Režisors Eduards Miks. Brīvdabas lieluzvedumu prakse 20. gadsimta 30. gados

Abstract

Director, actor, theater pedagogue Eduards Miks (1893–1943) is a less-studied person in the history of Latvian theater, whose creative work is mainly related to the practice of large-scale open-air large-scale performances in the city of Ogre in the 1930s. The purpose of the article is, firstly, to present the creative biography of Eduards Miks, and, secondly, to analyze his large-scale open-air productions in the context of Latvian 1930s theatre practice. The open-air productions of Eduards Miks can be divided into two groups. Firstly – large-scale productions related to the carnivalization tendency, which begin with a theatrical procession, turning the whole city into a stage and preserving the principle of the theatricalization of life in the organization of the performance as well. The second group – musical productions, in which the actors of Riga theaters are engaged in the title roles, and local art life enthusiasts – in the mass scenes, creating complex mise-en-scenes and impressive mass scenes. Analysis of archival and periodical sources and historical-genetic and semiotic research approach are used. The article states the known facts of Eduard Miks’s life and creative biography, analyzes the most significant open-air productions of the director, as well as compares the directing tendencies of the open-air productions of Eduards Miks to the overall 1930s Latvian theatre practice.