https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7vAViacnSKZUzZZdjZYVTY1RTg

Transcription (for convenience):

“Russian theater, and the Russian theater tradition is very focused on national artists. The most comparable example I can bring up in the United States is someone such as Beyonce. There is a similar trend of that in Russia, where there are artists that are extremely famous in their country and tour the country that are very widely known and respected. There were also a lot of actors, and the Stanislavki Method (Method Acting) is the main focus of actors in Russia, taught at the ‘classical’ schools of acting (along with the existence of the classical schools of ballet). A lot of the arts in that area are developed in a very focused way.

It was very hard to immigrate during the time of the Soviet Union and very little Russian-American theater tradition existed in America in the 1990s simply because not a lot of people moved. Southern Brooklyn has traditionally housed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union but up until the early 1990s there was a surprisingly a small amount of Russian entertainment in America, nor were there any Russian oriented performances in the area, although there was much demand and nostalgia among many Russians who had been exiled from their old homes for many decades. In this video project, I will be covering a few different theaters, a ballet company, and discussing a very prolific Russian-American director. My name is Anton Kurdakov, I am in the THE3060 class taught by Professor Caplan and I hope I do a good job.

(In front of the Master Theater in Coney Island) Behind me is the Master Theater, originally known as the Oceana Theater in 1950 and was later renamed to the Millennium Theater. The Oceana Theater originally had 2,200 seats (almost double the size of Baruch College’s Mason Hall) and was established in 1950 as a Russian multicultural center. It is located in the heart of Brighton Beach, which is where generally all of the Russians of New York congregate, and was actually closed in 2011 to be converted into the Master Theater from the Millennium Theater. Part of it was reworked into a supermarket (as you can see the Gourmanoff at the very top) and was reopened in 2016 with 1,300 seats. Russian stars from the former USSR perform here, though they are generally more classical singers and musicians rather than traditional theater shows (though an opera will occasionally be performed here). When it opened as the Oceana Theater it was a movie theater but was later converted to have a stage and later rented out to performers of Russian descent, which helped establish Brighton Beach as the Russian area of Brooklyn. Interestingly, my graduation ceremony from junior high school was actually held at this theater. It should be noted that the Master Theater is more of a concert hall than a traditional theater. On one occasion, a political debate was conducted at the Master Theater.

(3:35 – a quick tour of the Master Theater)

(In front of the Brighton Ballet Company located in Kingsborough Community College) We’re in front of the Brighton Ballet Company, in Kingsborough College. We will be conducting a small interview which will likely be used for the oral history and the video tour itself. The building itself is a little foreboding, but it is overall a nice location. (5:03 – a ballet performer is practicing in one of the rooms) The Brighton Ballet Company was originally established in 1987 on Avenue U in Brooklyn and actually moved to the Oceana Theater around 1992 (which was at the time known as the Millennium Theater and now known as the Master Theater). It was originally exclusively a music school that possessed a dance department. Irina, the current president, brought her children here to study ballet and in 1993 became the president of the ballet company. The company dancers and teachers are all graduates of former soloists from the best dance theaters of the former Soviet Union (including some such as the Kirov Ballet, Moscow Classical Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet Theater, Ukranian State Theater of Classical Ballet, and Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater). It is one of the only presenters of new choreography by emerging Russian choreographers in the United States. They always conduct two large scale concerts, one in June and one in December. They will be presenting The Nutcracker on December 17, 2016 at 7:00PM, along with conducting a class concert (which is essentially an open class conducted on stage). The Nutcracker will be using original choreography created by one of the choreographers at the Brighton Ballet Company. They are one of the oldest ballet companies in New York City.

(6:48 – a quick overview of their bulletin board with some of their events)

The Russian Arts and Theater Studio was founded in 2004 by artistic director Aleksey Burago and actress Senjana Chernova. The couple both graduated from distinguished theater academies, namely the Moscow Academy of Theater Arts and the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts. They brought forth their extensive theater study and experience in hopes of creating a New York theater company that would pass the rich theater traditions and practices of Stanislavski and Anton Chekov, as well as introducing lesser-known Russian repertoire to American audiences in native English. Though they do not have a specific location for the theater company, they generally rent out The Alchemical, a theater space on 14th Street (Union Square) in Manhattan. Aleksey Burago studied with world famous director Pyotor Fomenko. Off-Broadway, Aleksey directed Gamblers, An Absolutely Happy Village, Ah! My Dear Andersen, and On the Eve. He has been on faculty at the Theater Academy and Conservatory of St. Petersburg, the Danish Theater School, and Manhattanville College, where he taught Acting and Short Stories of Anton Chekov (receiving great reviews on Rate My Professor). He is an associate member of the SSDC and also director-in-residence at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. He is widely regarded to be a very prolific Russian-American director and actor.”