Dmitry Krymov. Master Class

Dmitry Krymov, whose biography is described in this article, is a Russian artist, theater teacher, director and set designer. His performances are popular not only in Russia, but also abroad. As a set designer, Krymov worked not only with the capital, but also with many provincial theaters. Dmitry Anatolyevich brought a new aesthetics to art, an unusual genre mix.

Childhood

Dmitry Krymov was born on October 10, 1954 in Moscow into a creative family. His father, Anatoly Efros, was a famous director. Mother, Natalya Krymova, is a theater critic and writer. At birth, Dmitry was registered in his mother's surname on the advice of his grandfather. The fact is that his father, Anatoly Efros, had Jewish roots. In those days, this could have had a negative impact on Dmitry’s fate.

He grew up in an atmosphere of parental love. Father and mother attached great importance to the creative upbringing of their son, so Anatoly could not come to terms with the fact that Dmitry sometimes spent a long time solving some creative problem. As a result, the mother acted as a conciliator between her husband and son. But all this only helped Dmitry become an outstanding and self-sufficient person.

Education

After graduating from high school, Krymov decided to connect his fate with the theater. Therefore, I entered the Moscow Art Theater School and began to learn the basics of scenographic art. Studied at the production department. Graduated from university in 1976.

Work as a set designer

He got a job in his specialty at a theater located on Malaya Bronnaya. There, Anatoly Efros staged a whole series of productions, the design of which was done by Dmitry Krymov. The performances he served were shown in many theaters in the capital and in many cities of the Soviet Union.

Tragic break

Krymov’s talent was noticed by many artists, and the young set designer’s career was very successful. But life made its own adjustments - my parents died: first my father, and then my mother. Dmitry Anatolyevich had to temporarily leave the theater. Then it seemed to Krymov that it was for good, since everything reminded him of his parents, it hit home, and the work done seemed unnecessary to anyone.

Dmitry decided to change his profession and seriously study easel art. Krymov plunged into painting, graphics and installation. It turned out that another talent of Dmitry was revealed here. His works began to be exhibited in many museums, including foreign ones. Some paintings ended up in private collections.

Return to the theater world

After some time, the pain from the loss dulled, and Dmitry Krymov returned to the theater again. It came as a surprise to many when he staged Hamlet at the Stanislavsky Theater. After that, he got a job at GITIS. Dmitry turned out to be an excellent teacher and trained many young actors. In 2002, Krymov began teaching his course at the Russian Theater Academy. In 2008, he recruited an experimental group, which simultaneously trained aspiring directors, actors and screenwriters. Such a mixed co-creation course turned out to be unique, since it was organized for the first time.

Own creative laboratory

In 2004, the production based on Russian folk tales captivated director A. Vasiliev. He included it in the repertoire of the Theater of Europe and suggested that Krymov create a creative laboratory. It has become a separate division with a unique artistic aesthetic.

In 2006, Vasiliev left the theater, and this became a turning point in the life of Dmitry Anatolyevich. At first he wanted to follow the director, but after deliberation he still remained working in the same place. The creative laboratory of Dmitry Krymov continued its work.

All productions were awarded vivid epithets by theater critics. The expressiveness of the productions, their unique artistic structure and associative series were noted. Performances in the laboratory are created in two stages: active discussion of the plays, and only then the development of images. Music plays an important role in productions. Ready-made works are rarely taken for a performance; in most cases, new, original ones are written. Dmitry Krymov has been collaborating for a long time with composer Bodrov, who writes music for productions.

For Dmitry Anatolyevich there are no fundamental principles; he can “cut” the music in accordance with his ideas, removing unnecessary fragments or adding new ones. Therefore, the laboratory acquired the status of an author's laboratory. During its existence, dozens of performances have already been staged. The production of A Midsummer Night's Dream won the Edinburgh Festival.

All performances performed by Krymov are true masterpieces of art. The works make you think about pressing issues, changing perceptions and existing opinions. Dmitry Anatolyevich is an experienced specialist in the opera genre. He staged several one-act works.

In 2007, Dmitry Anatolyevich received the famous Crystal Turandot award. In 2010, the scriptwriter created the unforgettable play “In Paris”. This was a joint work between Krymov and Baryshnikov. Many people remember the play “Mixed Technique”, staged in 2011.

Dmitry Krymov is a director from God. He takes his work very seriously and believes that he is responsible for what happens on stage. Therefore, he is satisfied with his work only when the performance he staged fully meets his requirements.

Ahead of Krymov’s plans are new creative works. In 2016, Dmitry Anatolyevich thought about making a feature film. The plot is still being outlined. The director announced that Krymov’s students and disciples would take part in the filming. The figurative outline of the picture is identical to one of the films of Anatoly Efros, which was filmed in 1961.

Personal life

Dmitry Krymov is married. His wife's name is Inna. The Krymovs have an adult son. Inna worked in the field of social psychology and economics. Lately, she has been helping her husband in many ways with directing. In 2009, Dmitry Anatolyevich was named “Person of the Year” by the Jewish communities of the Russian Federation. Krymov has not celebrated his birthday for a very long time. On this day, he annually goes to the graves of his parents. Dmitry Anatolyevich still thanks his father and mother for his birth and creative upbringing.

And exhibitions .

Dmitry Anatolyevich Krymov

Artistic director of the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater

As part of a creative meeting, together with the audience, I solved production and psychological problems of varying levels of complexity on the themes of Shakespeare and Ostrovsky. In addition, I tried to find answers to the questions: what should Larisa, King Lear, Hamlet and three sisters look like today? And most importantly, why bring them on stage?

Dmitry Anatolyevich Krymov is a member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation.

Born on October 10, 1954 in Moscow in the family of director Anatoly Efros and theater critic Natalya Krymova. In 1976 he graduated from the USSR Moscow Art Theater School. Gorky. In 1976 he began working at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. Among the performances he designed were staged by A.V. Efros: “Othello” by W. Shakespeare (1976), “A Month in the Country” by I.S. Turgenev (1977), “Continuation of Don Juan” by E. Radzinsky (1979), “Summer and Smoke” by T. Williams (1980), “Memory” by A. Arbuzov (1981), “Napoleon the First” by F. Bruckner, “Theater Director "I. Dvoretsky (1983). At the Moscow Art Theater. A.P. Chekhov designed the performances of “Tartuffe” by J.-B. Moliere, “The Living Corpse” by L. Tolstoy, “Attempt to Flight” by J. Radichkov (1984).

At the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater he worked on the plays “War Has Not a Woman’s Face” based on S. Alexievich (1985), “One and a Half Square Meters” based on the story by B. Mozhaev and “The Misanthrope” by J.-B. Moliere (1986). He designed performances in such Moscow theaters as the Central Children's Theater, the Theater named after. K.S. Stanislavsky, Theater named after. N.V. Gogol, Theater named after. M.N. Ermolova, Theater named after. Mossovet, Theater named after. V. Mayakovsky and others. He worked in theaters in St. Petersburg, Riga, Tallinn, Nizhny Novgorod, Vyatka, Volgograd and other cities of the USSR, as well as abroad (Bulgaria, Japan).

As an artist he designed about 100 performances. He worked with directors V. Portnov, A. Tovstonogov, V. Sarkisov, M. Kiselov, E. Arie, A. Shapiro, M. Rozovsky, S. Artsibashev and others.

In the early 90s, Dmitry Krymov left the theater and took up easel art: painting, graphics, installation. Participated in many group and personal exhibitions both in Russia and abroad.

Since 2002, Dmitry Krymov has been teaching at GITIS, where he teaches a course for theater artists. Dmitry Krymov's performances participate in prestigious international festivals in Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, and Poland. Dmitry Krymov's laboratory actively tours the world; performances have been successfully received by audiences in Brazil, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Estonia and other countries.

Dmitry Krymov, Artistic director of the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater
Dmitry Krymov, Artistic director of the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater
Participants of Dmitry Krymov's master class
Dmitry Krymov, Artistic Director of the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater, gives a master class in the Carriage Barn
Dmitry Krymov, Artistic Director of the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater, analyzes a Shakespeare sonnet
Dmitry Krymov, Artistic Director of the Dmitry Krymov Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater, gives a master class in the Carriage Barn

I remember the release of the program “School of Scandal,” where Anatoly Vasiliev, the founder of the “School of Dramatic Art,” spoke about the ideal of his Theater, presenting it (the Theater) as a kind of tent, where the action goes on regardless of the presence of the viewer: the viewer can come to the Theater at any time time, he can also leave it, but the action will remain uninterrupted, it has happened and will continue to happen, i.e. Theater, in Vasiliev’s understanding, is nothing more than a separate, autonomous world, within which its own laws and principles operate.
Putting a similar concept of understanding the life activity of the Theater, Dmitry Krymov, puts on another experiment in his Laboratory, the result of which is a performance under the strange name of ordered female names "Katya, Sonya, Polya, Galya, Vera, Olya, Tanya" based on the cycle of Bunin's stories from the book " Dark alleys". This performance (unlike the book, where the reader is possessed by something tragic, dark and sweetly poignant to the soul) is a complete joke. With a twisted grin. Changeling. Or, to put it even more precisely, focus.
You enter the hall and, in slight confusion, think whether you came in early? But go further along the rows, because, it seems, everyone is passing too, and then sit down in your place. And the actors are already walking around the stage, not paying any attention to you: some are changing clothes, some are putting on makeup. One gets the feeling that you were simply given the opportunity to peek through the peephole at the preparations for the performance.
And then you see how the wiring lights up, how a fire breaks out, an explosion occurs (probably as a metaphor for love experiences) and the actors run off the stage in a panic, and you, the viewer. sit anyway (you were allowed to peek, so you peek). Then, before your eyes, a woman is mercilessly sawed into a box, and she is left without legs, cries a little, vainly tries on the legs of a mannequin, but then another woman appears (also, by the way, from the box), and we see her love story, she laughs and too cries a little, and then she is replaced by a third woman, and the third by a fourth, fourth-fifth, fifth-sixth, sixth-seventh. And each has its own story. For a few minutes. In a few fragmentary words-memories. And for some reason all of them (heroines) appear on stage from boxes. Like dolls. Like living sculptures, frozen in time, in the memory of the rememberer.
Throughout the entire performance, the director and actors never cease to amaze the viewer, showing trick after trick (the famous illusionist Rafael Tsitalashvili is involved in the performance, whose work looks especially impressive). In addition to the fact that the first heroine, who was sawed at the beginning and who lay motionless throughout the entire performance (!), has legs, and she passionately dances her love dance with a man, the entire stage action of the play is inverted by the director, staged in a completely different time-space. It turns out that all these women with their frayed nerves are simply dried herbariums of love (it turns out that we watched on stage as the director took and mysteriously opened before us the book of Bunin’s “Dark Alleys”, turning over the pages in front of us, between which the dried flowers of the past were preserved lives). And it also turns out that all these women are just exhibits in a museum, where the school teacher brought careless eleventh-graders to a literature lesson, constantly chewing something and laughing about some nasty things. Everything turns into some kind of irony with a bitter aftertaste. There was living love. And now all that remains are dusty textbook publications in school libraries. Time doesn't kill, but it distorts. And looking at this trick, you can only be surprised at such a particularly fast and unpredictable outcome of events. But the female heroines were crying and the men were passing women’s underwear from each other’s hands, wrapped in thoughts of pleasure. And now a crowd of eleventh-graders, without showing the slightest interest, leaves the hall, laughing fervently and pushing each other, behind a diligent young teacher, probably still inexperienced in love.
And you stay. And you, too, seem to have to leave somehow. You get up from your chair and are perplexed by such a strange reality with ordered events called life.

The laboratory of Dmitry Krymov, one of the most important aesthetic revolutionaries of modern Russian theater, has existed since October 2004. During this time, more than ten performances were created, each of which opened a new topic in the study of the “artist’s theater.” Levels of perception of space, the nature of the appearance of an image, visual expressiveness and accuracy along with paradox, unexpected associative series and piercing sincerity, the nature of the existence of an actor in the conditions of an unusual artistic structure - all this is just a small and rather conventional list of topics that theater critics love to talk about in connections with the creativity of the Laboratory participants.
In August 2012, Dmitry Krymov's play A Midsummer Night's Dream (a joint production of the Chekhov International Theater Festival and the School of Dramatic Art Theater) received an award at the 66th International Edinburgh Arts Festival.

Dmitry Krymov was born in 1954 into the family of Anatoly Efros and Natalya Krymova, probably the most famous director and theater critic of the Soviet era. In 1976 he graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School as a theater artist and set designer. In 1976 he began working at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. Among the performances he designed, staged by Anatoly Efros, are “Othello” by W. Shakespeare (1976), “A Month in the Country” by I. Turgenev (1977), “Summer and Smoke” by T. Williams (1980), “Memory” by A. Arbuzov (1981 ), “Napoleon the First” by F. Bruckner, “Theater Director” by I. Dvoretsky (1983), etc.. At the Moscow Art Theater. A. Chekhov designed the performances “Tartuffe” by J. B. Moliere, “The Living Corpse” by L. Tolstoy, “Attempt to Flight” by J. Radichkov (1984). At the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater he worked on the following plays: “War Doesn’t Have a Woman’s Face” by S. Alexievich (1985), “One and a Half Square Meters” based on the story by B. Mozhaev and “The Misanthrope” by J. -B. Moliere (1986). He designed performances in other theaters in Moscow, Russia and the world. In the early 90s, Dmitry Krymov left the theater and took up easel art: painting, graphics, installation. Participated in many group and personal exhibitions, both in Russia and abroad. Since 2004, he has directed the Creative Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater in Moscow and staged performances with the participation of his art students and young actors, recent graduates of RUTI-GITIS and the Shchukin School. The following performances were staged at the Laboratory by Dmitry Krymov: “Innuendos”, “Three Sisters”, “Sir Vantes. Donky hot”, “Trading”, “Demon. View from above", "Cow", "Opus No. 7", "Katerina's Dreams", "Death of the Giraffe", "Tararabumbia", "Katya, Sonya, Polya, Galya, Vera, Olya, Tanya", In Paris, " X. M. Mixed technique.”

Director, artist, set designer. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia and the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation.

In 1976 he graduated from the USSR Moscow Art Theater School. Gorky. In the same year he began working at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. Among the performances he designed were staged by A. V. Efros: “Othello” by W. Shakespeare (1976), “A Month in the Country” by I. S. Turgenev (1977), “The Continuation of Don Juan” by E. Radzinsky (1979), “Summer and smoke" by T. Williams (1980), "Memory" by A. Arbuzov (1981), "Napoleon the First" by F. Bruckner, "Theater Director" by I. Dvoretsky (1983). At the Moscow Art Theater. A. P. Chekhov designed the performances of “Tartuffe” by J. -B. Moliere, “The Living Corpse” by L. Tolstoy, “Attempt to Flight” by J. Radichkov (1984). At the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater he worked on the plays “War Has Not a Woman’s Face” based on S. Alexievich (1985), “One and a Half Square Meters” based on the story by B. Mozhaev and “The Misanthrope” by J. -B. Moliere (1986).

He designed performances in such Moscow theaters as the Central Children's Theater, the Theater named after. K. S. Stanislavsky, Theater named after. N.V. Gogol, Theater named after. M. N. Ermolova, Theater named after. Mossovet, Theater named after. V. Mayakovsky and others. He worked in theaters in St. Petersburg, Riga, Tallinn, Nizhny Novgorod, Vyatka, Volgograd and other cities of the USSR, as well as abroad (Bulgaria, Japan).

As an artist he designed about 100 performances. He worked with directors V. Portnov, A. Tovstonogov, V. Sarkisov, M. Kiselov, E. Arie, A. Shapiro, M. Rozovsky, S. Artsibashev and others.

In the early 90s, Dmitry Krymov left the theater and took up easel art: painting, graphics, installation. Participated in many group and personal exhibitions both in Russia and abroad.

Since 2002, Dmitry Krymov has been teaching at GITIS, where he teaches a course for theater artists.

From 2004 to 2018 - artistic director of the Laboratory at the School of Dramatic Art theater. He staged the plays “Innuendos” based on Russian folk tales (2004), “Three Sisters” based on William Shakespeare’s plays “King Lear” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost” (2005), “Sir Vantes. Donky Hot" based on the novel "Don Quixote" by Cervantes (2005), "Trading" based on the plays by A.P. Chekhov (2006), "Demon. View from above" based on the poem by M. Yu. Lermontov (2006), "Cow" based on the story by A. Platonov (2007), "Opus No. 7" (2008), "Death of a Giraffe" (2009), "Tararabumbia" (2010) , “Katya, Sonya, Fields, Galya, Vera, Olya, Tanya...” by I. Bunin (2011), “Gorki-10” (2012), “As you like it based on Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (2012) , "Honore de Balzac. Notes about Berdichev" based on A. P. Chekhov's play "Three Sisters" (2013), "Oh. Late love" after A. N. Ostrovsky (2014), "Russian blues. Mushroom picking" (2015), "In my own words. A. Pushkin Eugene Onegin” (2015), “Last Date in Venice” based on the novel by E. Hemingway “Across the River in the Shade of the Trees” (2016), “In Your Own Words. N. Gogol Dead Souls. (The Story of a Gift)" (2016), "Dowry" by A. N. Ostrovsky (2017), "Romeo and Juliet (Kindersurprise)" by W. Shakespeare (2017).

As part of the Open Stage project, he staged the play “Dreams of Catherine” (2010), at the Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko - “H. M. Mixed media" (2011), at the Koryamo Theater (Finland) - "In Paris" (2011), at the Iseman Theater (USA) - "Square Root of Three Sisters" (2016), at the Theater of Nations - "Mu-mu "(2018), at the A.P. Chekhov Moscow Art Theater - "Seryozha" based on L.N. Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina" (2018), at the Museum of Moscow - "Boris" based on "Boris Godunov" by A.S. Pushkin ( 2019).

Dmitry Krymov's performances participate in prestigious international festivals in Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia, and Poland. Dmitry Krymov's laboratory actively tours the world; performances have been successfully received by audiences in Brazil, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Estonia and other countries.

Awards:

International Theater Prize named after K. S. Stanislavsky, 2006
In the nomination “Novation”, the play “Sir Vantes. Donky Hot.”

“Grand Prix” of the VII International Festival “Rainbow” in St. Petersburg, 2006
In the nomination “Best Performance”, as well as a special critics’ prize, the play “Sir Vantes. Donky Hot.”

Theater Award of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, 2007
In the category “Best Experiment”, the play “Demon. View from above".

First theater award "Crystal Turandot", 2007
In the nomination “Best Director’s Work”, the play “Demon. View from above".

"Golden Triga", the main prize of the international exhibition of scenography and stage space Prague Quadrennial 2007.
For the creation of the Russian national pavilion “Our Chekhov. Twenty years later”, Workshop of D. Krymov, GITIS.

National Theater Award "Golden Mask", 2008
In the “Experiment” category, the play “Demon. View from above".

Award of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia “Person of the Year”, 2009
In the category "Cultural Event of the Year".

First theater award "Crystal Turandot", 2009
In the category "Best Director's Work", the play "Opus No. 7".

National Theater Award "Golden Mask", 2010
In the “Experiment” category, the play “Opus No. 7”.

Edinburgh International Festival Main Award Bank of Scotland Herald Angel 2012
For the play “As You Like It” based on Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Moscow Prize in the field of literature and art, 2013
In the category “Theater Arts” for the productions “Opus No. 7”, “Gorki-10” and “As You Like It” based on Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Election as an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts, 2014.

Prize of the international exhibition of scenography and stage space, Prague Quadrennial, 2015.
Special award for “best overall process” for the Russian student pavilion “Would you like to talk to us in bad English about art?” (student set designers of GITIS, Workshop of E. Kamenkovich - D. Krymov).

National Theater Award "Golden Mask", 2016
In the category “Drama / Small Form Play”, the play “Oh. Late love".

Theater Award of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, 2016
In the nomination “Best Performance for Children and Teenagers”, the play “In Your Own Words. A. Pushkin Eugene Onegin”.

Awarding the title “Honorary Professor of GITIS”, 2017