WELCOME TO THE UO RUSSIAN THEATER HOME PAGE!
ABOUT THIS PAGE
From this page and the links on the top, you can find out more about our the UO Russian Theater. For further information, you can write Julia Nemirovskaya or Heghine Hakobyan: we will be able to answer your questions about the current production, possible participation in the current and forthcoming productions, as well as about Russian Through Theater Class 309/609.
This year’s REES bilingual Russian play is based on “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” а Romantic poem by Russia’s venerated poet, Aleksander Pushkin. Playful and exotic, this fairy tale delighted the Russian public. After the poem was published in 1820, Pushkin became the most popular Russian author. He often called his readers “friends of Lyudmila and Ruslan.”
See photos from the play here.
Download the program here
An evil magician steals Prince Vladimir of Kiev’s daughter on her wedding night, and several knights leave on a quest to bring back the maiden. Whoever succeeds gets the maiden and the kingdom.
The production features medieval Russian history and folklore as well as two modern leaders, Yeltsin and Putin. American Muppets will befriend Slavic folk creatures like mermaids, Baba Yaga, the Learned Cat and Leshii the Forest Spirit. They will then dance and sing their favorite songs including the scary Russian lullaby about the Little Grey Wolf.
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ABOUT THE 309/609 RUSSIAN THEATER COURSE
• Please click on Course Details to get information about the Russian Through Theater 309 (for undergraduates)/609 (for graduates) two to four credit course you can take to enhance your language skills and take part in a real show! The course is open to all students. Any prior experience in Russian, Russian culture or history is appreciated. Russian Through Theater is a unique course which combines elements of Russian language, culture and theater courses and allows you to participate (in any or many capacities, from costume design and acting to PR and directing) in a real show. It accommodates first through fourth year students of Russian, as well as upper level students, graduate students, native speakers and professors of Russian.
• To meet the expectations of the American audience and the Russian community, our plays are bilingual. Whenever actors speak Russian on stage, a translation or summary of what is happening is provided on stage in a live synopsis. Action can be framed by English dialogues of two or more characters who are foreign or outlandish (like the Devil and the Poet; the “American director” and his American cast, the foreign-raised Russian Empress and her retinue). In some plays, parallel action takes part in Russia and the US, and the audience understands what is going on in the Russian scene because the American scene is similar to the Russian one (Doctor Seuss holds a party in New York while the Russian children’s poet of the 1930s, Daniil Kharms, holds a similar “imaginary” party in his Moscow apartment). Thus, non-speakers can have real parts.
• Before teaching and rehearsing, students are provided with audio files and the text of the bilingual play where all Russian phrases are translated into English and vice versa. Both Russian and English are used in class. At first, every direction is translated into English, and later translations are omitted for several basic commands. Warm-ups teach basic Russian and theater skills through games and play. They are easy and can be learned even by students with no prior experience in Russian. They create an informal and warm atmosphere at the rehearsals. The warm-ups combine movements with one-word phrases in Russian, Russian games, phonetic exercises, elements of dance, and acting techniques.
