Proletcult Theatre
Encyclopedia
Proletcult Theatre was the theatrical branch of the Soviet
cultural movement Proletcult. It was concerned with the powerful expression of ideological
content as political propaganda
in the years following the revolution of 1917
. Platon Kerzhentsev
was one of its principal practitioners
.
It was used as a tool of political agitation that promoted a culture of the factory-floor and industrial motifs, but also folk singing and avant-garde
.. Plot was unimportant; its goal was to shock the audience with its style of performance, lighting techniques, props, radio broadcasts, blown-up newspaper headlines and slogans, projected films, circus elements, etc.
The Proletcult Theatre attempted to affect the audience psychologically and emotionally, producing a shock in the spectator, the effect of which is to make the viewer aware of the condition of their own lives. This style is often referred to as the theatre of attractions, where an attraction is any aggressive emotional shock that provides the opportunity to raise awareness of the ideological reality of life (to “defamiliarize the familiar”), particularly the mundane material reality.
Prince Serge Wolkonsky
did teaching and giving lectures in Proletcult.
Russian film director Sergei Eisenstein
was at one time in charge of the Proletcult Theatre before pursuing his film work. His most significant production for the Proletcult was an adaptation of Aleksandr Ostrovsky's satirical
comedy Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man
in April 1923. He continued many of the experimental and ideologically expressive elements of this theatrical form in his films and intellectual montage technique.
Proletcult collapsed at the end of the civil war
due to external as well as internal factors, such disputes among leaders and between intellectuals and workers, it lingered on in vestigial form in the 1920s.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
cultural movement Proletcult. It was concerned with the powerful expression of ideological
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
content as political propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
in the years following the revolution of 1917
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
. Platon Kerzhentsev
Platon Kerzhentsev
Platon Mikhailovich Kerzhentsev , real name Lebedev was a Russian state and party official, journalist, playwright and arts theorist who was involved with the Proletcult movement...
was one of its principal practitioners
Theatre practitioner
Theatre practitioner is a modern term to describe someone who both creates theatrical performances and who produces a theoretical discourse that informs his or her practical work. A theatre practitioner may be a director, a dramatist, an actor, or—characteristically—often a combination of these...
.
It was used as a tool of political agitation that promoted a culture of the factory-floor and industrial motifs, but also folk singing and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
.. Plot was unimportant; its goal was to shock the audience with its style of performance, lighting techniques, props, radio broadcasts, blown-up newspaper headlines and slogans, projected films, circus elements, etc.
The Proletcult Theatre attempted to affect the audience psychologically and emotionally, producing a shock in the spectator, the effect of which is to make the viewer aware of the condition of their own lives. This style is often referred to as the theatre of attractions, where an attraction is any aggressive emotional shock that provides the opportunity to raise awareness of the ideological reality of life (to “defamiliarize the familiar”), particularly the mundane material reality.
Prince Serge Wolkonsky
Serge Wolkonsky
Prince Serge Wolkonsky was an influential Russian theatrical worker, one of the first Russian proponents of eurhythmics, pupil and friend of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, and creator of an original system of actor's training that included both expressive gesture and expressive...
did teaching and giving lectures in Proletcult.
Russian film director Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
was at one time in charge of the Proletcult Theatre before pursuing his film work. His most significant production for the Proletcult was an adaptation of Aleksandr Ostrovsky's satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
comedy Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man
Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man
Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man is a five-act comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovsky. The play offers a satirical treatment of bigotry and charts the rise of a double-dealer who manipulates other people's vanities...
in April 1923. He continued many of the experimental and ideologically expressive elements of this theatrical form in his films and intellectual montage technique.
Proletcult collapsed at the end of the civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
due to external as well as internal factors, such disputes among leaders and between intellectuals and workers, it lingered on in vestigial form in the 1920s.
Sources
- Kleberg, Lars. 1980. Theatre as Action: Soviet Russian Avant-Garde Aesthetics. Trans. Charles Rougle. New Directions in Theatre. London: Macmillan, 1993. ISBN 0333568176.
- Rudnitsky, Konstantin. 1988. Russian and Soviet Theatre: Tradition and the Avant-Garde. Trans. Roxane Permar. Ed. Lesley Milne. London: Thames and Hudson. Rpt. as Russian and Soviet Theater, 1905-1932. New York: Abrams. ISBN 0500281955.
- Stites, Richard. 1992. Russian Popular Culture: Entertainment and Society since 1900. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. ISBN 052136986X.
- von Geldern, James. 1993. Bolshevik Festivals, 1917–1920. Berkeley: U of California P. ISBN 0520076907. Available online here.