УДК: 792.075+792.09

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-4-37-54

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Vera S. Pilgun

Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS), A. A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum
Moscow, Russia

Directing method of Igor Terentiev

Abstract

The directoring activity of I. G. Terentiev can be considered as the the context of the avantgarde tradition. The reconstruction of his performances is always an appeal to the principles and techniques of futuristic arcane poetry (zaum’), which were formulated by him back in the Tiflis period of his work as a poet, artist and zaum’ theorist. Also, Terentiev’s theatrical experience is closely linked with his contemporaries, and often the performance staging was a special kind of polemic, sometimes a rebellious attack against the theatrical system. The theatre thusbecomes the most adequate form of expression of Terentiev’s revolutionary ideas. His theatrical searches are an appeal to amateur theatre, attempts to interpret the classical text using arcane language, as well as a constant search for new expressiveness. His experiments lacked evidences, with only a few photographs of his performances surviving, mostly negative criticism and eyewitness reviews that can be counted on fingers. The article examines the features of I. G. Terentiev’s directing method on the example of his most famous performances: John Reed, The Inspector General and Natalya Tarpova. The evolution of the director’s creative method is traced, which became more complicated and transformed with each performance. Three directions are singled out, the main for Terentiev’s rebellious directing method. These are propaganda performances in an amateur theatre, futuristic direction using the techniques of arcane poetry and attempts to realize on stage the process of mastering a new proletarian novel. In the article are published the photographs from the performances The Inspector General and Natalya Tarpova, that were found in the RGALI and the funds of the State Central Theatre Museum n.a. A.A. Bakhrushin. These photographs give an idea of performances’ pecularities, directing technique, scenography. The article lists a set of directorial techniques characteristic of various periods of Terentiev’s work, the method of working on the text, and concludes why Terentiev became the last director of the Russian theatrical avant-garde.

Keywords

Igor Terentiev, theatrical avant-garde, futurism, zaum’, the Theatre of the House of Printing, John Reed, The Government Inspector, Natalia Tarpova.

For citation

Pilgun V. S. Directing method of Igor Terentiev. Theatre. Fine Arts. Cinema. Music. 2022, no. 4, pp. 37–54.

DOI: 10.35852/2588-0144-2022-4-37-54

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Received: 11.09.2022

Revised: 28.10.2022

Accepted: 02.11.2022