to success and self-realization" (W. Siegert, L. Lang)

Leadership qualities

Group 1 - professional - used by him methods and techniques of management activities

Group 2 - the intellectual and personal qualities of a person (knowledge, abilities, intelligence, emotional-volitional sphere up to character).

The second group in relation to the first has two features:

First, it is the foundation on which the manager's professional managerial competence is built;

Secondly, it is more difficult to correct (it is more difficult to change the character than to master the management technique).

Therefore, one of the main psychological qualities of a leader is his thinking. The leader must be able to think:

but) problematic and promising, that is, by identifying in advance possible difficulties and ways to overcome them;

b) systemically, that is, covering all aspects of the case and influencing factors;

in) practically and reasonably, distinguishing real factors from subjective opinions, desirable from real;

d) unconventional and non-conservative by combining the advantages of accumulated experience with original innovative methods of leadership;

e) promptly, those. quickly respond to changes and make rational decisions;

e) consistently and purposefully achieving the set goal, separating the main from the secondary;

g) self-critical, showing the ability to soberly assess their actions, improve their professional skills and knowledge.

Since the leader of the collective of folk art in modern market conditions performs the functions of a manager, he must have the qualities that are presented to a modern manager.

Requirements for the manager

1. Competence. You need to constantly replenish your knowledge, the leader cannot afford to learn from his mistakes.

2. Dignity and supreme responsibility in all matters, including punctuality.

3. Feeling new and taking risks... This quality must be combined with the ability to plan and look ahead.

4. Sensitivity and mobility... The leader must be able to feel the environment, events, respect the opinions of others and constantly strive for self-development.

5. High efficiency... Constant striving to be better and to do everything in the best possible way.

Manager roles

Administrator (monitor execution)

Planner (develop methods and means by which others achieve a goal)

Politician (set goals and behavior in the group)

Expert (he is addressed as a person with reliable information)

Representative of the group in the external environment

Regulator of relations within the group

Source of ideas, information, encouragement, punishment

Judge and peacemaker

Dictator

- "father" or "mother"

- "scapegoat"

There are three classic leadership styles. Leadership style is a typical managerial system of techniques used in working with people. Leadership style is manifested in the way the leader speaks, listens to other people. In the 1930s, K. Levin identified three main leadership styles: authoritarian, democratic, and liberal. Until now, this approach to the analysis and classification of styles is the most common.

1. Authoritarian (directive) style characterized by the centralization of power in the hands of one leader. The leader alone makes decisions, rigidly determining the activities of subordinates, does not allow to take initiative. He is usually focused on solving production problems, does not trust his subordinates, and suppresses any criticism addressed to him.

2. Democratic leadership style- decentralization of power. The leader delegates his powers, consults with subordinates, who also take part in decision-making, the initiative on their part is stimulated in every possible way. The activities of subordinates are controlled not only by the authority of the leader, but also by the asset.

3. Liberal (conniving) style management is characterized by minimal intervention of the leader in the activities of subordinates. The manager acts as an intermediary between the groups of people engaged in production, providing them with information and materials necessary to perform the work. A leader using this style is characterized by the following qualities:

Things take their course;

Acts when pressure is applied (either from above or below);

Conservative;

Never criticizes his superiors, is convenient as a subordinate;

Is inclined to influence by persuasion, establishing personal contacts;

He listens to criticism, agrees, but does nothing.

No leadership style can claim universality and applicability in any conditions. Therefore, an important quality of a leader is the mastery of different styles, their flexible use depending on the situation.

Theater director

Education:
GITIS them. Lunacharsky 1985, workshop of the People's Artist of the USSR I.V. Ilyinsky and prof. Topchieva L.G.

Serves as an actor of the theater "NEAR Stanislavsky's House" since 1977.
He is the director and actor of the Moscow State Budgetary Institution of Culture "MDT" ApARTe ".
Artistic director of the leisure cultural institution "Theater House" Old Arbat ".

Roles in the theater "ApARTe":

• Polonius - "Hamlet" by W. Shakespeare (directed by G. Strelkov);
• Governor - “Inspector. 1835 "N.V. Gogol (directed by A. Lyubimov);
• Gas holder Dmitry Alexandrovich - "The Road of Flowers" by V. Kataev (directed by T. Arkhiptsova);
• Baron - "Little Tragedies" based on the works of A.S. Pushkin (directed by A. Lyubimov);
• Glov Sr. - "The Players" by N.V. Gogol (directed by D. Efremov).

Stage director of the play "MDT" ApARTe "" Pity the fool for the fool "based on the play" Juliet "by S. Rubbe (premiere of the 2015/2016 season).

FILMOGRAPHY:

• 1987 "Citizens of the Revolution" Sverdlovsk Film Studio, film, dir. Serg. Martyanov, the role of Kostromin;
• 1992-1994 "Goryachev and Others" TV series, 1st channel, the role of Ivan Afanasyevich;
• 2000 "Portrait of Madonna", channel culture, dir. Y. Pogrebnichko, the role of Mr. Abrams;
• 2003 "Return of Mukhtar" series, dir. V. Shalyga and A. Polynnikov, the role of Tambour;
• 2004-2008 "The Blind" (Liquidator), TV series, dir. S. Mokhovikov, S. Lyamin, episodic role of a Psychologist;
• 2006 "Ostrog. The Fyodor Sechenov Case ”, TV series, dir. S. Matz, S. Danelian and other episodes. the role of the Lawyer;
• 2007 "Atlantis" TV series, studio RWS, dir. A. Sukharev episode. the role of the Lawyer;
• 2007 "Agency Alibi" series, dir. P. Safonov (series: "Philosopher's Stone"), the role of Professor;
• 2008 "The Door" short film, dir. O. Galin, Ch. the role of Mikhail Ivanovich;
• 2009 "Lair of the Serpent", TV series, dir. Yu Kuzmenko, the role of the chief physician;
• 2010 "Fomich" short film, Transfiguration studio, dir. Nick. Shkunov, gl role Fomich;
• 2011 "Furtseva" Channel One, TV series, dir. S. Popov, the role of A. Mikoyan;
• 2011 "Gulchatay" series, dir. R. Prosvirin, the role of Lev Davydovich;
• 2102 "Team Che", TV series, dir. A. Sukharev, (series "Players") the role of Goikhman;
• 2014 "Craftsmen", TV series, dir. Sun. Aravin, the role of Sturm;
• 2016 The cycle of feature films "Dear great books", Kultura channel, dir. T. Arkhiptsova, host (librarian).

ROLE IN THEATER (for today):

• Zhevakin - “The Marriage of N.V. Gogol, dir. Y. Pogrebnichko, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Man - "Man and Woman" S. Zlotnikov, dir. Y. Pogrebnichko, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Glov - "The Players" N.V. Gogol, dir. A. Levinsky, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Nagg - "End of the Game" by S. Beckett, dir. A. Levinsky, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Slocum - “About All Who Fall” by S. Beckett, dir. And Levinsky, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Aramis - "The Three Musketeers" by A. Dumas, dir. Yu, Pogrebnichko, theater "NEAR Stanislavsky's house,
• Uncle Julius - "Kid and K." A. Lindgren, dir. I. Oks, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Julitta - “We need a tragic actress” A. Ostrovsky, dir. Y. Pogrebnichko, theater near the house of Stanislavsky,
• Mr. Abrams - "Portrait of the Madonna", dir. Y. Pogrebnichko, Williams, theater NEAR Stanislavsky's house.

Actor, director, founder and artistic director of the ApARTe theater.

Education: in 1985 he graduated from the State Institute of Theater Arts with a degree in drama theater actor, and in 1989 - with a degree in musical theater director.

Since 1979, A.G. Lyubimov went through a serious theater school at the Youth Theater-Studio "On Krasnaya Presnya" under the direction of V.S. Spesivtsev, where he was engaged in almost all the famous Krasnopresnensky performances, and since 1981 he staged performances and taught young people ...

In 1987 he created the theater-studio "Group of Citizens". His performances "Heart of a Dog" by M. Bulgakov and "Invitation to Execution" by V. Nabokov became laureates of the Lefortovo Games-87 festival.

In 1993, the theater-studio "Group of Citizens" was transformed into the Moscow Center for the Performing Arts "ApARTe", and in 1998 - into the Moscow Drama Theater "ApARTe", where A.G. Lyubimov serves to the present, puts on performances, plays roles ...

The performances of director Lyubimov are always positive and moral. The main thing in them is “an analysis of modern morality, designed for a thinking viewer, questions of human responsibility for their actions, respect for the language of the work” (“The Moscow Times”). The productions created by the director on modern materials are also permeated with the acutely relevant topic of responsibility to society and one's own conscience.

His performances were presented at festivals in Moscow, Berlin, Paris, Frankfurt, Magnitogorsk, Pskov, Omsk, Vitebsk.

As a director and actor, Lyubimov is constantly developing new genres. In 2009, at the Matisse School of Contemporary Dance, he staged the choreographic performance "Yin Without Yang", and within the framework of the ARMMONO International Festival - the solo performance "A Call from Above."

A. Lyubimov is the founder and artistic director of the International Festival "Young Theaters of Russia", which promotes the achievements of Russian theater. He is raising a new generation: he teaches at the Slavic University of Moscow, leads a children's theater studio at the Theater House Old Arbat.

A. Lyubimov is an actor with great potential, who successfully realizes both in his own productions and in the performances of colleagues. “His acting work always sets the rhythm of the performance, becomes its semantic core” (the Teatralnaya Kassa magazine about “Measure for Measure”, awarded by the Moscow City Department of Culture for the best directorial debut in 2006). “He is always different and always the conductor of the play” (Planet Beauty about the play “About Wet Snow”).

1979-1987 - actor and director of the Theater on Krasnaya Presnya.

Performances:

• “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by R. Bach (1980);
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (1980);
• “Imagine” by J. Lennon (1981);
• "Fantasy" K. Prutkov (1982);
• "Goodbye, my friend ..." B. Vasiliev (1983).

1987-1993 - thin. head of the theater-studio "Group of Citizens".

Performances:

• "Heart of a Dog" M. Bulgakov (1987);
• "Run, rabbits, run" F. Iskander (1988);
• "Invitation to Execution" V. Nabokov (1989);
• "Tsar F.I." A. Tolstoy (1990);
• Captain, Captain, Smile by J. Verne (1991);
• "King Oedipus" by I. Stravinsky (1992);
• "Death of Tarelkin" A. Sukhovo-Kobylin (1993), GITIS.

Artistic director of the Moscow Center for the Performing Arts (MCAA) "ApARTe".

Performances:

• "Telephone" K. Menotti (1994), Moscow, RATI;
• "A long time ago" A. Gladkov (1995), Omsk, State Musical Theater
• "Crime and N." F. Dostoevsky (1995), Berlin, "ORRNTNEATER" (with MCAA "ApARTe")
• "We play Gogol" N. Gogol (1996), Paris, "ARIATEATRO" (with ICAA "ApARTe")
• "Innkeeper" K. Goldoni (1996), Omsk, State Fifth Theater
• "Talents and Admirers" A. Ostrovsky (1996), Yekaterinburg, Academic Drama Theater
• "Three visits of Dr. Astrov" A. Chekhov (1997), Omsk, "State Fifth Theater"
• "Belkin's Tales" by A.S. Pushkin (1997), Omsk, State Chamber Theater

From 1998 to the present time - Artistic Director of the Moscow Drama Theater "ApARTe".

Performances:

• "Ivan and the Devil" F. Dostoevsky (1998), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "What's in my name for you" A.S. Pushkin (1999), Omsk, State Chamber Theater
• "Woe from Wit" A. Griboyedov (2000), Moscow, Klassny Theater
• "About wet snow" F. Dostoevsky (2000), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "Captain, Captain, Smile" J. Verne (2001), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "Masha, Irina, Olga and others." A. Chekhov (2003), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "Trouble from a tender heart" (Vaudeville) V. Sollogub (2004), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "Fedra" J.Rasin (2005), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "And I loved this fool" A. Yakhontov (2006), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• Solaris. Inquiry "S. Lem (2006), Moscow," ApARTe "
• "French passions at the dacha outside Moscow" (2007), Omsk, "State Fifth Theater"
• "Chronicle of a Forgotten Island" G. Egorkin (2006), Laboratory of Contemporary Drama, STD RF
• “Strangers don’t go here” V. Zuev (2007), Laboratory of Contemporary Drama, STD RF
• "Strangers don't go here" V. Zuev (2009), Moscow, "ApARTe"
• "Agatha Christie. Detective "- Meredith Blake (directed by A. Lyubimov"), "ApARTe"
• "About Love Ranevskaya" based on the play by A. Chekhov "The Cherry Orchard" - Lopakhin (directed by A. Lyubimov), "ApARTe"
• “Inspector. 1835 "N. Gogol - Artemy Filippovich Strawberry (director A. Lyubimov)," ApARTe "
• "Little Tragedies" based on the works of A.S. Pushkin, "ApARTe"
• "Fathers & Children" I. Turgenev, "ApARTe"
• "At the bottom" M. Gorky, "ApARTe"
• "Saving Captain Grant" J. Verne, "ApARTe"
• "Scary Tales" based on the works of VF Odoevsky; A. Pogorelsky; V.P. Titov and A.S. Pushkin, "ApARTe"

Movie roles:

• "Golden Wedding" (directed by N. Motuzko).

Artistic director

For twenty years I have been heading the Vakhtangov Theater, but it is difficult to talk about myself as an artistic director. Therefore, I want to dwell only on some general aspects of my activities.

When I was offered this position, I thought about it for a long time, it was not easy for me, because I imagined the responsibility that this post imposes, and felt a completely understandable feeling of fear: can I cope? But nevertheless he agreed, because he knew that the Vakhtangovites would not accept the "Varangian". Also, and this was shown by the then experience of the Moscow Art Theater, you cannot manage the theater collectively. Only one person can lead it. Only one person can lift it. And, having weighed all the pros and cons, I hoped that I would still be able to maintain the prestige and level of our theater. Therefore, I entered the post with the main task in front of me - to preserve the Vakhtangov Theater, to prevent its collective from breaking up into small groups.

For this, he formulated three points of his program. First, the attraction of well-known directors to the theater to stage individual performances. Secondly, reliance on talented drama. And thirdly, already having experience in theater and film directing, I gave my word not to stage performances myself, because I knew: as soon as the artistic director starts to stage performances, they immediately become the dominant feature of the repertoire. And I don't have a real director's gift. If I understand where, it's only in acting.

Over these twenty years, our theater has been judged in different ways. In the difficult decade after perestroika, some said that the theater was ruined, others only complained that its former glory had tarnished. However, at first we survived when, together with the collapse

The USSR perished much of the Soviet, and then the theater revived and is now actively developing, and in this I partly see my merit.

There was a time when we, to some extent, shared the fate of all theaters: with a sharp decline in the ideological press, it was as if we were struck by a disease like a caisson. Indeed, for decades everything was strictly regulated, sometimes they only slightly loosened the valve and suddenly declared complete freedom! Isn't it a sharp change in pressure? .. And I had to live in a new way in the unfamiliar for us conditions of a market economy.

The destruction of the aesthetics of associative art turned out to be a big disaster for the theater. Aesopian language suddenly became unnecessary in our country. And Shatrov's "Brest Peace", which was sold out even abroad, began to run with half-empty halls, and it had to be removed from the repertoire. The viewer also coolly perceived the highly topical performance “Ides of March” based on Wilder.

What can I say, if even in “Taganka”, where violent, civil performances were staged, everything also became “normal-cool” from the suddenly decreased attention of the audience. And the theater-wrestler Yuri Lyubimov seemed to pause in bewilderment: with whom to fight? For some period he also lost his voice. This strange time of change required new colors and words from theaters. And finding them became more and more difficult.

People were much less likely to visit theaters, not least because of ticket prices that were inaccessible to an impoverished society. Of course, people lost a lot, but the theater suffered no less, lacking in common with the audience reflections, experiences, feelings. He simply could not keep up with life when events fell like a rockfall on the confused citizens of Russia. How could they be shaken with a theatrical performance, when life itself surprised and shocked every hour? Therefore, not one of our theaters lingered at a crossroads: what direction to choose now in their work, where to look for points of contact with the audience? But I didn't want to go to any means in pursuit of him, to lose face, sinking to the level of the service sector, or even outright connivance at lack of culture. But there was a great desire to preserve the eternal values ​​of art in the theater under the new conditions!

And around there were created many commercial theaters that lived and live, in fact, for the sake of the ruble. By and large, not a single significant performance has been staged there, not a single actor has been brought up. Because it is profitable to take already recognized professionals there, and they go, because they pay well there! Humanly they can be understood: who does not want to earn more money and faster. And famous actors cannot stay in one place for a long time, they are expected everywhere. Hence the hack, the decrease in the level of the game, the surprise of the peripheral viewer: where did the talented actor namearek go? And he asceticised in some French trinket. In the end, it was, is and will be. And let it be, if only to keep the gray background for a sharp drawing in the foreground of real theatrical discoveries!

Despite all the difficulties that we had to endure in the past, we still did not fully feel what a spiritual crisis is. You can mock this as much as you like, but we still have many educated people, although there was a moment when education was not in vogue. What was this little phrase worth: "Why are you so poor, since you are so smart?" But our audience - and this is noted by everyone - has remained the most sophisticated when it comes to art, be it theater, music or painting. And I do not want this level to go down at all. And there are reasons for concern.

See what's going on on our stage. Who is the idol of youth, the hero, so to speak, of our time? Philip Kirkorov. He has a lot of fans and admirers. He is extolled in every possible way. They imitate him, envy him. Yes, he is not devoid of talent and beauty. But they envy not so much this as his wealth. In fact: he almost flies on his own plane, his Lincoln is loaded there, because only in Lincoln an idol can enter Krasnoyarsk or some other city. But even this is not so bad, because Kirkorov is at least recognizable, he has an individuality. However, new fads from mass culture have inflated us some kind of "factories of stars" that churn out faceless performers, and they change in batches in the composition of early vocal groups without harm to their commercial program. However, there is especially nothing to harm, if we consider the issue from the standpoint of culture.

I understand, all this is advertising, shocking. However, if our Vakhtangov theater wanted to advertise one of its performances, it would not have found even a hundredth of the funds spent by show business on promoting its favorites. Besides, it seems to me that the theater will not learn to advertise itself at all. He is old-fashioned, as if he is dressed in old clothes that hinder movement. He is embarrassed to talk about himself and retains his dignity.

It seems that through joint efforts of state and private structures, the country is being able to emerge from the general economic crisis. But every theater is looking for a way out of its problems almost alone. This is a difficult path, but the road will be mastered by the one walking.

When Evgeny Rubenovich Simonov left us, he did not sever ties with the Vakhtangov Theater. The name of this director went down in the history of the theater, which I, like all Vakhtangovites, sacredly honor - with all our victories, defeats, gains and losses. And we will not rewrite it, "adjusting" the past to the advantageous alignment of the present. Evgeny Simonov devoted his last years to the creation of the Theater named after his father, considering it his filial duty to perpetuate his memory. And the theater has been around for many years. It is located in the Arbat lanes very close to us, and today it is directed by one of the leading actors of the Vakhtangov Theater Vyacheslav Shalevich. And we solve many problems of today's life together: the Vakhtangov Theater, the Shchukin Theater School, the Ruben Simonov Theater, actors and directors of all generations of the Vakhtangovites.

We are still looking. We are looking for in the precious storerooms of Russian classics, in modern drama. Our goal is to defend the theater as a temple of culture. Catching the viewer's gravitation is the key to success. And all theaters today are in search of that, perhaps, a very simple stage action that will lead people into auditoriums eager to understand who we are today, what we need to feel our human height, our need for life. I think that literature, theater, and art in general are needed by themselves in order to increase, add the amount of kindness in the world. So that people can draw from this source of truth and justice, faith and love as much as they can.

When you think about what is most important in the art of theater, you understand that it is skill, professionalism, an ear that hears today's time, a voice that can tell about time.

First of all, the director should possess this skill. Creating a play, he becomes everything: an actor, artist, music designer, wizard, creator, liar, dreamer - everything! Finally, he puts out a play, and he already lives by himself, regardless of his creator.

Today's problem with directing is that a kind of "hammock" has arisen, a sagging between a cohort of great theater experts of the 1920s and 1930s - Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vakhtangov, Meyerhold, Tairov, their students Ruben Simonov, Zavadsky, Okhlopkov , Akimov, Lobanov, Tovstonogov - and contemporary directors.

The generation of “teachers” did not grow up their shift, which has a tangible effect on the director's field. I feel the illegality of this reproach of mine: to raise a director from a person who does not have a natural gift for that is like intending to teach someone to become a great writer. Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov stated bluntly: "A director cannot bring up a successor, because it is artistically impossible." And how could he not know all the directions of the director's business.

Modern directors for the most part did not grow up naturally by "gradual maturation", but pumped up their muscles. The "jocks" stage a lot, they are energetic, masterful, they cannot be blamed for not knowing their job, but the absence of a school affects their work. Philosophical understanding of the theme, spirituality and convincing life "equipment", which was present in the performances of famous directors of the recent past, who proceeded in their work from the deep essence of theatrical art, are sorely lacking in current productions.

I cannot judge everyone, I say, based on my own observations of the artistic director of the theater. By what young directors bring us, I can see that they are "brain-trained", cold-calculating professionals. This is not their fault: they live in an era when old concepts and familiar categories are broken in the theater, and even in everyday life a person does not always feel solid ground under his feet. Here, as they say, there is no time for spiritual comprehension and gazing into heaven, here many are thinking about how to get settled in this extravagant world, what to catch on in this "Brownian movement", in the ongoing mess. And directors bring this mess to the theater. And the spiritual comprehension of the beautiful requires peace and creative leisure. But in the pursuit of material, neither one nor the other exists for anyone today. Unfortunately, the audience's needs have also changed: having run around on business, the modern public for the most part wants one thing from any staged action - the opportunity to let off steam. Here is the talk show "Towards the Barrier" on television. It is led by the talented journalist Vladimir Soloviev, he skillfully manipulates the actions of the country's most influential politicians and simply famous people. They are his actors. But what does his transfer decide? Nothing! This is all empty talk, exclamations of stage puppets insisting on their innocence, but none of them listens to anyone. To some extent, it is beneficial for the talk show participants - this is how they attract public attention. And what does the viewer get? Fatigue, a tiring bedtime story, a portion of a kind of sleeping pill and - at the same time - slow-acting doping, after taking which, after a few hours of rest, you can again rush headlong into the hustle and bustle of affairs. So speak now that directors are priests of beauty ...

The same picture in modern drama: there seem to be many plays, but they all say the same thing - how bad we are today and how good it will be if we do this and that. This is what you will not surprise the viewer with!

In this regard, for some reason I recalled the play "Oginsky's Polonaise" by Roman Vikgyuk. There was shown a general collapse. And what did this performance reveal to me? That the world has gone mad? I already know that. That people turn into beasts through temptations? In my life, I have often seen this. That they don't know where to go? I sometimes feel it myself. So why such a performance if I am not prompted for a way out? If there is not even a gap in it? But salt is poured on my wounds in it and poured! For what?

Real theater is not a sedative drug, but it is also not a psychotropic drug in order to excite warped souls. I would say that he is an example of a more normal, smarter and more integral world than the one that often remains outside the threshold of the auditorium. An ideal world? It is quite possible, since art is almost always the pursuit of the ideal.

Yes, the theater should be modern, but the viewer, and indeed the actor, needs more figures and collisions that contain timeless values. And they remain values ​​because they always have an echo with what is happening today. But also a reminder that life is not only about the dollar exchange rate and police operative reports. However, we, being in the seething cauldron of everyday life, are far from always able to grasp the essence of what is happening, and therefore we cannot ourselves answer the questions that reality poses to us. Then the classics come to the rescue. It contains eternal spiritual riches - the answers to the questions of human existence, which means that it is the support for all those living today.

It is impossible to imagine what we would do today without Ostrovsky, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Shakespeare! But you can't just put the classics today. In each new era, at each new turn of time, it must be read anew. After all, everything is constantly changing. Something dies off and is born in society. A person, his attitude and tastes are changing. The aesthetics are being updated. And the performance should organically fit into our “crazy, crazy, crazy world”. You can't be complacent, over a cup of tea with jam, against the background of a painted wooden Zamoskvorechye from the 19th century, when skyscrapers of glass and concrete are being built behind the wall.

But there is something that unites both sets - the recognition of human passions and the invariability of moral values, which in all ages allows the theater to draw and draw from a truly bottomless storehouse of drama of all times and peoples.

Love ... No matter how much we talk or write about it, no matter how deeply we ourselves experience it, it remains a mysterious, intimate, incomprehensible feeling. There is no definition of love that fits all occasions. She is always a discovery. It is difficult to predict what action she will inspire or push a person to. Yes, almost all the classics are the etre of a love story. And none of them are like the other. To paraphrase the poet, we can say: love is the only news that is always new ...

The classics are also always new. But it does not always happen that he scooped up - and here it is, the goldfish of success! And we argue to the point of hoarseness in the theater about what to take in the current repertoire. The director suggests The Inspector General or Chekhov's The Seagull. It seems to me that it has become a kind of obsessive fashion - all the time to interpret Chekhov and Gogol in their own way. As if every theater is trying to find something in Chekhov that no one has ever found. Yes, both Chekhov and Gogol are great connoisseurs of man, but I am afraid of fashion, which in the theatrical repertoire is becoming as compulsorily indispensable as jeans.

Once, having become the artistic director, I set myself the task of opening the doors of the Vakhtangov theater wide for new topical drama and sharp, modern-sounding classics. This required inviting both serious well-known directors and young, but already interesting, directors promising to reveal themselves in an original way. I worked on this, and there were successes on this path, although no one gave me insurance against failures. Only successes and failures are normal for creative pursuits. You cannot name everyone I invited. However, I will mention that Robert Sturua, Pyotr Fomenko, Arkady Katz, Roman Viktyuk, Vladimir Mirzoev, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Sergey Yashin, Alexander Gorban disclosed their directorial ideas with us. Under their leadership, such performances were staged as "The Peace of Brest", "The Master's Lessons", "March Ides", "Guilty Without Guilt", "Aliba and Forty Thieves", "Chasing Two Hares", "Dedication to Eve", "Cyrano de Bergerac", "Nbch iguanas" and many others. But, of course, not all of what was done was crowned with the laurels of great audience success. Nevertheless, these performances are stages in the formation of our theater in difficult years, when in Russia all our compatriots were looking for their own, often a new place in the sun.

But this, so to speak, is the creative part of the artistic director's concerns, and it rests on an economic and economic foundation and partly depends on interpersonal relations in the troupe - and this also has to be thought about. Such problems were extremely aggravated in the 90s of the last century, and, probably, it would be easiest for me to dismiss them and take some convenient and somewhat detached position. But, I must admit, to this day I feel responsibility for the cause that I have been serving all my life - for the theater.

At one time, the perestroika euphoria ended, and it turned out that, together with some administrative independence, the theaters found a lot of problems, and the mechanisms for their solution were not mastered. And many had to do it myself.

Our props were worn out, stage equipment was outdated, and in a disastrous financial situation (it is well known what was happening in the economy in that era) the theater did not have the means to eliminate this hole. So, we must go to the officials, the chiefs, whose name has always been legion. We still have more bosses than workers. There were many, and now there are even more. Wherever you go, there are a lot of committees, parliaments and departments. It would still be good for officials to introduce uniforms - we would then absolutely become similar to the Nikolaev "stick" Russia, as it was described in Soviet times. Only then we never dreamed of what is now! Walking through high offices is akin to Dante's circles of hell: it's not a fact that what is required will be singled out, but you will definitely endure humiliation. And you have to go so that your work is not stopped, so that the best traditions of theatrical art, of national culture in general, which in many respects are already in a state of flux, are not ordered to live for a long time.

So I went. For example, near our theater on the Arbat for a long time there was a wrecked house, which was not subject to restoration and did not belong to anyone. We, like air, needed a second stage for experimental activities in the theater, to expand the repertoire, and finally, to provide work for the entire troupe. And it was not possible to get land in the neighborhood with the wording “full housekeeping” in order to attract investors and builders. There was only one answer to our requests and reasons: "no funds, no opportunities." And it all could have ended with the fact that some smart entrepreneur or the ubiquitous mafia would lay their paws on these ruins and another casino would appear in the middle of the Arbat. Indeed, in post-Soviet Russia it happened that even under a theatrical signboard dubious shops were opened for the sake of profit, and for this the newly-minted businessmen easily forgot about the true significance of the performing arts for society. However, the Vakhtangov Theater managed to prove its case, and the land was allocated to us.

There were also difficulties with the tour. It even so happened that due to economic turmoil, for two or three summer off-seasons, Moscow was left without invited theater groups - there was simply nothing to invite them to. Then even the journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow was fraught with hefty problems. Moreover, the country was really threatened by the loss of a unified cultural theatrical space. Moreover, the metropolitan troupes were also in serious difficulty in organizing their creative trips to the periphery. We got out of the situation as best we could. And we got out! At the beginning of 2002, the Vakhtangovites in full force went on tour in Kiev, gave performances at the Lesya Ukrainka Theater. This means that the performance of the troupe was full.

How to engage all actors in performances, to provide them with opportunities for creative growth and a decent income - this is a special conversation. The problem is not unique to the Vakhtangovites, it is universal for all theaters. While there was no money, until we learned how to earn it, theatrical troupes, which had been created over the years, began to resemble huge clumsy dreadnoughts. On the one hand, young actors came - they had not yet gained enough experience to drag the repertoire, but they already had to be given a perspective. On the other hand, there were a lot of pensioners who played less and less for health reasons, but they should not be fired in any case - the pensions were scanty, and taking away from a deserved person, your long-term companion on the stage, a role in another production means putting him on on the brink of a half-starved existence. Therefore, as much as I could, I fought to maintain a precarious balance between the older generation of actors and the youth, so to speak, I creatively supported the elderly, still orienting the theater towards young, fresh blood. And here is the result: over the past twenty years, real masters have grown on the Vakhtangov stage - A. Dubrovskaya, M. Aronova, E. Sotnikova, N. Grishaeva, S. Makovetsky, M. Sukhanov, V. Simonov, E. Knyazev, A. Zavyalov, the names can still be listed. Many of them are known abroad as excellent professionals, they are invited to cooperate on various theater and film sets, and they constantly appear in our troupe. But my old friends-actors are still in honor - on the example of many, many wonderfully played roles, they raised a worthy replacement for themselves, this is their merit. And then very young guys, recent graduates of the theater school, gradually begin to make themselves known ... And all the actors of our theater have their own creative voice, they have the right to tell the viewer something important from the stage.

Some of the greats have a wonderful statement about the difference between the oratory of Cicero and Demosthenes. When Marcus Tullius Cicero spoke, the Roman Senate was overwhelmed with delight: "God, how he speaks!" And when Demosthenes spoke to the Greeks, the Athenians shouted: "War to Philip the Great!"

The same can be said about the difference in art and direction and acting. Art in general has many faces - and that's why it is interesting. Art is limitless - and that's why it is beautiful. Art is omniscient - and that is why it is wonderful.

Today, art is still looking for ways, as in a littered mine - to people, to the light, and often finds them with the help of the classics. And also a classic - a staff in the hand of a weary traveler wandering through life.

If necessary, in difficult years, we relied on it, but we also included works of contemporary authors in our repertoire. Both those and other plays could go with sold out and without.

But it is important that with their help the Vakhtangov Theater survived. He also survived thanks to his amazing, sparkling acting school. For twenty years I have preserved our traditions as best I could, and now, looking back, I can state with satisfaction: I succeeded on my part of the road. Perhaps because I perceived the success of any director, any actor in our theater as mine. And I did not see any benefits for myself, except for the success of the theater.