Chapel is not just an usher. What does the chaperon do - You have certain points of implementation

There are many people who at least once bought tickets not at the box office of the theater, but from their hands, from those who were once called speculators, and now they are called good dealers.

The paradox is that resellers are now offering the best deals to the best theaters in the city for the most famous productions with popular actors in decent seats of your choice. Your benefit is that you will get what you were looking for but could not find. The benefit of the sellers, respectively, will be calculated in monetary terms - the percentage that the seller accrues to himself. What made these people make selling tickets their profession?

With one of the representatives of this caste, Igor, we talked, choosing a cafe near the place of his work - Theater Square as the place of our conversation. Behind the mask of a talkative joker was an interesting and very extraordinary person, with his own virtues, complexes and dreams. Our conversation was witnessed by a woman who eventually asked for Igor's phone number. So another client was found - thanks to an interview for VD, which, by the way, was in my interlocutor's pocket all this time.

– Igor, why did you decide to sell theater tickets?

Because there was no choice. I started by working as a courier. I consider myself talented, brilliant, gifted. Alas, no one can cut me. And it is necessary for every diamond. I could be everything: a diplomat, an artist, an artist, a guitarist. But I did not, because laziness ...

- Where do you get tickets?

- You have to buy tickets with your own money. There are 500 hucksters like me in Moscow. We know the situation, make the right purchases and live by that. Everyone does not have to day by day. Five times a month I can make a hundred dollars. On other days it is less, one and a half thousand, one thousand, five hundred rubles. And sometimes, like today, only fifty ... Anyone who wants to do this will succeed.

- Which theaters are more likely to take tickets?

- They take any. It all depends on me, how I can present this or that proposal. After all, you can wrap a brick in a good wrapper and sell it, and it will look like candy. The most popular, of course, are Lenkom, Sovremennik, the Bolshoi Theater, and the Maly. People have started to go to the Maly Theater more often now. I always say to Viktor Pavlov: "Recommend me to Solomin for the main role."

- How do you know Pavlov?

- In general, I know many artists, I am a sociable person.

- Where do you meet them?

- On the street. Here a modest person is afraid to approach another person on the street. And I'm a little rude in this regard.

- Can you figure out who exactly will buy a ticket from you?

- I have my regular customers. One, for example, is a high-ranking official of Lukoil, the other is Nikoil. There is also the First Deputy Minister of Finance. Came up and asked for tickets. Then I didn't know who it was. And an ordinary person will come, we will serve him, we will give him tickets according to his level. It will be inexpensive.

– How inexpensive?

– For example, I buy a ticket for four hundred rubles, but I can sell it for two or three times more. Looking at the client. We vary prices. For it is said, according to your position and the price.

– Do you have specific implementation points?

– I work at the Bolshoi Theatre. But I meet people everywhere. I walk down the street, I see a man and I leave him my business card. The person already understands that it will be better if he buys something from me. Because I usually say: “If you don’t buy anything from me, then I will dream of you.” He starts to worry.

– How many people work next to you?

-I think there are 40-45 people. The competition is terrible. People around me are good, however, with their jokes. Sometimes situations arise when two sellers collide because of one buyer. In this case, I can move away, and someone can move in the face. There have been cases. But I love this job. There is only one reason for this - communication with people, sometimes very interesting, and freedom. Certain, of course. When I want, then I go to work. Complete stagnation. Somehow you have to survive. If money was more important to me, then I would be a multimillionaire. My misfortune is that I am not greedy. Seriously.

Do you have problems with the police?

- Yes, any person has problems with the police. But I won't say anything about this. I can only say that we settle conflicts. I have friends who have been doing this for 20-25 years and have even been in prison.

Are you tired of this life?

- Tired, of course. Can you suggest me something else? Maybe a good position and portfolio? I would love to carry a briefcase. The most important thing is that in our country it is easier to be a huckster.

– Igor, do you like theater?

- My dad was a theater director, all this is familiar to me. I wouldn't mind having my own theater agency.

- Do you go to the theatre?

- No, I don't. You know, artists, as a rule, don't go to the theatre. I'm an artist. To go to the theater, you have to spend money, but I'm sorry. And all the time there is no time. I want to earn something. You choose: either you go to the theater, or you earn a piece of cheese. Do you know how difficult it is to make money on the same suluguni?

- And yet, what theater would you advise to go to?

- "Mayakovka" is a good theater, the Taganka Theater, "Lenkom". An ordinary person cannot go there. Many theaters are simply unaffordable financially. And the situation always depends on the director. In any theater, elite or ordinary.

- What would you like to tell the readers of "VD"?

- Get tickets from the hucksters. They are the same people. And they also want to be happy, needed, useful. I draw a little, but I'm really happy that someone needs me.

Proscenium- the space of the stage between the curtain and the auditorium.

As a playground, the proscenium is widely used in opera and ballet performances. In drama theaters, the proscenium serves as the main setting for small scenes in front of a closed curtain that tie the scenes of the play.

Some directors bring the main action to the fore, expanding the stage area.

Actor- a living connection between the text of the author, the stage directions of the director and the perception of the viewer. In the history of the theatre, this difficult task has made the actor either a person adored and mystified, or a being despised by society with an almost instinctive fear. For a long time, the term "actor" denoted the protagonist of the play; then - the performer of the role, the artisan of the scene, the comedian.

In the Western tradition, the actor embodies the character, impersonating him, representing his physical presence on the stage, maintaining a truly "corporeal" connection with the audience, which is called upon to feel the immediately felt carnal, as well as the ephemeral and elusive side of his appearance. The actor is often said to be possessed by another being, transforming him. Hence the romantic myth of the actor "from God", for whom there is no difference between the stage and life.

However, the actor can also show the distance that separates him from the role. Here lies the old argument between the supporters of the "sincere" actor who experiences all the feelings of his character, and the actor who is able to subdue and portray them.

On our website in the "Guestbook" section, the audience is given a unique opportunity to ask questions to the actors of the theater. I.S. Turgenev, learn from them all the subtleties and secrets of the profession.

Intermission- the period of time between actions during which the game is interrupted and the audience can leave the hall. This "break" means the return of real social time, the destruction of the illusion, the possibility of reflection. Intermission is necessary for a change of scenery, during a long pause, blackout or changes in front of the viewer.

In the court theater of the Renaissance, the intermission had a special meaning. It was at this time that the audience could show each other their chic toilets.

Intermission is a rest for the audience, but not for the action at all. It is assumed that the characters continue to live their lives in between acts.

Intermission is also a psychological necessity for the viewer, whose attention is difficult to hold without interruption for more than two hours. In addition, the return to reality makes the viewer think about what he saw, judge the theatrical work, generalize and systematize a lot of impressions. This is the moment of awakening criticality. It is not surprising that epic dramaturgy contributes to the increase in such pauses in the performance, forcing the audience to “intervene” at the moments of the destruction of the illusion. And vice versa, performances based on hypnotic influence and subject to a specific rhythm, today often completely refuse such respite.

Intermission at the OGAT them. IS. Turgenev usually lasts 15 minutes. At this time, the public can visit the theater buffet, located on the second floor, as well as the Museum of the History of the Oryol Stage.

Role- the type of role of the actor, corresponding to his age, appearance and style of play. In particular, there are comic, tragic roles.

Applause - frank meeting of the viewer with the performer beyond fiction. In a strict sense, applause (clapping hands) is a fairly universal phenomenon. First of all, it testifies to the so-called physical reaction of the viewer, who, after forced immobility, releases his energy.

Applause always performs the function of contact, which means: "I perceive and evaluate you."

The habit of applauding actors goes back to antiquity. For this kind of activity, the ancient Greeks even came up with a small charming god - Krotos.

In the 17th century The habit of clapping your hands was common throughout Europe. In some cultures, the public demonstrates their approval by shouting, whistling. The actors of the OGAT named after I.S. Turgenev ask their viewers in this sense not to deviate from the Russian tradition and the laws of politeness.

It is debatable whether it is possible to applaud during the performance and thus destroy the illusion. After all, applause is an element of estrangement, the invasion of reality into art.

At present, the audience willingly applauds the actors, their witticisms, scenery at the beginning of the action, interrupting the course of the performance. The more intellectual or “avant-garde” audience shows its enthusiasm only after the curtain closes, so as not to encourage individual actor's or director's finds, but to thank all the artists at once after the performance, calling the stage director, and the decorator, and even the author.

It happens that the applause is "delivered" by the direction.

At all times, theatrical entrepreneurs paid for the services of a professional cluck to get the audience to accept the performance favorably. There is no such practice in Turgenev's theater. So be sure of the sincerity of the impulses of your neighbors on the stalls or the amphitheater.

But the exits and departures of the actors from the stage "before the curtain" can be staged: the actors seem to continue to play a role or play a comic scene in order to cause laughter from the public.

Do not forget that the artists of the OGAT them. I.S. Turgenev, the opinion of the viewer is very important. Therefore, applause for them is the most expensive reward!

backstage- the space behind the main stage. The backstage is a continuation of the main stage, used to create the illusion of a great depth of space, and serves as a reserve room for setting the scenery. Furks or a revolving rolling circle with pre-installed decorations are placed on the backstage. The top of the rear stage is equipped with grates with decorative risers and lighting equipment. Warehouses of mounted decorations are placed under the floor of the rear stage.

Benefit - a performance staged in honor of one of the actors or theater workers as an expression of recognition of the skill of the beneficiary. Most often it is held in connection with various memorable events, anniversaries of artists.

Benefit performances at the Turgenev Theater are always very warm and generous meetings of old friends, among which a special place of honor belongs to the audience.

Side stage pocket- a room for a dynamic change of scenery with the help of special rolling platforms. Side pockets are located on both sides of the stage. Their dimensions make it possible to completely fit on the furka the scenery that occupies the entire playing area of ​​the stage. Usually decorative warehouses adjoin side pockets.

Props - specially made items (sculpture, furniture, dishes, jewelry, weapons, etc.) used in theatrical performances instead of real things. Props are notable for their cheapness, durability, emphasized expressiveness of the external form. At the same time, props usually refuse to reproduce details that are not visible to the viewer.

The manufacture of props is a large branch of theatrical technology, including work with paper pulp, cardboard, metal, synthetic materials and polymers, fabrics, varnishes, paints, mastics, etc. The range of props that require special knowledge in the field of stucco, cardboard , finishing and locksmith works, painting of fabrics, chasing on metal...

Props of the Academic Theater named after I.S. Turgenev from simple materials in their arsenal work real miracles. Sometimes they even surpass the famous fairy in skill, who built a carriage for her no less famous goddaughter Zoloshka from a pumpkin. Don't believe me - see for yourself. By the way, children's performances are always especially bright.

top stage- part of the stage box, located above the stage mirror and bounded from above by a grate. It is equipped with working galleries and walkways, and serves to accommodate hanging decorations, overhead lighting devices, and various stage mechanisms.

Vaudeville - a comedy play with couplet songs and dances, as well as a genre of dramatic art.

This name arose in the 17th century as a contamination of two song genres.

At the end of the 15th century, songs appeared called Val de Vire- literally "Virskaya valley" (Vir - a river in Normandy). In the 16th century, Paris developed voix de ville("voices of the city") - strophic songs of predominantly love content.

In the 17th century, urban folk satirical songs appeared, performed with or without simple instrumental accompaniment. They got the name vaudeville.

In the second half of the 17th century in France, these songs began to be included in small theatrical pieces, which then also became known as "vaudevilles".

Makeup- the art of giving the actor the appearance necessary for the role.

Cosmetic makeup has been used in the theater since the 16th century. Among its main functions is "improvement of nature." This habitual use of make-up is especially welcome on stage, since this art is not so much about making a character look old, but about making him younger.

Some theatrical make-up traditions, for example, in the Chinese theater, are based on a purely symbolic system of matching different colors to social characteristics: white for the intelligentsia, red for incorruptible heroes, blue for the proud, silver for the gods.

In addition, the make-up is a kind of living costume for the actor, which competes with the mask due to the mobility of the face. Grim uses the defining ambiguity of a theatrical performance: it is a mixture of naturalness and artificiality, a thing and a sign.

Without characterizing the character psychologically, he contributes to the creation of theatrical forms along with other components of the performance, becoming an equal aesthetic element of the performance.

Decoration- creation of a visual mode of action on the stage by pictorial, pictorial, architectural means.

The very origin of the term (painting, ornamentation, decoration) points to the mimetic and pictorial function of the decorative infrastructure.

Decoration should be useful, efficient, functional.

Among the main functions of the scenery are the illustration and depiction of elements that supposedly exist in the dramatic universe, the free construction and change of the scene, considered as a game mechanism.

Drama- literary (dramatic), stage and cinematographic genre. It gained particular distribution in the literature of the 18th-21st centuries, gradually replacing another genre of dramaturgy - tragedy, opposing it with a predominantly everyday plot and a style closer to everyday reality. With the advent of cinema, he also moved into this type of art, becoming one of its most common genres.

Dramas specifically depict, as a rule, the private life of a person and his conflict with society. At the same time, the emphasis is often placed on universal human contradictions embodied in the behavior and actions of specific characters.

Intrigue- the main situation of the drama around which the action develops.

Usher- a theater worker who checks tickets, escorts the audience to their seats and keeps order in the hall.

Grids- lattice (wooden) flooring, located above the stage. It serves to install blocks of stage mechanisms, is used for work related to the suspension of performance design elements. The grates communicate with the working galleries and the stage with stationary stairs.

Comedy- from Greek. komedia is a ritual song that accompanies the cortege in honor of the god Dionysus. Previously, this word denoted any play, regardless of genre.

According to tradition, comedy is defined by three criteria that are opposite to tragedy: the characters of the comedy are people of modest position, the denouement is necessarily happy, the ultimate goal of the play is the laughter of the public. Hence its ease of adaptation in any society, the infinite variety of manifestations and the difficulty of building a coherent theory of comedy.

Comedy almost always comes to an optimistic conclusion (marriage, reconciliation, recognition). The laughter of the spectator in it is now the laughter of an accomplice, now the laughter of superiority: it protects the spectator from tragic anxiety.

Every comic play is the counterpart and antipode of the tragic mechanism. Tragedy plays on our deepest anxieties; comedy plays on our defense mechanisms against those anxieties.

Both genres thus answer the same human question. The transition from the tragic to the comic is provided by the degree of emotional participation of the public. Ultimately, in comedy, all contradictions are resolved in a playful or caustic tone, the world finds its balance.

But the restoration of order and the happy ending must be preceded by a period of instability, followed by an optimistic conclusion and final reconciliation.

backstage- vertical stripes of fabric framing the stage.

Lodge- in a traditional theatrical interior, a group of seats separated from neighboring ones by side partitions or barriers.

Historically, the box was a small room with a separate entrance, in some cases leading through a small hallway, where you could leave your clothes or even spend time during the intermission. This room was called the outhouse. The boxes were located both at the level of the stalls (the box of the benoir) and on higher tiers (the first of which, the most prestigious, was called the mezzanine).

In many theaters, privileged boxes were provided - the royal (royal, presidential), governor's, director's, which were at the disposal of the theater management. Other lodges were most often subscribed by the rich and noble connoisseurs for the entire season.

The advantage of the box consisted not only in a separate entrance, but also in the opportunity to observe the stage action, to a lesser extent revealing oneself.

Melodrama- originally - a play in which the most acute dramatic moments were accompanied by music to express the emotions of a silent character.

Over time, melodrama becomes a new independent genre. Showing good and evil people in tragic or touching situations, melodrama tries to excite the viewer not so much with the significance of the text as with stage effects.

It highlights the heroic, sentimental and tragic sides as much as possible, multiplies unexpected denouements, recognitions and tragic comments of the characters. The narrative structure is unshakable: love, betrayal, bringing misfortune, the triumph of virtue, punishment and reward, persecution as "the core of intrigue."

This form develops at a time when the production begins to impose spectacular effects, to replace the harmonious text with unexpected outcomes.

The characters of the melodrama, clearly divided into positive and negative, are deprived of the possibility of a tragic choice. They are full of good or bad feelings, they are not tormented by doubts, they are not torn apart by contradictions.

The situations of melodrama are often implausible, but clearly defined: complete despair or inexpressible happiness; the cruel fate of the hero, ending in a happy ending (in an optimistic melodrama), or a gloomy and tense fate, as in a horror novel; social injustice or reward for virtue and civic virtue.

mise-en-scene - in the broad, generally accepted sense of the word - a set of means of stage interpretation: scenery, lighting, music and acting.

In a narrow sense, this term denotes an activity that consists in bringing together various elements of the stage interpretation of a dramatic work into a certain time and space framework. Initially, the mise-en-scene expresses the classical concept of a theatrical work as a single harmonious whole, which is not reduced to a simple sum of materials or stage arts, but is a qualitatively new unit of a higher level. The mise-en-scene declares the subordination of each individual art or just any sign to a single harmonious principle, a unifying idea.

The demand for a unifying idea from the very birth of the concept of mise-en-scène was accompanied by an awareness of the historicity of texts and staging, an understanding that there is a whole sequence of “concretization” of one and the same work.

In a word, this is a transformation or, rather, a concretization of the text through the actor, through the stage space, embedded in the time period lived by the viewer.

The space, so to speak, is translated into words: the text is memorized and recorded in the gestural space of the actor. The artist is looking for such movements, such poses that would best correspond to the spatial recording of the text. The words of the dialogue, collected together in the text, now exist separately, they are inscribed in the stage space and time, they can be seen and heard.

The mise-en-scène embraces both the environment in which the actors exist and the psychological gestural decision of the role. Any mise-en-scene is an interpretation of the text with the help of "action"; access to the play is possible for us only through such a director's reading.

Mise-en-scene always involves a phase of working with actors. The director directs the actors, explaining how they should look on stage in accordance with his idea of ​​the role. He makes adjustments depending on the compatibility of their performance with the performance of other actors. He strives to ensure that gestures, intonations and rhythm in the smallest detail correspond to the entire discourse of the mise-en-scene, so that they fit into the passage, scene, into the whole performance.

lower stage- part of the stage box below the tablet, where stage mechanisms, prompter and light control booths, lifting and lowering devices, devices for stage effects are located.

Opera - a genre of musical and dramatic art in which the content is embodied by means of musical dramaturgy, mainly through vocal music. The literary basis of the opera is the libretto.

The word "orega" in translation from Italian literally means work, composition. In this musical genre, poetry and dramatic art, vocal and instrumental music, facial expressions, dances, painting, scenery and costumes are merged into a single whole.

Almost every opera begins with an overture - a symphonic introduction that introduces the listener in general terms to the content of the entire action.

Parterre(fr. parterre- on the ground) - the lower floor of the auditorium in the theater with seats for the public in the space from the stage or from the orchestra to the opposite wall or to the amphitheater.

The ancestor of the stalls was the bench for senators in the theaters of ancient Rome. In the 17th century, after the appearance of a tiered theatrical building, the stalls also changed, taking on a more modern look. The parterre was intended for the lower class, so for a long time it did not have seats - the spectators of the parterre had to watch the performance while standing. Seating in the stalls appeared at the beginning of the 17th century in private indoor theaters in England. Then the seats were arranged as needed.

Currently, the seats are most often arranged in rows that rise from the stage to the amphitheater and are parallel to the edge of the stage. The seats are separated by walkways to exit the stalls.

Ramp- a system of diffused light lighting fixtures installed on a tablet along the front edge of the proscenium and designed to illuminate the space of the stage from the front and from below. Hidden from the audience by a low side.

Director- a person whose duties include staging a play. The director takes responsibility for the aesthetic side of the performance and its organization, the selection of performers, the interpretation of the text and the use of stage tools at his disposal. The appearance of this term is usually attributed to the first half of the 19th century.

In the history of the theater there are many more or less legitimate predecessors of the director.

In the ancient Greek theater, the role of didaskalos (from didiskalos - “teacher”) was often played by the author of the performance himself, acting as the organizer.

In the Middle Ages, the head of the theater troupe was responsible for the ideological and aesthetic aspects of the staging of mysteries. In the Renaissance and Baroque eras, performances were often organized by architects and decorators according to their own plans.

In the XVIII century. great actors take the baton. And only with the flourishing of the realistic theater the function of the director passes to professionals, turns into an independent art.

Props- items of stage furnishings (with the exception of scenery and costumes) that the actors use or manipulate during the course of the play.

Repertoire- a set of plays performed by one theater during one season or some period of time; selection of plays of the same style or of the same era; a set of roles that one actor is able to play, the range of his acting capabilities, his role.

Rehearsal- work on learning the text and stage performance, performed by the actors under the guidance of the director.

This performance-preparation activity occupies the entire troupe and takes on a variety of forms.

Rehearsals take place in a new, creative way every time.

Role - a combination of text and acting by the same actor. The distribution of roles is made, as a rule, by the director, depending on the characteristics of the performers and the possibilities of their use in the play.

Then the role becomes the actor himself (the role of villain, traitor, etc.) created by the actor. When the role does not correspond to the role of the artist, they speak of a mixed role.

In any play there are so-called main and secondary roles. The attitude to the role is formed either by the principle of imitation and identification (the incarnation of the character by the actor), or, on the contrary, by the principle of difference and estrangement.

Scene- from Greek. skene - booth, stage. In the early days of Greek theater, the skene was a cage or tent built behind the orchestra.

Skene, orchectra, theatron are the three fundamental scenographic elements of the ancient Greek performance. The orchestra or playground connected the stage and the audience. The skene developed in height, including the theologeon or playground of the gods and heroes, and on the surface, along with the proscenium, an architectural façade, a forerunner of the wall decorum that would later form the proscenium space.

Throughout history, the meaning of the term "stage" has been constantly expanded: the scenery, the playground, the scene of action, the time period during the act, and, finally, in a metaphorical sense, a sudden and bright spectacular event ("setting someone a scene").

The Turgenev Theater has a special, very reverent attitude towards the stage. This is a place where the uninitiated are closed. Stepping on it, the servants of the Turgenev House seem to take a vow to play from the heart, to present all facets of their talent to the public.

But the audience also has a unique opportunity to visit the stage by purchasing a ticket for the play “Beautiful Star of Love”: seats for the public are equipped right on the stage, which gives the production a special intimacy and intimacy.

Scenography- among the ancient Greeks - the art of decorating the theater and the picturesque scenery resulting from this technique.

In the Renaissance, scenography is a technique that consists in painting a canvas backdrop.

In the modern sense of the word, it is the science and art of organizing the stage and theater space. Metonymically: the scenery itself, the result of the set designer's work.

This term is increasingly being replaced by the word "decoration" if there is a need to go beyond the concept of decoration. Scenography thus marks the desire to be writing in a three-dimensional space (to which one should also add a temporal dimension), and not just the art of decorating the canvas, which the theater was content with up to naturalism.

In the heyday of modern scenography, decorators managed to breathe life into space, enliven time and the actor's performance in the total creative act, when it is difficult to isolate the director, lighting, actor or musician.

Theater(Greek θέατρον - the main meaning is a place for spectacles, then - a spectacle, from θεάομαι - I look, I see) - a form of performing art.

Theater is a synthesis of all arts, it includes music, architecture, painting, cinematography, photography, etc. The main means of expression is an actor who, through action, using various theatrical techniques and forms of existence, conveys to the viewer the essence of what is happening on stage .

In this case, the actor does not have to be a living person. It can be a doll or some object controlled by a person.

The theater is considered the most powerful means of influencing people, because, seeing what is happening on the stage, the viewer associates himself with one or another character. Through catharsis (purification through suffering), changes occur within him.

The main workers of the theater: directors, actors, make-up artists, cloakroom attendants, illuminators, ushers, choreographers, artists, stage workers.

Theatrical art- a combination of words that contains all the contradictions of the theater: is this art autonomous, along with its own laws and aesthetic specifics, or is it just the cumulative result (synthesis, conglomeration or combination) of several arts (painting, poetry, architecture, music, dance and gesture)? In the history of aesthetics, there are both points of view.

1. The origin of the theater

An endless wealth of forms and theatrical traditions that have developed throughout history, the possibility of one, even the most general, definition of theatrical art. The etymology of the Greek word theatron, meaning a place where spectators gathered to watch a performance, only partially conveys one of the components of this art. Indeed, an art designed primarily for visual perception, a kind of institutionalized contemplation, theatre, however, has often been reduced to the art of dramaturgy, a literary genre, the spectacle of which, since the time of Aristotle, has been regarded as an accessory, inevitably dependent on the text. The variety of theatrical forms and dramatic genres corresponds to the variety of material, social and aesthetic conditions of theatrical work: what is common, for example, between a primitive rite, a boulevard play, a medieval mystery play, or a performance created in the Indian or Chinese tradition?

Sociologists and anthropologists find it difficult to identify the totality of reasons that determine a person's need for the theater. But independently of each other, and sometimes unanimously, they pointed to the desire to imitate; a taste for play, both among children and adults, the original ceremonial function; the need to tell stories and laugh with impunity at this or that state of society; the pleasure experienced by an actor in reincarnation. The origin of the theater seems to have had a ritual or religious basis, and the individual, among a group of persons, himself participated in the ceremony before entrusting this task to an actor or a priest. The theater only gradually departed from its magical or religious nature and, in order to challenge society, it had to become strong and independent enough: hence the difficulties that arose in its history that characterize the attitude towards power and law. Modern theater has nothing in common with a cult source, except for some experiments in returning to myth or to ceremony, which, following Artaud's experiments, search for the original purity of the theatrical action, and its forms are so diverse that it fully corresponds to numerous new aesthetic and social functions. The development of the theater is closely connected with the evolution of social and technological consciousness: is it not for this reason that from time to time they predict its inevitable death due to the dominance of the media and mass art.

2. Western tradition

If the question of the essence and specificity of theatrical art has always contained something idealistic and metaphysical, very far from the actual practice of the theater, then one can at least enumerate some of the features of this art that are characteristic of our Western tradition from ancient Greece to the present time. The concept of "art" differs from the concepts of "craft", "technique" or "rite": the theater, even if it has at its disposal a variety of technical means (play, stage design, etc.) and a certain number of traditional and unshakable actions, goes beyond scope of each of these constituent parts. Each time he represents an action (or a mimetic representation of some action) thanks to actors embodying the characters or showing them to an audience gathered at the same time in one place, more or less equipped. The text (or action), the actor's body, the stage, the spectator - such is the necessary chain of any theatrical communication. Each link in this chain takes on very different forms. Sometimes the text is not respected and replaced with a non-literary style of play, even if it is a specific, intended to be read text; the actor's body loses its function of human presence when the stage director turns it into a surpuppet or when it is replaced by an object or stage mechanism provided by the set design; the stage is not necessarily equipped in a building specially built for theatrical performances: a town square, a hangar, etc. perfect for theatrical activities; the spectator cannot be completely excluded without turning the theatrical art into a dramatic game in which everyone participates, as a ritual that does not need an outsider's eye for its performance, or into a "sectarian activity", completely isolated and having no critical exit to society...

A theatrical performance presupposes a whole complex of directives, advice, and orders contained in the theatrical score, text, and stage directions.

There is nothing fixed and final in the distinction between genres and their hierarchy. Thus, modern theatrical art categorically denies the division into three parts: drama/lyric/epos. The tragedy-comedy polarity, which is noted in the dual tradition of genres - "noble" (tragedy, high comedy) and "vulgar" (farce, spectacle) - also loses its meaning as social relations develop.

3. Theater in the system of arts

Most theorists agree that theatrical art has all the artistic and technological means available in a given era. Craig, for example, gives this (almost tautological) definition: “The art of the theater is neither the art of acting, nor the theatrical play, nor the stage image, nor the dance ... It is the totality of the elements of which these various spheres are composed. It is made up of movement, which is the meaning of acting, words that form the body of the play, from line and color, giving rise to the soul of the stage scenery, from rhythm, which determines the essence of the dance.

There is no unanimity on the question of the relationship between these various arts.

For other theorists, the combination of different arts is impossible; at best, you can build an unstructured conglomerate; it is important to establish a hierarchy between the means and combine them to achieve the desired result and according to the taste of the director. The hierarchy suggested by Appia - actor, space, light, painting - is just one of the innumerable possibilities of aesthetics.

Another group of theorists sees two sides of the same coin in the concepts of Wagner and Appia, while criticizing the concept of theater art as Gesamtkunstwerk or total theater and replacing it with theatrical work (Brecht). The performing arts exist and make sense only in their diversity and contradictions. The staging forces the stage to resist the text, the music to the linguistic meaning, the sign language to the music or the text, etc.

4. Specificity and boundaries of theatrical art

A brief review of theoretical works on the theater proves that no theory is able to reduce theatrical art to the necessary and satisfying terms. It is impossible to limit this art to an arsenal of technical means. The practice aims at the endless expansion of the horizon of the stage: the display of transparencies or films, the appeal of the theater to sculpture, dance or the art of pantomime, political propaganda or an event. Thus, the program of studying theatrical art branches out to infinity.

PavieP. Dictionary of the theater. Publisher: Progress, 1991.

theater curtain- a cloth covering the stage from the auditorium. Curtains are sewn from dense dyed fabric with a dense lining, decorated with the emblem of the theater or a wide fringe, hemmed to the bottom of the curtain. The curtain allows you to make the process of changing the situation invisible, to create a feeling of a gap in time between actions.

Tragedy(ancient Greek tragōdía, literally - “goat song”) - a genre of fiction based on the development of events, which, as a rule, is inevitable and necessarily leads to a catastrophic outcome for the characters, often filled with pathos; a form of drama that is the opposite of comedy.

The tragedy is marked by severe seriousness, depicts reality most pointedly, as a clot of internal contradictions, reveals the deepest conflicts of reality in an extremely intense and rich form, which acquires the meaning of an artistic symbol. It is no coincidence that most tragedies are written in verse.

The concept of "tragedy" is associated with the singing of satyrs (in Greek mythology, goat-legged creatures), whose images were used in the religious rites of ancient Greece in honor of the god Dionysus.

Farce- a comedy of light content with purely external comic tricks.

In the Middle Ages, a type of folk theater and literature, widespread in the 14th-16th centuries in Western European countries, was also called a farce. Having matured within the mystery, the farce in the 15th century acquires its independence, and in the next century it becomes the dominant genre in theater and literature. Techniques of farcical buffoonery have been preserved in circus clowning. In modern Russian, a farce is usually called profanity, an imitation of a process, such as a trial.

The main element of the farce was not a conscious political satire, but a laid-back and carefree depiction of urban life with all its scandalous incidents, obscenity, rudeness and fun. In the French farce, the theme of the scandal between the spouses often varied.

Foyer- a room in a theater, cinema, circus, intended for the audience to stay in anticipation of a session, performance, performance, as well as for the public to relax during the intermission.

The foyer of the State Academic Theater named after I.S. Turgenev attracts not only with a winter garden, a variety of photographs telling about the most memorable performances, but also with a unique project “Theatre in the Foyer”, which hosts performances for young spectators.

furka- part of the stage equipment; a mobile platform on rollers, which serves to move parts of the decoration on the stage. The movement of the furca is carried out by an electric motor, manually or with the help of a cable, one end of which is behind the scenes, and the other is attached to the side wall of the furca.

In preparation "Theatrical Dictionary" used materials from Internet resources, as well as "Dictionary of the theater" by P. Pavi (Publisher: Progress, 1991)

Until the first call, these ushers are on duty in the lobby and their task is to explain where the stalls, mezzanine or balcony are located, from which side it is better to enter the hall. And then move to your workplace, indicate the desired row, sell the program, seat the audience in their places. If there are overlaps and duplicate tickets are encountered, then the usher must invite the administrator on duty, and he will transfer people to free, but equivalent seats.

The ticket inspector must also be available to answer audience questions about the theatre's repertoire.

“People often come up to us and say that they liked some kind of performance, they ask what else can be seen at the RAMT, for example, of the same genre,” says Yana. - If a person liked Erast Fandorin, we advise him to Yin and Yang - also a detective on Boris Akunin. And if the viewer is delighted with Scarlet Sails, we recommend another performance of a melodramatic nature - Tanya. The girls really like him. Many come up to us and say: “But we remember you! You advised us and we came. With some viewers we communicate already, as with friends.

The chaplain also maintains discipline in the hall: he makes sure that the audience does not take pictures or record the performance on video, do not eat, talk or break the silence, do not spoil or dirty the chairs (there are such “theatergoers” who go to their place at the wrong aisle, but stepping over the rows and stepping on the seats with their feet).

Before closing the hall after the performance, the ushers check its condition. One of the main troubles that you have to deal with is chewing gum.

“If chewing gum is stuck to the chairs, we “arm ourselves” with a construction trowel and scrape it off,” says Nadya. – And we also have cloths with which we wipe the chairs from dust. If we find breakdowns, we inform the administrator, and he, in turn, notifies furniture makers and other workshops. The guards have a trouble log, where all faults are recorded. The next day, the repairmen on duty look through it and troubleshoot it.

Controlling the behavior of viewers is a separate issue. The girls say that there are also cases when alcoholic drinks are brought into the hall, they are rude, behave irreverently even during the performance. And yet they believe that the theater has a great re-educational power.

“Once upon a time, schoolchildren came to the play “The Prince and the Pauper,” says Yana. I look at the three guys and think: there will definitely be problems with these - they sat down separately, they will probably chat, eat. As a result, the whole class rustled chocolates, and this trinity enthusiastically watched the performance, eyes huge with admiration.

And there were cases when young people came to the production of "The Dawns Here Are Quiet ...", who behaved provocatively before the performance, and left with tears in their eyes. And after the “Worker of a Miracle”, many cry - both schoolchildren, and women, and even men.

At the "gates", "acceleration" and in the hall, the ushers are on duty in turn - according to the schedule. That is, permanent posts are not assigned to anyone. But guys sometimes change with each other. For example, if someone loves a particular performance, he is given the opportunity to work in the hall. And someone, for example, needs to prepare for tomorrow's exam (many RAMT attendants are students). Then it is better for him to be on duty at the "gates" - here, during the performance, you can read lectures.

Ticket attendant is a temporary job...

The usher's working day starts one and a half hours before the performance. Chaplains check their workplaces, if necessary, hang numbers on the seats (if the performance is in a small format and the audience is sitting on benches or chairs), mark the line-up playing today in the programs and change into work clothes - a white top, a dark bottom and a green vest with badge on the chest. Half an hour before the start of the performance, the chandeliers are lit in the theater, everyone takes their seats and the audience begins to launch.

Ticket office hours can be very busy. For example, during school holidays people arrive at the theater at 10 am and leave at half past ten in the evening. It is also impossible to go on vacation with the whole service - even in the summer, when the RAMT troupe is on vacation. At this time, performances of touring theaters and Ballet Seasons are taking place on our stage.

The chaperon service is the place where the issue of staff turnover is most acute. And not because the work is difficult - all the guys love the theater and become attached to it. The fact is that the bulk of RAMT ticketers are students. And for them, this job is temporary. Nadezhda is finishing her studies at the Moscow Medical Academy. Sechenov and plans to work in his specialty - a pharmacist. Yana studied to be a lawyer, but she realized that this was not her, and now she wants to try herself in some other field. Therefore, sooner or later, the elegant vests of girls and young people will change their owners. Maybe, dear readers, they are meant for you?

… but becoming a usher is not so easy

But is it so easy to get into the RAMT chaperon service? What are the requirements for candidates for the position of ticket inspector? With these questions, we turned to the chief administrator of the theater Anna Krasnik:

“A ticketer must be polite, tolerant, non-conflict, stress-resistant, have a neat appearance,” Anna told us. - When I hire him, I conduct a small interview - I ask the simplest questions about life. As a rule, you can immediately see what a person is like. If he behaves impudently in my office, then the audience will be frankly rude. On the other hand, if a person is inhibited, this is also bad. We are very afraid of theater fans. We often hire on the basis of recommendations - it is more likely that a person will be reliable.
Before becoming an usher in the full sense of the word, a candidate must pass a two-month probationary period. As a rule, most succeed. Some even very much. There was, for example, a case when a young usher did not let the director of RAMT into the hall, who did not show him either a ticket or an invitation.
But if a person regularly skips work hours, is constantly late and commits other gross violations of the work schedule, he is unlikely to linger in the ranks of RAMT ticketers.

Let us return in conclusion to the famous "The theater begins with a hanger" and report one more interesting fact. RAMT wardrobe attendants also belong to the service of ushers. And so our original statement turns out to be doubly true. Ticketers are the people who meet the audience first. They check your tickets, offer you to undress, take binoculars and even put the flowers you brought in the water so that they do not wither during the performance. They help you find your way around the theatre, find your seats, and… they are the last ones to escort you home. Their service is one of the most responsible and necessary, they are the face of RAMT. And therefore, not only the theater, but also everyone who came to work as an usher should understand all the responsibility that he takes on himself, putting on an elegant green vest with a badge on his chest.

In our time, the chaperon is more often remembered in books than in reality. The first ushers appeared in cinemas during the era of silent films, which were positioned as luxurious entertainment for the elite. And now this word can only be heard in the theatrical environment.

Who is the attendant?

In Russian, the word came from German from kapeldiner. Literally means: chapel is an employee in the chapel. For the first time, such a position appeared in theaters and cinemas. The attendants carried out ticket control, escorted the audience to the place, cleaned the seats of the chairs, and sometimes cleaned the halls. It was the chaplain who was asked questions about the program of the evening and about the actors; they also went to him for the resolution of unexpectedly arising minor problems. This profession was considered the most in demand in American cinemas in the 20s of the last century. By the way, it was considered their duty to lead the people through the halls so that there was no mixing of white-skinned and colored spectators. Then a wave of layoffs associated with the onset of the Great Depression led to the fact that these workers practically disappeared from cinemas.

Why a usher in a theatre?

What does an attendant do in a theater? This category of employees also had its own specific concerns. Their duties included the care of theatrical musical instruments. It is believed that the conductor is a person who has improved a number of structural elements of musical instruments. They say that the root cause of the phenomenon lies precisely in this.

In general, a theater usher is a person who creates a special atmosphere. Inveterate theater-goers knew him by sight and greeted him as a good friend.

Now the function of the chaperon has almost lost its true meaning. In some theatres, but there are very, very few of them, the attendants are still preserved, but they perform completely different duties. For example, they monitor compliance with the ban on the use of mobile phones during the performance.