Abstract
The purpose of the article is to analyse the concept of the universal actor and highlight fragments of the stage adaptation of masks from different eras in the works of the leading directors of the first third of the 20th century – Ye. Vakhtanhov, G. Craig, Les Kurbas, Vs. Meyerhold, A. Tairov. Research Methodology. Historical, comparative and phenomenological methods were used in the process of revealing of the goals set by this article. An important methodological basis of the research was the theory of frames by M. Minsky. Various national theatres, such as the Italian commedia dell’arte, the French fair comedy, the East Slavic Christmas vertep, etc., are distinguished by frames of the stage mask, which have been modified and transformed during the history. The scientific novelty of this study is to reveal the universal formative properties of the theatre mask; it has been demonstrated that mask techniques are the basic tool of the actor's work, and the use of models (frames) of the masks of different historical periods allows directors to model new cultural paradigms, produce stage versions that meet the requirements of the time. Conclusions. In the first third of the twentieth century, various modifications of masks were quite often the dominant means of acting expression, mechanisms for inventing a new figurative language and a form of communication with the public. In the practice of Ye. Vakhtanhov, Les Kurbas, Vs. Meyerhold, A. Tairov the most striking were the stage adaptations of commedia dell’arte masks, which enhanced the effect of the cheerful element and satirical sound of the plays “Balahanchik” (1906), “Woe to the Liar” (1918), “Princess Brambilla” (1920), “Princess Turandot” (1922).
Highlights
The mask has long been an important attribute of the entertainment culture, so it is not surprising that it, in the form of tragic and comical grimaces, became the emblem of theatrical art
Artistic processes and collision of the social life at that time determined the relevance of certain types of masks, which were opposed to the aesthetics of naturalistic theatre
The stage adaptation of masks from past epochs indicated the universality of their means of expression, and the creation of new masks in the theatrical search of expressionists demonstrated the expansion of the semantics of the mask and the transformation of its functions
Summary
The mask has long been an important attribute of the entertainment culture, so it is not surprising that it, in the form of tragic and comical grimaces, became the emblem of theatrical art. That is why attention to the theatrical mask increased rapidly in the first third of the twentieth century when revolutionary changes raged in the geopolitical field, and in the field of stage search of leading directors: Ye. Vakhtanhov, G. Artistic processes and collision of the social life at that time determined the relevance of certain types of masks, which were opposed to the aesthetics of naturalistic theatre. The stage adaptation of masks from past epochs (ancient theatre, commedia dell’arte, eastern theatre, etc.) indicated the universality of their means of expression, and the creation of new masks (agitprop, social mask, etc.) in the theatrical search of expressionists demonstrated the expansion of the semantics of the mask and the transformation of its functions. New masks, which dominated the territory of the Soviet theatre in the mid-1930s, had nothing in common with the aesthetics of the “Harlequinade”, but wore an armour of the conflict-free drama and clichés of exemplary builders of communism
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