The Perfect Production : Les Kurbas’s Analysis of the Early Soviet Audience
Part of : Γράμμα : περιοδικό θεωρίας και κριτικής ; Vol.15, No.1, 2007, pages 89-109
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89-109
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Because the Communist Party of the USSR recognized the effectivenessof theater in influencing the masses and inculcating a socialist consciousness,it made strenuous efforts to control all aspects of theatricalactivity. Theater directors were open to attack, dismissal, arrest, and execution.It was imperative for the literal survival of their companies thattheir productions be supported by a strong proletarian audience baseand that they demonstrate their clear ideological positions. One way inwhich directors could negotiate the treacherous political terrain andprove that they were, in fact, presenting comprehensible productionswell-received by workers was by seeking solid empirical evidence confirmingtheir claims. One of the few who did so was Les Kurbas (1887-1937), Artistic Director of the Berezil Artistic Association. His use of abroad spectrum of tools and approaches, including behaviorist analysesand questionnaires, remains to date still one of the most forwardthinkingand all-encompassing methods of studying the audience.
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Keywords:
theater, audience, Les Kurbas, Soviet period, USSR
