Театр Тень
Hey everyone! I’m not sure if we are supposed to introduce ourselves in these blog posts, but I’m going to go for it! Hi, my name is Samantha Roback and I am a senior this year at St. Olaf studying theater and film. I am going to write a little bit about our trip to Театр Тень in Moscow. I had no idea what to expect from a puppet theater. Honestly, I came in expecting slightly off-putting puppets, and so-so story telling, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find the opposite. Turns out, I love this place. I would work at this place. I wish I knew more Russian. Did I mention that I loved this place? This will easily be one of my favorite days on the trip. I was so ridiculously happy and thoroughly impressed with the level of dedication and professionalism put forward at this theater. In class, we discussed how Stanislavsky believed that the experience of theater begins when you walk in the doors, and I think this theater fully encapsulated that type of experience. For those of you who have never heard of Stanislavsky, his full name is Konstantin Stanislavsky, and he was a Russian theater practitioner. In the United States, Stanislavsky’s methods are often viewed in a static sense. He believed in the actor using recall or observation of other people and putting it on stage. He also believed that the actor’s entrance is simply a continuation of the circumstances not the birth of a character. He was a big proponent of ideas such as the super objective, the objective, and the subtext. However, in Russia, Stanislavsky’s methods are still very influential, but they are not viewed as static, and his theories are considered more expansive. Alright, Stanislavsky tangent aside, let’s move on to the puppet theater.
We arrived at a small building with a miniature theater above the doorway on a seemingly random side street in Moscow. We were then lead into a room that was covered in Christmas lights, tiny elephants, and tables set for tea and sweets. The warm welcome radiated off of the smiles of the employees at the theater. As we sipped on tea, our hosts told us about the history of the theater and why they do what they do. They have created an entire world for the people they call Lilicans. Lilicans are, according to Театр Тень, the first people to ever inhabit the earth and therefore come from every possible background. They have their own tiny theater (that is travel sized!) and have ventured all over the world to perform. Sometimes they perform classic Russian fairy tales, but Театр Тень also works with some of Shakespeare’s greatest works as well as some big name operas. If you want to check out a video of us witnessing the magic of Lilican theater for the first time, check out this link to the theater's Facebook page!
The people of Театр Тень are so incredibly dedicated to their art form, and it shows. They have thought of everything, seriously, everything. There was a museum of the Lilican people. At intermission they make tiny intermission food for their audiences. There is a even a reason in Lilican history behind the pebbles covering the floor under the audience. I was constantly blown away seeing things that we have become so used to seeing in the world of theater but now seeing them in puppet proportions. The puppeteers capture so much emotion and movement with figures the size of my finger, and I don’t think it’s something I could ever get used to watching. It’s no wonder that Театр Тень has won the most Golden Mask Awards (even as the smallest government funded theater). For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the Golden Mask, it is one of the most highly respected theater awards in Russia.
They also do not limit themselves to one particular form of theater or even to one particular style of puppets. Театр Тень has the Lilican puppets that are, like I said, about the size of my pinkie. They also have a collection of puppets who star in their Shakespeare productions that they have collected from antique puppet sellers around the world. Each Shakespeare is only about ten minutes, and they let the audience pick what three shows they will see. Additionally, at intermission, the audience has their choice of snacks that are all inspired by moments or characters in Shakespeare’s shows and are works of art all on their own.
Театр Тень has additional performances that are focused specifically on doodles and the evolution of a couple of lines into a character and then into a story as you watch someone doodle on a piece of plexiglass projected onto a screen. Additionally, they make their theater accessible to everyone through the use of the theater ambulance. If someone needs cheering up or a quick dose of theater, the theater ambulance can come to the rescue. They have an entire theater set up in the back of a van, and they can transport the magic of their theater to anywhere in the world. The Lilicans have gone international before. I was so completely impressed by the dedication to the work of this theater, and I fully believe in the magic of Tеатр Тень and its ability to put a smile on anyone’s face. They have a crazy long waiting list, but I would encourage anyone heading for Moscow in the near future to look them up. Check out some of the photos below for a glimpse at tea time, the Lilican theater, Shakespeare intermission food, and some of the puppets backstage.
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