Artek held a theater contest on March 27, International Theater Day. All the attention was focused on the stage at the Suuk-Su palace, where several profound and educational stories took place in a row. The contest was held as part of the Palmira International Children’s Art Festival, which Artek hosts for the first time. 

Young spectators and the jury saw seven short performances staged by the school of the Artek International Children’s Center and each of the six children’s camps for those staying at Artek during the third session. Participants of the new profile theater teams, which worked at the center for the first time, became actors and actresses. Many of them have already studied at a theatre studio or been on stage, but nevertheless everyone has managed to discover new talents in themselves

For example, Maxim Kolpikov from Ufa, who played Raul in “The Phantom of the Opera” (Rechnoi Camp) learned how to dance during this session. “I have already been a host as well as an entertainer, so I do not get stage fright,” he says, “but it is my first time as an actor. Our story is based on the musical, so we paid special attention to choreography. I have never studied dancing before, therefore I mostly focused on my movements. So I can say that I have learned how to dance thanks to Artek and the contest. The audience enjoyed our show, so this night has become an event I will remember for a long time.”

Each performance received a prize in some category: Best Screenplay Solution (Lazurny Camp), Best Director’s Work (Yantarny Camp), Best Setting (Artek’s school) and Best Music (Morskoi Camp). The show “The Road to My Home” (Khrustalny Camp) won the grand prix of the contest. In this show, Artek children managed to step away from the classical rules and unite the poetry by Bella Akhmadullina, modern Russian rock music and choreographic sketches. Chair of the jury, Head of Artek’s Social and Cultural Activity Department Levon Agasyan noted that it did not mean juxtaposition of genres, but the opposite, about the continuity of style from the beginning to the end: “Children from Khrustalny gave a performance, expressive in its composition and plastic dancing. This is what today’s audience like: an unusual approach that makes you think about what is going on the stage. The jury decided unanimously that this is true progress, if not a breakthrough, of Khrustalny Camp.

The jury also mentioned the best main and supporting actors. The prize for the best actress was awarded to Darya Dorofeyeva from Yekaterinburg, who played an unwanted nameless girl. Speaking about the success of the performance, Darya noted: “Everyone in our team are very different, but during the session we have learned to “sense” each other. Everybody gave a small piece of their souls in this performance, and we have really relived what we showed. I love theater and I am living it, this is my present and, I hope, the future, too! I want to enroll into a theater institute and live my life on the stage, so Artek’s prize is very important for me: it gives me faith and strength to pursue my dream.”

The main prizes of the theater contests will be awarded at the exhibition show of the Palmira International Children’s Art Festival on March 29.