Does an independent theater have a chance? Automatic translate

On December 17, a round-table prologue to the tour in Moscow of the ON.TEATR Laboratory in Moscow was held at TsiMe. "Is there an opportunity for an independent theater?"

An independent theater exists in Russia in spite of everything. Not being a business, it exists according to the laws of the market. Not being a budget institution, like the bulk of theaters in the country - while doing the work that the state theater threw itself off as a burden - it does not receive state support. Patrons do not help him, because they are not in the country, since we do not have a Law on Patronage. Funds do not support him, since there are few funds to support culture in the country. Independent theaters are opened by enthusiasts who are ready to give part of their life to other people. Close the theater can anyone to whom it bothers. At a meeting with the creator of ON.TEATR Laboratory Milena Avimskaya and other representatives of non-governmental theaters, they talked about what chances remained for independent troupes and theater venues in Russia, where the state tightens control over culture year after year.

The discussion was attended by the head of ON.TEATR Laboratory Milena Avimskaya, art director of the Center. Meyerhold, Elena Kovalskaya, head of Theater.doc, Elena Gremina, director of the TSHE dance theater agency Ekaterina Alekseenko, art director of the 18+ theater of Rostov 18+ Yuri Muravitsky.

Yuri Muravitsky, art director of the Rostov 18+ theater, spoke about how their project works: “We are directly dependent on the welfare and state of affairs of the person who established this theater. For our owner, enthusiastic and inspired by the sale of contemporary art in the West, this is the brainchild. Of course, it is very difficult to work when everything depends on his taste and his condition. The theater 18+ does not have its own troupe, we have young and talented actors of the Rostov youth theater. At the same time, directors of other theaters do not allow their wards to play with us on those days when they have performances. We can’t even plan a tour because as soon as this information becomes publicly available, then immediately on these days in the billboard of the Youth Theater of Rostov-on-Don something “kind and eternal ” ”appears.

Head of ON.TEATR Laboratory Milena Avimskaya is confident that almost any theater can be closed, because in St. Petersburg, for example, only two fully meet all the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor. “In order to somehow protect non-state theaters that exist at the box office, it is necessary to create an Association of independent theaters and take the legislative initiative, begin to communicate with government officials and gradually turn their desires into legal acts that can protect us as a result ".

Elena Gremina, head of Theater.doc spoke about everyday difficulties that all managers have to solve. “The scourge of all independent theaters - light bulbs, a communal apartment, plumbing - all this falls on the shoulders of the creators. It is as if we are hanging in the air and never know what will happen to us next. Our life is a thriller, the details of which are known only to those who are faced with this face to face. "

Yekaterina Alekseenko, director of the TSEKh Dance Theater Festival, believes that the greatest difficulty in the work of an independent theater is to achieve self-sufficiency. “When the Ford Foundation, which helped us open up, stage the first dance performances, make the Big Cartoon Festival, create the Liquid Theater and, in general, lay the artistic foundation that we have now, left Russia, then he gave us the last grand in the amount of 800,000

dollars. Naturally, we never received such money before, and we were faced with the task: how to properly dispose of it. As a result, we took the premises on Krasnopresnenskaya, where the dance workshop of the workshop is now operating. And we are still confident that this was the most sensible decision. "

Art Director of the Center. Meyerhold Elena Kovalskaya once again emphasized that “an independent theater does what the state theater does not take upon itself. And such theaters will exist as long as they fulfill their mission - give young directors a chance to be realized, help actors, develop new theater directions. ” At the same time, all participants in the meeting are still confident: an independent theater is a survival and struggle for existence every day without days off and breaks.

Laboratory ON.TEATR was organized in 2009 for young theater directors and actors of St. Petersburg. In 2011, the Laboratory received its own premises at 18 Zhukovsky, and since then it has been operating as a project theater. To date, 22 young directors have staged performances at ON.TEATR Laboratory and more than 150 actors from all theaters of the city are busy, there are 26 performances on the poster. ON.TEATR laboratory is one of the most interesting and fruitful theater spaces in the country, D. Volkostrelov, S. Alexandrovsky, M. Romanova, G. Tsnobiladze, E. Maximova, M. Smirnov and others debuted here. Over the past 5 years, the only organization filling the vacuum between the educational institution and the state theater, the Laboratory plays a crucial role in the theatrical process of St. Petersburg.