How to get into drama school. Main selection criteria for admission to theater

How to enter a theater school - this question has probably been asked at least once by everyone who lives with a love of cinema and theater, who sees themselves exclusively on stage or the big screen and dreams of national fame. If you are ready for the hard life of a theater student, don’t mind studying from morning to night and working on yourself every day, then hurry up to familiarize yourself with the details of the admission process and start preparing now.

The process of admission to theater schools comes down to several stages, which are fundamentally no different from each other.

Screening consultation

First, the applicant undergoes a selection consultation and pre-exam auditions, which are called rounds.

Upon arrival at the university, you must personally present your passport. In some educational institutions, in order to attend a selection consultation, you must register in advance by sending a letter to email, which can be found on the university website, and in some you simply get into a live queue.

In order not to miss the period of these auditions, you need to find out the number of the selection committee and find out the dates on the educational institution’s website. Consultations usually begin as early as April.

Pre-exam auditions

A program is prepared for the tours—certain material is selected with which the potential student will perform at auditions. It is imperative to prepare a poem, an excerpt from prose, a fable, which is learned by heart.

The same program is read at all auditions - having presented one material at the selection consultation, no further changes should be made.

The members of the commission listen to the applicants - as a rule, these are several teachers from the university and the master - the one who is choosing the course. The master may not listen to you in the first round, but he will certainly appear in the next ones.

Auditions from the first to the third round are considered entrance exams. At them, applicants again present their program and perform additional creative tasks.

Always check your vocals - this does not mean that you will become a singer, but vocal training is an important skill for working in theater and cinema. But different teachers can ask you to show anything - you will have to dance, show your ability to improvise, demonstrate your other talents - playing a musical instrument, gymnastics skills, etc.

Exams

The apotheosis becomes the so-called competition - the final creative competition upon admission to a theater university. It differs from previous auditions in that the number of applicants is significantly reduced, the requirements for selection are toughened, and the largest possible number of teachers, led by a master, will listen to the participants.

If the applicant has not demonstrated his vocal skills and plasticity before, he may be asked to show them at the competition. Perhaps they will be asked to do a sketch - play a mini-sketch on a given topic, tell tongue twisters.

After the creative competition, there are general education competitions.

Graduates of Russian schools provide their results on the Unified State Examination (USE) in Russian language and literature, and applicants with higher education, who graduated from school before 2009 and foreigners take an exam in these two subjects at the university itself.

Applicants to Ukrainian universities submit the results of the External Independent Assessment (EIA) in the history of Ukraine and Ukrainian language and literature; Foreigners, people with higher education and those who received secondary education before 2008 take the exam in these subjects at the university.

All applicants write an essay and participate in a colloquium. This stage is a test of the applicant’s general erudition and cultural background, so if there are gaps in this part, it is worth preparing better: there will be questions about literature, history, theater, and the theory of performing arts.

Only after passing the selection consultation at the educational institution, the applicant can submit documents. This is done to weed out unnecessary people on initial stages and not waste resources on processing unnecessary documentation - there are generally two hundred or more people per place who want to enroll in a theater university in Russia. In Ukrainian universities the competition is ten times less, but it is still very difficult to get admitted.

The following documents should be prepared:

• application addressed to the rector;
• copy of passport (show the original at the university);
• a copy of the certificate of assignment of an identification number;
• certificate of secondary education or diploma;
• Unified State Examination or External Examination results;
• medical certificate form No. 086-U;
• photo 3 x 4 in the amount of 6 pcs.;
• for guys - a military ID or a registration certificate.

Universities require the submission of original documents. Therefore, if you are applying to several universities at once, you will have to make notarized copies of the originals.

You need to prepare for admission to theater school at least a year in advance.

Enter all theater universities in the city of your choice at once in order to increase your chances. Don't forget to find out detailed information about each university, what kind of “school” it is, what teachers are there, who is the master who teaches the course.

Don’t forget about self-education - read a lot fiction, read the works of Stanislavsky and Mikhail Chekhov (at the same time, at the colloquium you will not confuse him with Anton Pavlovich), be sure to read about the history of the theater.

You must come to the audition well-rested, healthy and in a fighting mood - it will be a shame when, due to such a state, you cannot enter.

When you introduce yourself to the commission, try to sound even and confident, despite your inner feelings.

Remember, in fact, your main task is to impress the master. Before the auditions start, find out what kind of person he is, how he teaches, where he played, what plays he staged - form an opinion about what is close to him and what might interest him.

Dozens of applicants come to audition; You don’t have to strive too hard for the first or second, but then be more active. Don’t waste time: teachers are people too, they get tired, irritated, their attention dissipates by the end of the day, and you may simply not be appreciated.

How to write a program

The question of preparing a program should concern you immediately after the question of how to enter the theater school. You must think carefully about your repertoire, study it, pass it through yourself, and then not look fake at auditions. For the same reason, it is not recommended to change the program during tours - high-quality retraining takes a lot of time.

Prepare several versions of each work, preferably three poems, fables and prose passages.

The recommended list of literature is often posted on the websites of universities, don’t be lazy and study it, but you can try to learn something from at will. For prose and poetry, it is better to choose something from classical literature. There is absolutely no need to read your own work - the important thing is not whether you can write poetry, but how you can convey someone else's message to the audience. If you are looking for fables, take Krylov and you won’t go wrong.

The main principle of selecting works is to prepare what is close to you, what you can understand and convey to the viewer.

Try to choose diverse works, but in accordance with your type. Evaluate yourself from the outside and decide how to present yourself: maybe the image of a romantic hero suits you, or maybe you are a natural comedian? A mismatch between the external type and the material can be fatal for your theatrical future.

Those who want to enter the theater often turn to professional teachers for help and take courses, but remember: this approach deprives your performance of individuality, because all the works and the way they are presented will not be chosen by you. In any case, it is better not to talk about such experience in preparing a commission - everyone wants the student not to be initially seasoned with someone else’s experience and vision acting.

When giving a program, start reciting from the part of the work on which you place the main emphasis. Don’t think that now you will tell the introduction, and then brilliantly lead to a bright moment - the commission will not listen to you for a long time, and you must interest the listeners right away.

Your appearance

Girls need to emphasize their femininity. Wear a skirt or dress of medium length; a short skirt will obviously not please the commission, just like a floor-length skirt. And in general, don't wear anything provocative. Completely flat shoes or high heels are not an option; choose a medium heel.

Bright makeup is not approved, but you shouldn’t come without it at all - stick to natural, light makeup with an emphasis on the eyes. Hair should be pulled back into a ponytail; in any case, take an elastic band with you.

Young men should dress simply and decently: classic trousers, a shirt or T-shirt will do just fine, but don’t wear a jacket - it shouldn’t restrict your movements. No extravagant outfits or sports shoes, your choice is shoes. Facial hair is also not welcome, so it is better to have a close shave.

Remember, judging acting is a very subjective act, so don't be discouraged if you fail. Most famous actors tried to enter the theater a second time and a third time before anything worked out for them. In any case, you gain valuable experience and knowledge that will play into your hands in the future.

The question of how to enter a theater university most often worries girls, which is why during entrance auditions it is discovered that up to 200 people are applying for one place. There are much fewer young men who want to become actors, most likely due to less emotionality and a penchant for acting. The leading teacher of the future course almost always recruits girls and boys equally, so it is easier for young people to enroll.

To begin with, let us explain how the word “school” in relation to a theater institution does not always mean secondary specialized education. Much more often in this environment an institute is called a school, so when applying, always pay attention to the full name of the institution. If you decide to devote yourself to the acting profession after 9th grade, then look for an institution that is really a school. And the famous “Shchukinskoye” or “Shchepkinskoye” are institutes.

How to prepare for admission

Your school teachers will tell you how to prepare for general education subjects. Your personal task is to prepare and successfully pass the creative competition. It includes reading a fable, poem, prose passage, performing a song, dancing. Some theater universities ask to show plastic compositions and elements of acrobatics. You must be prepared for any task.

Start by choosing works to read. All literary passages are not selected from the point of view of brightness and popularity; you need to choose what is right for you. If you are a bright and impulsive person, then it is better to read an excerpt from Pippi Longstocking and not pretend to be Katerina from The Thunderstorm. And it’s best to prepare several fables, poems and excerpts from prose, since the commission may not like something specific, and you will be asked to read another work, which happens very often. Also prepare several dances and songs.

To enter drama school, it is also important to learn how to perform sketches. An etude is a small skit on a given topic, which, as a rule, is determined by the examiners. For example, you will be asked to show how you were late for the train, how you received a letter informing you of admission to the theater institute, how you tore your favorite dress. Try to identify several such topics for yourself at home and rehearse sketches. The main thing is to develop the ability to quickly and accurately respond to proposed circumstances, to include sincere emotions, and not to act out.

• Start preparing not a month before the exams, not even six months. The year is the most optimal time for searching, disassembling material, for rehearsals.
• Find a person who is a professional and has already helped more than one newcomer enter a theater university. An experienced actor or director will charge you some money for his lessons, but you need them to greatly increase your chances of passing creative tests.
• If there is a theater university in your city, then they will work at it preparatory courses. Be sure to sign up for them and establish yourself in classes as a bright and energetic applicant.
• To enter a theater institute, you need to read a lot of literature on the history of theater - this knowledge will be useful to you at the colloquium, which is held before creative tours in many universities. In addition, you will need to provide USE results in Russian language and literature.

Vyacheslav Tereshchenko

Introduction
Chapter 1. What is a theater institute
Chapter 2. Where to go, where to go
Chapter 3. What and how to prepare and cook in order to enroll
Chapter 4. Logic of speech and basics of versification
Eyes 5. Audition for creative tours
Chapter 6. Competition
Chapter 7. General Education Exams
List of recommended literature

INTRODUCTION

Dear friend!
When I was a schoolboy and dreamed of studying the acting profession, I didn’t really know what and how to prepare in order to enter. Like, indeed, all my acquaintances and friends who dreamed of becoming actors. We looked for books and articles to find out about entering a theater institute... and couldn’t find any. True, there was dry information in the reference books for applicants, but it did not provide any help.

This situation remains to this day. There is no descriptive material on admission to the theater institute at the faculty of “drama theater and film actor”.

That’s why I set out to write this book about entering a theater institute, summarizing the experience of admission to myself, my friends and acquaintances for more than 15 years, in which I tried to answer those questions that really tormented us and are relevant for everyone today young man, who decided to devote his life to the acting profession.

Chapter 1. WHAT IS THE THEATER INSTITUTE?

My young friend!

Do you dream of becoming an Artist as great and popular as Smoktunovsky or Evstigneev, Ermolova or Terekhova, receiving the same fees as Leonardo DiCaprio or Julia Roberts?

You collect postcards and calendars with photographs of your idols and, left alone, indulge in dreams: “If I were a famous Artist, then...”
Your wishes and aspirations are laudable, and I understand and respect them.
Let the strong overcome this road! But just a premonition of your calling is not enough. You need to know and be able to take the first steps of the profession under the discreet and so bewitching name - * actor of dramatic theater and cinema.” So follow me; and I will tell you what you need to do so that your talent is seen and accepted to study at a theater institute. You can trust me, since I was a very experienced applicant, and then a student of Soviet and Russian theater schools.

In order to master all the secrets of the acting profession under the guidance of experienced and even popular teachers, you need to enroll in a theater institute.
Of course, if you feel that you have a very great talent as an artist and feel that studying will be harmful to you, you don’t have to enroll, but feel free to go to a professional theater to watch it. Good luck to you!
But experience and history show that it is better to master drama school under the supervision of teachers who have raised more than a dozen “stars” whose company you want to get into. After all, even artists who have become “stars” take acting lessons in order to remove the “slags” and accumulated “stamps” of the profession from themselves with the help of the “spring water” of acting exercises. Because they understand: just as a musician needs to play scales every day, an artist needs to do acting exercises in order to be in good creative shape. And this is what they teach at the theater institute.

I will continue the friendly conversation with those young people who have decided to enroll.
Where do they learn to be an artist? The basics of the profession are learned at the theater institute.
What is a theater institute? - you ask.
I'll tell you a little about this.
Teachers and students like to call their institute School or Home.
School - because they teach the ABCs of acting, stage speech, rhythmic, plastic, and dancing skills.
Home - because they spend most of the time of the day, week, month, year within the walls of the institute. And from this they become almost family to each other, and some get married to the general joy of those around them and especially teachers.
Why? It's very simple. After all, with such close communication, teachers become not only teachers, but mothers and fathers, albeit creative ones. First of all, they educate, cultivate, like gardeners, every student’s individuality. They invest in young men and women not only knowledge, but their soul and all their free time.
A teacher at a theater institute is not a profession, but a vocation.
And all this creates a creative, bright atmosphere of the House, in which everyone leads a talented life, aimed at nurturing in every young individual an Actor with a capital A, a master of his craft.
And everyone in this House is the creator of a special atmosphere of creativity and celebration! But there are occasional exceptions. There are people in this House whom it rejects. Why? The reason is very simple: they do not like theater, they can live without it, and for this reason the profession of an actor is contraindicated for them.
The Theater House, as a rule, stands alone and consists of several floors.
On the ground floor there is a large foyer with a wardrobe, rehearsal rooms, a snack bar and toilet rooms. And the Yaroslavl Institute also houses a large gym, which especially pleases students who love sports.
On the second floor there are rehearsal and lecture rooms. In some Houses, administrative rooms are located on this floor: the rector's office, the accounting department, the educational department, and the directorate of the educational theater.
Where there are third and fourth floors, there are also adapted rooms for lectures and rehearsals.
The educational theater, where students perform graduation performances, is located in different institutes on the first or second floors, and in some places in a separate building.
There may be closets throughout the institute for props and student personal belongings. There are photographs of students on the walls in the corridors and on the stairs. different years issues, teachers, stands with articles from newspapers and magazines about actors, directors, premieres, books and important theatrical events from around the world.
In theater institutes, from year to year, teachers, administration, and students collect costumes, props, and furniture. All this is used in sketches, excerpts, performances and is stored in the props and costume rooms.
In the House you will also find production workshops where everything you need for graduation performances is prepared.
These are the workshops:
- tailoring, where suits are made;
- prop and prop shop, where they make crafts
and store props and props;
- decorative (artistic decoration
ny), where they make and paint the scenes and backdrops,
scenery;
- carpentry, where furniture is made and repaired;
Everything turns out just like in a professional theater!
At a theater institute, the corridors are usually very quiet, but from the classrooms you can hear noise, screams, joyful laughter and desperate crying - these are students rehearsing. And, of course, a special atmosphere of goodwill and high spirits reigns in the buffet, where all the residents and guests of the House refresh their strength. This is not even a buffet, but a kind of elite club, whose members know each other, have casual conversations with each other, share news, solve problems, tell jokes, play pranks on each other, and sometimes sing songs and read poetry. All this is very interesting for those who come to such a club for the first time with a special, friendly, talented atmosphere.
So, my young friend, don't be afraid of this building. It is warm, cozy and interesting! And the owner of this House is the spirit of talented people, united by their love for the theater, the profession of actor and director. If you feel the talent of an artist, feel free to join our company!
Do you live in a city where there is a theater institute? Be sure to watch the graduation performances.
Try to get to know students who like to invite their friends to exams and tests in acting, stage speech and movement, and dance.
If you are lucky, you will be invited, and this will be very useful.
You will come into contact with the secrets of the profession, see teachers in reality, and feel the special festive atmosphere of the exam.
Yes, this is a kind of test: do I want or don’t want to do what I see in an exam or a performance? You will either feel even more confident in your decision to enroll, or doubts about the correctness of your choice of your future profession will begin to creep into your soul. “Or maybe economic?” - just think. And as soon as you think about it, feel free to enter the Academy National Economy. Good luck to you!
If you decide to do so, then you are faced with an important, fateful question, which we will talk about in the next chapter.

Chapter 2. WHERE TO GO, WHERE TO GO?

Of course, you want to study in the capital of the country - Moscow. And that's right.
Firstly, this is a city with many museums, libraries, theaters, and film studios.
It constantly hosts premieres, opening days, and concerts. You get the opportunity to watch all this, expand your horizons and raise your cultural level.
Secondly, this is a city in which you can get a job in a theater studio, radio and television, while already a student. You may be offered to star in a film or host a popular show, that is, this is a city of opportunities. If you wish, you can realize your creative potential in it. Thirdly, this is the city in which the largest number of theater institutes are located:
Higher Theater School named after B.V. Shchukin at the State Academic Theater named after E.B. Vakhtangov, Students affectionately call him “Pike” - 121002, Moscow, B. Nikolopeskovsky lane, 12-A (metro station Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya), t.f.: 241-5644, 241-2142;
Higher Theater School (HEI) named after M.S. Shchepkin at the State Academic Maly Theater of Russia, Students call it “Shchepka” - 103012, Moscow, Neglinnaya, 6 (metro Kuznetsky
bridge, Revolution Square), tel.: 924-3889, 923-1880;
Russian Academy of Theater Arts (formerly GITIS). Students still call it that - GITIS. 103888, Moscow, Maly Kislovsky lane, 6, tel.: 280-0411
School-studio (university) named after. V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko at the Moscow Art Theater named after. A.P. Chekhov - 103009, Moscow, Tverskaya st., 6, building 7 (metro station Okhotny Ryad), tel.: 229-3936, 229-213.

There are also institutes where they teach to be a film actor:

All-Russian State Institute Cinematography named after S.A. Gerasimova. Students call it VGIK. 129226, Moscow, st. Wilhelm's Peak (metro Botanical Garden)

These are the oldest and best acting schools that have graduated thousands of top-level professionals.
Theater establishments in the cities of St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Saratov have been operating successfully for a long time and have a high reputation both in the provinces and in the capital.
These institutes have trained many generations of talented artists who are the pride of the Russian theater.

Also, since the late eighties, many new educational institutions began to appear and exist in which actors are trained.
I recommend starting your application from Moscow universities. Because they are more concentrated in one city.

You can enter all institutes IMMEDIATELY! This is different from all other educational institutions. After all, documents are submitted to the theater only by those who have passed the competition. And there is still a very long way to go!

Chapter 3. WHAT AND HOW SHOULD YOU COOK AND READ IN ORDER TO ENTER?

You must prepare a reading program consisting of:

Poems;

You need to take several collections of books by those authors who wrote fables. For example: G.E. Lessing, A.A. J. Rudaki, I.A. Krylov, S.V. Mikhalkov or the ancient Greek author Aesop. Read them carefully and choose two or three fables that you liked the most.
Basically, the authors of the fables, under the guise of animals and insects, showed and ridiculed people, their passions and vices. You need to know this.
You chose a fable. She is entertaining, insightful and educational. The first thing you need to do is learn it by heart.
At the end of a fable there is always a moral in a few words - the most important idea of ​​the story described. This idea runs through the entire fable, and it needs to be conveyed to the listeners.
When learning a fable by heart, you must use the image of its characters to imagine, remember familiar people, similar situations in which you have been or seen them in life.
If life experience is not enough, then you need to vividly imagine the heroes in your imagination.
the setting and situation in which the story takes place.
All this is necessary so that the story that happened in the fable becomes our own, is appropriated and passed through. Everything in it should be clear to you.
We must definitely decide: with what attitude should we read the fable?

There are two here. MAIN OPTIONS:

Having learned the fable by heart and understood it thoroughly, you have achieved a lot, well done! But now remember the main thing:

You must, with your words and thoughts, evoke in their imagination a “film of vision” of what and who you are reading about.
And this is your talent: not only to be able to force yourself to listen, but also to infect the imagination of the commission with your images created by words.
The commission members pay great attention to this.
You talk about an ant and I see it. But the HOW you say it will make me laugh or cry.

Teachers, listening to a fable, first of all check: does the applicant have a sense of humor, charm, and infectiousness?
After all, an actor plays in comedies, vaudevilles, tragicomedies and simply dramas, and a sense of humor is one of the qualities of an actor’s professional suitability.
I recommend choosing little-known fables for reading, since teachers know almost all the fables by heart, and an unfamiliar one will arouse their interest not only in you, but also in the plot.
For example, let’s take I. Krylov’s fable “The Dragonfly and the Ant.” The jumping Dragonfly sang red summer;
You must read in such a way that the listeners immediately see this dragonfly - is it beautiful or ugly, and is it summer, and how it sang or wheezed. I didn’t have time to look back as winter rolled into my eyes.
We must understand; Is it good or bad that winter has come? And how does it “roll” into your eyes?
Then you paint a tangible picture of a very cold winter.

The pure field has died,
There are no more bright days.
You must imagine these bright days. What are they? Serene school years OR Soviet, pre-perestroika times? Or maybe you’ll decide that this is the time of the first president of Russia, and the dragonfly is a modern swindler Khlestakov? Or maybe the dragonfly is dad and the ant is mom?
The main thing is that this analogy really “infects” and “warms” you.
How under each leaf both the table and the house were ready.
Is it a rich table and house, or maybe very poor?
Everything has passed: with the cold winter, need and hunger comes;

We must “feel with our skin” - this is how we should read: “Everything is gone” - that the end of the world has come for everyone with the onset of winter. The dragonfly no longer sings: And who knows how to sing on a hungry stomach?
Yes, the poetic nature also wants to eat. You can make us feel sympathy for the dragonfly, or you can make us smile: “Serves her right, the parasite!” Angry, depressed by melancholy, she crawls towards the Ant.
We must see how dejected she is, how she trembles, how she does not fly, but crawls and the Ant. We must see him too, because he appears for the first time in the fable!
“Don’t leave me, dear godfather! Let me gather my strength and feed and warm me until the spring days!” -
She begs Ant (it turns out he is her godfather, a relative) to live at his house until spring, because she has nothing but her talent as a singer.
How does she say this? Either in a commanding tone, or maybe asking for mercy? It's up to you. “Gossip, this is strange to me:

Did you work during the summer?” - Ant tells her.
How does he ask her? Arrogantly or condescendingly, sincerely, surprised?
It all depends on the interpretation, the idea - the main idea that you want to convey to us.
- Was it before that, my dear?
In our soft ants
Songs, playfulness every hour,
So it turned my head.”
Whether the dragonfly had fun “until he lost his pulse” and did not work, or sang and danced for the audience, was exhausted and did not take money - that’s up to you to decide. “Oh, so you... I sang the whole summer without a soul!”
The ant is either outraged by this way of life or delighted that the godfather has become a “star”...
The dragonfly admits either that it is her fault that she did not think about preparing for winter, or that there was too much work to do.
- Did you sing everything? This is the case:
So go and dance!
The ant is either ironic and kicks the godfather out the door to certain death, or he is sincerely, out of simplicity of heart, delighted and lets her into the house to cheerfully while away the long winter evenings together.
The movement of thought through the entire fable should go to the finale - morality.
You can read the fable without being trivial.
It is generally accepted that the Dragonfly is the personification of idleness and laziness, and the Ant is a dead hard worker who deservedly punishes the lazy person.
But you can break the stereotype and read it differently. And for this, keep in mind, and the author does not refute us, that the Dragonfly is a talented, selfless, unique singer, and the Ant is a hard worker - a money-grubber, and also a single miser who lets his relatives spend the winter, but not just, in a related way - . nomu,* and for working off. Poor Dragonfly will have to please the narrow-minded, practical godfather around the corner and bread crumbs all winter.

Poem

You are familiar with many poems by Russian and foreign poets.
In secondary school I studied the works of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov, F.I. Tyutchev and A.A. Feta, S.A. Yesenin and A.A. Blicky, J. G. Bayroya and W. Shakespeare and many other authors.
Who should you choose so that your talent is more fully revealed when reading a poem?

You need to choose from those authors that you like the most. You need to take the poem that makes a strong emotional impression, makes your heart beat faster, and whose message you completely agree with.
Don't be intimidated by the fact that it is too small or too long. The most important thing is that every time it makes you worry, it overwhelms your feelings, and you feel the need to read it to other people, to infect them with the thoughts contained in the poem that excite you.

It is also useful to read the biography of the author, learn about his life, how he worked.
You need to prepare two or three diverse poems and always different authors.
If you took a sonnet by W. Shakespeare, then look at the poems of F.I. Tyutcheva, S.A. Yesenina, V.V. Mayakovsky or I. Severyanin, or maybe K.M. Simonova or M.I. Tsvetaeva.
Also, don’t be intimidated if you are a girl and want to read a “male” poem. You have every right to do this.

The repertoire must include poems by classical authors.

Firstly, a work based not only on high professionalism, but also on eternal moral values ​​is called genuine, living through the centuries. And its name is classic. This applies to both poetry and prose.
Secondly, it speaks of your good taste and high cultural level. When poems are chosen, then, naturally, they must be learned by heart.
If it takes a little time, then everything is fine with memory, which is the quality of an artist’s professional suitability. But if you study one poem for a whole week and can’t remember the first line... Then accept right decision and understand that it is better for you to think about another profession.

The following recommendations will help you choose the material that will most fully reveal your creative individuality.
As you know, all people belong to one of 4 psychological types:
- sanguine - a person who perceives the world optimistically;
- choleric person is a very active person, like a spinning top, fidgety and a leader, quickly making decisions;
- phlegmatic - a calm person who loves to think and analyze the world;
- melancholic - a person who perceives reality in a minor key, sadly.
This type does not occur in its pure form, but one of the 4 types certainly dominates in each of us. This is how nature ordered it.
You need to take a close look at yourself and understand: what type dominates in me?
This must be done in order to choose the right reading repertoire among fables, poems and prose.
For example, I chose a poem about love. It is passionate, stormy, with a frantic rhythm. You read it well.

Every teacher can ask a question:
- Do you have anything else?
If you read about love again, even if by a different author, then the teachers will not consider anything new in you. By asking this question, they want to look at individuality from a different perspective.
They have already considered your temperament, passion, assertiveness.
Therefore, you need to have a different type of material in your repertoire: with irony or humor, philosophical or contemplative.
And then you will discover your wonderful qualities, unnoticed by teachers: how you ironize and reflect, how compassionate and indignant you are.

It would be useful to introduce you, my young Friend, to the selection of poems and the basic rules of versification.
This may be useful in your future professional life.
But we will deal with this a little later, and now we will consider the question of how to work on prose material?

Prose

Selecting a prose passage or story for admission is the most difficult task. The literary heritage of foreign and Russian authors is so vast that quickly finding exactly the material that “hits the mark” is very painstaking work.
But don’t get confused, this is a completely solvable issue. It can be solved in several ways depending on your upbringing, education and habits.

Path One

First of all, in a calm home environment Remember which authors you studied at school and whose work touched you most emotionally.
Take a piece of paper and write down these authors and their works for yourself in a column.
Go ahead, take your time, rummage through your memory and remember for each written work those places that you really liked, evoked vivid images in your mind and had an emotional impact.
Write all this down on a piece of paper.

This is necessary so as not to forget or confuse anything. After all, suddenly forgotten, unread material may be exactly the one that reveals your creative individuality to the maximum!
Next, re-read all the recorded passages from the works. To do this, collect the necessary books on your table. If they are not at home, then turn to friends or go to the library.
You can read the selected material as the necessary books become available, and always in a calm, quiet environment, so that no one disturbs you.
This applies to both fables and poems. Select two or three passages or stories you like best. *

A story, unlike an excerpt, implies a complete composition and plot form.
An excerpt from a story, essay, novel or big story must be complete in form! OR this is a description of Natasha Rostova’s ball from the novel by L.N. Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, or a lyrical digression about the three-bird from the poem by N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls".

A sense of proportion must be observed in everything.
The passage or story should not be too short - one minute, but not too long - ten minutes. The most optimal time period is from three to five minutes.
After all, thousands of applicants pass in front of teachers and, as a rule, they do not listen for more than 1-2 minutes, and some are interrupted after a few seconds.
This is because the commission immediately understands whether you are a genius or just a good person.
It is best to choose material from classical works. After all, they are selected by time, but time does not make mistakes, and after that people call these works classics, and the authors - classics. But we already talked about this in the “Poem” section.

Path Two

You can involve people you trust in the search for prose. They know you well. They know what they are capable of.
Their proposals also need to be written down on a piece of paper, and then the work described in Path One must be done.
It is possible that friends or literature teachers, or maybe a philology professor familiar to your parents, will recommend material that will help you pass straight from the audition to the Competition!

Path Three

You live in a city where there is a theater. Your parents agree that you should go to theater school. If you have a friend who is definitely a good actor, then you need to agree with him so that he and you can prepare a reading program for admission.
At the same time, he will remember his admission to B institute and tell you about it, and also appreciate your acting abilities and, in a friendly way, either bless you or advise you to choose a different path in life.
This path of preparation is very valuable for those who are in live communication between a little person taking the first timid steps towards a profession and an Actor with a capital A, a talented and highly professional person.

Path Four

When preparing your prose, remember the following:

1. Learn by heart.
2. “Appropriate” the author’s text,
3. Before reading, be sure to ask yourself questions:
- “Why am I going to read now?”
- “What do I want to tell the listeners?*
4. Maintain the main idea in your story from beginning to end.
5. Read not only to the “ear”, but also to the “eyes” of the listeners, so that they can see who and what you are talking about.
6. If the material begins to get boring, then you need to put it aside for a few days (Maybe you “registered”), or look for a new one, since it does not “touch” the soul.
7. Be sure to take the prose that excites your essence and “burns” your soul, where you completely agree with the author’s thoughts.
8. Develop your attitude towards everything that is happening and towards all the heroes of history: what do you stand for, what do you protest against?
9, Establish a conflict: between whom and whom. what and how is the fight going on?
10. Imagine the characteristics of the heroes.
And now it will be useful to get acquainted with the basic rules of speech and versification, examples of analysis of reading material.

Chapter 4. LOGIC OF SPEECH AND BASICS OF VERSE

Logic of speech

1. What is prose?

Prose translated from Latin means “speech that is conducted straight forward”, “free, liberated, direct”.

2. What is the speech period?

Period translated from Greek means detour, rotation.
A lengthy complex sentence, characterized by the completeness of development of thought and completeness of intonation. Completeness of thought is achieved by including minor offers, comprehensively covering the content of the main sentence (according to the scheme - Who7 What? Where? etc.). The completeness of intonation is achieved by the fact that the syntactic construction, which opens at the beginning of the Period, closes only at its end, and all subordinate clauses and the turns are inserted into it, like into a frame. The length of the Period does not exceed the volume of breathing. The melody of the voice divides it into an ascending part (protasis) and a descending part (apodosis).

The periodic construction of speech was usually developed during the era of the formation of the national literary language:
- Greece - 4th century BC;
- Rome - 1st century BC;
- France - 17th century AD;
- Russia - 18th century AD.

The ability to convey the content and meaning of a work to the listener depends on the technical ability to convey one or another intonation dictated by the composition of the phrase.
The speech period is divided into speech beats by logical and psychological pauses, and intonationally stressed words are highlighted, on which the conduct of thought is supported to the end.
Even in childhood, / my compassionate sister Galya, / to console me, / came up with a shaky theory that / that almost all short people / are talented, / she gave many examples; /Pushkin, /Napoleon, /Lermontov, /Dickens, /Dumas, /Vrubel. /Schopenhauer./

3. What is speech tact?

A segment of speech that is integral in meaning and unified intonation between two pauses.
Individual words or phrases contained between logical pauses are usually called speech beats.

4. What is a logical pause?

Words that are not related to each other in meaning are separated by pauses, which are called logical, as they help to correctly convey the idea of ​​the phrase.
Logical pauses group words in a sentence according to their meaning, sometimes coincide with punctuation marks, and sometimes violate them, appearing where they do not exist.
The anecdote about three cards / had a strong effect on his imagination / and did not leave his head the whole night. A.S. Pushkin

5. How do you read a period or a comma?

The period is the ending voice drop. The phrase is finished, and there will be no continuation of the thought.
Comma - on the last syllable of the word before the comma, the sound is bent upward.
“Her bend, like a hand raised in warning, forces the listener to patiently wait for the continuation of the unfinished phrase,” writes K.S. Stanislavsky.

6. What are colons, dashes, question marks and exclamation marks?

The colon and dash are for clarification. Colons and dashes are characterized by a raised voice. They are also used in direct speech, and dashes are also used in contrast.
Question and exclamation marks are placed at the end of a sentence. They indicate the emotionality of speech and are indicated by raising the voice.
It may also be a rhetorical question, then it is intonationally colored with irony or sarcasm.

7. What is inversion?
Inversion - rearrangements, violation of the usual word order. Stands out with pauses.
The horse's excitement was also communicated to Vronsky; he felt that the blood was rushing to his heart, and that he, just like the horse, wanted to move, to bite, it was both strange and fun. L.N. Tolstoy

8. How are contrasts read?

The contrasted parts of the phrase, whether these are individual words, their combinations or whole sentences, in sounding speech conveyed by the contrast of voice tone (low - high and vice versa) with some strengthening of stressed words, while the first part of the phrase with contrast always ends with the intonation of a comma. This was not the fifth, but the tenth attempt.

9. How are group names read?

If a name is expressed in several words, then the last of these words is usually highlighted logically. When words express a whole thought, a separate judgment, there may be more than one emphasis.

10. How are introductory words and introductory parts of the text read?

They stand out intonationally. There are three points in the sound:
- a break in the main thread of the story;
- pronunciation introductory word or phrases;
- resuming the sound of the main phrase.
He did not like going to the theater, with the exception of premieres, where you can meet the “right” people.

What is being compared to will be highlighted brighter than what is being compared.
Thin as a Dutch herring, the mother entered the office of the fat and round father, like a beetle, and coughed. AL. Chekhov

If, according to the meaning of the work, we can speak about the energy of growth, about movement forward, then the last one will be more striking among the repeated words. If the content seems to remove the need for struggle and we can talk about a decline in energy, then the first of the repeated words stands out more clearly.
K.S. Stanislavsky called this “the ebb of energy” and the “ebb of energy.” Words, words, words...U. Shakespeare

14. How is the new concept read?

It certainly stands out with emphasis and intonation in order to draw the attention of listeners to it.
We drove along the road for a long time, but suddenly around the bend I saw the lights of Paris,

An approximate plan for analyzing a prose work:

1. Read about the author.
2. Read about the work.
3. Determine the ultimate goal of the work and your own. That is, answer questions;
- Why was the work written?
- Why do I read?
- What do I want to say?
4. Establish a conflict in the work. Between whom and whom, what and what is the struggle going on?
5. Imaginate the characteristics of the current characters.
6. Make a logical parsing of the text
7. Conduct effective text analysis. Answer the questions:
- what do I want?
- For what?

Basics of versification

1. Poetic speech is an ordered, structured speech. Translated from Greek, “verse” means structure. The external organization is strings. Each is called a verse and usually begins with a capital letter. Poetic lines represent commensurate units. They are subject to a certain size, have a consonance of the final words in the verse (rhyme), and are separated from each other by a pause.
All these elements create a special rhythmic organization of poetic speech.
Farewell, unwashed element!
IN last time in front of me
You're rolling blue waters
And you shine with proud beauty.
A.S. Pushkin Quatrain Iambic tetrameter Cross rhyme

2. Poems are poetic works different types and genres: elegy, ode. sonnet, ballad, etc.

3. What is a stanza?
Segments of verse speech, united by a regular alternation of rhymes (or endings of verses that do not rhyme with each other), are called stanzas.
In Russian poetry, simple stanzas are common:
Couplet - where the lines rhyme with each other.
Quatrain - where there are four lines in one stanza, united by a rhyme system and general intonation.
All the verses in it can rhyme with each other - AAAA.
Three verses can be rhymed, but the fourth is left unrhymed: AAAb.
Can be with an adjacent rhyme: Aabb. A snowy plain, a white moon, Our side is covered with a shroud, And birches in white are crying through the forests. Who died here? Died? Isn't it me? May be with the Cross rhyme! AbAb. Goodbye, my friend, goodbye. My dear, you are in my chest. Destined parting Promises a meeting ahead.S.A. Yesenin
Can be with a ring rhyme (encircling): AbbA.
You and I are unique. If we die, others will come for us. But it’s still not like that - I’m not yours, you’re not mine. S.A. Yesenin
There may be such "where two lines rhyme and two do not rhyme: Aabv.
Can be in blank verse: Abvg. I came to visit the poet. It's exactly noon. Sunday. It’s quiet in the spacious room, And there’s frost outside the windows. A.A. Akhmatova
There are also stanzas of five lines, six lines, and so on.
For example, the stanza “Borodino” by M.Yu. Lermontov consists of seven lines: ААбВВВб.
A.S. Pushkin came up with a fourteen-line stanza for “Eugene Onegin,” which was later used by other poets: AbAbVVggDeeJzh.

4. What is rhyme?
Rhyme translated from Greek means proportionality. Usually ends a line (rhythmic segment). A rhyme is open when it ends with a vowel
- it's time - hurray. And closed, when on a consonant - small - removed. There are rhymes:
- Masculine - when the stress falls on the last syllable: dawn - seas;
- Feminine - when the stress falls on the penultimate syllable: severe - pine.
- Dactylic - when the rhyme falls on the third syllable from the end: “gorushka - podgorushka;
- Hyperdactylic - when the stress falls on a syllable that is more than three syllables from the end: smiling - forgetting;
- truncated when the number of consonants in the post-stressed part of consonant words does not match: people - will
- substituted - when the corresponding consonants in them are replaced by consonants that are consonant or not: questions - roses, a proverb - a fan;
- with displacement - when the consonants “change places”: settlements - carved.
Rhymes in a verse are arranged in three main ways:
- cross rhyme: abab
- adjacent rhyme: aabb
- encircling rhyme: abb"

5. What is a meter?

Meter is the structure of a line, that is, a verse. There are five main meters in syllabonics.
6. How do the verses of one poem differ from another?
1) The structure of the line is meter: there is a difference between iambic, trochee, etc.
2) Line length - size: iambic trimeter, iambic tetrameter, etc. are distinguished.
3) The presence or absence of Censorship.
In the pentameter "Boris Godunov" A.S. All Pushkin’s poems have a caesura after the second foot: One more./last legend...
4) Line endings - masculine, when the stress falls on the last syllable, and feminine - the last syllable - unstressed, dactylic (2 unstressed), hyperdactylic (three or more unstressed).
5) With the same meter and size, poems can have different stress rhythms.
6) A verse exists only in interaction with other verses, and its rhythm is interconnected with the rhythm of the phrase of the period.

Quatrain
Cross rhyme
Verse 2 - foot 3 - pyrrhic, masculine rhyme.
Verse 3 - female rhyme,
- truncated iambic
Verse 4 - male rhyme
7. What is blank verse?
This is a verse without rhyme. A.S. Pushkin approved iambic pentameter without rhyme. “Little Tragedies”, “Boris Godunov” are written in blank verse. Previously, epics and laments were written by him. Behind the river, on the mountain, The green forest is rustling, Under the mountain, behind the river, there is a little farm...
A.V. Koltsov
8. What is a pause verse?
When a drawing is missing one syllable.
9. What is free verse?
This is free iambic. “Woe from Wit” A.S. Griboedov wrote in free verse.
10. What is free verse?
When there is nothing but a line.
11. What is a caesura?
Caesura means cut in Latin. The caesura divides the verse into two hemistiches with a VERY accent in the middle of the line and on the penultimate syllable. Introduced in Russia in the 18th century. Used from quatrains, etc.
Golden caesura - in iambic pentaverse the caesura after the second foot. Denoted by - /.
12. What is a spondee?
This is a two-syllable foot - // -two stressed syllables. Used as a replacement for iambic and trochee. The verse takes on a tense rhythm.
13. What is an octave?
An octave is an octave. The six verses in the octave are connected by a cross rhyme, and the final two by an adjacent rhyme.
A
B
A
B
A
B
IN
IN
14.What is a verse pause?
When reading a poem, you must observe a pause at the end of each line - a verse pause.
It must also be observed when the line is only part of a phrase, that is, when the phrase moves from one line to another.

15. What is a verse period?
This is a poetic passage that fits into one or more stanzas, united by one thought that makes up the main idea of ​​the poem. It may coincide with the entire poem, or maybe with one verse.
Farewell, letter of love,/ goodbye/ She commanded../ How long I hesitated,/ how long I did not want/ My soul to burn/ all my joys.../ But it’s complete, the hour has come,/ burn the letter of love.” A.S. Pushkin Iambic hexameter Quatrain Adjacent rhyme
16. What is pyrrhic?
Pyrrhic is a two-syllable foot. Two unstressed syllables. Used as a replacement for iambic and trochee. It makes the line easier.

You have prepared a reading program for admission and now you can safely begin climbing the ladder called admission.
In the next chapter: “Auditions and creative tours” I will describe the application, which consists of:
- listening;
- first round;
- second round;
- third round;
- checking musical, rhythmic, voice and speech data;
- competition;
- written exam in literature and Russian language.

Chapter 5. AUDITIONS AND CREATIVE TOURS

Admission is a long steep staircase leading to a steep door, going up to which you are called an applicant, and leaving which you become a student. This is such a magical door!

And the first step on this ladder is listening!

It starts around March and runs until July - the month of entrance exams.

Auditions are scheduled once a week or two - in March - May, when the number of applicants is not yet significant. And they are held in June two or three times a week, when the number of young people is growing exponentially every day, since school exams are already over and everyone is starting to come to Moscow from all over Russia and from abroad.

Auditions are conducted by experienced teachers. There are usually one or two of them, up to ten applicants at one time.

Teachers ask to read a fable, a poem, a prose passage. They may stop you and ask you to read something else.
Teachers may advise you to read in the first round, following the audition, this or that material that you have read. This is if you successfully pass the auditions.
If the teachers don’t see acting talent in you, then you won’t be allowed to go to the first round. In this case, you are tactfully advised to come and apply next year.
So we come to the question: why do you need an audition?
Then, so that people without abilities or with weakly expressed abilities for the acting profession do not go to the theater and do not ruin their fate, do not suffer in later life.

I advise you to believe in the objectivity of the teachers conducting the auditions. Although it is known that Innokenty Smoktunovsky did this several times. Alexander Kalyagin did not enter the institute the first time; Gennady Khazanov failed the exams at the B.V. Theater School. Shchukin.
I can still give examples where a major talent was not considered immediately, but these are the exceptions that prove the rule.
So be prepared to do it two, three, or even four times. If you truly dream of becoming an actor; then I must answer: - Always ready!

But you ask the question - what do teachers evaluate? I am ready for the exam very well and consider myself very capable. And all my friends and acquaintances say so!
Right! But I will answer this a little later! Everything has its time.
It is best to take part in the application in June, although I already wrote that auditions begin in March.

First of all, you have already received your certificate secondary school and the burden of school exams has already been lifted off my shoulders.

Secondly, you have psychologically prepared only for admission and nothing else should distract you.

Thirdly, upon admission in June, you will have a very diverse interaction with talented young people from all over the country, which creates a special exam atmosphere that will fully mobilize your creative energy.

Fourthly, the marathon called “admission” lasts until mid-July, and a young, healthy body is quite capable of withstanding its psychological stress.

Tours

The first, second, third rounds take place in one of the institute’s classrooms.

All applicants who have passed from the audition to the first round or from round to round gather on the appointed day and time at or near the institute.
A senior student assisting the admissions committee announces the names of applicants from previously prepared lists and selects 10 competitors - the so-called “dozens”.
The “tens” enter the auditorium. It is a large room. Along the walls on the right and left there are five chairs for people to be auditioned. At the end of the room there are tables for the commission members.
Typically, in the first round, the commission consists of 2-3 teachers who will work on the course being recruited.
Students of the institute are allowed to attend all rounds and competitions on the condition that they behave quietly and kindly towards the applicants. And it’s more fun for teachers.
Listening is carried out in order: from left to right or vice versa. And this order is maintained throughout all rounds.
The applicant goes to the center of the room. Gives first and last name, year of birth and city from which he came. Next is the author and the material he wants to read.

If you want from a fable - please, from prose - no problem. Here freedom of choice is not limited.

Teachers on all tours can stop the applicant and ask him to read the following material.

They can ask questions about the city you came from, about the nature of your region, about school. It is possible that a brief communication with the commission may begin.
If this happens, then I recommend communicating easily and with humor. This is appreciated in any institute. Try to answer clearly and concisely, and not “spread your thoughts through the woods,” so that teachers do not suspect that you are a chatterbox, and even without a sense of proportion.
After you have read your program - fable, poetry and prose, the teachers thank you and offer to read to the next one.
You politely answer: “Thank you!” - And sit down in your chair. You can take a breath and listen to your neighbors in the top ten.
When the “ten” report, everyone is asked to leave, but not to go far.
After a short discussion, the commission makes a decision: who made it to the next round. The names of the lucky winners are announced by a senior student - the “herald”.
Those who have gone further should definitely find out from him when and what time to come to the next round.

I don’t recommend that those who didn’t make it out of the admissions marathon celebrate the joyful event too vigorously. You need to clearly know that this is not a victory, but simply overcoming an obstacle on the way to it. Therefore, it is better not to waste your fighting spirit, creative energy and excitement on the banal absorption of the “green potion”.
There were cases when applicants, celebrating their passage to some round, came to their senses a week after the start of the celebration. Can you imagine their state when it dawned on them: what have they done!? Better get ready for the further fight!

The described scheme applies to all tours!!!

The difference is that from the second or third round, for the first time, people start listening to you

The artistic director of the course is the person who recruits it. The word of the course director is decisive: to accept or not to accept this or that applicant to study?

From the second round and, especially on the third, the Admissions Committee will listen to you, and then discuss you professional qualities all teachers in all disciplines. Let this not scare you, but it is necessary to tune in to a more representative audience.

To do this, you just need to be free and consider them your best friends! This is the key to success! Under no circumstances should you get lost or get stuck. On the contrary, you need to get even more excitement and courage from this: even more people are interested in you! They are your fans. You are their idol!

Another difference is that the “degree” of nervous tension increases in all applicants. After all, as a rule, it’s very disappointing to “fail” exams in the middle and, even more so, at the end of the journey!

Now, as a rule, in Moscow institutes the competition is for one place - from 60 to 100 people.

The competition is huge, but you don’t need to think about it, so as not to worry in vain. But you need to know: what you are going into and what awaits you.

The psychological stress upon entering a theater institute is equal, if not greater, to that which astronauts endure.
So I am amazed at your courage and tell you further.

If you pass all three rounds, then you will be tested for musical, rhythmic, voice and speech data. As a rule, no one fails this test.
Tune in to it cheerfully and easily, but be sure to be collected, attentive and focused.

It takes place one day or the next day after the third round.

Dance, vocal, stage movement and speech teachers check:
- how you move to the music;
- can you perform basic gymnastic exercises;
- can you repeat a simple rhythmic pattern;
- can you sing the given melody;
- what is your vocal range;
- what is your diction, is there a dialect, etc.

Teachers also check:

1. External data: build, posture, gait;
2. Plastic data: flexibility, reactivity, sense of balance, coordination of movements, jumping ability, set of skills;
3. Plastic talent; joint-muscular feeling, joint-muscular memory, muscle freedom in static conditions and in movement, the ability to distribute movements in time and space; plastic imagination, speed of mastering new skills.
This is done in order to understand the capabilities of your physical and vocal apparatus, their suitability for practicing the profession of an actor in dramatic theater and cinema.

Don’t be afraid if you can’t sing like Caruso, the main thing is that you are at least in tune, and they will teach you the rest! But if you have both hearing and voice, then my hat is off. You are a great, although not yet polished, talent!

As a rule, people with pronounced pathologies do not make it to this test, so if you don’t “do something stupid,” then feel free to prepare for the Competition.

Yes, I almost forgot, don’t forget to take your sports uniform when testing your sense of rhythm and hearing.
Creative tours are usually held from the second ten days of May to the fourth of July.
I would like to draw attention to appearance during the rounds and at the Competition. You need to dress modestly, discreetly, according to the principle; what suits me?

It is advisable to maintain a classic style. A young man can wear a suit or shirt and trousers. A girl in a dress or a skirt with a blouse or a pair of trousers. It is important that the colors of clothing are in harmony with each other, and do not conjure up the image of a “traffic light”.
Pay attention to your shoes - they shouldn’t be too flashy. It is also better to give preference to the classic style.
Don’t dress “provocatively fashionable,” but dress tastefully.

After all, teachers are meeting you for the first time, and clothes are part of your Image. It’s better to dress simply “to suit your face”, so that nothing distracts, but helps to highlight your creative individuality.
I recommend that girls do not overuse cosmetics, but only slightly emphasize their “advantages,” which will indicate a sense of proportion and taste.

Let me give you an example.
One young man came to the second round wearing a white shirt and black trousers. Everything seems to be correct. But he made one mistake. On his feet were fashionable high-platform clogs. When he came out to the middle of the audience to read, his image as a whole was comical, which caused a smile not only among the members of the Commission, but also laughter among the other applicants.
When discussing this very capable young man, the teachers raised a question about the young man’s sense of taste and his general level of culture. He was not allowed into the third round, just as a young man who came in a yellow shirt, red tie, green trousers and brown shoes was not allowed in from the audition for the first round.

There was another case.
Before the Competition, the entrant whitened her cheeks, “flaming” with fear, with powder to such an extent that her face looked like an undercooked pancake.

So she went to the Commission's court. Fortunately, she was very talented, and she was allowed to take general education exams, otherwise the domestic theater would have suffered an irreparable loss. Now this applicant is one of the brightest theater “stars”.
You have gone through a difficult but exciting path and found yourself facing the most important exam, called COMPETITION.

A competitive exam is an event not only for you and other applicants, but also for all teachers, staff and students of the institute.

On this day, the Selection Committee makes a decision regarding the results of the Competition! who is allowed to take general education exams. In fact, it is decided who will study and who will not.
On this day, not only you, but all teachers are worried. They are also afraid to overlook and not accept a talented person to study and thereby “break” his destiny...
The tension from the exam is in the air.

The competition is held either in a large auditorium or on the stage of an educational theater.
The commission is represented by all its members, teachers of the institute. Students from different courses are also present, because they are interested in who will study?

Applicants are called one by one. And you find yourself alone with a large number already familiar and unfamiliar people.
The commission asks you to clearly state your first and last name, year of birth, city where you came from and asks you to start reading.
Just like on tours, you can start with anything.

Teachers can interrupt reading and ask questions. They may ask you to sing or dance. You need to be prepared for this. Therefore, if you play the guitar, then take it with you to the ace tour, and if you play the piano, then it will definitely be at the competition, and you can play and sing. Take any instrument you play: accordion, saxophone, violin, double bass, etc. It will only work for you.
You may also be asked to play a sketch.

For example, you are coming home from guests. The rain is pouring down and the road is blocked by a stream of water, which is impossible to get around, and you can only cross it over the bumps that are barely visible from it.
Or they may offer to play a sketch for you about other applicants.
For example, someone is designated as a wolf, and everyone else is designated as a dog. The dogs need to drive the wolf into the corner of the yard.

After the Commission has no more questions, you are thanked. You should also thank the Commission for its attention and await the Decision.
When the selection committee examines all applicants admitted to the Competition, a discussion takes place: who should I take to the course?

This discussion is very serious and thorough, since when making the Decision, the opinions of all teachers in all disciplines are taken into account: acting, stage speech, stage movement and dance.

Therefore, applicants, as a rule, are asked to either wait or come the next day and look at the list of those who passed the Competition and were admitted to take the general education exams posted on the notice board.

Teachers pay attention to:

How do you lead and develop thought; - diction;
- do you have a dialect;
- your invoice;
- how you influence the listener;
- how infectious and expressive you are;
- manner of behavior;
- Do you have stage presence?
- voice range;
- figurative thinking;
- your penetration into the material;
- your sense of rhythm and tempo,
- degree of freedom internal and external;
- Do you have a sense of humor?
- how much attention you have;
- temperament;
- your Image as a whole.

The course is recruited at different institutes from 30 to 40 people, so from 60 to 80 people, the most talented and capable of the thousands of applicants, are allowed to participate in the Competition. It turns out, 2-3 people per place.

Those who passed the Competition approximately constitute the number of students required to complete the course - 30-40 people plus another 5 people.
Those admitted to competitive examinations submit an application addressed to the Rector and the following documents to the Admissions Committee of the Institute.

Here is their list:
- certificate (or other document) of graduation from a secondary educational institution (in the original);
- health certificate (form N° 086);
- passport (to be presented in person);
- military ID or registration certificate (to be presented in person);
- for workers - copy work book, certified by a seal;
- six photographs measuring 3 by 4.

Of course, documents are accepted only from those admitted to the Competition. The deadline for submitting documents is July 5, that is, the day before the Competition.
A very interesting situation arises here. It may happen, since admission to all institutes takes place at the same time, that you passed the Competition in two or even three educational institutions!

What to do?

Don't worry, this problem can be solved. You need to compare: on what day and at what hour are Competitions held at DIFFERENT UNIVERSITIES. IF they accept several, then if you fail in one, you have time to pick up the documents and submit them to the second university.
Many applicants from previous years did this. They convinced the Commission of one university, when it was necessary to submit documents, that a relative or friend was about to bring the certificate, since the school did not have forms (or anything else), and the documents were submitted to another institute. And it happened that the Competition was held in two universities, and then, happy, they reasoned: where and with whom is it more prestigious to go to study? To L. Heifetz at GITIS or to V. Etush at “Pike”, to the envy of the “flying over” applicants.
And more inventive young people in past years acted this way.
They made all the documents in two or three copies, and, thanks to their acting abilities, by hook or by crook they submitted documents to the Commission of various institutes.

But even here it’s a double-edged sword. You can think through all this perfectly and “fly” everywhere.
True, there will be something to remember, but always with the sadness of an unfulfilled dream.
And there were cases when a person really did not prepare documents, did not expect that he was so talented that Competition will be held,
and the Commission admitted him without documents to the next exams.
And he did.

So, no matter how cunning you are, the main trump card is the talent of an actor, which the Lord God and your parents awarded you, take care and do not waste it on trickery and deception.
After all, all this has an impact in the future, and the answer to your question a few years later: “Somehow I’m empty, it doesn’t work out. Why is this happening? - Look in previous transactions with your conscience: betrayals and deceptions. Competitive exams are held from July 6 to July 15.
But let's return to general education exams.
“What should I take?” -you’ll ask. And I’ll tell you briefly in the chapter: “General education exams.”

Chapter 7. GENERAL EDUCATION EXAMINATIONS AND COLLOQUIUM

General education exams

A few days after the competitive exam, applicants take the first written exam in Russian language and literature.
The exam is conducted in a prepared auditorium, with tables and chairs located in the GDR. Essays are written on specially prepared paper with stamps to avoid forgery.

The exam lasts 3-4 hours, during which the examinees must * reveal” their chosen topic, as well as rewrite the essay from the draft to the white paper and submit it to the examiner.
As a rule, applicants are offered about five topics related to the classical works studied as part of school curriculum. The authors may be Tolstoy, Gogol, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, poets of the “Silver Age”.

There must be a free theme.

For example:
- “Little Man” in Russian literature of the nineteenth century”;
- “Motives of lyrics in the works of A.S. Pushkin and M.Yu. Lermontov";
- The image of Pechorin in the novel by M.Yu. Lermontov “Hero of Our Time”;
- N.V. Gogol “Dead Souls” (analysis of characters of your choice: Chichikov, Sobakevich, Korobochka, etc.)
- “The role I would like to play” (free topic).

The volume of the essay usually ranges from five to ten pages, but there are also three and fifteen pages.

I recommend not chasing volume, but writing as much as you have something to write about. Also, we must not forget that literacy is also assessed, and the more written, the more more likely grammatical errors.

I advise you to bring it to the exam in a backpack or briefcase. more books(with analytical articles, prefaces) by the most famous classical authors who wrote prose and poetry. As a rule, one topic will be devoted to the work of one or more of them. And during the exam, you will be able to review the material brought in purposefully, in relation to the chosen topic, and refresh your memory of what you studied at school.
If you didn’t bring anything, you hoped for luck, and the topics do not evoke any memories except anger, don’t get excited.

Quietly ask your neighbors for books. Typically, about half of applicants bring 4-5 textbooks, monographs, annotologies, etc.
And since you made good friends during the admission process, someone will definitely help you out!
These tips of mine, fortunately, do not apply to all institutions. For example, at the Shchukin School this exam is conducted by an amazing woman and teacher Alla Borisovna. You have to go to her exam lightly, smiling, but have something in your head. She will explain everything wisely and patiently and create a calm, friendly, homely atmosphere. But this is an exception to the rule.

I will outline a scheme for writing an essay. First choose a topic. If you can write two at a time, then choose the one about which you know more factual material.
Next, focus on the topic. Make an essay plan. For example, about the author, about the work, about the characters, how the main idea of ​​the work develops from beginning to end, what the author calls for, the composition of the material, the author’s language, how the work influenced all literature, conclusion. This plan may be smaller or larger.
Write down all your thoughts in a draft. Under no circumstances write “belovik” right away! Experience shows that no matter how confident a person is, at such a decisive moment it is better to play it safe. In this exam, use the motto: “Measure twice, cut once.”
This process of thinking about an essay plan, the so-called “brainstorming a topic,” should take you no more than 20-30 minutes.

As soon as general outline, thought about what and what you will write about, start expressing your thoughts in a draft. This should take about an hour to an hour and a half.
After that, read what is written, checking not only how you covered the topic, but also correct immediately obvious grammatical, syntactic, spelling and stylistic errors.
When all this is done, write to the white paper, take your time, but meet the deadline.

After writing a “belovik,” I advise you to ask your neighbors about their innate literacy. As a rule, such people are always among applicants, and it depends on perseverance and charm whether they are right or wrong with your essay. It’s better to find out about such abilities of your future classmates before the exam.

If you don’t know anything at all, you couldn’t get ready for the exam and you couldn’t even copy correctly from books, for which you received a two after testing, but you are a very talented person.

Don't be upset. I advise you to immediately find the Artistic Director of the course and talk to him. If a future course needs a supervisor who is very interested in you as a gifted student, then he has the right to convince the Commission to allow you to retake the exam.
In this case, this is the last chance to do what you love and try not to let yourself down so as not to lose a year until the next admission.
When checking essays, teachers mainly pay attention to: literacy:
- how the topic is revealed;
- how the applicant thinks;
- is there imaginative and analytical thinking, and what is their relationship;
- general level culture.
The results of the exam in Russian language and literature are posted on the notice board the next day.

If you successfully pass this exam, you are left with the last one: COLLOQUIUM.
What is a colloquium?

This is an interview which is a very important exam. On it you are left alone with all the members of the acting department!
On it, the commission finds out your general cultural level, your knowledge in the field of theater, music, painting and other arts, as well as literature and Russian history.
But don’t be scared, because your knowledge is tested within the scope of the school curriculum.
Therefore, be sure not to net, but read books on literature and history according to the school curriculum. As for music and painting, architecture and sculpture, borrow books on art history from the library or buy books on art history from the bookstore and look through them. It is also very useful to go to museums, concerts
halls, philharmonic.

Regarding your knowledge in the field of theater. Find books on theater history and read them. There are many of these books, because theater has existed for more than six thousand years, and many heads have written all sorts of things about it.
If you have idols - an actor or director, then be sure to read about him. As a rule, there are books about all the “stars” of theater and cinema.
So don't be afraid of this exam, but be collected, charming, polite and have a sense of humor.
“What questions might they ask me?” - you ask, and I will give further sample questions, which ask:

Where did you come from?
- who are your parents;
- where you studied, what you did;
- Do you have a hobby?
- do you play instruments?
- write prose or poetry;
- were you involved in amateur performances?
- which theaters you’ve been to, what performances you’ve seen;
- what you liked about the performance, why;
- who is your favorite actor, why;
- why do you want to be an actor;
- Do you have any favorite books, what books did you read last?
- when was the Battle of Kulikovo;
- when was the Moscow Art Theater formed;
- who are K. Stanislavsky and V. Nemirovich-Danchenko;
- who are F. Vilkoy and M. Shshshii;
- who are your favorite artists, sculptors, architects, composers;
- why are you enrolling in our institute;
- why do you love (if you love) your hometown.

They evaluate your unique creative individuality: is it possible to develop it and raise an Actor in you - a faithful servant of the Theater, devoted to your chosen profession.
After all, you can make a mistake by going to the theater, guided by the immediate “I want”, and after a year you understand that this is not your goal.
Therefore, the Commission at the colloquium faces a very serious task: can this person become an Artist, does he have the whole complex of psychophysical and moral qualities for this?
or not?

The colloquium is the latest research under the “microscope” of the applicant from all internal and external parties before the decision:

Should he or should he not attend a course at the wonderful House of Theater Arts?

The decision is made collectively, although last word always remains with the Artistic Director of the course.
The Admissions Committee makes a decision on the admission of examinees based on the exam results. Competitive grades are grades in the specialty and colloquium.
The exam results are announced immediately after the colloquium. Next, all the guys gather in the audience, and the Artistic Director tells the “freshly minted” students how we will live in the future.

If you passed all the exams, but did not get a passing grade, and your desire to learn is very, very strong. then don't be upset.

A Word about Igor's Campaign
M.V. Lomonosov: odes
G.R. Derzhavin: odes, *Childhood”, “Adolescence”, “Youth*
L.N. Tolstoy: “War and Peace”, “Resurrection”, “Living Corpse”
N.V. Gogol: “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”, “Dead Souls”, “Taras Bulba”, “The Inspector General”, “Players”
I.S. Turgenev: “Fathers and Sons”, “A Month in the Village”
F.M. Dostoevsky: Crime and Punishment", Idiot, "Teenager"

V.G. Belinsky: articles

A.S. Pushkin; lyrics, Evgeny Onegin", " Captain's daughter", "Boris Godunov, "Little Tragedies"

M.Yu. Lermontov: lyrics, “Hero of Our Time”, “Masquerade”
ON. Nekrasov: Lyrics

A.L. Fet: Lyrics

A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin: “Krechinsky’s Wedding”
And A. Goncharov: “Oblomov”
F.I. Tyutchev: lyrics
M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin: fairy tales, "Lord Golovlevs"
A.S. Griboyedov: Woe from Wit
DI. Fonvizin: “Undergrowth”
A.N. Tolstoy: “Walking through torment”
IA.Bunin. stories, novellas
A.I. Kuprin: stories, novellas
AN. Ostrovsky: “The Thunderstorm”, Warm Heart, “Guilty Without Guilt”
N.G. Chernyshevsky. " What to do?"
A.A. Block: lyrics, “Balaganchik”, “Rose and Cross”
A.S. Yesenin: lyrics
V.V. Mayakovsky; lyrics, “Bath”, “Bedbug”
LN. Andreev. stories, novellas, Zhiyan man
A.P. Platonov: stories

M.M. Zoshchenko: stories
A.P. Chekhov: stories, “The Seagull”, “ Cherry Orchard", Three Sisters
A.A. Akhmatova: lyrics

M.L. Tsvetaeva: lyrics

O.E. Mandelstam: lyrics
M.A. Bulgakov: “The Master and Margarita”, “Theatrical Novel”, “Days of the Turbins” A.M. Gorky: stories, “At the Depths”

V.P. Kataev: “My diamond crown”

K.M. Simonov: lyrics, “The Living and the Dead”
MA. Sholokhov: stories, “Quiet Don”
A.S. Green: “Scarlet Sails”
A. Bely: “Petersburg”
B.L. Pasternak: lyrics
V.S. Rozov: “Forever Alive”, “The Wood Grouse’s Nest”
A. L. Arbuzov: “Tanya”
A.L. Solzhenitsyn; "GULAG Archipelago"
V.V. Nabokov: "Lolita", lyrics
V.G. Rasputin; "Live and Remember"
V.V. Nabokov: "Until Dawn"
ON. Zabolotsky: lyrics
A.V. Vampilov: “Duck Hunt”, “Elder Son”
E.L. Yevtushenko: lyrics
A.A. Voznesensky: lyrics
R.I. Rozhdestvensky: lyrics
V.M. Shukshin: stories
Yu.V. Trifonov: “Burnaia embankment”
Ch. Aitmatov: “The block”
F. Abramov: “Home”

Plays by foreign playwrights

Aeschylus: plays
Sophocles: plays
W. Shakespeare: “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, “The Taming of the Shrew”
Lope de Vego: plays
P. Calderon; "Life is a dream"
C. Galdoni: “Servant of two masters”

I.F. Schiller: Cunning and Love
J.G. Byron: "Cain", "Manfred"
C. Gozzi: “Princess Turandot”
Zh.V. Moliere: “Tartuffe”, “The Bourgeois among the Nobility”
P. Corneille: “The Cid” J. Racine: “Phaedra” B. Shaw: Pygmalion
G. Ibsen: A Doll's House
P. Corneille: “Cid” J. Racine: “Phaedra”

B. Shaw: "Pygmalion"
O. Wilde: “The importance of being serious”
Maeterlinck; "Blue Bird"
Y.O. Neil: “Love under the elms”
G. Williams "The Glass Menagerie"
F.T. Lorca: "Bloody Wedding"
B. Brecht: “Threepenny Opera”
S. Bgkket: "Waiting for Godot"
E. Ionesco; "Rhinoceros", "Chairs"
S. Mrozhek: “Karol”, “Striptease”
J. Anouilh: “Orpheus and Eurydice”
A. Camus: "Caligula"

K.S. Stanislavsky: “My life in art.. Collected Works-Volume 1.
Work on yourself in creative process experiences." Collected works. Volume 2.
B.E. Zahava; "The skill of an actor and director."

Kiigi of theater workers about the profession of an actor, memories, memoirs.

1. You need to start preparing not the day before or a month in advance, but certainly a year, if not two, before the intended attempt. A hastily memorized text is not what the commission needs. You are not being asked to demonstrate memory, but the ability to appropriate a text, make it your own, analyze and visualize what has been analyzed :)) According to an acting (professional) sign, it takes at least 2 weeks for the parsed text to shrink in your head. This is after all the rehearsals, showdowns, etc. 2 weeks of pure existence time in this text for a professional. But you are not a professional yet?

2. It is best to prepare with a tutor, i.e. with a person who knows what theater is. It is best to try to find a teacher from a theater university as a tutor. Simply because they know how to explain what is required, because they do it with their students every day. The cost of such classes in Moscow is from 20 to 40 dollars for 2 hours. According to reviews from those who have used the services of tutors, private lessons really provide a lot of new things, reaching literal revelations. Just remember: NEVER ADMIT TO THE COMMISSION THAT YOU HAVE BEEN DOING THE THEATER anywhere or with anyone :))

3. You can also prepare at preparatory courses, which are usually offered at every theater university (at least in Moscow). Typically, courses last from a month to three, classes one to two days a week. Again, according to reviews from those who have tried, the best preparatory courses in Moscow are the courses at the Shchukin School. They last 3 months, classes are held on weekends, two classes a day. The principles of stage speech, the basics of acting, rhythm are studied, and lectures are given on the history of the theater. The latter is not found anywhere in Moscow, and the department of theater history in Shchuk is the strongest among other universities (IMHO, of course). The cost of the courses is about 3,500 rubles (data for 2003). At the Moscow Art Theater School, courses last a month and cost about $50. You must enroll in courses, i.e. undergo something like an audition. However, the selection there is much less strict; completely unsuitable comrades are eliminated. Classes on the courses are held in a group, so they are inferior in quality and intensity to classes with a private teacher. Although it is useful to combine a teacher and courses. During the courses, you have the opportunity to find out the general level of those who will enroll this year (as they say, to look at others and show yourself), to get acquainted with the teachers of a particular school and with the requirements that apply to applicants.

4. Self-education is mandatory. You need to read a lot and persistently. Knowledge of the school curriculum is not enough here. Here you need to comprehend it. :)) In addition, you need knowledge of the works of Stanislavsky, Chekhov (and developed your own opinion on this matter), read more on the history of theater and literature. After all, you are entering a creative university, and not a machine plant :)). An actor cannot be stupid and uneducated.

If you do not have the opportunity to use the services of tutors and courses. It's hard, of course. But, in the end, statistics say that our biggest stars are residents of the provinces. Usually, having reached the zenith of fame, they still admit that they participated in amateur performances or attended a theater studio :)). As for my personal opinion, it seems very doubtful that you can enter a theater university without ever having had anything to do with the stage before. Perhaps teachers of theater universities are right in some ways when they are afraid of graduates of amateur theater studios... Because, of course, there is a great chance that you will get a good stamp there. But you, too, have been given the head to not become clichés, but to work on yourself. None of the normal directors of theater studios tolerate or like cliches. Exactly the same as venerable theater figures. According to my observations, the presence or absence of a stamp depends only on the personality of the actor. Some buy into the first applause they receive after reading a poem at the New Year's tree in the 5th grade - and then they continue to read the same way as before Santa Claus, like - I'm already smart, I know how to play :)). Others do not perceive awards at festivals and competitions as the limit of their capabilities, but carefully analyze their videos, read, think, polish their technique and speech.

6. Oh absolutely independent work(she is also the most important). Remember, theater cannot be done on a schedule. They either always do this or don’t do it at all. Those. You should be constantly working in your head on passages, on accumulating factual material, and observing those around you. Take everything into “your piggy bank” of acting experience.

Theater Institute named after. B. Shchukina is a representative of the Vakhtangov School of Acting, which was founded in November 1913 by a group of students as an amateur theater studio. A young actor from the Moscow Art Theater, a student of Stanislavsky, Evgeniy Bagrationovich Vakhtangov, was invited as a leader. In the spring of 1914, the premiere of the studio’s play “The Lanins’ Estate” took place, which ended in failure, in response to which E.B. Vakhtangov said “Let’s study!” On October 23, 1914, he taught the students the first lesson in the Stanislavsky system. This day is considered the founding day of the Institute. B. Shchukina. Vakhtangov’s studio combined a school and an experimental laboratory and bore the name of one of the Arbat lanes in which it was then located - “Mansurovskaya”. In 1926, the studio received the name of the Theater. Evgeniy Vakhtangov with his permanent theater school, which in 1932 became a secondary specialized theater institution. In 1939, it was named after the actor, E. Vakhtangov’s favorite student, Boris Shchukin. In 1945, the school received the status of a Higher Educational Institution and from that moment on it was known as the Higher Theater School named after. B. Shchukin at the State Academic Theater named after. Evgenia Vakhtangova.

Dormitory accommodation is not available during exams.

There is an age limit:

• girls - up to 22 years old,
• young people - up to 24 years old.

Duration of training- 4 years.

Social benefits and guarantees

• the scholarship is awarded on a general basis;
• non-residents are provided with a hostel;
• deferment from the army while studying.

A distinctive feature of “Pike” (as the school is usually called in theater circles) is that its teachers have always, for eight decades now, been its graduates. This is how the theater tradition and teaching culture are preserved.

The school has two faculties.

In the main acting department, training lasts 4 years, there is only a full-time department.

Students receive special and general education training.

Among the special disciplines:

• acting skill,
• stage speech,
• vocals,
• art reading,
• stage movement,
• dance,
• fencing,
• rhythm,
• etiquette.

General education disciplines:

• philosophy,
• foreign languages,
• history of theater, literature, visual arts and music.

On final stage training students perform their diploma performances.

Since 1959, the school has had a directing department, with full-time and part-time departments; the educational process lasts 5 years.

Small, usually 5–6 people, full-time directing groups are created during acting courses, and student directors are immediately involved in practical work with student actors.

Correspondence courses are intended for those who already work in the theater or head a theater studio or school, but do not have a diploma in theater directing.

The training program for directors, in addition to the disciplines of the acting department, includes:

• theory and practice of directing,
• basics of director's analysis of dramaturgy,
• economics of theater business,
• the beginning of scenography and musical design of performances.

The training ends with a graduation performance, which can be staged in any theater in the country.

There is an educational theater at the school.

Admission to the Theater Institute. B. Shchukina takes place in 4 stages: a qualifying round, a practical exam on the artist’s skill, an oral colloquium and the provision of Unified State Examination results in Russian and literature.