Diogenes' method

An action to support Russian theater initiatives was held for the sixth time

This project arose several years ago on the initiative of actor Yevgeny Mironov, with the moral participation of Vladislav Surkov and the material participation of his friendly cultural foundation “Egida”. With the aim of providing assistance, first of all, to the theater province, and in general to new, young, interesting endeavors. It's a good thing. True, the status of the project is not entirely clear: the money seems to be private, the composition of the organizing committee is arbitrary (like-minded people gathered, all worthy people: Evgeny Mironov, Teodor Currentzis, Kirill Serebrennikov, Chulpan Khamatova, Roman Dolzhansky, but at the same time nothing except personal passion, with not related to work on the theatrical periphery), there are no regulations other than one’s own taste, and at the same time, the action takes place under the auspices of the Council for Culture and Art under the President of the Russian Federation, which seems to give it a state level. Moreover, the participants consider their goal “not just to hand out the next prizes, but to make sure that the whole mechanism works, so that some already realized plans help the birth and implementation of others.” Thus, there is a certain program designed for the long term and for wide resonance.

Meanwhile, resonance is precisely what is not happening - unlike the “Territory” festival, which is held by the same team.

It is known that our theatrical periphery is not very rich in achievements. The experience of the Golden Mask festival, whose experts regularly review everything that is more or less interesting, shows that we have almost no significant achievements in the field of theatrical experimentation. And to make a discovery in this area is a great success. Therefore, it turns out that the winners of the support campaign are either already well-known groups and characters (for example, this year it is a theater from the Udmurd city of Glazov, which has already come to Moscow for various festivals and is well known to theatergoers, as well as the Small Drama Theater Lev Ehrenburg”, not to mention the prestigious Moscow school of Sergei Kazarnovsky), or, on the contrary, names and titles unknown even to professionals. It is quite possible that, based on their sources, the members of the organizing committee receive enough information and are able to choose the truly best student at a provincial theater university, or at least know which teachers they can trust unconditionally. And I do not at all want to question the competence of the jury or the wisdom of awarding the prize. Against.

It’s absolutely wonderful that Maryana Korbina, one of the organizers and coordinator of the Center for the Promotion of Independent Theaters, was awarded. The press release says that this “center helps organize regional festivals and conducts advanced training seminars for directors from small towns and villages, where amateur theaters are often the only centers of culture.” The activity is absolutely necessary, especially since the level of our amateur theaters is very different, help, including creative help, is very much needed, and in small towns and villages there are not only theaters, they don’t even show movies, not to mention concerts or exhibitions... And here the fact itself speaks for itself. But the folk theaters or studios that receive awards, in addition to material and moral encouragement (which is very good and important), do they get the opportunity to become more famous, or what? Well, in order to be known as an example - this is the kind of art, this is the kind of activity that we welcome and encourage, this is the road that others, less proactive and active, must follow, which, in fact, is the goal of the action, if I understand correctly...

In 2003, the first award ceremony took place, then the Saratov ATH Drama Theater under the direction of Ivan Verkhov received the prize, and in 2004, the theater, which had existed successfully for 15 years, closed forever for financial reasons. And no amount of support could save him, because it’s not enough to find a person (a group, a festival), you need to be able to present him correctly.

The action is clearly missing the last stage - a festival, a show, a presentation of the achievements of its laureates, who, if they are not pulled out of the shadows by someone more powerful than the joint efforts of the organizing committee of the action, remain just names listed in the press release. It is clear that this requires funds, and it would seem better to spend them on targeted support. But, on the other hand, without creating a movement, as Teatre.doc did, for example, you will not get development.

The laureates need information support no less than money, and maybe even more, since the lack of communication and communication difficulties are in many ways the cause of most of the problems in the Russian provinces. And not only theatrical.

Alena Solntseva