TROUPE DESERVING BRAVO

Not long ago, Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture supported small tours of the third-year students of the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute on the stage of the State National Academic Drama in Baku. The program of performances includes a concert class Fox and Grapes and Caucasian Chalk Circle. Typical as it may seem, one very important circumstance makes the event special.

Teacher and his students

The students showed their professional achievements for a reason! It was sort of a creative report and an exam before compatriots and parents, and, most importantly, before the Ministry of Culture, which organised the study of a group of Azerbaijani actors and directors at the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute of the Russian Yevgeny Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre. The head of training course is the Honoured Art Worker of Russia, Head of the Direction Department, Prof. Mikhail Borisovich Borisov, who accompanied his students to Baku.

Vakhtangov traditions

For a short time, Borisov became the leader in the class concert program. But before starting, the professor said that in the work of teachers and students of the institute, in relation to the theatre and life, the Vakhtangov school is quite conservative: both in understanding the basic disciplines of the profession, in strict observance of traditions, and in loyalty to what is considered a Vakhtangov tradition.

Introducing the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute to the audience, Borisov said that the class-concert is an old tradition of the institute, which helps to see and evaluate a student's accomplishments in practical terms. The class concert was specially designed for the Baku audience. It includes the best works of students. According to Borisov, the Vakhtangov school does not accept a system of scattered creative workshops. Starting from the fourth semester, the entire department of acting works with each course. Everyone works with everyone. Elements of acting are mastered in a strict logical sequence: from simple to complex! In addition, each subsequent element naturally incorporates all the previous ones. The motto of the teachers of the Vakhtangov school is the words of the Russian theatre director, actor and teacher Vsevolod Meyerhold: “The school should not teach innovations but traditions”. “Today we came here with a creative exam, particularly to show our skills before the Ministry of Culture. We started this training course three years ago, and today we want to show what we can do,” Borisov said.

Pointless action

This one was called Shish Kebab. Since the first minute, Abdulla Ismayilov managed to convince the audience that a true barbeque chef lives only in Absheron! Then Bahruz Aliyev and Anna Avgustinova performed a short piece from Alexander Ostrovsky's play Bondmaids. Scenes sounded quite convincingly, revealing both the nature of each character and the essence of their conflict. In a word, this pedagogical passage made it possible to conclude that the role of hero-lovers to these students is within the reach of the students. Ramil Bayramly sang Sary Galin, impressing the audience with his ability of vocal and musical improvisations. Abdulla Ismayilov appeared again to read an excerpt from Nodar Dumbadze's story Cucaracha. Mikhail Borisovich, anticipating the student’s entry to the stage, informed the hall that Abdullah is the winner of the Leonid Filatov reader competition, which is held annually in St. Petersburg for students of creative universities.

Etudes

Night Thieves. The etude performed by Bahruz Aliyev, Telman Suleymanov and Ramil Bayramov on the elements of stage combat, plastics and stage movement is quite consistent with a comedy genre, causing a lively reaction and a long laugh of the audience. Etude on organic silence Package from Baku masterfully played by Abdulla Ismayilov confirmed that he was a student with a potential of a variety actor. Independent performance of Bahruz Aliyev and Mikayil Aliyev staged on the novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky Demons (Albert Camus's dramatization) impressed the audience by very convincing accuracy of psychological development of characters. Completely modern types. Quite relevant problems worth talking about on the stage.

Dancing

And, of course, dance classes under the instructorship of Aida Tsomaeva could not help turning into such an extravagant jazz street dance performed by students. Anna Lutsenko (Polina) and Telman Suleymanov (Zhadov) wonderfully played an excerpt from Ostrovsky's play Profitable Place. Their performance was followed by another one by Anna Avgustinova and Ramail Bayramly, who played the At a Taxi Stop using the technique of musical rhythmic education. It turned out that one can tell many things through rhythmic percussions: acquaintance, telling about oneself, making a date. Then Bahruz Aliyev read, or rather, played a little love story for the Woman, expressing it through a Spanish folk song written by Garcia Lorca. Anna Avgustinova (Nadia), Anna Lutsenko (Lida), Vusal Mehraliyev (Uncle), Abdulla Ismayilov (Volodya) performed a passage from the Elder Sister by A. Volodin. Tamilla Aleskerova and Bahruz Aliyev surprised everyone with a lyrical Russian folk dance. And then, to the enthusiastic applause of the audience, Anna Avgustinova and Ramail Bayramly sang Eternal Love in French. Dance again, but only this time in the style of a saloon jazz. A series of etudes from Observations was played by Abdulla Ismayilov, Mikayil Aliyev, Fidan Mammadova, Vusal Mehraliyev, Ramail Bayramly, Telman Suleymanov and Bahruz Aliyev.

"Musical observations"

We could hardly recognise the students, because we had the lookalikes of celebrities on stage: Nani Bregvadze and Sofia Rotaru (Kamilla Aleskerova), Yolka and Anna German (Narmina Mammadova), Michael Jackson and Luciano Pavarotti (Ramail Bayramly), Diana Arbenina and Emmi Weinhaus (Anna Avgustinova). Those who cannot be confused with anyone else. Their voice, plastic movements, psychophysical state were very similar! Mikhail Borisovich later explained that the technique of actor's musical transformation has been invented and introduced by Yevgeny Vakhtangov himself, and has been included in the curriculum for as long as the institute itself — 105 years! Later the television channels borrowed this idea to make now-popular programs like One to One. The only difference is that unlike on TV, students do everything themselves, including being teachers for vocal and plastic movements. The residents of Baku appreciated their efforts with loud applause and enthusiastic shouts of bravo!

Troupe does exist

We have the first acquaintance of future actors with the Baku audience. We remember everyone by name and understand that the training course turned out to be interesting. Each of them is interesting in a special way: there are heroic lovers, heroes, simpletons and characteristic protagonists, antagonists and protagonists, lyrical romantics. In a word, the course is staffed in the same way as it is accepted to recruit to a creative university: in accordance with the role. This is a very correct approach to the setup of any course, be it in theatre or a college.

To the point of art

Students have another year of study ahead, which will pass quickly. What will be their common destiny? They will return home as an established troupe with their graduation performance. Will they have their own house? Being worried about the professional future of these guys, Mikhail Borisovich appealed to the Ministry of Culture with a request not to distribute them among different theatres, but, if possible, to create a youth theatre-studio. Otherwise, he said, they will "dissolve" in the routine atmosphere, and their desire for creative searches, daring experiments will fade into the past and the ministry's experiment with sending the group to study will be ineffective. But if the guys have even a small but their own theatre, Baku will have a new theatre, where bold production thought, thirst to create, surprise, experiment, and the young energy, not overwhelmed by the boredom of theatrical provincialism of mediocre performers, will finally bring us back to the point of real theatrical art: without surrogates and false miserable ideals.