The Wings Company Background HistoryThe Wings
is a very young theatre company, which is just at the beginning of
its professional path. The company is made up of deaf actors, the
graduates of the Drama Department of the State Specialised Institute
of Arts in 2003 (Artistic Director, Igor Vostrov).
The students were studying at the Institute for six years, five of which were
devoted to daily time- consuming training and acquiring the actor’s skills,
dancing, mine, rythmics, speech practice, sign language- all those things that
are inevitable for a professional actor. This labour was crowned by four graduation
plays.
Their sixth year of studies (from September 2002 till May 2003) the students
spent gaining experience of performing in Moscow and other Russian cities (Kursk,
Orel, Saratov, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg). In fact, their touring
activities can be compared to the work of a professional repertoire theatre.
The company has already had 50 performances including those given in the Volga
region to around 2500 people. The triumph of the company received fill coverage
in mass media and attracted the attention of local authorities and that of the
public to the problems of people with disabilities.
Along with the best theatre groups and companies of Russia The Wings took part
in the PODIUM-2003 International Festival in Moscow. The play WINGS ARE GIVEN
TO ALL met the approval of many theatre directors, actors, teachers, art critics
and students of art.
The Seagull’s participation in shooting the film Allen’s RULE (produced
by P. Zekavitsa) and the Audience Prize at Cinema Beyond the Barriers International
Film Festival became another important landmark for the young professional company.
Their success has raised great interest among the public both disabled and non-disabled.
And at last there arrived the decision of making a professional touring company
in Moscow.
The company owes its name to the performance “WINGS ARE GIVEN TO ALL”,
a mine-and-dance play after the story Jonathan Livingston Seagull by R. Bach,
directed by A. Bashenkova. She then became the artistic director of the company.
In 2003-2004 years after graduating the Institute company continued its touring
activities. It performed in Vologda, Chereovets, and St. Petersburg. It had regular
performances in Moscow on the Actors House stage.
The company took part in VSA arts International Festival in Washington DC (June
2004) and All-Russian Festival “PROTHEATER” in Moscow (September
2004).
At present the company has 4 plays in its repertoire, namely:
ZAIKA-ZAZNAIKA (A Hare Who Gives Himself Airs), a play for young children written
by S. Mikhalkov
STRANGE FANTASIES, a play based on the three one-act plays The Crazy Woman (N.
Sadur), Karol (S. Mrozek), A Man Came to a Woman (S. Zlotnikov)
TARTUFFE by Moliere
WINGS ARE GIVEN TO ALL
For the deaf actors of the company, as well as for the bird in R. Bach’s
story it is “only flight but not eating that matters, the flight that would
overcome the space and time”. The main message of the play is breaking
the limits of being disabled, and the language of the play is the human spirit,
which can be understood by everyone. As the actors of the company put it, “people
should be connected through the art of theatre”.
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