Theater plays female roles. “Bait for Men”, or the Appearance of Actresses on the Theater Stage
Part 1For a long time, only men had the opportunity to play on stage. Until the 17th century, women were practically deprived of the opportunity to engage in theater. Women were also excluded from creating the performance itself - writing the text, staging it and organizing the space. Such a ban on the profession was due to “care” and the concept of morality.
Typically, in the literature, dedicated to history theater, there is a statement that women as actresses appeared on stage in the 17th-18th centuries. This is due primarily to the concept of Western European and Russian theater as professional, as opposed to folk or church. Although, in fact, for the first time women as actresses appeared on stage in the late Roman era: these were performances of a low genre (mimes), where they performed as dancers and acrobats. The actors of such genres were also “slaves, freedmen, or freeborn citizens of the Roman provinces, for example, Greeks, Egyptians, natives of Asia Minor.”
The first professional theater can be considered Italian comedy del arte (commedia dell "arte), in which three principles were formed, which subsequently reformed performing arts, namely: the actor as the main person, the troupe is a non-random living organism, action is the main driving task. The female characters here are mainly represented by two images - the Lover and the Maid - and are played without masks. It is also possible to have a dancer and a singer in the troupe. There were significantly more male characters, and they, unlike female ones, were active characters influencing the resolution of the stage conflict.
Hannah Hoech. Untitled. 1930
Another example of the first professional groups is called English actors, who in the second half of the 16th century began performing in Denmark, Holland and other countries Western Europe. Over time, the touring troupes began to include local actors, and the performances changed the language from English to the appropriate national one. These practices have influenced performing arts many countries, primarily Germany, where they “for a long time established a special repertoire on the German stage, which was sharply different from the German school drama both the form and the content of the plays."
Despite the fact that with the emergence of professional theater troupes and the appearance of female actresses in them, their participation in performances was not widespread and was used extremely rarely in some genres, such as mystery and morality plays. It is worth paying attention to the acceptable role range: women embodied only young characters (heroines and mistresses), while the roles of nurses, soubrette, and old women were given to male actors.
Hannah Hoech. Staatshäupter (Heads of State). 1918-20
In Spain, female actresses appeared in the middle of the 16th century. At this time there were many different types theater organizations. In lower level groups female roles performed by men, the middle one by women or boys. In associations of the highest type (for example, “The Farandula”, “Compania”) all female roles were played exclusively by women. In addition, in 1586 an attempt was made to hold separate performances for men and women, but it failed.
The first female actresses appeared on the English stage in the 17th century. However, it was a very unstable time: from the heyday of theaters at the beginning of the century to their complete closure and the outlawing of this activity. The situation changed only in 1660, when Charles II returned to England. In France, where he was in exile, women were already performing on stage - from now on this rule is taking root in England. In the 18th century, in addition to acting, women took the position of playwrights.
Hannah Hoech. Für ein Fest gemacht (Made for a Party), 1936
The partial inclusion of women as actresses should be considered together with the socio-cultural aspects of their exclusion from the public sphere and the stage as such. These were issues of morality and ethics, and the ban on performing on stage for women was explained by concern for them. Thus, after the appearance of women on the Spanish stage, the church reconsidered the theatrical issue, banned such practices and generally tightened moral control to the point of persecution and closure of theaters. In 1644, a law was passed according to which only married women, and given the reputation and status of this profession in society, we can assume a small number similar cases during that period.
Interesting is the fact that women are excluded from Japanese theater. Thus, the art of Kabuki was started by the famous and successful at that time ( beginning of XVII century) by the dancer O-Kuni, whose performances were given a corresponding name, meaning “strange”, “outlandish”. She subsequently founded an all-female troupe, which was soon disbanded due to moral prejudices, and the actresses were replaced by pretty boys, which caused a "flourishing of homosexuality." In 1653, young men were also prohibited from performing on stage. At this time, the onnagata tradition began, i.e. performance of female roles by mature male actors.
Hannah Hoech. Untitled. 1929
Mention of actresses of the 18th and 19th centuries, as a rule, goes in conjunction with the name of the director or playwright. For example, information is first given that “the most outstanding actress of Pitoev’s theater was his wife Lyudmila Pitoeva,” and only after that her education, received first in Russia and then in France, is mentioned. Such marking and reference to a man is typical. Literary sources provide information about professional activity actresses, invariably accompanying the text with epithets regarding appearance and/or the history of personal relationships with the director (playwright).
Worth mentioning is the way in which the image of famous actresses is formed in the history of the theater. For example, " famous actresses of that time - Nell Gwyn, Moll Davis, Barry, Bracegardel, Oldfield and others - were famous not so much for their acting as for their feminine charms, and their position in the theater was determined by the high position of their patrons." Judging by such statements, we can conclude that personal relationships obviously influence a career through the possibility/impossibility of getting a role.
The path to joining professional troupes is also interesting, given the reputation that actors and actresses in particular had. The first known contract between French actress Marie Feret and the actor-entrepreneur L "Eperonier. The document read as follows: “To help him, L" Eperonier, perform every day for the specified time and as many times as he pleases, Roman antiquities or other stories, farces and jumps, in the presence of the public and wherever L'Eperonier wishes. Despite this wording, theater researcher S. Mokulsky finds this contract to be very diverse.
Hannah Hoech. Little Sun, 1969
Regarding the issue of the reputation of actresses, it is worth noting that the uncritical approach of theater historians completely loses sight of the reasons and prerequisites for this phenomenon. Initially, the actresses were of humble origin and decided to become actresses for two reasons. Firstly, acting was a promising job prospect as such, since the question female education at the proper level at that time (XVII-XVIII centuries) was not resolved. Due to various circumstances (hard physical labor, family violence), this was a chance for the girl to leave home. The second point, as theater historians tell us, was the prospect of becoming a kept woman from the stage with a rich man - and this move is consolidated as a “self-evident” autonomous choice. Here we can see a clear gap between a woman’s desire to work (anywhere) and the real possibility of this. Actresses were raised by some men for others: dance, diction and music teachers handed their students over to the troupe director, and he, in turn, decided their fate. It was simply impossible to work. In the 19th century, significant changes took place, acting systems appeared, theater became a director's theater: now it is the director (this position is practically monopolized by men) who determines the composition of the troupe. Changes and educational principle: Now men don’t look for promising candidates, they come themselves.
Hannah Hoech. 1946
To summarize, we can say that in addition to a long-term ban on the profession as such, we are also dealing with a further restriction of female acting activity. This is due to the closure within the narrow framework of certain roles (as, for example, in the case of the theater dell'arte) and/or gender norming, which further affects the nature of the representation of characters and the role range of performers. It also seems important how the actress is written in the history of the theater, namely the focus on physicality and patronage from men. Among other things, the ban on stage activities certainly affected the interpretation female images and their role in the effective line of production.
On this moment It would seem that there are no official prohibitions and restrictions that would be barriers to acting. However, in practice, various barriers based on gender are present at the level of both theater institutes, and professional theaters. More details current situation will be presented in .
1. Regarding English theater- Wells S. Shakespeare Encyclopedia. Ed. Stanley Wells with James Shaw. M.: Raduga, 2002.
Regarding German theater- History of Western European theater: In 8 volumes / Ed. S. S. Mokulsky and others. M.: Art, 1956-1989. T. 2. P. 437
2. Mokulsky, S. S. History of Western European theater // M.: Art, 1956. T.1. P. 16.
3. Dzhivelegov, A.K. History of Western European theater from its origins to 1789. M: Art, 1941.
4. Dzhivelegov, A.K. Selected articles on literature and art. Er.: “Lingua”, 2008. pp. 146-189.
5. Brockhaus, F.A., Efron, I. A. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
6. History of Western European theater: In 8 volumes / Ed. S. S. Mokulsky and others. M.: Art, 1956-1989. T.5. P. 574.
7. Modjeska, H. Women and the stage. The world's Congress of Representative Women. Ed. May Wright Sewall. New York: Rand, McNally & Co, 1894.
8. 17th Century Women of Theater. An Encyclopedia of Women of Theatre.
9. 18th Century Women of Theater. An Encyclopedia of Women of Theatre.
10. History of Western European theater: In 8 volumes / Ed. S. S. Mokulsky and others. M.: Art, 1956-1989. T. 7. P. 185.
11. Ibid. T.1. P. 524.
12. Ibid. T. 1. P. 556
13. Smirnova, L. N., Galperina, G. A., Dyatleva, G. V. Renaissance Theater.
English theater. Popular story theater Access mode: http://svr-lit.niv.ru/svr-lit/populyarnaya-istoriya-teatra/anglijskij-teatr.htm.
Traditions of acting embedded in Ancient Greece, assumed only male actors - women were assigned only the role of dancers. By virtue of tradition or itself human nature, men to this day play women more often and better than women play men. Rare actresses are able to transform into a man, and not into a woman in disguise.
1. TILDA SWINTON / "Orlando"Tilda Swinton managed to create a character without gender at all - Orlando’s genderless beauty personifies precisely the eternal human ability and desire for transformation. Key scene The film, where Queen Elizabeth tells the young aristocrat Orlando never to grow old, became one of the main cross-gender moments in the history of cinema - actor Quentin Crisp played the role of the queen.
2. GLENN CLOSE / "The Mysterious Albert Nobbs"Based on the film adaptation of George Moore's story " An unusual life Albert Nobbs" took almost 30 years. Glenn Close first played the role of Albert in the theater in 1982, and then sought producers to bring the story of a transgender woman to the screen. During this time, the actress managed to play the role of a (male) pirate in the film “Captain Hook.”
3. CATE BLANCHETT / "I'm Not There"In the film by Todd Haynes, the biography of Bob Dylan is played by 6 actors: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere and Cate Blanchett. The hero of each of them embodies important aspects life and work of a musician. For Cate Blanchett, this is not the only transformation into a man in her career - in the recently released “Manifesto”, among her 13 roles, there is the role of a homeless man shouting out the manifestos of Situationist artists.
4. JULIE ANDREWS / "Victor/Victoria"This musical comedy is a remake of the 1933 German film Victor and Victoria. In 1982, director Blake Edwards (Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Great Race, 10) changed the plot, moving the story to pre-war Paris, where singer Victoria cannot find work and begins performing in nightclubs as Polish prince Victor Drazinsky, who can sing in a female voice. Chicago mafiosi and the Parisian gay community are brought into the story, and the result is a light, funny and moderately politically correct spectacle.
5. BARBARA STREISAND / "Yentl"“Yentl” is a benefit performance for Barbra Streisand: she acted as director, screenwriter, producer and performer leading role. In the story, the girl Yentl from an Eastern European town dreams of getting an education available only to men. After the death of her rabbi father, she runs away from home in order to, under the guise of a young man, enter a yeshiva to study the Talmud. Streisand is still an actress, not a director, and romantic story from the first shots it rolls into cranberries. The theme was given to another grande dame of Hollywood much more vividly: in the series HBO“Angels in America” Meryl Streep played a rabbi in a hilarious way.
6. LARISA GOLUBKINA / “Hussar Ballad”Most shining example the transformation of a girl into a young man in Soviet cinema is the story of the hussar maiden Shurochka Azarova. Lyudmila Gurchenko, Alisa Freindlikh and other actresses auditioned for the main role, but Eldar Ryazanov chose debutante Larisa Golubkina. The director made the right decision - thanks to the brilliant duet of “cornet Azarov” and Lieutenant Rzhevsky, “The Hussar Ballad” became one of the most popular films in the history of Soviet film distribution.
7. HILARY SWANK / "Boys Don't Cry"The 1999 film is based on real events: transgender Brandon Teena was raped and murdered in a small town in Nebraska. For her performance in the title role, Hilary Swank received an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a number of other cinematic prizes.
8. ANGELINA JOLIE / “Salt”Tom Cruise was originally supposed to play a CIA agent named Salt, but the producers decided to completely change the script to suit Angelina Jolie. Apparently, it turned out to be not so easy to rewrite - otherwise why would Jolie transform into a man in some scenes. By the way, in male image the actress is very similar to her brother James Haven.
9. KATHERINE HAPBURN / “Sylvia Scarlett”John Cukor directed Sylvia Scarlett a few years before Gone with the wind" Katharine Hepburn plays the daughter of an embezzler who is forced to flee England to France, disguised as the boy Sylvester. Cary Grant played opposite the actress in the film.
10. LINDA HUNT / "The Life-Dangerous Year"Linda Hunt received for her role in the romantic war drama Australian director Peter Weir won an Oscar. And even knowing this, it’s impossible to believe that Mel Gibson’s assistant, the dwarf Billy Kwan, was played by a woman. This is truly a unique case of transformation.
Hello! Could you help me? Recommend a play or prose where there would be 4 or more female roles, maybe one man. I looked through everything and found nothing. Thank you in advance)Category: Thematic queries
Status: Ready
Answer:
Good afternoon, Vika!Exists a large number of plays that fit your criteria. Here is a small list of publications from the RGBI collections. The plays were selected on a formal basis (number of roles); we did not evaluate their content in any way.
- Plays on female cast:
- Dobreva Y. Sandmen: a play without intermission / Yana Dobreva; lane from Bulgarian Eleonora Makarova. - [M. : Club-96], 1998. - 46 p.
Roles: 4 female.
Topic: Women; Psychological conflict; Conflict of generations; Vices; Loneliness. - Cunningham L. Bachelorette party: a play in 2 acts / Laura Cunningham; lane from English S. Task // Modern dramaturgy. - 2003. - No. 4. - P. 121-145.
Roles: 6 female. Place and time of action: New York, today.
Topic: Women; Moral and ethical problems; New York, city (USA), 2000s. - Levanov V.N. One hundred pounds of love [letters to idols]: oratorio for choir: [play] / Vadim Levanov // Documentary theater. Plays: [theater.doc] / [ed.-composed by: Elena Gremina]. - Moscow: Three squares, 2004. - P. 102-111.
Roles: 5 female.
Topic: Fanaticism. - Mishima Y. Marquise de Sade: drama in 3 parts / trans. G. Chkhartishvili // Mishima Yu. Philosophical diary of a murderous maniac who lived in the Middle Ages: dramas, stories / Yukio Mishima; [transl. from Japanese G. Chkhartishvili, Y. Kovalenina]. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2007. - P. 5-84.
Roles: 6 female. Place and time of action: Paris, 1772-1790.
Subject: Garden, Donatien Alphonse François de; Vices; Sex; Women; Paris, city (France), 18th century. - Seppälä A. My dear man: a play in 2 parts / Arto Seppälä; lane from Finnish Aili Kukkonen // Baltic Seasons: [characters of the St. Petersburg scene: almanac / editorial board: E. Alekseeva and others]. - [St. Petersburg: b. i.], 2006. - No. 14. - P. 38-52.
Roles: 5 female. Place and time of action: small Finnish town, 1970s.
Ed. also under the title: Five women in the chapel.
Topic: Women; Psychological conflict; Love; Death; Finland, 1970s - Tom R. Eight loving women: satirical comedy in 2 parts / Robert Thomas; lane from fr. M. Alexandrova. - M., 1965. - 74, p.
Roles: 8 female.
Topic: Women; Family. - Tulchinskaya M. E. Passion on the sofa: a play in 2 days / Maya Tulchinskaya // Modern dramaturgy. - 2010. - No. 2. - P. 113-130.
Roles: 4 female.
Topic: Women; Parents and children; Conflict of generations. - Churchill K. Top girls: [play in 3 days] / Caryl Churchill; lane Tatiana Oskolkova // Anthology of modern British drama / [ed.-comp. A. Genina, O. Romina; lane from English : T. Oskolkova and others]. - Moscow: New literary review, 2008. - P. 19-116.
Roles: 7 female.
Topic: Women. - Kolyada N.V. Baba Chanel: a comedy in 2 parts / Nikolai Kolyada // Modern dramaturgy. - 2011. - No. 1. - P. 3-23.
Roles: 1 male, 6 female. Place and time of action: assembly hall of the cultural center, our days.
Topic: Women; Old men; Social problems; Psychological conflict; Amateur artistic activity. - Kolyada N.V. Korobochka: a play with 2 cards. based on the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol // Kolyada N.V. "Box": plays different years/ Nikolay Kolyada. - Ekaterinburg: Magazine "Ural", 2009. - P. 109-147.
Roles: 1 male, 5 female. - Razumovskaya L.N. Dowryless: a comedy in 2 parts / Lyudmila Razumovskaya // Modern dramaturgy. - 2001. - No. 2. - P. 25-47.
Roles: 1 male, 5 female.
Topic: Women; Social problems. - Simon N. Jake's Women: [play in 2 d.] / Neil Simon; lane from English Valentina Khitrovo-Shmyrova. - [M. : Club-96, 1996?]. - 94 s.
Roles: 1 male, 7 female.
Topics: Writers; Women; Creation; Vices; Love.
Plays for 5-7 actresses and 1 actor:
- for plays intended only for female cast (SH "4 female") NOT (SH male*)
- for plays designed for a certain number of actresses and 1 actor (SH "1 male") AND (SH "4 female").
After that, click the “Search” button. To view information about a play, it is best to use the output format "Bib. description" (the format can be selected to the left of the search results). Change the numbers depending on the desired number of characters.
In the library, the selection of plays can be continued by looking through the publications “Yearbook of Plays” and “Yearbook dramatic works" These editions include information about plays published from 1973 to 1995.
When visiting the library, please go to the Reference and Information Services Room (room No. 9).
Sincerely,
bibliographer Olga Nikolaevna Pochatkina.
Plays for enterprise projects
Plays for enterprises and private theaters in their artistic merits should not differ from plays performed in repertory and any other theaters. However, the specifics of their distribution require that they also meet certain technical requirements: a limited number of characters, convenience and portability of the scenery, appeal to a wide range of viewers (usually a comedy or lyrical drama). Below is a list of plays that, in the author’s opinion, are most suitable for performance in enterprise projects. Annotations of these plays are also provided. By clicking on the title of the play, you can see its full text on the Internet.
Two characters
A modern comedy dell'arte in the genre of a cheerful farce. Two clowns and clowns act out a play that is born right in front of the public.Pantomime, acrobatics, circus tricks, music, singing, dance, words merge into a single action.Comedy presupposes the ability of actors to improvise, buffoonery and live contact with the public.2 men, 1 woman, interior.
. This work combines dramatic, melodramatic and comedic motifs.
The bride and groom, successful business people, are forced by the will of circumstances to invite a random person they meet - an already middle-aged man of strange behavior - to be a witness at their wedding. To laugh at the man and have some fun at the same time, a young couple asks him to talk about the women he has loved. The result of the entertainment is quite unexpected. Relations between all three become tense. This meeting decisively changes the fate of each of the heroes. Purity of soul, intelligence, sensitivity, and the ability for deep feeling triumph over rationalism and dry practicality. 2 men, 1 woman.
Three friends - single women of the “golden age” - decide to change their fate and find life partners. This warm comedy convinces the viewer that years are not an obstacle to the search for love and happiness. 3 age female roles. Interior.
.The play has 3 characters: a man, a woman and... a dog (to be played by a child or an actress).
A lonely man, a railway worker by profession, finds a puppy, and very quickly this little devoted dog becomes his only joy and consolation. She responds to this concern with selfless love and loyalty.
The day comes when Mikhail must make a choice: either quit his job or get rid of the dog. After painful hesitation, Mikhail decides to kill his friend. A woman kills animals at a veterinary station. She is trying to save the dog, and with it the soul of its owner. The collision of the characters’ two truths, their dissimilar views on the true meaning of life, creates a spring of conflict. The character of the woman – prickly and at times aggressive, but selfless, ready to love and help – gave the name to the play. The play has been translated into English language, staged in New York.
Director Howard Fishman: American Theater Company is proud to present itself in New York with Valentin Krasnogorov's production of Dog, the first production of this unique and challenging play on the American stage.
What I admire most about her is her nobility of spirit, and the heart that pulsates so vulnerable within her. Without a doubt, this is a difficult play - prickly and subtle, frightening and ambiguous. But she is courageous enough to admit it all and show it on stage, where we can all recognize the parts of ourselves that we try so hard to hide."
. An evening of three one-act comedies of different genres, paradoxically interpreting the problems of modern marriage. These theatrical short stories can be presented separately or together. 1. " " . The wife persistently calls her husband for a frank conversation. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior.2.“ ». " ". Ironic version ideal family, consisting of a classic triangle. 2 female roles.
. (see above)
4 characters
. An exploration of modern marriage in the form of a brilliant comedy, poignant and very funny. Critics from Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic noted " deep meaning and the wit of this cheerful, but wise and warning play", its "magnificent construction and sparkling dialogue." A. Shirvindt concluded the preface to this play, published in " Modern dramaturgy", in these words: "If you are not afraid of the mirror, hurry to look into it. In Bulgaria, a performance based on this play received a prize " ». " Plot: A husband and wife invite two of their friends (a man and a woman) to a party. All four are connected by complex relationships, and each is waiting for their fate to be decided: today or never. 2 men and 2 women. Interior.
By the beginning of the performance based on the classic play of the 18th century, the performer of one of the main roles does not appear in the theater. He is urgently replaced by another actor who does not know the role, which leads to numerous tragicomic situations. They are complicated by the difficult personal relationships between the participants in the play. Love, hate, envy, jealousy, flirting contribute additional colors into a comic plot. Each participant in the performance simultaneously plays both the character and the actor performing it. 1 female, 3 male roles.
. (see above)
. Strange, funny and dark, a night rehearsal for an unusual performance with an unexpected ending. 2 male roles, 2 female roles, interior.
. An evening of three one-act comedies of different genres, paradoxically interpreting the problems of modern marriage. These theatrical short stories can be presented separately or together. 1. " " . The wife persistently calls her husband for a frank conversation. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior.2.“ ». Husband is looking for best way separation from his wife. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior " ". An ironic presentation of a version of an ideal family consisting of a classic triangle. 2 female roles.
5 characters
. Comedy. A man suffering from memory loss comes to see a doctor asking for help. The doctor tries to find out the symptoms and causes of the disease, but to no avail: the patient’s answers are so contradictory that it is impossible to get anything useful from him. Fortunately, we manage to call the patient’s wife. She answers all the questions clearly and confidently, but from her statements it follows that the doctor also suffers from memory loss. The situation becomes even more confusing when another woman unexpectedly comes and also declares that she is the wife of the sick man. The situation is becoming completely absurd. The doctor reaches almost madness. This dynamic and funny comedy develops rapidly and vividly, ending with an unexpected denouement. 3 men, 2 women. Interior.
6 characters
. Farcical sitcom in French style la piece bien faite - "a well-made play." Intricate adulterous situations are intertwined with the passionate desire of the characters to make a career. The play has big success. 3 men, 3 women, interior.
An excerpt from a review of the play: “This is a wonderful gift to the audience - a balm of humor, smiles, laughter, an excellent remedy for bad mood, blues, pessimism."
(THIS WEAK TENDER SEX. ) . An evening of two one-act comedies with music and dancing. These very dynamic farces take us back to the times of Lesage and Rabelais. The play has not left the theater repertoire for many years in a row. The music for the play was written by Victor Pleshak.
Plot: 1. "Little night serenade." The old doctor's wife falls in love with a young man. She finds a way to deceive her strict husband. 2. "Silent woman." A husband invites a doctor to cure his young and obedient wife of muteness. In vain the doctor tries to dissuade the husband from this intention. Eventually, the doctor restores speech to the wife, and she begins to talk incessantly until she drives her husband crazy.2 male roles, 3 female roles, interior .
From a theater review: " The events unfolding on stage, although they take place as if in the 17th century, are very attractive today with their daring humor, wit, and unpredictability of plot twists."
XXI
7 characters
The characters in this paradoxical comedy are women who do not know each other, different in age and dissimilar in character, but by chance find themselves in the same place. In their conversations, disputes, and conflicts, the influence of our turning point on the destinies, views and moral values of the heroines of the play becomes obvious. 6 female, 1 male role. Interior.
"Black comedy. The theater has just played the long-awaited premiere of Shakespeare's Othello. The actors performing the main roles stay after the performance to celebrate this event in a friendly circle. Unfortunately, the holiday is overshadowed by the mysterious death of one of the characters, and there is a suspicion that one of the participants in the play may be involved in this. Either dark or cheerful humor, detective intrigue, sharp turns plot and unexpected ending capture the viewer's attention until the very last line. 4 male roles, 3 female.
.Comedy with grotesque elements. Her characters of different ages and character hope to find their personal happiness in a successful marriage, but the realities of the hasty life of a business and practical XXI centuries force them to say goodbye to the ideals of the past. As a result, they find something completely different from what they expected. The motor of action is central heroine– an energetic middle-aged businesswoman. Funny and, at times, sad, this far from everyday intellectual comedy provides excellent material for performers of all roles. 2 men, 5 (3) women (three roles out of five can be played by one actress).
.This play is a 2017 “remake” of a comedy of the same name, first staged in the 1980s in Leningrad, where it ran for 400 performances, then in another 40 theaters in Russia, as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. At the festival in the Czech Republic, the play received three prizes, including the “Prize for Best Drama” and the “Audience Award.” 4 male roles, 3 female, interior.
. Synthesis of melodrama and ironic paradoxical comedy. The play develops two lines of action. Main actor one of them is a director looking for a way out creative crisis and recruiting actresses in a strange way for his new play. The leading heroine in another line of action is a famous artist experiencing her last love. The heroes of the play are in that period of life when it is time to take stock. Despite sad ending, the play is funny. Lively dialogue, unusual design and variety of colors make this comedy very theatrical. It contains a dozen “solo” roles for actresses of all ages and roles. 2 male roles, 10 female roles, interior.
The main characters of the play (2 men and 1 woman) are approximately 55-60 years old, female characters are aged from 25 to 55 years. If necessary, female roles may be played by fewer actresses.
Translation from French of three very unusual one-act comedies with elements of the grotesque and absurd.4-13 characters.
w_s/Contacts :
Tel. +7-951-689-3-689,+9 72-53-527- 4146,+9 72-53-527- 4142
e-mail: valentin. krasnogorov@gmail. com
Origins acting profession originate from prehistoric times, when the concept of “art” did not exist. Magic rites and rituals, worship of gods, forces of nature and sacred animals, various festivals divided people into performers and observers. Shamans, priests, spellcasters and other ministers of various cults were, so to speak, the first performers.
During the ancient Greek era, the performing arts continued to develop based on the religious, mythological and epic ideas of society. Plays were most often written on mythological or historical subjects. All roles were played by men. Female actresses could only perform in troupes of traveling “folk” theaters. It was only in the Middle Ages, when plays of a secular nature began to appear, that women were able to engage in acting professionally. Although, in fact, a woman first appeared on stage in the late Roman era, initially in low-genre performances, as a dancer and acrobat.
The exclusion of women from the public sphere, including the ban on performing on stage, was due to the moral standards corresponding to that time. Originating in Italy in the Middle Ages professional theater(comedia dell’arte), the situation of female actresses has changed somewhat. Although male characters, as a rule, there were more, and even the roles of nurses, soubrette, old women were given to male actors, women still got the opportunity to embody young heroines and mistresses.
In France in the 16th century, professional troupes were built on patriarchal relations. This is clearly reflected in one of the contracts that has come down to us in 1545, concluded between the actor-entrepreneur L’Epéroniere and the actress Marie Feret. According to this document, Marie Feret was obliged for a year to “assist him, L'Eperoniere, to perform every day for a specified time and as many times as he pleases, Roman antiquities or other stories, farces and jumps, in the presence of an audience and everywhere, wherever L'Eperoniere wishes." In turn, the entrepreneur accepted the obligation to “feed, support and shelter Marie Feret, and also pay her twelve Tours livres a year for this service.” The contract ends with a curious phrase: “If this contract is not approved by the husband of Marie Feret, it is declared invalid.” What else can you say?!
In Spain, female actresses appeared in the middle of the 16th century. There were many different types of theater organizations during this time. In lower-level groups, women's roles were played by men, and in middle-level groups by women or boys. In associations of the highest type, all female roles were played exclusively by women. But after some time, the church reconsidered the “theatrical issue” and banned such practices, generally tightening moral control to the point of persecution and closure of theaters. In 1644, a law was passed according to which only married women could engage in acting.
The first female actresses appeared on the English stage in the 17th century. However, it was a very unstable time: from the heyday of theaters at the beginning of the century to their complete closure and the outlawing of this activity. The situation changed only in 1660, when Charles II returned to England. In France, where he was in exile, women were already performing on stage - from now on this rule is taking root in England. However, the attitude of men towards female actresses was then quite consumerist. For example, famous English actresses of that time - Nell Gwyn, Moll Davis, Barry and others - were famous not so much for their acting as for their feminine charms, and their position in the theater was determined by the high position of their patrons. Actresses were often tasked with reading prologues, equipped with erotic puns and all sorts of allusions to the scandalous chronicles of the time.
Initially, the actresses were of humble origin and decided to take up this profession for two reasons. First, acting was a promising job prospect for women in its own right. Due to hard physical labor and domestic violence, the girls sought to leave as soon as possible parents' house. Secondly, the prospect of becoming a kept woman from the stage to a rich man opened up.
An interesting fact is the exclusion of women from the acting profession in Japanese theater. The art of Kabuki was started by the famous and successful dancer O-Kuni at that time (early 17th century), whose performances were given a corresponding name meaning “strange”, “outlandish”. She subsequently founded a women's troupe, which was soon disbanded for ethical reasons, due to traditions of morality. The actresses were replaced by pretty young men. In 1653, young men were also prohibited from performing on stage. At this time, the onnagata movement began, when female roles were played by mature male actors.
A woman appeared on the Russian stage only during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, starting in 1756. It was then that they entered the Russian stage professional actresses to play female roles, before that female roles were performed by men. Later, female actresses appeared in serf theaters. The first Russian actresses were Marya and Olga Ananyin and Musina-Pushkina.
Mostly Russian actress for a long time came from a lower, poor class. She is either a serf, or a bourgeois, or the daughter of an insignificant official, a small merchant, or illegitimate. One had to have great courage and determination to fight social prejudices in order to achieve the opportunity to go on stage. And this determination, and for some, personal sacrifice, opened the doors to the world of theater for many Russian actresses.
