ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the special means which have been used to avoid political control and the special political role the art has played in Communist societies further distinguish art in Communist societies. Professional theaters are situated within the Soviet governmental bureaucracy as artistic institutions supported by and under the control of the Ministry of Culture. In place of official socialist realism, scholars and artists in Eastern Europe have promoted a more independent socialist expression calling for critical socialist realism, true socialist realism, engaged artistic creation, and open artistic forms. The purpose of promotion by the Ministry of Culture of such theater is probably an attempt to extend controls over theater. While most members of Polish student theater do trace their interest in theater to childhood, most speak of a specific commitment to student theater and a general disinterest in a career in professional theater.
