The weather is changeable, the sun has just been shining, and it is already raining or snowing, warm and cold winds are blowing, and the seasons are changing each other. The climate on the planet is changing – glaciers are melting, seas are drying up, and floods are occurring. The artist, like weather phenomena, is also changeable, various stages of the creative process, different performances, directors, new theaters, cities, countries, and continents, our profession sometimes lead us to the most unexpected places.

I have a dream – I want to invent and execute theater performances in all countries. To feel every culture, nationality, tradition, color, location and learn the specifics of each theatrical environment. Love and interest in people are leading and the most important aspects of my professional activity. I believe that art changes people and makes their lives better. It helps us survive in difficult times, so it is important for me to continue my work!

More than anything in the world, I love talking to different people, listening to their stories. I travel around the world and everywhere my main occupation is communicating with people. Their stories live with me sometimes for a very long period of time. Listening to each other’s stories, we live and experience many lives, we share with each other something important and elusive, creating moments that add up to infinity. I feel that we are all interconnected on the planet and the most important thing is positive interaction with each other, because it gives us joy, peace, strength, inspiration and supports each of us when we need it.

I was born in a small town in Siberia near the Taiga forest. This is a place where the culture is ascetic, nature is boundless, and the weather is unpredictable, so it was always interesting for me to express myself in different ways and go beyond the limits that my parents, teachers, and society offered me. Of course, it influenced my artistic vision. My love for unexpected combinations of colors, complex compositions, realistic textures and composite characters reflects in my work.

In my portfolio, you can see many projects of different genres: dramatic performances, operas, ballets, musicals, choreographic performances, site-specific performances, concerts and exhibitions.

1.    Your artist statement beautifully compares an artist to weather phenomena. How do you see this changeability reflected in your theatrical career?

For me, the nature of an artist is indeed changeable, like natural phenomena. In my theatrical practice, I often work in different theaters, cities and countries, with different directors and playwrights. For example, each director has his own unique view of the text, each of them has his own style in constructing the structure of the performance, vision of the result, and since the artist’s world is very dependent on feelings, emotions and reflection, then in the process of cooperation the mood can change, like the weather, like the seasons and even global climate changes can occur in joint creative collaboration. As for different theaters, each time it is a special whole huge world inside one theater building, in which you can find literally everything in the world. Coming to the theater with my project, I try to organically fit into this habitat, create comfortable climatic conditions for coexistence, this is important first of all for my future performance, because first of all in the theater teamwork for the result is important. Many workshops work on the birth of a performance, such as carpentry, metalwork, props, art and sewing, as well as assembly, props, costume, make-up shops and, of course, management and directorate. The mood of the artist, who moves around the theater from one craftsman to another, supervising the work on creating scenery and costumes, sometimes changes with the speed of light, the sun was just shining and suddenly there is a stormy sky, thunder is about to break out and a downpour will pour down. The creative process of creating a performance is very labor-intensive, energy-consuming, tense, emotional and delicate process. The most difficult day for an artist is the first installation of scenery on stage and the first appearance of actors in new costumes, it is incredibly exciting and every time I look forward to the moment of miracle, when the scenery finds a soul, is filled with light and sound, it is a magical and happy moment for me, like a rainbow after the rain, the polar lights, a meteor shower, a parade of planets, bumpy clouds or endlessly beautiful sunsets and sunrises.

2.    You mentioned that different cultures, traditions, and locations influence your work. How do you adapt your creative vision when working in a new theatrical environment?

First of all, when I come to a new place, I study in detail the art, culture, traditions, customs and features of this environment, I do this at the first stage of working on a project and in the context of dramaturgy. The performance, in my understanding, should be adapted to the place in which it is born, of course, you can work on counterpoint or contrast with the place, but this does not cancel the fact that the features and history need to be studied in detail. After that, the adaptation of the found material to my project begins, first of all, I am interested in the color scheme, textures and rhythms of the environment in which I find myself, I love working with these aspects, trying new colors and compositions, working with details and accents is also important. The next stage is a detailed study of the characters significant and recognizable in this particular area, as a theater artist I work mainly with people and their stories, playing out in the stage space I have created. When I arrive at the place, I directly communicate with different people there and observe their life. My favorite activity since childhood is listening to people’s stories, I am a professional listener, traveling around the world, my main activity is communication, which helps me adapt to local features and adopt behavior patterns in a given society. The research and search that I conduct while working on a performance is a significant and integral part of the work of a theater artist.

3.    You have worked on a wide variety of productions, from operas to site-specific performances. How does your approach change depending on the genre?

Indeed, depending on the genre I work in, my approach to composing sets and costumes changes significantly. For example, when working on an opera, you need to take into account the specifics of the existence of opera singers on stage, the presence of an orchestra and a choir. Opera singers are quite static when they sing their parts, they do not interact very actively with the sets, and therefore the sets in an opera serve as a kind of background for them or a space into which opera artists enter to perform their part, it is also important to provide space for the choir, it can be quite large and occupy a significant part of the stage. Opera sets are most often grandiose, I love working on opera, this is my favorite genre and often for an opera production I make a model of the sets in order to see in advance on a scale of 1:20 and build with the director all possible changes of the sets during the performance, because the features of the change of sets from scene to scene in interaction with the artists are important. As for the costumes, this is a huge labor-intensive job, considering the number of the choir alone. But, for example, when I was working on the ballet, the specifics of working on the scenery was a huge surprise for me, this is usually a system of borders and wings, as well as correctly placed scenery around the perimeter of the stage, so that they do not interfere with the ballerinas and ballet dancers to move freely, this is quite a difficult task. Now the genre of site-specific performances has become interesting for me, I would like to develop in this direction. After I made a performance on Lake Baikal, I felt how diverse and interesting it is to work in this genre, there are many places on earth where I would like to make site-specific performances, which, by the way, can be dramatic, choreographic, poetic, operatic, ballet and multi-genre. What is interesting about the genre of site-specific performance is that the venue already serves as a backdrop for the performance; this natural or architectural environment can be supplemented with various art objects, props, costumes, light and sound effects, the actors themselves and, of course, the audience, who automatically become part of the performance.

4.    Can you walk us through your creative process when conceptualizing a new theatrical production?

The creative process of working on a performance is often completely unpredictable, woven from fantasy, the smallest details and subtle reflection of the artist.

As the poetess Anna Akhmatova wrote:

“… If you knew from what rubbish

Poems grow, without knowing shame,

Like a yellow dandelion by the fence,

Like burdocks and quinoa … “.

In fact, I can easily talk about the technical side of the process of developing a concept for a theatrical production, but as for creativity, it is absolute magic. The first few days after I receive an offer to come up with a performance, after reading the text and discussing it with the director, I am in a painful process of fantasy, I am overwhelmed with ideas, thoughts, emotions and attempts to put it all together in my head. Of course, my personal experience and worldview play a huge role in composing a concept for a theatrical production. The work begins with reading the text, discussing the idea with the director, searching for references, often the most unexpected. Then I collect this swarm of thoughts in my head into sketches of space and characters, this is the most difficult, intense and unpredictable process. And when the sketches are ready, I discuss them with the director, make adjustments and then draw the final sketches of the scenery and costumes and this process is my favorite and most enjoyable, the best stage in the work, my next favorite stage is already at the premiere. But before the premiere, the project is submitted to the theater, the technical task is written, the drawings are created and the performance is launched into work, then the period of the performance release, rehearsals with the lighting solution, musical accompaniment and the long-awaited premiere, like a cherry on the cake.

5.    How do you balance personal artistic expression with the vision of directors, actors, and other collaborators?

When I first entered the theatre institute, our teachers told us that theatre is a collective endeavour. I love working in a team, in interaction and dialogue a multifaceted vision of the dramaturgy of the performance is born for me. Usually, when working on a performance, each person in the team performs their own tasks directly, no matter how paradoxical it may sound, but working on one project and being in constant dialogue, we do not violate each other’s creative boundaries and listen to each other’s opinion, although the director is certainly the main one in the team and in case of disputes, his opinion will be decisive. I easily combine my artistic expression with the director’s vision, also because, as a rule, the director who invites me to a project is already familiar with my artistic style and understands that it suits him and he already sees our project in the context of my artistic style of work.

6.    What challenges have you faced when working in different countries and theatrical environments, and how have you overcome them?

Although the specifics of the work of a theatre artist are approximately the same anywhere in the world and the difficulties are also similar everywhere, there are still key points that may differ and this may create some obstacles in the work, for example, the specifics of submitting documentation for a performance, it varies in different countries and you need to be able to orient yourself in time and adapt to the system of a specific place. Or, for example, the production process, which includes interaction with workshops, is also sometimes not easy, for me this is expressed primarily in the language barrier and it happened that I used the help of an interpreter in such situations. In any case, I am sure that absolutely all difficulties can be solved in dialogue and overcome through properly built communication, you just need to constantly be in touch and monitor the work process of the workshops.

7.    How do you think the globalization of theater is impacting the way stories are told on stage today?

In my opinion, the process of globalization of theater has greatly enriched the general theater environment and significantly changed the forms of interaction between theaters around the world. I am interested in coexisting in a single creative environment with cultures and traditions of different countries, so that there is an opportunity to study their specifics of creating theater productions, unique techniques of artistic expression, and also to enrich myself with creative tools for creating my own unique projects. International festivals, residences, projects and tours have become an important part of cultural exchange, I have always dreamed that there would be no borders in the creative environment around the world, this gives artists huge potential for implementation. I am constantly looking for international projects, because I am interested in working with different directors, in an unusual environment for me, I am interested in combining cultural traditions and using elements of different theater schools. Also, thanks to globalization, hybrid forms of theater have appeared, which is especially close to me as an artist. The theatre has become more diverse, interesting, surprising, accessible, capable of entering into direct dialogue with its audiences and, as a result of this, the theatre audience has expanded, its age and social boundaries have also expanded.

8.    You emphasize the importance of listening to people’s stories. How does this practice influence your theatrical work?

Now, when sustainability and the search for it are an important topic in the world, I have certainly reflected on this topic too and found my own sustainability in people and their experiences. Each individual story told by a person and rethought by me is in one way or another the quintessence of experience, my theater projects are almost always based on the experience of people of different ages, nationalities, social status, telling their unique story. I think that it is through continuity and rethinking that we can overcome different aspects of the present and recover for future life through collective experience and support. Since in my theater work, people are most often the subject of research, I consider the individual as a character. The characters that I invent for my performances sometimes turn into separate elements of the scenery. They exist in the environment on their own and behind each of them there is a whole unique story of their life. Sometimes I find it interesting to invent different “suggested circumstances” for them, to create an imitation of life, to give them text and roles that they can live here and now before our eyes, be it a stage box or an open space. I travel a lot around the world and everywhere my main occupation is communication with people. The stories of these people live with me sometimes for a very long time, sometimes I write them down and forget them, but I remember when I start working on a performance. Listening to each other’s stories, we live and experience many lives, we share something important and elusive with each other, creating moments that add up to infinity. I feel that we are all interconnected on the planet and the most important thing is positive interaction with each other, because it gives us joy, peace, strength, inspiration and supports each of us when we need it.

9.    Are there any particular stories or encounters with people that have stayed with you and found their way into your productions?

A story that has stayed with me to this day and taught me a lot about life was told to me by my grandmother when I was very little. My grandmother died recently, she was already very old and had experienced a lot in her life, she even lived through the Second World War and remembered the German occupation, at that time she was still a small child. In short, my grandmother told about her journey from a hungry city in the south, she traveled across the entire huge country to a city in the north, where there was a lot of food and life was better. She traveled by train for many days, the only food she had was apples in her suitcase, she was completely alone, but she was traveling across the entire country to her brother, who had already moved to the north. It was a hungry and cold journey, at the last moment she missed her station and had to walk to her destination, where her brother met her and she settled in his small one-room apartment, where many people huddled: she, her brother, his wife and their two small children. Once, when in her youth she walked to school through the Siberian Forest, she was almost eaten by wolves, in order to study at school and gain knowledge, she had to walk many kilometers a day through the forest. My grandmother had to work in a mine at a young age, it was incredibly hard work, she worked there all her life until old age. My grandmother did not marry for love, but for a man who was simply found for her, she gave birth to two children, lived with her husband all her life and never stopped working. When I listened to different stories from her life, I was constantly amazed by her courage, I asked how she managed to survive all this, whether she cried, was upset, whether she ever lost heart, but in response I heard from her only that she was very happy and enjoyed everything, that it was easy for her, she always wanted to live and she lived a happy life, never regretted anything. I remember her stories every time I face difficult times and my grandmother’s example helps me to survive all the difficulties, hardships and problems with a positive attitude and helps me to continue to look into the future with joy no matter what. I love my grandmother very much, she was a strong, kind and positive person, the images from her stories and the energy of her stories can be captured in my theatrical works.

10.In your experience, what is the most powerful way theater can create positive interaction and inspire audiences?

There are many different ways in which the theater can influence the audience. For example, dramaturgy that touches, in which the audience recognizes itself and relives its experience together with the characters of the play, bringing it to a climax and denouement, when catharsis comes at the end – emotional cleansing and liberation that occurs in a person through the experience and expression of strong emotions, feelings, and in the end the audience experiences psychological relief and inner harmony. Another way to influence the audience is visual. Decorations, costumes, lighting, all this creates the right atmosphere, and it also happens that the decorations are incredibly beautiful and when the curtain opens for the first time, the audience, seeing all the beauty of the stage design, already experiences delight and begins to applaud even before the start of the play. The audience is also affected by the soundtrack of the play, which complements the atmosphere on stage and is woven into the voices of the actors, as well as into the sounds of the auditorium, which lives its own life in parallel. I believe that the most powerful way to influence the audience is impeccable, subtle, talented acting in combination with the stage design of the play, decorations, costumes, lighting, sound and something magical and elusive to the human eye.