The Obraztsov Theater is unusual. It successfully plays for both small and large audiences. Exciting plots of plays for a long time remain in the memory of all who at least once saw them. For many, the Sergei Obraztsov Theater is associated with childhood and a fairy tale.
Short biography of the creator of the theater
Sergei Vladimirovich Obraztsov was born on July 5, 1901. The father of the future star was a traveling engineer, his mother was a teacher. In 1918, he successfully graduated from a real school, after which he began working as a drawing teacher at the Ulei orphanage. Since childhood, the gifted Seryozha dreamed of being an artist. And in 1918, the young man entered VKhUTEMAS at the faculty of painting. He was a student of such famous teachers as A.E. Arkhipov and V.A. Favorsky.
After graduation, Sergei Obraztsov fell into the troupe of V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, where he fell ill with the theater forever. From 1922 to 1930, Sergei Obraztsov was an actor at the Moscow Art Theater Music Studio. But before that, in 1920, Sergei Vladimirovich had a meeting with the main love of his life - dolls. Without putting the matter into a long box, the young man begins to speak with his wards in front of the first audience. And since 1930, puppet partners have become an integral part of Sergei Obraztsov’s creative career.
How did the Obraztsov Puppet Theater arise?
In 1931, the leadership of the Central House of Art Education of Children decided to establish the main puppet theater in the USSR. We entrusted the responsible case to Sergei Obraztsov. The choice was not accidental: until this time, the young man became one of the famous puppeteers of the Moscow Art Theater Music Studio.
So on September 16, 1931, the Obraztsov Theater arose. From 1931 to 1936, the actors of the State Central Puppet Theater (SCTC) performed in schools, clubs and toured the country in every way. The main viewers were enthusiastic kids and pioneers resting in the camps. In 1937, the theater took up space in a building on Mayakovsky Square. By this time, the troupe had grown, and viewing the performances was supplemented by a review of the subjects of the puppet museum.
In 1970, a new building was set aside for the Obraztsov Central Theater. The original building on the Garden Ring has become an ideal for all non-mobile puppet stages in the world. Particularly mesmerized by the unusual clock on the front wall of the building. The authors of the chronometer, sculptors Dmitry Shakhovskoy and Pavel Shimes, in alliance with the inventor of the movement, Veniamin Kalmason, created a truly work of art.
The dial is surrounded by box houses in which 12 fairy-tale animal characters live. Every hour, residents of unusual houses welcome viewers to the invariable song “In the garden, in the garden”. Only a few decades have passed, and the State Central Puppet Theater is the largest puppet center in the world.
The building also houses an original museum, exhibits of which include theater puppets and a library consisting of literature on the temple of art. And although on May 8, 1992 the world lost the great Master Sergei Vladimirovich Obraztsov, his work lives on to this day.
The beginning of the theater
The first stage team consisted of 12 people, led by Sergey Obraztsov. The premiere of "Jim and the Dollar", held in 1931, became a real sensation in the theater world. The play combined a fairy tale and political agitation, and similar themes were then at the peak of popularity. With this production, the creative search for the troupe began.
In 1940, a new play appeared on the stage - “Aladdin's Magic Lamp”. The magic and beauty of the production fascinated the audience from the first minutes of viewing. Thanks to the efforts of the artist Boris Tuluzov, luxurious graceful dolls and original scenery were created.
But the most famous performance of the Obraztsov Theater, created experimentally, was the masterpiece "Unusual Concert." The cartoon numbers of the dolls, complemented by sparkling jokes by entertainer Eduard Aplombov, soon became famous not only in Russia but also abroad, and the production itself became the object of the Guinness Book of Records.
"Divine Comedy": both dolls and people
The productions of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater are attended not only by artificially created actors. Often, they are composed of living people. For example, in the play “Divine Comedy”, the title roles are played by actors S. Samodur, K. Gurkin and R. Lyapidevsky, who play divine powers.
Now and then they are the main characters - Adam and Eve, and give a variety of tips. Despite some naivete, the performance is still successful. Its main spectators today are people of a mature age, dreaming of again plunging into the world of childhood.