{"id":605,"date":"2020-05-07T06:54:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-07T06:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/?p=605"},"modified":"2022-02-05T13:03:05","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T13:03:05","slug":"russia-rethinking-communication-strategies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/russia-rethinking-communication-strategies\/","title":{"rendered":"RUSSIA: Rethinking Communication Strategies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Alexandra Dunaeva<\/strong><a href=\"#end\" name=\"back\">*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All Russian theatres were closed by order of the Ministry of Culture on March 17. Although in mid-April theatre leaders were still hoping to open their premieres in June, it is now completely clear that there is no reason to expect an early opening. Among the theatre managers there is a common understanding that, even after the quarantine, the theatre will encounter public resistance, a certain \u201cscorched-earth\u201d effect, as one of the major theatre directors said.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The quarantine divided the institutions and artists into supporters and opponents of the transition to the online mode. However, even the most ardent opponents, such as Konstantin Bogomolov, soon joined the general trend of broadcasting, giving online lectures and searching for new ways of communicating with their audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first reaction to the quarantine, as elsewhere in the world, has been the \u201cbroadcast boom.\u201d The major theatres of the country, such as the Moscow Art Theatre and Maly Drama Theatre, have opened their precious archives. Perhaps for the first time in the Russian theatre history, the country&#8217;s colossal theatre network has actually come into the social limelight. The general public has suddenly been exposed not only to the eminent metropolitan productions, but also regional shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"video\">Video<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Russian Ballet Group Perform Whilst Doing COVID Chores\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eASysqdHzKo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>Mikhailovsky Theatre dancers in St Petersburg,&nbsp;perform at home during lockdown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the government-supported institutions tend to present \u201cthe best of the best,\u201d young artists have rushed to invent new formats. The \u201cspontaneous program\u201d of the St. Petersburg Art Festival, entitled <em>Access Point <\/em>(<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/tochkadostupa.spb.ru\/en\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/tochkadostupa.spb.ru\/en<\/a>), has become a kind of online theatre factory. Its curator, Alexei Platunov, is optimistic. In his opinion, the \u201cforced immersion in the online format\u201d will force theatres to try to reach the widest possible audience, rather than targeting their work at specific social groups. Platunov\u2019s project, titled <em>The Nation in the Stalls<\/em>, is \u201caimed at emphasizing social differences, whilst, at the same time, promoting communication between various social strata.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Indeed, there is real progress here. Among many initiatives\u2014including readings, social singing, online streams with artists, psychogeography of one\u2019s own or someone else&#8217;s apartment and audio performances\u2014new works are beginning to appear, focusing on rethinking the communication strategies of our time. For example, there is <em>Cloud Me<\/em> by Maria Patsyuk, in which the viewer gets full access to the digital body of the artist during the performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is also the play <em>Hello<\/em> by B. Pavlovich and E. Petrova, whereby, updating the telephone conversation format, the performance offers participants an &#8220;external&#8221; view of their personal imprisonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this context, theatre criticism cannot but flourish. The websites of the major magazines are flooded with information, reviews and guides. New genres of critical response continue to emerge. Experts are debating new formats and conceptualizing this new theatre crisis.<a name=\"end\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"post-scriptum\"><strong>Post scriptum<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On May 17, the Bolshoi Drama Theatre and the Theatre magazine have set the #helpfordoctors philanthropic effort in motion. Within the project actors from many theatres from all over the country (25 at the moment, but the number is growing) read documentary monologues of medical workers who are now fighting COVID-19. The money from the project goes to purchase personal protective equipment for medical workers in hospitals which are under resourced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The effect of the project is colossal. It is important to note that the Russian theatre community is in search of mechanisms for civil consolidation and the &#8220;unionization&#8221; of artists as it was in the struggle for the release of the young actor Pavel Ustinov in the so-called \u201cNetwork case\u201d (autumn 2019). The movement started with the&#8221;Seventh studio case&#8221; &#8211;which included the accusation of Kirill Serebrennikov whose trial continues to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-thumbnail is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/Dunaeva-150x150.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-606\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/Dunaeva-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/Dunaeva.jpeg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a name=\"end\" href=\"#back\">*<\/a><strong>Alexandra Dunaeva<\/strong> is theatre researcher and critic, art history candidate and IATC member. She is also senior fellow at the School of Advanced Studies in the Humanities, RANEPA (Moscow).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Copyright <strong>\u00a9<\/strong> 2020 Alexandra Dunaeva<br><em>Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/88x31.png\" alt=\"Creative Commons Attribution International License\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This work is licensed under the<br>Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/russia.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":597,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/argentina-never-abandon-the-theatre-even-in-the-toughest-situations\/","url_meta":{"origin":605,"position":0},"title":"ARGENTINA: \u201cNever Abandon the Theatre, Even in the Toughest Situations\u201d","author":"Alexandra Dunaeva","date":"May 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Halima Tahan Ferreyra* Most theatres in Argentina, both big and small, are offering a variety of online programmes, including not only their past shows, but also their new activities. Moreover, the greatest theatres, such as Col\u00f3n Theatre and Nacional Cervantes Theatre, are keeping their workshops working fully. The employees at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Covid&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/argentina.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":473,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/poland-internet-theatre-and-insufficient-state-support-for-the-artists\/","url_meta":{"origin":605,"position":1},"title":"POLAND: Internet-theatre and Insufficient State Support for the Artists","author":"Alexandra Dunaeva","date":"May 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Tomasz Mi\u0142kowski* Theatres in Poland have been closed since March 12, 2020. Likewise, cinemas, restaurants, cafes and sports facilities. The pandemic has frozen economic and social life. The theatre\u2014after a short, initial period of shock\u2014has moved temporarily to the internet; actually, it has had a presence there for a long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Covid&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/flag-pl-400.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":515,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/latvia-all-the-worlds-a-screen\/","url_meta":{"origin":605,"position":2},"title":"LATVIA: All the World\u2019s a Screen","author":"Alexandra Dunaeva","date":"May 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Lauma Mell\u0113na-Bartkevi\u010da* The year 2020 is probably the strangest year in the world of the performing arts in our (young) century. The Covid-19 pandemic and the related social distancing requirements closed all theatres and forced everyone to move to digital platforms. Unlike many other countries in Europe, Latvia did not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Covid&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/flag-lat-400.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":509,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/georgia-in-search-of-new-forms-and-ideas\/","url_meta":{"origin":605,"position":3},"title":"GEORGIA: In Search of New Forms and Ideas","author":"Alexandra Dunaeva","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Natalia Tvaltchrelidze* The most striking thing in the Orthodox Easter afternoon in Georgia\u2019s capital Tbilisi was the complete silence on the streets. Movement of vehicles was prohibited for four days in a desperate attempt to have fewer people go to churches and preserve the country\u2019s relative success in fighting the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Covid&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/05\/flag-geo-400.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":792,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/greece-being-active-with-theatres-closed\/","url_meta":{"origin":605,"position":4},"title":"GREECE: Being Active with Theatres Closed","author":"Alexandra Dunaeva","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Irene Moundraki* Report from the Hellenic Association of Theatre and Performing Arts Critics\u00a0 Communication, teamwork, coexistence, cooperation, collectivity. This is theatre: the product of dialogue and democracy. When challenged or surrounded by very severe crises, it may take a short \u201cbreak,\u201d but it does not \u201cdisappear\u201d from view. It stays\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Covid&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/flag-greece.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":935,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/czech-republic-austerity-of-movement-and-theatre-on-screen\/","url_meta":{"origin":605,"position":5},"title":"CZECH REPUBLIC: Austerity of Movement and Theatre on Screen","author":"Alexandra Dunaeva","date":"May 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Martina Peckov\u00e1 \u010cern\u00e1*, Michal Zah\u00e1lka**, Jana N\u00e1vratov\u00e1*** Mapping Losses and the Set of Measures to Save Culture On March 11, 2020, the Czech government introduced extraordinary measures in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague has been mapping their impact on the cultural sector since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Covid&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Covid","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/category\/covid\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/22\/2020\/06\/flag-czech.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1123,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions\/1123"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}