Real and Phantom Pains: An Anthology of New Russian Drama

John Freedman

Description

The plays selected for this anthology reflect the issues and styles typical of the new wave of dramatic writing in Russia.

New drama flourished (almost) exclusively in small spaces, often in dingy basements that employed and accommodated small numbers of people. The big theaters largely turned a blind eye to what was happening on small stages and in backrooms in playhouses, libraries and community centers in a few chosen hot spots around Russia — primarily Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Togliatti. In many cases, they took actively hostile stances toward it. This would change, however. And by the beginning of the century's second decade, new drama was threatening to become a mainstream phenomenon. Not every theater staged plays associated with new drama, but almost every one began staging plays influenced by the themes, methods and language of the new drama movement.

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 10 octobre 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780990447177
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Real and Phantom Pains An Anthology of New Russian Drama

Compiled and Edited by John Freedman

Washington, DC

Copyright © 2014 by John Freedman New Academia Publishing 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.

Published in eBook format by New Academia Publishing Converted byhttp://www.eBookIt.com

Cover photo: Alyona Starostina in “Angry Girl” Courtesy of the Bryantsev Young Spectator Theater Cover design: NAP

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014937936 ISBN 978-0-9904471-7-7 ebook ISBN 978-0-9915047-6-3 paperback (alk. paper)

New Academia Publishing PO Box 27420, Washington, DC 20038-7420 [e-mail]

This publication was effected under the auspices of the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation TRANSCRIPT Programme to Support Translations of Russian Literature.

Also by New Academia Publishing

LOST MASTERPIECES OF EURO-AMERICAN DRAMA: Ten Plays,Bert Cardullo, ed.

MOSCOW BELIEVES IN TEARS: Russians and Their Movies,by Louis Menashe

IMAGING RUSSIA 2000: Film and Facts,by Anna Lawton

BEFORE THE FALL: Soviet Cinema in the Gorbachev Years, by Anna Lawton

See book pages atwww.newacademia.comand read an excerpt.

New drama flourished (almost) exclusively in small spaces, often in dingy basements and in backrooms of playhouses, libraries and community centers – primarily Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Togliatti. But by the beginning of the century’s second decade, new drama was threatening to become a mainstream phenomenon.

“Few people know more about the Moscow scene than John Freedman (including few Russians). AsMoscow Timestheater critic throughout the post-Soviet period John could well have seen more theatrical productions in Russia than anyone else.” —Blair A. Ruble, Director, Program on Global Sustainability & Resilience, Woodrow Wilson Center.

“The relevance of this anthology is not limited to art. New Drama has an implicit politics that should be of interest to political scientists, social historians, and cultural anthropologists of the postSoviet period. As Freedman points out here and elsewhere, the plays provide a ‘unique generational perspective’ on Russia after the collapse of communism.” —Caryl Emerson, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University.

“While other existing volumes focus on 18th, 19th, and early 20th century Russian drama, Freedman’s edition presents the unique and important contributions of contemporary Russian writers portraying the realities and experiences of a post-Soviet generation.” —Thomas J. Garza, University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, University of Texas at Austin.

“Real and Phantom Painswould be of great utility for American theater directors andfaculty, and students of Russian literature and culture. The anthology is designed with both sets of readers/users in mind.” —Beth Holmgren, Professor and Chair, Slavic and Eurasian Studies, Duke University.

“The English translations available are often in British English, with enough strange idioms for American ears that make them less desirable to theater producers. This collection of excellent New Russian drama is welcomed amongst the American theatrical community.” —Preston Whiteway, Executive Director, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

JOHN FREEDMAN has translated more than 60 Russian plays, which have been performed on four continents. He has published and/or edited ten books about Russian theater. He has been the drama critic of TheMoscow Timessince 1992, and has written about Russian theater for theNew York Times,theBoston Globe, TheatreForum, American Theatreand many other publications. As co-editor of the Russian Theater Archive he oversaw the publication of 21 books about Russian drama. HisTheaterPlus blog has been an important source of information on Russian culture, society and politics since 2009.

For Philip Arnoult, whose life and work are proof that theater and drama know no boundaries.

Preface

Contents

More than Mere Drama: The Phenomenon of New Russian Drama An Introduction

Yury Klavdiev Martial Arts

Olga Mukhina Flying

Pavel Pryazhko Panties Angry Girl

Vasily Sigarev Phantom Pains

Maksym Kurochkin Kitchen

Mikhail Durnenkov TRASH

Vyacheslav Durnenkov Exhibits

Yaroslava Pulinovich Natasha’s Dream I Won

Yelena Gremina One Hour, Eighteen Minutes

Maxim Osipov Scapegoats

Preface

A collection of this nature requires the efforts and commitment of many individuals and organizations.Real and Phantom Pains: An Anthology of New Russian Dramawould not exist without the talents, work and generosity of a large number of friends and colleagues, whom it is my pleasure to name and thank here. I am especially beholden to translators David M. White (Martial ArtsandPanties), Stephen Nunns (One Hour, Eighteen Minutes), Graham Schmidt (Phantom Pains) and Yury Urnov (Martial Arts,PantiesandOne Hour, Eighteen Minutes), all of whom are accomplished theater practitioners who write, perform and direct. They know the stage and all the nuances that territory implies. Their translations exemplify one of the primary goals of this collection: not only to make contemporary Russian drama accessible to readers, but to make it compelling for performers and their future audiences. These translations are intended to be performed. Several translations included herein were developed for the New Russian Drama: Voices in a Shifting Age program at Towson University. Running for three years (2007-2010) and including master classes, lectures, workshops, residencies, readings and productions, it was organized and conducted jointly by Towson’s Department of Theatre Arts and Philip Arnoult’s Center for International Theatre Development. Philip and CITD convened a national conference at program’s end which made it possible for 100 American journalists, scholars, directors, writers, actors, critics and interested spectators to see the best of the program over three intense days in May 2010. None of that would have happened without the prodigious efforts of Robyn Quick, Jay Herzog, Stephen Nunns, David M. White, Yury Urnov, Peter Wray, the undergraduate and graduate students in the Towson University Department of Theatre Arts. Their fingerprints very much remain on this collection. Robyn Quick built a rich, information-packed

website around the program and it is still highly useful:http:// www.towson.edu/theatre/russia/. For wisdom, criticism and guidance offered when demanded, I am indebted to Timothy C. Westphalen, Bryon MacWilliams, Marc Robinson, Caryl Emerson, Blair Ruble, Beth Holmgren, Preston Whiteway and Thomas Garza. A project like this cannot exist in a vacuum. I am surrounded by gifted, magnanimous people whose friendship, encouragement and achievements constantly inspire me. Much contained in this collection was influenced and/or supported directly or indirectly by Noah Birksted-Breen, Romana Maliti, Eva Maliti-Fraňová, John J. Hanlon, Mark Kuntz, Beth Burns, Katherine Mendeloff, Frank Hentschker, Theodore Shank, Erik Ramsey and the late Daniel Gerould. I owe a debt of gratitude to them all. Aside from Towson University and Philip Arnoult’s Center for International Theatre Development, several organizations contributed to the development of one or more of this anthology’s texts: WordBRIDGE Playwright’s Laboratory, Generous Company, the Residential College at the University of Michigan, the Eugene O’Neill Memorial Theatre Center, the Graduate Center at SUNY, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding which provided significant support for the New Russian Drama program at Towson. I am deeply obligated to Graham Schmidt and Breaking String Theater who have repeatedly given me and others the opportunity to bring contemporary Russian drama to the American public by way of readings and full productions. The following print and net publications published early versions of several plays: TheatreForum (FlyingandAngry Girl), The Mercurian (Flying), nthWORD magazine (Flying), Asymptote (three scenes from Kitchen), Theatre Journal (Natasha’s DreamandI Won). I am deeply grateful to the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation TRANSCRIPT Programme to Support Translations of Russian Literature for a generous publication grant. Finally I wish to thank longtime friend and colleague Anna Lawton for her interest in this project. Without her the collection you hold would not exist.