St. Petersburg BTK theatre presents
Ecclesiastes
Improvisation on the subject

The performance by Ruslan Kudashov and Irina Lyakhovskaya
About perfomance
"Ecclesiastes" is an improvisational performance based on the subject of a Book from the Old Testament, the acknowledged author of which is King Solomon. Stage directors Ruslan Kudashov and Irina Lyakhovskaya have taken a man's life from the first breath after birth up to the last moment of death as the basis of the plot. There are stages of kindergarten, school, institute, first love, employment, family, war, peace, death. Sixteen actors are dressed in featureless black clothes with sepia tints — this is a mass, a crowd, a single whole but at the same time each person as a separate individual. The life began, and endless running began as well, and this becomes one of the leading ideas of the performance, symbolizing constant movement. Running on the spot leads nowhere — "all is vanity." Running around in a circle is cyclical and senseless — the "vexation of spirit."

"Vanity of vanities, sayeth the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" The BTK's performance is about the common, everyday vanity all too familiar to each of us. The performance is laconic in its solutions: there are virtually no words or puppets, and the staging is expressive in its simplicity – sand, stools and bulbs hanging by threads. Improvisations based on Ecclesiastes' philosophy are strictly plastic arts performed in the best traditions of contemporary dance and physical theatre.

The meaning justifying the endless vanity of vanities can be only one, and it is revealed at the end of the performance and is perfectly clear – it was not accidental that "Ecclesiastes" was shown for the first time on February 14, St. Valentine's Day, the day of all lovers...

"As a final result, this story is about us – these are situations that are familiar to everyone, the vanity in which we live, a state from which it is very difficult for us to escape in order to look at ourselves as a bystander. And the author of 'Ecclesiastes' is ruthless in this sense: he does not leave any hope for at least something to have some sense if there is no other law in it – not material, but spiritual. And only in obeying that law does everything revive."


Ruslan Kudashov
Trailer
Creators
Cast
Maria Batrasova
Ekaterina Lozhkina
Sergey Bespalov
Mikhail Grishin
Anastasia Gricay
Anatoly Guschin
Roman Dadaev
Denis Kasatchuk
Mikhail Lozhkin
Diana Raszhevaykina
Vassilisa Ruchimskaya
Natalia Sizova
Victoria Slutskaya
Ales Snopkovky
Dmitry Tchupakhin
Duration: 1 hour 40 min
Technique: pantomime, contemporary dance, physical theatre, drama sketches and ensemble
Language: without words (very little text – can be performed at any language)
Target Audience: 18+
Press
BTK theatre

BTK theatre has turned 85 this year, but is young at heart, ready to continue its search for the new ways in art and fight against the stereotypes stuck to puppetry. The repertoire includes a variety of shows, for both children and adults, classical and experimental, puppet and live-action, physical and musical, from The Round Little Bun to William Shakespeare. Ruslan Kudashov, the Chief Director of BTK since 2006, is a multiple winner of various prizes and festivals, the Golden Mask National Theatre Prize, The Golden Spotlight, the St. Petersburg Theatre Prize, Harlequin, the National Prize for Children's Art, among others. BTK's mission, as formulated by Kudashov, is: "Taking part in creating a living modern language of visual theatre, based on the constant factor of the timeless moral laws; advocating the subjectivity of an artist, uniqueness of a personality; maintaining loyalty to the art of puppetry; and teaching faith, tolerance, and love".
About director:

Ruslan Kudashov has graduated the Theatre Academy in St.Petersburg in 2001 and immediately has formed his own theatrical group «Potudan». It was named after the first performance, based on the story «River Potudan», written by Andrey Platonov. The second play of the group was «Nevsky Prospect» by Nikolay Gogol. It won the most prestigious Russian award «The Golden Mask». For the last ten years R. Kudashov has staged more than 40 performances in different countries and theatres. Among them are puppet plays, pantomimes, plastic and dramatic works. R. Kudashov has the reputation of philosophically – minded director, who speaks metaphoric language.


TECHNICAL RIDER
GROUP
21-24 people: 14 actors, 2 directors, 2 light designers, з sound designer, 2 stage hands, administrator, stage manager, head manager.

THE SETTING TRANSPORTATION
Almost all items fit to the aircraft as personal lagguage of the crew. We need 1-3 extra luggage places (outsized).

The host theatre must provide: 1,5 – 2 tons quartz colorless sand fraction 0,1-0,8 mm.
Simple wood frame based on our drawing.
Dry wood planed board 14,5 Х 4,5 sm, length 6 m.
Black rostrum 4х2 m, height 0,4м.
Black matt linoleum/burly matt polyethylene and theatre tape - to protect machinery on the stage if it exists.


STAGE
Pro-scenium opening: Width – 7.60 m. Height – 3.920 m.

The proscenium: Depth – 2.717 m. Length – 7.60м

Stage:
Depth (till the opening in backstage) – 6.00 m
max point lifting of stage pipes– 5.500 m
Depth of backstage – 5.00 m.

AUDIENCE SEATING: 300 – 1500 people

LIGHT
Acclaim 500 – 27
Acclaim 1000 – 22
ETC PAR CP62 – 24
Profile ETC 26 dg – 4
Profile ETC 36 dg – 28
Profile ETC 50 dg – 2
Profile mini 36 dg – 8
PinSpot 4 dg – 6
Hazer – 1
Ventilator DMX – 2
Generator of smoke DMX – 1
Regulating switchings not less than 110
Panel Compulite 4D


SOUND
mixing console : 2-stereo-lines
2-mono-lines- for microphones
1 stereo-line - for laptop
2 stereo-line - for effects processor (t.c.electronic m-one)
Accoustics : 4 speakers x 2000W

Technical features:
1. The performance can be adapted to the host stage (our technical rider (stage) is an ideal variant, we can accept many different variants)
2. 1,5 – 2 tons quartz colorless sand fraction 0,1-0,8 mm take part in the performance.
3. The host stage must have at least 5 pipes on the equal distance 1,5 m.
4. We will need black matt linoleum that on the size of the stage.
5. If the stage has machinery of stage floor, it's better to cover plastic under linoleum to protect it from the sand.
6. Probably we will need 3-4 plans of black curtains and borders, also back-cloth.


Building time 12 hours
Striking 5 hours

Contact us
Phone
Nataly Sergeevskaya: +7 (904) 516-75-70
+7 (812) 273-55-44
Email
zaj-nati@yandex.ru
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