Director, Principal Director of the State Academic Central Puppet Theatre named after Sergei Obraztsov (since 2013), winner of the Russian National Theatre Award THE GOLDEN MASK (The Leningrader, 2009; Carmen, 2014), one of the founders of Karlsson Haus theatre company.
Director, Principal Director of the State Academic Central Puppet Theatre named after Sergei Obraztsov (since 2013), winner of the Russian National Theatre Award THE GOLDEN MASK (The Leningrader, 2009; Carmen, 2014), one of the founders of Karlsson Haus theatre company.
Konstantinov has worked a lot in Russia and abroad, taught in the International Summer School of the Theatre Union of Russia (STD). In his choice of the repertoire for adults he turned to the finest works of literature (Carmen, Letter Book, Ward No.9, Crazy Day or the Marriage of Figaro, Turandot), he also writes his own plays in collaboration (The Leningrader, Iron). When directing children’s productions, without avoiding complex subjects and not being afraid of them, Konstantinov does not forget about the existence of “theatre of children’s joy” manifested in its best form. The director collaborates with designers Viktor Antonov, Evgenia Shakhot’ko, Valid Dakub, Viktor Nikonenko.
In 2016 he was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Union of Puppet Theatres UNIMA and became the Chair of the UNIMA Youth Commission.
In 2017, together with designer Viktor Antonov, he became the master teacher of the group of students, majoring in puppet theatre directing and design at the department of scenography at the Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS).
Name Konstantinov Boris Anatolyevich
Date and place of birth 24 December 1968, Irkutsk Region, Zhigalovo
Education. Boris Konstantinov graduated from the East Siberian Academy of Culture and Arts, majoring in drama directing, and SPbGATI, majoring in puppet theatre directing – master teacher N. P. Naumov.
Career. In the student years, productions of the future director could be seen at the international festival of theatre schools in Wroclaw (Poland), in the program of the festival Theatres of St. Petersburg – for Children, at the international festival of puppet theatres of Mediterranean countries in Beirut.
Boris worked in a theatre of marionettes in Germany, taught at SPbGATI (RGISI). He is one of the founders of theatre-studio Karlsson Haus. He directed the III, IV, VIII and X International Summer Theatre Schools of the Theatre Union of Russia (STD). Since 2013 he has been the principal director of the State Academic Central Puppet Theatre named after Sergei Obraztsov (Moscow). Since 2014 he has been the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine about puppets and people Teatr Chudes [Theatre of Miracles]. Boris served as advisor on puppet scenes for Crime and Punishment, a rock opera by A. Konchalovsky and E. Artemyev. He directs productions in Russia and abroad.
Favorite authors, subjects, stories: Favorite authors: Hans Christian Andersen, Maurice Maeterlinck, Anton Chekhov, Nikolai Gogol. Fairytales from different countries of the world – there is wisdom in them. Favorite stories: fictional, but not factitious. Favorite subjects: subjects as problems.
Favorite system of puppets/texture. There are no favorite systems for me – only those I need. Genre, goals, and objectives of a particular production determine the choice of system.
Does a performance need text? In puppet theatre it is not easy to deal with any work where the text plays the leading role. In my opinion, our theatre cannot stand wordiness. Therefore, one should manage to translate all the words into our visual language without losing the meaning. Or, trying to preserve the text of the author, one should adapt the work and find such a form, which the audience would understand.
Is the expression “puppet theatre” still relevant today? Yes, it is relevant. This is the meaning of my profession.
What, in your opinion, is the difference between puppet theatre in Russia and the West? The main problem of the Russian school of puppeteers is that in most cases people join puppet theatre out of despair, whereas in the West they freely follow their calling.
What is useful about collaboration and cultural exchange? This is the opening of the paths leading to the world of knowledge – as well as an opportunity to speak different languages.