Moscow Theatres for Young People

Transcription

1 Moscow Theatres for Young People

2 Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History is a series devoted to the best of theatre/performance scholarship currently available, accessible, and free of jargon. It strives to include a wide range of topics, from the more traditional to those performance forms that in recent years have helped broaden the understanding of what theatre as a category might include (from variety forms as diverse as the circus and burlesque to street buskers, stage magic, and musical theatre, among many others). Although historical, critical, or analytical studies are of special interest, more theoretical projects, if not the dominant thrust of a study, but utilized as important underpinning or as a historiographical or analytical method of exploration, are also of interest. Textual studies of drama or other types of less traditional performance texts are also germane to the series if placed in their cultural, historical, social, or political, and economic context. There is no geographical focus for this series and works of excellence of a diverse and international nature, including comparative studies, are sought. The editor of the series is Don B. Wilmeth (EMERITUS, Brown University), Ph.D., University of Illinois, who brings to the series over a dozen years as editor of a book series on American theatre and drama, in addition to his own extensive experience as an editor of books and journals. He is the author of several award-winning books and has received numerous career achievement awards, including one for sustained excellence in editing from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Also in the series: Undressed for Success by Brenda Foley Theatre, Performance, and the Historical Avant-garde by Günter Berghaus Theatre, Politics, and Markets in Fin-de-Siècle Paris by Sally Charnow Ghosts of Theatre and Cinema in Brain by Mark Pizzato Moscow Theatres for Young People by Manon van de Water Absence and Memory in Colonial American Theatre by Odai Johnson

3 Moscow Theatres for Young People: A Cultural History of Ideological Coercion and Artistic Innovation, Manon van de Water

4 MOSCOW THEATRES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Manon van de Water, Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Water, Manon van de. Moscow theatres for young people : a cultural history of ideological coercion and artistic innovation, / Manon van de Water. p. cm. (Palgrave studies in theatre and performance history) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Theater and state Russia (Federation) Moscow. 2. Theater Political aspects Russia (Federation) Moscow. 3. Children s theater Russia (Federation) Moscow. I. Title. II. Series. PN2045.C6W dc A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: April

5 To Dave, Karlijn, and Max

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7 Contents x List of Illustrations Note on Transliteration Selected Glossary of Terms Credits Acknowledgments ix xi xiii xv xvii Introduction 1 I The Soviet Period 1. From Marxism Leninism to Perestroika and Glasnost The Historical Role and Cultural Function of Russian Theatre for Young Audiences Thaw and Freeze 63 II Perestroika and Glasnost 4. The Change in Cultural Function with Glasnost and Perestroika Central Children s Theatre The Moscow Theatre of the Young Spectator 137

8 viii Contents III A New Millenium 7. Cultural Shifts and Theatrical Innovation Shaking the Past: The Russian Academic Youth Theatre Provoking Assumptions: Kama Ginkas at the Mtiuz 207 Afterword 235 Notes 241 Bibliography 267 Index 293

9 List of Illustrations x 2.1 A Tale about Tales. Central Children s Theatre. Photo credit unknown My friend Kolka! Central Children s Theatre. Photo credit unknown Pitfall Size 46, Medium Central Children s Theatre. Photo by B. Kravets Dream to be Continued Central Children s Theatre. Photo by B. Kravets Ivanushka-the-fool Central Children s Theatre. Photo credit unknown Dog s Heart Mtiuz. Photo credit unknown Façade of the Central Children s Theatre Photographed by author Genrietta Ianovskaia and Kama Ginkas Photo by Elena Lapina and Andrei Turusov The Storm Mtiuz. Photo by Ken Reynolds K.I. from Crime Mtiuz. Photo by Viktor Bazhenov Pushkin. Duel. Death Mtiuz. Photo by Ken Reynolds The Black Monk: Mtiuz. Photo by Elena Lapina 229

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11 Note on Transliteration x Throughout the text of this book I have employed System II, the Library of Congress system with the diacritical marks omitted as described in J. Thomas Shaw, The Transliteration of Modern Russian for English-Language Publications. In my opinion System II is the most consistent system of transliteration from Cyrillic into a non-cyrillic alphabet. To enhance the readability of the text for non-russian speaking specialists, I omitted the cumbersome soft signs ( ) in words and names in the main text (Glasnost instead of Glasnost, Olga instead of Ol ga). Widely used transliterations of proper names and words that are inconsistent with this system are retained in their popular form (Yeltsin instead of Eltsin, Soviet instead of Sovet). Shaw affirms that for the purpose of this study the use of two systems is not inconsistent, however: words as words and all citations of bibliographical material should be transliterated according to System II (4). All translations, unless otherwise indicated, are mine.

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13 Selected Glossary of Terms x Agitprop agitation and propaganda Assitej Association Internationale du Théâtre pour l Enfance et la Jeunesse, Association of Theatre for Children and Youth The Bolshoi The Moscow Bolshoi Theatre Glasnost publicity, openness, the act of making known Glavrepertkom chief repertory committee, Gostsentiuz Gosudarstvennyi tsentral nyi teatr iunogo zritelia, State Central Theatre of the Young Spectator KGB Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopastnosti, State Security Committee Komsomol Communist youth organization for youth aged years old Kultpokhody cultural field trips Lentiuz or Leningrad Tiuz Leningrad Theatre of the Young Spectator Magnitizdat self-made, illegal tape recordings The Maly Moscow Maly Theatre MKhat Moscow Art Theatre Mtiuz or Moscow Tiuz Moscow Theatre of the Young Spectator Narkompros Narodnyi Komissariat Prosveshcheniia, Commissariat of Enlightenment New Russians Russia s nouveaux riches, who present themselves as cultured and sophisticated, cf. note 10 in chapter 7

14 xiv Selected Glossary of Terms NEP New Economic Policy, , cf. note 14 in chapter 2 Nravstvennost moral(s), cf. note 12 in chapter 4 Oktiabriata Soviet children s organization for youth aged 6 9 years old Perestroika Pioneers reform, restructuring, reorganization Soviet youth organization for youth aged years old RAMT Rossiiskii Akademicheskii Molodezhnyi Teatr, The Russian Academic Youth Theatre Samizdat Tamizdat Tiuz TEO self-publishing, the unofficial copying and circulating of underground manuscripts over there publishing, the publication of controversial manuscripts in the West, translated or in original language Teatr Iunogo Zritelia, Theatre of the Young Spectator Teatral nyi Otdel, Theatre Department at the Narkompros Zavlit zaveduiushchii literaturno-dramaticheski chasti, literary manager

15 Credits x Illustrations printed by permission of the Central Children s Theatre/RAMT and the Mtiuz/New Generation Theatre.

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17 Acknowledgments x It has been more than a decade since I started researching and writing this book, the completion of which would have been impossible without the assistance of numerous people at various institutions, who generously lent me their time and shared their insights. I would like to thank Margaret Knapp, Michal Kobialka, and Rolf Ekmanis who early on pointed me to what became the ideological framework of this book. Roger Bedard s encouragement and insights in theatre for children and youth kept me on track. Kathy Krzys, head of the Child Drama Archives at Arizona State University, provided me with a wealth of catalogued and uncatalogued archival material on Soviet theatre for young audiences and kept me updated on new material. During my on-site research in Moscow, I was assisted by many wonderful people. Galina Kolosova, then executive secretary of ASSITEJ/ Russia, introduced me to Moscow s theatres for children and youth, and provided valuable insights in the contemporary theatrical developments in Russia. Ira, Lida, and Marina, working at ASSITEJ/Russia, kept me warm and sane. I thank all the people who granted me formal and informal interviews and opened the doors to the theatres for me. A special thanks to Tatiana Levanshina, Ksenia Levitskaia, Anna Mikhailova, Nika Dzandieri, Giia Kitiia, Mikhail Bartenev; the zavlit and pedagogue of the Moscow Tiuz, Marina Smelianskaia and Svetlana Platonova; the personnel of the Theatre Library on the Bolshaia Dmitrovka (formerly Pushkin) street; and, the pedagogues at the Central Children s Theatre/RAMT, Vera Khabalova, Irina Brovkina, Irma Safarova, Iuliia Farmakovskaia, and Margarita Tikhonova, as well as the zavlit of the theatre, Elena Dolgina. Genrietta Ianovskaia and

18 xviii Acknowledgments Kama Ginkas, artistic director and director of the Mtiuz, I thank for inviting me to rehearsals and productions, and for sharing their artistic insights. The company of my Slavist friends, Nony Verschoor, Katja Logger, and Petra Couvée, during my last research trips was a blessing and I am grateful for their assistance and insightful observations. Finally, I have to thank Sally Banes, who encouraged me to complete and submit the manuscript, and Don Wilmeth and Melissa Nosal for their belief in this book. The on-site research for this book was only possible with considerable grants. I am indebted to Dr. S. Rosen, previous Dean of the College of Fine Art at Arizona State University; the Graduate Student Research Development Program at Arizona State University; and the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Research for this study was also supported by a grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board, with funds provided by the U.S. Department of State (Title VIII) and the National Endowment of the Humanities. None of these organizations is responsible for the views expressed. I cannot express how much I owe to Dave, whose proofreading skills, unqualified support, and technical assistance in my many computer battles were at times the only thing that kept me going. And to Karlijn and Max who remind me of life outside academe. This book is for them.