Make a scene: why actors and critics rebelled against filming in the theater
"Telephone filming destabilizes the theatrical atmosphere," said actress Alexandra Ursulyak, and thus excited the public. Colleagues on stage, directors and critics instantly joined the discussion of the long-overdue issue of new rules of social etiquette. Some supported the cry of the actress's soul, others opposed the restrictions and stressed that phones do not bother anyone. Izvestia has collected the most striking statements on the topic.
The right to a vivid impression
The reason for Ursulyak's appeal was the premiere of The Beggars' Opera at the Pushkin Theater, where Alexandra plays the role of Jenny the Berry. The actress admitted that she was unpleasantly struck by the mass of subsequent publications on social networks. Ursulyak condemned the filming of musical numbers from beginning to end and asked the public not to do so in the future.
Both Ursulyak's colleagues and the audience noted in the comments to the publication. Actress Marina Alexandrova shared a laconic "Solidarity", and the video with the appeal was appreciated by Valentina Rubtsova, Maxim Matveev and many others. Matveev later posted a similar video himself, in which he explained that it was impossible to film productions — phones interfere with the operators themselves, the actors on stage, and future viewers who would not be able to form their own first impression of the play. He also recalled the copyright law, which prohibits the publication of such content.
The press service of the Bolshoi Theater, in response to a request from Izvestia, stressed that the rules of the institution clearly state a ban on photo and video filming of performances. Additional reminders about this restriction are also posted in the halls of the theater.
Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett raised the same topic abroad, independently of Alexandra Ursulyak. At the end of September, she came out to the audience after the production of "Elektra/Persona" in London and kindly asked the audience not to film the play on the phone anymore. "This spoils the moment in the present and does not allow future guests of the theater to enjoy what is happening," the actress said.
Dmitry Bikbaev, Artistic Director of Pokrovka.Theater":
— In "Pokrovka.Theater" an audio message is played before the performance: viewers are allowed to film fragments of productions and upload them online. The only request is not to disturb others. Each theater solves this issue on its own, based on its tasks. A year ago, "Pokrovka.The theater has reopened after a major renovation, has undergone a complete rebranding and creates multimedia performances that have no analogues. That's why we're interested in being talked about. Every viewer with a phone is our influencer: by sharing his emotions with subscribers, he promotes the performance more accurately than any advertisement. We also have outdoor and contextual advertising, but nothing works like a live viewer recommendation. We are grateful for this and even motivate the audience: we invite the most active reviewers to special events. The theater should not become a museum piece. He must live in the same pulse with his audience.
Mark Varshaver, President of the Lenkom Mark Zakharov Theater:
— For many years, in my Lenkom theater, I was in favor of the Kultura TV channel filming performances. Unfortunately, today's viewers cannot watch the performances of those great directors who worked before. I am categorically in favor of filming. But it's better not to use mobile phones — only professional photography. And there are failures with this, so only professionals should shoot. What you can see in the theater, from the audience, and on video are different things. But there are people who live many kilometers from Moscow, for example, in the Far East. Thanks to such videos, they will also be able to watch the play, but at home.
Danil Chashchin, theater director:
— I don't see a big problem with the fact that some performances are recorded on video. There are different productions — some are quiet and intimate, and videos and especially flashes can greatly distract the artists and other viewers. But there are more expressive productions, loud and musical, where this does not become a problem. I have a play "The Handsome Man" at the same Pushkin Theater where Alexandra Ursulyak also works. We even say in the announcement that our performance is strictly allowed to be filmed and posted on social networks. Earlier, before my other performance "Karenina", there was an announcement banning filming. I asked him to remove it and not to shine laser pointers into the phones of the audience. This further distracts from the performance. We took down the ad, and the production began to enjoy even more popularity. Viewers come and post videos on social media, and I see the sales increase proportionally. People notice the production, want to visit it, and make the same video. The video with a scene from the play in which Anna Karenina runs away to the song of Trauma, "I'll scream to the whole world," has already received about three million views on social networks. I know that this greatly increases the number of viewers. So I don't see a big problem with this for some performances.
Ivan Agapov, theater and film actor, People's Artist of the Russian Federation:
— A play has value when you watch it live. And when they post a piece of footage, and amateurishly, it greatly lowers the quality and completely does not convey either the meaning, spirit, or atmosphere of the performance. It can only ruin the impression. In general, I don't really understand why this is necessary. You can also look at a painting in a bad photo, but this is not the same as going to a museum and seeing a real painting that the artist painted. It's one thing to chat with your loved one while sitting on the couch with them, it's another to talk through interference on a bad phone.
Many theaters are already announcing that filming is prohibited during the performance. After all, it distracts both the actors and the audience, who are sitting next to other people's burning phones, and it does not bring them much joy. It seems to me that there is nothing terrible in these prohibitions: they are needed so that people who have paid the money will have fun.
Giorgi Tsitsishvili, creator of the large blog "Theatrical hanger":
— Bloggers and others filming performances have invented a reality in which their videos sell tickets. At the same time, they do not care that a huge number of people in the audience do not read their blogs, do not spend much on social networks and want to watch the play for their money, and not see glowing screens in front of them. Artists need normal working conditions, and phones are perfectly visible from the stage. I am silent about the copyright law and requests from the theater not to remove, which are heard even before the performances begin.
I supported Alexandra because she is a leading actress of the theater, which has no problems with sales, and her opinion can carry weight, as well as the opinion of Maxim Matveev and Cate Blanchett. And what do we see in response from bloggers? They say: "We will continue filming, you don't tell us to, it's thanks to us that you have full houses." In my opinion, this is a distortion of reality. If the theater asks not to film, then this is a rule of good form — parents should teach this.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
