I. Ozarkevych Kolomyia Academic Regional Ukrainian Drama Theatre at the Turn of the 20th and 21st Centuries (1989–2007). Program­Based Background and Creative Principles

Abstract

The creation of a professional drama theatre is a phenomenon of the period of early days of the independent Ukraine. As exemplified by I. Ozarkevych Kolomyia Academic Regional Ukrainian Drama Theatre , the scientific community has the opportunity to study and anticipate the problems and challenges that arise in the process of creating a professional artistic institution in modern times. The aim of this paper is to cover the creative activity of the Kolomyia Drama Theater, namely: to study the program areas, to analyze the repertoire policy, to reveal the influence on the formation of the theater of different artistic centers and generations of artists. Research methodology. In the course of the research the methods of synthesis, induction, generalization, dynamic, and cause and effect analysis, the method of historical analogies were applied. The main sources of research were scientific works on the history of the 20 th century, reviews of performances in professional journals and newspaper reports. Results. It has been found that the Kolomyia Drama Theater in a short period has reached a high artistic level, which is confirmed by the presence in the repertoire of highly professional performances that have received recognition at tours and festivals. It was possible to identify the main programmatic foundations of the theatre, which consist in preserving national traditions, authentic elements of the Ukrainian culture, as well as in the development of two movements of the Kolomyya “city myths”: the Hutsul myth and the myth of “Granny Austria”. The theatre also contributed to the aesthetic modernization of works of the Ukrainian culture. The strong link between creative progress and socio-economic factors, as well as the correspondence of the repertoire with all-Ukrainian trends — recourse to authentication, the return of previously censored authors, utilitarian orientation to a wide public of the audience, were revealed. An important aspect of the success of the theatre was the fruitful collaboration of actors from different generations and acting schools. Novelty. For the first time in the scientific discourse, the repertoire policy and programmatic foundations of the Kolomyia Drama Theater have been analyzed. The practical significance. The results of the study form the basis for further research on the theater in Kolomyia or other theaters of the period.