ABSTRACT
The idea for the visit originated in March 1991, when nine representatives from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Theatre Department faculty were invited to visit theatres and theatre training programs in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The instructors of the Shchepkin Institute, most of whom were or had been employed as actors, directors or administrators in the Maly, were extremely gracious. They were proud of and committed to their theatre, theatre training program, and students. The competition for a place in their program is keen—more than 300 applications for each position. Once accepted they “belong” to the program. As well-trained and disciplined as the actors were, they were, nonetheless, teenagers and young adults. The Russian scene, economically and politically, was a horror story. It seemed that the life there was even worse than what was reported.
