The conference in Vologda was supported by the Fulbright program in Russia, the Consulate General of the United States in St. Petersburg, the Vologda State Pedagogic University, PH-International-Russia, and John Freedman who kindly provided the event with the plays of contemporary American playwrights.
At the opening of the conference, the consul from the Consulate General of the United States in St. Petersburg, John Etcheverry, and the professor, honored worker of culture of the Russian Federation Tatyana Zlotnikova (Yaroslavl) greeted the audience.
This book is a collection of conference papers grouped into five sections according to their themes. The first section, «In Captivity of Time,» is comprised of papers that discuss historical figures of American and Russian theater tradition – Isadora Duncan and Anatoly Efros and also the phenomenon of Silver Age mask. The second section, «Teachers and Students,» includes papers that assess Russian and American theater teaching tradition and mutual relations between them. The third section, «The Footlights,» contains studies of stage design in the USA, analysis of American plays in contemporary Russian theaters, and reviews of performances based on the prose of the Russian immigrant writer Sasha Sokolov who lives in the USA. The fourth section, «To the Music Sounds,» introduces contemporary musical genres on stage and reflects their innovative traits. The fifth section, «Outside the Stage», presents some contemporary works which are relatively, but nevertheless tightly connected with the theater. The organizers emphasize interdisciplinary and comparative approach of this book.
Therefore, this collection brings together a variety of papers that reflect on contemporary and historical issues of American and Russian theater studies as well as mutual influence of two theatrical traditions.
The editors thank the authors for their contributions and hope for future collaboration.
The publication became possible thanks to the support of the US Consulate General in St-Petersburg.
Elena Yushkova, Lyudmila Yakusheva
Плавильный котел как культурный опыт
Злотникова Т. С.
Нет ничего более соблазнительного и более ответственного, чем все новые попытки нахождения общих смыслов, наполняющих жизнь людей, разделенных тысячами километров пространства и многими веками времени. Разные континенты – Америка и Евразия, разные исторические эпохи – славянская древность и американские новации, разные темпоритмы – медленное и долгое созревание России и стремительное вызревание Соединенных Штатов…