Atmosphere genius

Director Ivan Vyrypaev, artistic director of the theater "School of the Modern Play" Joseph Raichelgauz and journalist Marina Fedorovskaya - about Peter Fomenko, his pupils and the uniqueness of his theater.

Ivan Vyrypaev

Many years ago, when I was the actor of the theater in Kamchatka, his artistic director Viktor Ryzhakov showed me videos with student performances “Feomen” - “Wolves and Sheep” and others. It was amazing: I have never seen this method of playing in the province. The actors did not “play” the assessment of the fact, as we were then taught in theater schools, but simply answered a change in action.

And no matter how they convinced us that they are those people whom they show, but as if they were talking about their characters. It was such a very poetic theater, although it was not in verses, but in the fact that there is still a small gap between the role and its performer, some kind of space.

And this space is a manifestation of creativity.

It was incredibly interesting to observe. And then, when I already saw the Fomenko Theater live (the first performance that I saw live was Tanya - Tanya), I was just struck how easily the actors exist on the stage. They are, as it were, here, nearby, living people, and the characters arise from some kind of air. There was another amazing effect: on the one hand - a very modern theater, and on the other - such a truly traditional -Russian, but not the "Stanislavsky Theater", but rather Ostrovsky. I think that is why the Fomenko Theater had such a success abroad.

Today, when I look at the game “Fomen”, this method no longer works like this: in this space between the role and the performer the personality of the performer himself should now appear. Time demands to take another step forward. And not everyone is able to give this personality. This, on the one hand, is a special gift, and on the other, too, the desire to go in this direction. Such an actor is Polina Agureeva: here is an example of how the Fomenko Theater took another step forward. And on the third side, Agureev - after all, in some ways Ermolov. That is, again, a combination of the old Russian tradition of the performing theater and a modern tendency to speak from yourself.

One way or another,

The entire more or less acting Russian theater today can no longer exist as if there are no “Fomen”.

And if someone continues to exist like that, then, alas, it looks irrelevant from the point of view of perception. Therefore, Pyotr Naumovich Fomenko was (well, “it was already”) not only the great Russian director, but also the greatest reformer, who left behind was not a manifesto, not a system - a modern Russian theater. Low to him bow. And the kingdom of heaven.

Marina Fedorovskaya

It is no secret that there is some distrust of the theater around the world now. I don’t even want to go to the theater not even because they “lie” there - it’s simply not clear why, when there is an amazing movie and a lot of other entertainments.

The colossality of Fomenko’s phenomenon-as Ivan about so accurately, is that somehow he returned the uniqueness of momentary immersion to life, to another reality over and over again.

Fomenko is an absolute genius of the atmosphere.

You almost heard a fly buzzing in the very place where the action takes place - so immersed there. And, apparently, this is precisely the Fomenko Theater and captured everyone - both ordinary spectators and sophisticated. We can say that its performances were affected directly on the heart chakra; Unless a completely insensitive person could evaluate what was happening.

In addition, Fomenko’s performances have always “worked” at several levels - it is possible because Peter Naumovich was very multifaceted. The director, an actor and a gifted musician, he sang perfectly, and, like a man with a musical hearing, was incredibly sensitive to falsehood, which he did not allow in his performances.

In his nature, just such increased sensitivity was pronounced. Fomenko achieved immediacy, sincerity in any way. Let his actors be slightly more organic than the actors should be; Let there be no recitation or supernatural clarity of speech, but genuine feelings and organics made an amazing impression.

As a result, Fomenko really made me believe - and what could be more important for the theater.

And therefore, immediately, as soon as everyone saw the final performance of the first directorial-acting course of GITIS "Twelfth Night", it seems in the 93rd year, it became clear that this is a phenomenon, and, possibly, a historical order. We were witnesses to the birth of the last in the 20th century of the Russian Psychological Theater. He proved that such a theater can be extremely modern. Fomenko - already today! -He worked with the categories of “Believing-I Believe”, the actor’s life in the proposed image. And perhaps for this reason yesterday, when everyone woke up, opened their Facebook and saw the news - a feeling of unreality appeared.

Most people who at least slightly contacted his theater, saw his performances, admired the game of his actors, experienced an almost personal loss. The phenomenon of Peter Fomenko is also how many followers and students he has. He produced his “Fomen’s children” streams after he began to teach in GITIS. After his course, a 1988 set, became the Moscow Theater "Workshop P.N. Fomenko", there were additions from among the graduates of two more courses in the troupe.

I must say, from the very beginning, from the very first year, next to him were worthy followers - representatives of the director's profession.

Evgeny Kamenkovich, also a teacher GITIS, who now seems to have every chance of becoming the main director of the Fomenko Theater - an outstanding master, a full -fledged “deputy” Fomenko in many difficult situations, the director of many performances from the first years of the theater.

From the same first year, the director of the theater Ivan Popovski, whom everyone first recognized as an actor with a bright appearance and a small accent (he is from Macedonia), but very soon he showed his directorial style by an incredibly poetic and in his own modernist performance "Adventure" on Marina Tsvetaeva, first shown in the corridor of the directorial course of GITIS.

I ended up in GITIS in parallel with them, and I forever remember the unusual charm of each student of this course. These were very young, and somehow it was completely impossible attractive people. Fomenko, of course, always selected people with amazing accuracy, but I think he was driving them with the power of his charisma, not without reason they flew at the institute as sparkling ball lightning.

No wonder with the name of Peter Fomenko, first of all, his "Fomen" are associated. Wonderful sisters of the Kutepovs. The same graduation performance “Twelfth Night” was partially built to their similarities. Well, it would seem, here is one such move. But how they all played! What intonations gave the hall! Their phrases and manners pulled on threads. There was also a brilliant Madeline Dzhabrailov, a breathtaking tuning and a bog of the Cossacks - everyone was like a selection. The performance turned out to be wildly ridiculous and at the same time, which is important and not understood immediately, even the finest production, with clear and modern solutions to Misiangscen and all this theatrical props-scenography. Easy, witty, in the very heart - as the arrow of Amur, Peter Fomenko spoke.

It was impossible to imagine that these beautiful people of the Fomenko course broke up. There was a period after GITIS, when the Fomenes performed on the stage opposite the Schukinsky school, they were called to speak at many venues, they went, and wrote letters to the Ministry of Culture endlessly, to the city hall ... They waited, believed, did not believe. This state of their homelessness lasted impermissible for a long time. And when they finally got their first building on Kutuzovsky - this was a genuine victory, although, of course, being late. It is not such a success as in the case of the release of Sergei Zhenovach, who just a year after graduation (also an extremely successful course in the same almamater, now Rati) received a new, colossal in technical capabilities, theater.

By the way, Sergey Zhenovach is one of the main students and for a long time the right hand in the directorial work of Peter Fomenko. An amazing subtlety and culture of a person who, while still working with Fomenko, had his own unique theatrical handwriting, but he absorbed the Fomenko school and prevailed at his own angle, a little more stringent, maybe very deep ... Pyotr Naumovich, like no one in the world, seemed to be able to reveal a stage talent.

The Fomen are beaded by happiness. It seemed that they all glowed, causing not so much envy, although, for sure, there was such a moment - but the joy of involving a miracle. And each next performance gave the happiness of communication with this team- who, in turn, was happy from the possibility of communicating daily with his teacher and, as it were, crystallized thanks to the personality of Peter Naumovich Fomenko. I believe that this personality will remain with them - and I sympathize with those who did not have time to catch the atmosphere Prime Minister Fomenko. However, let Prime Minister Fomenko be gone, his performances are still going. They must be seen.

Joseph Reichelgaus

The terrible news of the death of Peter Naumovich found me at the theater festival. I remembered all day yesterday, as we first met - I was a first -year student of GITIS, and he became the teacher whom you remember all my life.

For me, this irreparable loss, because Pyotr Naumovich, so it happened, had a great influence on my life and fate. I was his assistant when he worked at the Moscow State University Theater on Leningrad, not having the opportunity to work professionally in other theaters. His whole life is the story of a person who all the time goes forward, despite the prohibitions, dismissal and interference. He did not notice them, but went forward. Therefore, even in a small student theater at the university, he was able to stake brilliant performances.

Life pushed us constantly: we not only worked for many years, but also friends. I was in his performances and - in the Holy of Holy - on his rehearsals, and he - on mine.

He was from the rare category of people who knew how to rejoice at someone else's success.

The rare case in a creative environment, when talent and human decency are combined in one person, without envy and anger. I remember how I once met him, and he began to talk about the performance of his student, now the already famous director Sergei Zhenovach. Pyotr Naumovich spoke with enthusiasm for his setting and several times remarked: "I must learn from him, and not him from me." The ability to be generous and friendly to the young is an important quality.

He was not an egocentric. Although a lot of trials fell on his lot: he was actually not allowed to work, we remember how he was fired from theaters, how his production was removed from repertoires. And therefore, when success and recognition came, he seemed to be indifferent to this - Fomenko was not a frequent guest on various kinds of bonuses and presentations. Not because they were not called - I did not go. He spent time and effort on another - on his students, his theater, his productions. Therefore, he was able to accumulate and realize so much - to build the theater, to raise so many outstanding actors and directors, to release performances that have already become religious.

Why did he succeed? A rare case when a talented director can become the same talented teacher. Usually we see completely different examples of “or-or”. But Fomenko was both a practitioner and a teacher who can create and lead others. This, apparently was the happiest coincidence that we begin to understand to the end, alas, when a person leaves us.

See also: Peter Fomenko died of the consequences of a heart attack