Being an architect and educator by trade I was always inspired by all kinds of artistry, performing arts being amongst my biggest passions. Starting from an early age I was a member of different theatrical and musical endeavors.
The most serious acting education and experience I got was from MESS musical theatre in Moscow. It was a place for all kind of people interested in performing in English and for those who adored musical theatre. Three disciplines (English drama, choreography and singing), taught by professionals and native-speakers, were combined to create original musicals in English. The level of the actors was very different and they got into productions according to their skills and experience. Although our theatre was established as an educational studio we worked as professionals putting our heart and soul into the performance. Our students also worked as costume/props and sets designers, make-up specialists, stage managers, advertisers and so on...everything was done by ourselves, so MESS theatre company was a real family. From 2004 till 2019 I was an actor there, during 2011-2017 in addition to acting took the functions of CEO and art director.
Still being in MESS I got acquainted with MIDAS theatre through their cool event called “Short Order Theatre” where people stage the whole show and “serve” it in 24 hours. That was the perfect way to train our acting and directing abilities in a stressful situation, and, what’s more important, to meet with a whole bunch of new Moscow-based English-speakers from all over the world. Thanks to Tatiana Savosina, the founder and main inspirator of MIDAS, the atmosphere of these events has always been very welcoming and encouraging. MIDAS is very inclusive, so sometimes people, who were the spectators the first time, are seen onstage in the next production.
With time MIDAS became my second theatre family. It is hard to say how big this crowd is because each project has a new director, new casting and can be anything from Oscar Wilde to some gloomy post-modern plays, which keeps it fresh and exciting. But the core members remain the same. The nicest thing is that we all learn from each other, each member contributes and brings in his own ideas and experience, we are all partly actors and partly directors, inventors, designers. Personally I prefer this kind of productions to any other forms of theatre because it gives me freedom of self-expression and, of course, an opportunity to be onstage and that is an unforgettable experience every time!
I have participated in different capacities (mostly as an actor) in a few of MIDAS’s productions through the years: “Far Away”,” The Opposite Sex”,” Till Death Do Us Part?”, “Voskreseniye (just the end of the world)” and there’s always something new cooking…