Producers of the CIS member states discussed important issues
The International Creative Meeting of CIS Theater Producers was held on Tuesday at the initiative of Turkmenistan and with the support of the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS member states (IFHC). The real-time video conference brought together representatives of the capital and regional Turkmen theaters, as well as colleagues from abroad.
Directors, Producers and Artistic Advisers of theaters exchanged their views on opportunities for cooperation and further development of theatrical art during the pandemic. Disputants from Kazakhstan, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Russia and other countries shared the difficulties caused by COVID-19, emerged in the operation of theater venues.
As the Minister of Culture of Turkmenistan Atageldy Shamuradov noted in his welcoming speech, the theater has known different times, experienced periods of weakening interest and craze for the stage, but it has always remained a special art form. The role of theater in the modern world and its impact on society is difficult to underestimate. Mikhail Shvydkoy, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation on International Cultural Cooperation and co-Chairman of the IFHC Board, agreed to it.
“The theater is the place where the crowd turns into the people, – addressed his colleagues Mr. Shvydkoy. – And I am particularly pleased that our Turkmen friends decided to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their country’s neutrality by organizing a meeting of theatrical figures at the international level. Unlike cinema, television, and music, theater is much worse retransmitted through virtual reality. After all, the performance is a meeting of the living with the living, a meeting of the audience with artists on stage. Of course, it will continue to exist during and after the pandemic. The pandemic comes and goes away – art must remain.”
Issues of modern drama were also raised at the conference. What should modern plays be about? Is this sphere of theatrical art experiencing a genre crisis? Gulsina Mirgalieva, Artistic Director of the Mangistau Regional Music and Drama Theater named after Nurmukhan Zhanturin (Aktau), told in detail how much the role of myths and legends is actual in modern productions of Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen theaters.
“For Kazakh and Asian theaters in general, the mythological background is very important. Our life is so arranged that everything is connected with our antiquity, so any production is based on the national heritage. Aktau is a city on the shore of the Caspian Sea that connects Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran. We often host various festivals. In 2019, for example, the State Musical and Drama Theater named after Seyitnazar Seydi from Lebap region of Turkmenistan took part in the International Theater Festival “ABISH ALEMI”.”
The plot of the play “Dayakhatyn”, presented by the troop of the Turkmen theater in Kazakhstan, was taken from the book by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov “Turkmenistan – the Heart of the Great Silk Road”. The spiritual world of the people, its values are fundamental for Turkmen fiction, drama and theatrical art.
The Producer, Director of the Nur-Sultan State Musical Theater for Young Spectators and Vice-President of the Association of Theaters of Kazakhstan Askhat Mayemirov remarked upon the intention to organize joint creative laboratories in direction, drama and acting skills. In his opinion, today’s youth should study the theater internally, to see and understand how theatrical mechanisms work.
All participants of the creative meeting thanked Turkmenistan for the initiative to hold an international dialogue of theater figures.
The concluding chord of the meeting was a video with a chronicle of modern theaters of Turkmenistan, which served as an excellent proof that the theater was and remains a temple of art that unites people of different professions, ages and nationalities under its arches.
