THEATRE ACTIVITY
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THE HEAD AND DIRECTOR OF HIS OWN THEATRE, SET DESIGNER, PRODUCTION DESIGNER, HEAD OF CITY CREATIVE PROJECTS, TEACHER OF SPEECH CULTURE, ACTING SKILLS AND STAGE MOVEMENT, SCHOOL TEACHER OF DRAWING: ALEKSANDR SAMODUROV’S PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY WAS NEVER LIMITED TO JUST ONE THING.
As a thought leader, he established successful creative teams consisting of students, employees of enterprises and just guys from the street, people of non-creative professions, teaching and mentoring them. Having got through all the difficulties and prohibitions of productions, he adhered to his vocation of a director and a teacher, making theatre productions and educating real people and artists.
About 15 performances for adults and children have been staged during his theatrical activity. In 1986, KRUG Theatre Studio established by Aleksandr Samodurov was awarded the title of the People’s Theatre. KRUG repeatedly became the winner of regional festivals of amateur theatres, won the Grand Prix of the all-union review competition among amateur theatre companies held in Tashkent in 1988. KRUG Theatre Studio was awarded many diplomas and prizes for the best direction, background music and set design.
Director, artistic director of plays:
1981
1979
1982
1984
1990
1983
1986
1987
1988
1989
«Happy days»
After the same name play by S. Beckett
«The card index»
After the same name play by T. Różewicz
«Kashchey the deathless»
After the same name play by V. Bykov
«Pictures from the insects’ life» After the same name play by K. Čapek
«Blue Star»
After the same name short story by A.I. Kuprin
1981
«The Alien»
Based on the short novel «The Alien-73» by E. Shitko
«Small screw or the road of sorrows»
Based on the script by A. Samodurov
«Fahrenheit 451» After the same name novel by Ray Bradbury
«Scenes at the fountain»
After the same name play by S. Zlotnikov
«And there was a day... (dump)»
After the same name play by A. Dudarev
«Embankment»
After the same name play by Yu. Edlis
1991
2013
«The card index»
After the same name play by T. Różewicz
«Rubber Prince» Based on the play “Dildo” by O. Bogayev
«In front of the women's Coast Guard» After the same name play by P. Bekes
2015
1979
BLUE STAR
After the same name short story by A.I. Kuprin
Staged as a musical in 1979 at the Aktyubrentgen plant. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about how a princess with blue eyes and beautiful appearance was born in the kingdom of ugly people. Everyone considered her ugly, because real beauty was regarded as ugliness. The story ends happily when a prince appears in the princess’s life, a prince who is as “ugly” as she.
After the same name short story by A.I. Kuprin
Staged as a musical in 1979 at the Aktyubrentgen plant. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about how a princess with blue eyes and beautiful appearance was born in the kingdom of ugly people. Everyone considered her ugly, because real beauty was regarded as ugliness. The story ends happily when a prince appears in the princess’s life, a prince who is as “ugly” as she.
1981
SMALL SCREW OR THE ROAD OF SORROWS
Based on the script by A. Samodurov
The agitational play was staged in 1981 at the premises of the Aktyubrentgen plant branch. Scriptwriter, production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about how an engineer working at a factory invented a perpetual motion machine and was trying to get the missing screw to start the machine. The endless interaction with bureaucratic authorities was fruitless, and eventually killed the inventor’s desire to start the engine when it finally became possible.
1981
THE ALIEN
Based on the short novel “Alien-73” by E. Shitko
It was staged in 1981 at the premises of the Aktyubrentgen plant. This was the first performance of Krug Theatre Studio. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
An Earthman, a collective farm worker named Tishkin, miraculously finds himself another planet Ryum and makes a revolution there, defeating the oppressors of the people of this planet. At the same time, a resident of the planet Ryum finds himself on Earth at the collective farm and falls in love with Tishkin’s wife.
Based on the short novel “Alien-73” by E. Shitko
It was staged in 1981 at the premises of the Aktyubrentgen plant. This was the first performance of Krug Theatre Studio. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
An Earthman, a collective farm worker named Tishkin, miraculously finds himself another planet Ryum and makes a revolution there, defeating the oppressors of the people of this planet. At the same time, a resident of the planet Ryum finds himself on Earth at the collective farm and falls in love with Tishkin’s wife.
1982
KASHCHEY THE DEATHLESS
After the same name play by V. Bykov
It was staged by the Krug Theatre Studio in 1982 at the premises of the Aktyubrentgen plant. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It was banned due to the censorship of the party after three demonstrations because it was a fairy tale of a struggle for power among the fairy-tale characters of the forest and how power corrupted.
After the same name play by V. Bykov
It was staged by the Krug Theatre Studio in 1982 at the premises of the Aktyubrentgen plant. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It was banned due to the censorship of the party after three demonstrations because it was a fairy tale of a struggle for power among the fairy-tale characters of the forest and how power corrupted.
1983
FAHRENHEIT 451
After the same name novel by Ray Bradbury
The performance was staged by the Krug Theatre Studio in 1983 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about totalitarianism, which destroys any dissent, including books; about how a chain-of-command person is reborn having decided to read what he should have destroyed in fire.
After the same name novel by Ray Bradbury
The performance was staged by the Krug Theatre Studio in 1983 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about totalitarianism, which destroys any dissent, including books; about how a chain-of-command person is reborn having decided to read what he should have destroyed in fire.
1984
EMBANKMENT
After the same name play by Yu. Edlis
The performance was staged by the Krug Theatre Studio in 1984 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about a woman’s unsettled fate. The action takes place in a small resort town during the offseason. The protagonist, a photographer, is searching for family happiness and does not find it. It was the first chamber performance of Krug Theatre Studio staged in a hall for 70 spectators.
After the same name play by Yu. Edlis
The performance was staged by the Krug Theatre Studio in 1984 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
The play is about a woman’s unsettled fate. The action takes place in a small resort town during the offseason. The protagonist, a photographer, is searching for family happiness and does not find it. It was the first chamber performance of Krug Theatre Studio staged in a hall for 70 spectators.
1986
PICTURES FROM THE INSECTS’ LIFE
After the same name play by K. Čapek
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1986 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
A theatre production revealing the vices of a dysfunctional society: Act 1: Debauchery among butterflies; Act 2: Life and struggle of parasites; Act 3: War between red and black ants. The performance leaves no optimism about the state of modern society and its future development.
After the same name play by K. Čapek
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1986 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
A theatre production revealing the vices of a dysfunctional society: Act 1: Debauchery among butterflies; Act 2: Life and struggle of parasites; Act 3: War between red and black ants. The performance leaves no optimism about the state of modern society and its future development.
1987
THE CARD INDEX
After the same name play by T. Różewicz
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1987 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov. The play won the Grand Prix at the festival of theatres studios of the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan held in Tashkent in 1989 for direction.
It is an absurdist play by the patriarch of Polish drama about a man’s unsuccessful attempts to find himself in the chaos of modern life. The protagonist lies in his bed and painful memories of the passed days and people come to him.
After the same name play by T. Różewicz
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1987 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov. The play won the Grand Prix at the festival of theatres studios of the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan held in Tashkent in 1989 for direction.
It is an absurdist play by the patriarch of Polish drama about a man’s unsuccessful attempts to find himself in the chaos of modern life. The protagonist lies in his bed and painful memories of the passed days and people come to him.
1988
AND THERE WAS A DAY... (DUMP)
After the same name play by A. Dudarev
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1988 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov. The play won the Grand Prix at the festival of theatres studios of the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan held in Tashkent in 1989 for direction, set design, acting and musical design.
The play is a modern analogue of Gorky’s play “The Lower Depths”. The action takes place in a rubbish dump, where those who have been thrown out of life and turned into homeless people gather. In the course of the play the stories of the protagonists are told and their new life without hope for the future, in the dump, which kills them, is described.
After the same name play by A. Dudarev
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1988 on the premises of the House of Culture of Metallurgists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov. The play won the Grand Prix at the festival of theatres studios of the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan held in Tashkent in 1989 for direction, set design, acting and musical design.
The play is a modern analogue of Gorky’s play “The Lower Depths”. The action takes place in a rubbish dump, where those who have been thrown out of life and turned into homeless people gather. In the course of the play the stories of the protagonists are told and their new life without hope for the future, in the dump, which kills them, is described.
1989
HAPPY DAYS
After the same name play by S. Beckett
The chamber performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1989 on the premises of the House of Culture of Chemists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
A famous play by the Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett about the courage of a woman in this world. Throughout the play, the protagonist is in the centre of the stage, in the desert, buried waist-deep in a hill. Next to her is her infirm husband, who cannot reach her. She recalls the life she has lived with him, struggling with the pains and ailments that are personified by the hill in which she is buried and is sinking deeper and deeper.
After the same name play by S. Beckett
The chamber performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1989 on the premises of the House of Culture of Chemists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
A famous play by the Nobel Prize winner Samuel Beckett about the courage of a woman in this world. Throughout the play, the protagonist is in the centre of the stage, in the desert, buried waist-deep in a hill. Next to her is her infirm husband, who cannot reach her. She recalls the life she has lived with him, struggling with the pains and ailments that are personified by the hill in which she is buried and is sinking deeper and deeper.
1990
SCENES AT THE FOUNTAIN
After the same name play by S. Zlotnikov
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1990 on the premises of the House of Culture of Chemists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It is a comedy set in a city park near a fountain, where characters cross paths and interact in comic situations amidst drinking and fights, answering the major questions of life.
After the same name play by S. Zlotnikov
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1990 on the premises of the House of Culture of Chemists. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It is a comedy set in a city park near a fountain, where characters cross paths and interact in comic situations amidst drinking and fights, answering the major questions of life.
1991
IN FRONT OF THE FEMALE COASTGUARD
After the same name play by P. Bekes
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1991 on the premises of the House of Culture of Chemists Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It is a grotesque comedy about the absurdity of socialist community life and absence of personal space boundaries. The action takes place in a communal apartment, where endless visitors create mayhem in the protagonist’s room.
After the same name play by P. Bekes
The performance was staged by Krug Theatre Studio in 1991 on the premises of the House of Culture of Chemists Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It is a grotesque comedy about the absurdity of socialist community life and absence of personal space boundaries. The action takes place in a communal apartment, where endless visitors create mayhem in the protagonist’s room.
2013
THE CARD INDEX
After the same name play by T. Różewicz
The performance was re-staged by A. Samodurov with the St. Petersburg Tesnye Svyazi Theatre in 2013.
It is an absurdist play by the patriarch of Polish drama about a man’s unsuccessful attempts to find himself in the chaos of modern life. The protagonist lies in his bed and painful memories of the passed days and people come to him.
After the same name play by T. Różewicz
The performance was re-staged by A. Samodurov with the St. Petersburg Tesnye Svyazi Theatre in 2013.
It is an absurdist play by the patriarch of Polish drama about a man’s unsuccessful attempts to find himself in the chaos of modern life. The protagonist lies in his bed and painful memories of the passed days and people come to him.
2015
RUBBER PRINCE
Based on the play “Dildo” by O. Bogayev
The performance was staged by the Tesnye Svyazi Theatre in St. Petersburg in 2015. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It is a comedy about how an animated rubber toy from a sex shop transformed the life of a businesswoman, about how hard it is to find a man’s true love in the modern life and that it may be easier to fall in love with a toy.
Based on the play “Dildo” by O. Bogayev
The performance was staged by the Tesnye Svyazi Theatre in St. Petersburg in 2015. Production director, set designer: A. Samodurov.
It is a comedy about how an animated rubber toy from a sex shop transformed the life of a businesswoman, about how hard it is to find a man’s true love in the modern life and that it may be easier to fall in love with a toy.
© Alexander Samodurov
*An organization banned in Russia