{"id":196,"date":"2019-05-02T10:13:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-02T10:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/?p=196"},"modified":"2023-03-19T09:51:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T09:51:29","slug":"latvian-theatre-today-winds-of-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/latvian-theatre-today-winds-of-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Latvian Theatre Today: Winds of Change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lauma\nMell\u0113na-Bartkevi\u010da<\/b>*<\/a> and Ieva Rodi\u0146a<\/b>**<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Abstract: <\/strong>The article gives an insight into the current situation of Latvian theatre, its administrative and artistic perspectives. It provides an overview of its financing models, emphasizing the increasing competitiveness of the independent theatres, as well as its most distinctive newcomers. Despite financial inequality between state funded and independent theatres, Latvian theatre today with its diversity of genres, directing styles and personalities has become one of the favourite cultural activities of the society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords: <\/strong>Latvian theatre, diversity, mainstream, independent theatres, actors-managers<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Theatre\nhas always played an important part in Latvian culture and society. Theatre\nthrives in Latvia today, despite the large variety of alternatives offered by\nthe entertainment industry. New productions in the nine professional theatres\nacross the country are usually sold out, while the repertoire shows an average\nof 70 per cent of seats filled by passionate theatregoers of all generations.\nIt is hard to get tickets for new productions, unless you are lucky enough to\nsneak in before the first reviews come out. According to research published by\ntheatre critic and business journalist V\u0113sma L\u0113valde, in 2017 the number of\ntheatregoers reached one million (in a population of 1.95 million); which means\nthat more than 400 inhabitants out of every 1,000 Latvians is a theatregoer\n(which exceeds the E.U.\naverage)[1]<\/sup><\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grounded\nin the traditions of classical psychological theatre of the nineteenth and twentieth\ncentury, contemporary Latvian theatre boasts a diversity of genres, directing\nstyles and personalities. There are notable differences in style between stage\ndirectors of different generations. There are also changes in approaches to\nartistic administration and a rise in the number of promising, motivated and\nindependent newcomers on the stage; the latter of which proves the strength of\ncollective production, as opposed to the notion of the actor as a tiny screw in\na big machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite\nsuch positive developments, Latvian theatre, like theatre in many countries\naround the world, faces difficult times financially. According to Oj\u0101rs\nRubenis, the former managing director and current executive director of the\nNational Theatre of Latvia, the average monthly gross salary of professional\nactors employed by state funded theatre reach EUR 880 in 2017 (a year in which\nthe increase in government funding for the arts was very small). The art and\nculture industries are permanently struggling to make ends meet, especially\nwhere backstage staff are concerned; backstage salaries barely exceeds the\nminimum gross salary of EUR 430 (2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, there is a strong division\nbetween actors who are employed in state repertory theatres and freelancers.\nMost of the young actors have to start their theatre careers by seeking work in\nvarious theatre projects, and only after proving their talent, they are offered\na stable position in repertory theatres. In a recent interview for the Latvian\ntheatre web journal kroders.lv<\/em>,\nprominent young actress Marija Linarte,[2]<\/sup><\/a>\nexplains the pros and cons of this model: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

As a freelancer, you control your own time, which is a big bonus. You decide for yourself what you will do. . . . There are changes all the time, you\u2019re not settled in one place but move about and learn to work with different people instead of one stable \u201cfamily\u201d. . . Of course, it\u2019s jungle. Before I got in the [New Riga Theatre] troupe, I was . . . wild. . . . The one who would go and do first, would get [the job]. . . . Nobody has a duty to offer you a job. You\u2019re forced to do more. I think, because of this situation, such a miracle as KVADRIFRONS (an independent project theatre company founded by four young actors in 2017; see further in the article) has happened.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The\nMinistry of Culture of Latvia provides partial subsidies to seven repertory\ndramatic theatres (the National Theatre of Latvia, Daile Theatre, Mikhail\nChekhov Riga Russian Theatre, New Riga Theatre, Latvian Puppet Theatre,\nValmiera Drama Theatre and Daugavpils Theatre), as well as one opera and ballet\ntheatre (Latvian National Opera and Ballet). Liep\u0101ja Theatre and Liep\u0101ja Puppet\nTheatre are subsidized by the local municipality, therefore being excluded from\nthe state subsidies for theatres (See figure below). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

State\nsubsidies provide approximately 40 per cent of the annual budget of the\ntheatres (50-70 per cent in the regions of Valmiera and Daugavpils). The rest\nlies on the shoulders of the institution. For example, the total annual revenue\nof the National Theatre of Latvia in 2017 was EUR 4.3 million, including EUR\n1.86 million of state subsidy and EUR 1.9 million revenue from tickets sold,\ngenerating an annual loss of around EUR 168,000. As for the audience\nattendance, the number of spectators in 2017 reached 165,000, the repertoire\nconsisted of 46 productions, including 19 new productions performed on three\nstages.[4]<\/sup><\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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State and municipality funded theatres in Latvia (excluding Latvian National Opera and Ballet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Expanding the Borders\nof Mainstream Theatre<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In Latvian theatre, most of theatre events can be categorized as mainstream; this is due mainly to the models of financing as well as the general tendency to produce more or less \u201ctraditional\u201d theatre forms. Although working under the title \u201cindependent theatres,\u201d the most visible and longstanding small theatres in Riga\u2014Dirty Deal Teatro<\/a> and \u0122ertr\u016bdes Street Theatre (\u0122ertr\u016bdes ielas te\u0101tris<\/em>)\u2014are functioning similarly to repertory theatres in terms of programming, while keeping the financing model of project theatres. That is to say that their budget depends on results in the trimestral funding competitions of the State Culture Capital Foundation (VKKF); in these, theatre companies which are funded on a purely project by project basis submit applications, in competition with project proposals submitted by large, state-funded theatres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nsince the beginning of this decade, some changes have occurred. Both Dirty Deal\nTeatro and \u0122ertr\u016bdes Street Theatre have gradually transformed their status\nfrom alternative \u201ctake-off platforms\u201d for\nyoung actors, directors and choreographers to self-sufficient and artistically\ncompetitive players on the map of Latvian theatre. This tendency is reflected\nnot only in the growing popularity of the independent and project theatre\nmovement (in the last few years several new players have appeared, which will\nbe discussed below), but also in the observations of Latvian and foreign\ncritics. In 2017, during the annual Baltic Drama Forum, which is hosted in turn\nby each of the three Baltic republics, the prize awarded by the foreign theatre\nexperts went to Beasty Love<\/em>, a\nproduction staged at Dirty Deal Teatro by M\u0101rcis L\u0101cis (2017). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, in 2018, the Grand-Prix<\/em> of the annual Latvian Theatre\nAward \u201cPerformer\u2019s Night\u201d(\u201cSp\u0113lma\u0146u nakts<\/em>\u201d) was awarded for the\nfirst time to a production by an independent theatre; namely, The Flea Market of the Souls, <\/em>a witty,\nyoung \u201cwar drama in the kitchen\u201d (Dirty Deal Teatro, 2018) which was created in\nclose collaboration between the young playwright Just\u012bne K\u013cava and stage\ndirector Inga Tropa. The story of six young people of different nationalities\nliving in a shared flat grows into a micro-model of today\u2019s Latvian society\nfacing a wide range of past prejudices, stereotypes, dealing with \u201cother\u201d in today\u2019s\nsocial reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Flea Market of the Souls<\/em>, Dirty Deal Teatro, 2018. Photo:J\u0101nis Amoli\u0146\u0161<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless,\nlately, both Dirty Deal Teatro and \u0122ertr\u016bdes Street Theatre have narrowed their\nartistic perspectives. Dirty Deal Teatro is now focused on productions of\nLatvian original drama; the most successful examples of which, in recent years,\nhave been the aforementioned stage production of The Flea Market of the Souls<\/em>, as well as productions by the\npolitical theatre director Valters S\u012blis is well-known, if not internationally,\nthen certainly in the Baltic republics. S\u012blis collaborates with several young\nplaywrights (such as J\u0101nis Balodis, Mat\u012bss Gricmanis, K\u0101rlis Kr\u016bmi\u0146\u0161), in\nproductions dedicated to such locally or globally significant themes as the\nNational Development Plan of Latvia (National\nDevelopment Plan<\/em>, 2012), the complicated political processes of Latvia\ngaining national independence in 1918 (Andrievs\nNiedra<\/em>, 2015), and ecology (M\u0101rup\u012bte<\/em>,\n2012, and The Lost Antarctic<\/em>, 2015).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0122ertr\u016bdes\nStreet Theatre, in its turn, covers a more specific artistic\nfield, shifting towards aesthetic experimentation, merging various art forms,\nincluding contemporary dance and performance art. Ironically, though, their\nmost successful productions of recent years can be categorized more as\nmainstream theatre productions, rather than alternative theatre experiments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the previously mentioned examples\nallow us to conclude that, in\nspite of the reduced funding and the organizational challenges (that is,\nunderdeveloped technical support, shortage of the technical staff and so on)\nthe overall process of the independent theatres in Latvia shows great artistic\npotential, equal to the offer of large repertory theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Black Sperm<\/em>, \u0122ertr\u016bdes Street Theatre, 2015. Photo: Elm\u0101rs Sedols<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Actors\u2019 Educational\nSystem in Latvia<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1990s, the professional academic degree of dramatic\nactor and stage director in Latvia has mainly been awarded by the Latvian\nAcademy of Culture. Since 2017, a new course, with a cohort of 15 actors, is\ntrained in the University of Liep\u0101ja. Initially, each group engaged in the\nfour-year study programme of the Latvian Academy of Culture was \u201cadopted\u201d by\none of the state funded repertory theatres. However, over the years, fewer than\na half of the students got positions in the repertory theatres after graduation.\nConsequently, Latvia had a notable overproduction of actors. Many of the\ngraduates work as freelancers. Nevertheless, the study programme is still the\nmost popular in the academy, attracting several hundreds of potential actors to\nthe admission exams every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018\/2019, a new cohort by Alvis Hermanis (who is probably\nthe most renowned Latvian theatre director in Europe) started their studies,\nwith graduation set for 2021, in time for the planned completion of\nreconstruction work on historical building of New Riga Theatre. The students of Hermanis, currently finishing their\nfirst year in the Academy, have already been \u201cshowcased\u201d on the stage of New\nRiga Theatre interim stage in the production The Summer of the Servant Boy. Beginning <\/em>(2008), where the trainees\nperformed a work which discussed the possible future course of Hermanis\u2019\ntheatrical art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hermanis\nhas enjoyed success in Europe\u2019s theatres (including Frankfurt, Zurich, Berlin\nand Vienna) since 2005, and opera houses (Salzburg, Vienna, Brussels, Paris and\nMilan) since 2012. He has also staged some notable productions at the New Riga\nTheatre, such as Sound of Silence<\/em>\n(Berliner Festspiele in cooperation with NRT, 2007), Ziedonis and the Universe<\/em> (NRT, 2010) and, finally, Brodsky\/Baryshnikov<\/em> (NRT, 2015). Despite\nthe latter, his commitment to lead the course at the Latvian Academy of Culture\nis interpreted as a returning home; Hermanis was perceived by many in Latvia to\nhave \u201cabandoned\u201d the troupe founded in the late 1990s, which consisted of the\nmost talented Latvian actors, such as Guna Zari\u0146a, Baiba Broka, Vilis Daudzi\u0146\u0161,\nKaspars Znoti\u0146\u0161 and Andris Kei\u0161s. The particularity of these actors is their\ndedicated contribution in devising productions, which was an initial\nrequirement of Hermanis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Summer of the Servant Boy. Beginning<\/em>. Photo: J\u0101nis Deinats, \u201cFotocentrs\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Actors\nin the Managing Directors\u2019 Chairs<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

There have been interesting developments in theatre\nadministration in Latvia in the last few years. Three out of nine state or\nmunicipality funded theatres now have managing directors who come from a\nprofessional acting background. In 2016, \u0122irts \u0160olis, a trained puppet theatre\nactor and a co-founder of the first independent object theatre company umka.lv<\/em>, became managing director of the\nLatvian Puppet Theatre, a company that had been considered to be suffering from\nlong-term stagnation. \u0160olis\u2019 leadership has been notable for the success of its\nshows for adolescents and adults. There has been particular acclaim for such\nproductions as: The Golden Horse<\/em> by\nthe revered Latvian national dramatist and poet Rainis, directed by Duda Paiva\n(Brasil\/the Netherlands), 2017; Romeo and\nJuliet<\/em>, based on Shakespeare, directed by Davide Giovanzana, 2018; and Casanova<\/em>, directed by \u0160olis himself,\n2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, two more actors took up positions as managing\ndirectors. Actress and producer Dana Bjorka was appointed the managing director\nof Mikhail Chekhov Riga Russian Theatre after the retirement of the previous\ndirector Eduard Tsekhoval. In addition, actor and stage director J\u0101nis Vimba\n(who has an educational background in economics) replaced Oj\u0101rs Rubenis at the\nhelm of the Latvian National Theatre. Rubenis had held the position since 2006,\nand, under his guidance, the National Theatre rose from the ashes, transforming\nfrom a stagnating and conservative theatre to a contemporary artistic\ninstitution with a strong national identity and a captivating, modern\nsensibility. Consequently, the theatre\u2019s staff and the Ministry of Culture\nasked him to remain in the post of executive director until the end of the\ntheatre season 2018\/19, which is also the centenary of the theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a joint interview published in the Latvian professional\ntheatre magazine Te\u0101tra V\u0113stnesis<\/em>,\nMs. Bjorka and Mr. Vimba share their experience of the first year in the\nleading position in their respective theatres. The conclusion that emerges from\nthe conversation reflects the current situation in Latvian theatre; that is,\nthe current model of co-financing from the state budget (subsidies) leads to\nburn-out among actors and stage directors in the long-term. Sometimes, artistic\ndevelopment and experimentation lose out to large scale, popular musicals and\ncomedies. Such a prioritization of box office sales is particularly true of\nDaile Theatre. The current director of the National Theatre admits that his\nformer education in economics keeps him grounded when it comes to practical\ndimension of the stage arts. However, he asks his colleague whether the\nspiritual dimension is still possible in today\u2019s theatre. Ms. Bjorka replies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we\ncan do is to be active, to give opinion, offer solutions and keep developing\nourselves. . . . We need sharp changes. I think of Elon Musk, who inspires me a\nlot. When asked what he would do if he had an ambitious and unrealistic goal,\nand he could not find the necessary people to achieve it, he thought for a\nwhile and answered: \u201cI would learn and do it myself.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All three of the new managing directors mentioned above have\nproved the efficiency of this strategy so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artistic Independence of the Actor<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A similar story emerges in the case of the aforementioned theatre troupe KVADRIFONS<\/a>, founded in 2017 by a group of talented young actors (Ance Strazda, Kl\u0101vs Mellis, Reinis Boters and \u0100ris Matesovi\u010ds). The company made its home a former Riga Circus building which was under reconstruction. The main source of finance for this newcomer is the aforementioned competitive project of the State Culture Capital Foundation. The actors themselves take care of production and management.[6]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nher article about KVADRIFONS, Latvian theatre critic L\u012bga Ulberte has pointed\nout that the case of this company highlights the widely-held prejudice that\nwork in state-funded theatre (which brings with it a regular, monthly salary)\nis more of an expectation among actors than other theatre professions: \u201c. . .\nin the last year of their studies, they were often discussed [sarcastically] as\n\u2018poor little things\u2019 who were not preliminarily engaged to any of the [state]\ntheatres.\u201d[7]<\/sup><\/a>\nKVADRIFRONS emerged from previous artistic\ncollaborations (the four actors constituted the majority of the ensemble of The Flea Market of the Souls<\/em>), and has\nmanifested itself as a platform for contemporary and interdisciplinary theatre.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the company\u2019s work has offered a broad range of genres\nand aesthetics, from an audio-visual excursion in the building of the Riga\nCircus (Touched by the Miracle<\/em>,\n2018), to theatre for young people (Spring\nAwakening<\/em>, 2018) and children\u2019s drama (The<\/em>\nPerturbon<\/em>, 2019). All of these were,\nmore or less, based on the principles of interaction with the audience (if not\nphysically, then, at least, by tackling themes relevant to today\u2019s Latvian\nsociety), as well as merging the borders between theatre and other arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spring Awakening<\/em>, KVADRIFONS, 2018. Photo: KVADRIFONS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, the case of KVADRIFRONS marks a\nsignificant artistic strategy within Latvian theatre that has developed in\nrecent years. In short, it can be defined as the growth of artistic\nindependence of the actor. This independence manifests itself not only in\nactors becoming authors, working in close collaboration with playwrights and\nstage directors, in the creation of devised theatre productions, but also in\nthe merging of the professional functions of acting and stage directing. In order\nto explore their artistic aims and interests, as well as to use their previous\nprofessional experience in working with other colleagues, many actors turn to\nstage directing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many actors combine their main duties in\nlarge repertoire theatres with staging performances in different theatres\n(notable examples include: In\u0101ra Slucka, Inga Tropa, Daiga Ka\u017eoci\u0146a, Krist\u012bne\nKr\u016bze, K\u0101rlis Kr\u016bmi\u0146\u0161 and Intars Re\u0161etins). Meanwhile, Art\u016brs D\u012bcis, an actor\nat the Daile (Art) Theatre, has proved his talents in playwriting; his play Even Whales are Afraid<\/em> (staged at the\nLatvian National Theatre in 2018 by Elm\u0101rs Se\u0146kovs), which explores the\npersonal crisis of a well-situated plastic surgeon in his thirties, triumphed\nat the \u201cPerformer\u2019s Night 2018\u201d awards, winning the prize for Best Original\nPlay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Even Whales are Afraid<\/em>, Latvian National Theatre, 2018 .Photo: Margarita Germane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTeam building\u201d and trying a hand at stage directing occur in other theatre professions as well. In 2017, during the International Festival of Contemporary Theatre Homo Novus<\/em>, organized by the New Theatre Institute of Latvia, the talented young husband and wife team of Reinis Dzudzilo (stage designer) and Krista Dzudzilo (costume designer), who previously worked in the teams of such stage directors as Viesturs Kairi\u0161s and Elm\u0101rs Se\u0146kovs, created their first independent production titled Pathetique. On Visible Language<\/a><\/em>. Unsurprisingly, set and costume design were very prominent in the production, which also used the music of Tchaikovsky\u2019s Sixth Symphony. The piece explored the possibilities of \u201csee\u201d theatre in its visual dimensions by drawing parallels between visual art and sign language used by deaf people. In spring 2019, another new artistic formation appeared on the map of Latvian theatre in the shape of the theatre union PERFOr\u0101cija, created by two young stage designers, Pamela But\u0101ne and Beatrise Za\u0137e. Curiously, in current Latvian theatre, the tendency to participate in various theatre projects is common, not only among freelance actors, but also among artists who are employed by large repertory theatres, suggesting the constant need among these practitioners to broaden their artistic horizons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Video 1<\/h6>\n\n\n\n