Pedagogy of modern Ukrainian theater: on the way to artistic synthesis
Authors: Serhiy Hordieiev 
Published: January 2023

Statement of the problem. Modern Ukrainian theatre studies, based on the theatre practice of the 20th – 21st centuries, pay considerable attention to the issues of evolution of the directing and acting art, theatre pedagogy, synthesis of traditional and innovative forms of education for creative youth. These explorations acquire special importance in the context of today’s theatre art, marked by the creative and pedagogical searches of Ukrainian theatre masters. The article is about the artistic and cultural situation in modern theatre education in Ukraine, the search for education models for actors and directors, about the role of the theatre school and teachers – heads of creative workshops – in this process. This topic, expressing the unique picture of Ukrainian theatre pedagogy at the beginning of the 21st century, has not yet become the subject of special consideration in theatre studies. At the moment, there are no fundamental studies that would highlight the pedagogical activity of masters of modern Ukrainian theatre, but there are theoretical works of directors and actors that touch on the problems of modern theatre art and the theatre school of Ukraine. The purpose of the proposed study is to summarises the pedagogical experience of theatre artists of Ukraine, directors, and actors who, in the process of forming the professional skills and spiritual culture of theatre students, actively include in the educational cycle of the special disciplines as playing musical instruments, plastic arts, history and theory of music, jazz improvisations, vocal ensemble, etc. Methodology. The basis for the search of expanding the methods for the education of modern theatre students for the article’s author became, first of all, theoretical, practical, and pedagogical achievements of outstanding masters of modern Ukrainian theatre, which are for us the embodiment of professional, aesthetic and methodological searches in the realm of acting and directing art, as well as the author’s own long-term creative experience acquired during acting, directing and teaching work. Working out the mechanisms of universalization of the methodological base of academic art education in the theatre school, the author of the article notes the trends and directions of innovative approaches, which determine the ways of forming a creative personality in the process of reforming theatre education in Ukraine. The scientific novelty of the research is conditioned by the study of the peculiarities of pedagogical ideas, methods and techniques of modern theatrical personalities, actors, directors, and theatre teachers. From the theatre schools and areas of training of Ukrainian artists, those whose searches are aimed at creating conditions for the manifestation and development of versatile talents of the personality of the future master of the stage have been selected. The latter means the development of the future theatrical specialist’s acting, directing, musical, plastic, and intellectual properties under the guidance of theatre teachers giving special disciplines, such as “Directing”, “Acting skills”, “Choreography”, “Vocal”, “Stage movement”, “Plastic education of directors”, “Work of a director with a composer”, “History and Theory of Music”, which are taught with the involvement of the latest pedagogical technologies and demonstrate originality of the teachers’ artistic thinking. Results and conclusions. The tendency to experiment and innovation has always distinguished the best representatives of the Ukrainian theatre school, the creative achievements of many of which are related to the use in pedagogical practice, in addition to professional subjects (directing, acting), a cycle of special disciplines. At the same time, special attention is paid to music (vocals, playing musical instruments, history and theory of music), plastic (choreography, pantomime) and physical education. The multifaceted creative and pedagogical activity of the masters of modern Ukrainian theatre, which unfolded in the 20th and early 21st centuries, became the forerunner of the searches of the last decade and witnessed innovative explorations of Ukrainian theatre pedagogy. Today, the experience of the National University “Ostroh Academy” is of significant importance for improving the learning process, in the methodology of which the principle of organic combination of K. Stanislavsky’s system, a metaphorical approach to creating a stage image according to the “transformation method” of L. Kurbas, with the pedagogical technologies of “play theatre” is laid down. In our opinion, it is the personal method of professional training of Ukrainian actors and directors under the author’s master’s program “Metatheatre” of the director and theatre teacher of the Ostroh Academy O. Liptsyn that gives reasons to assert that various facets of the artistic traditions of the Ukrainian avant-garde theatre, whose leader in Ukraine was Les Kurbas, are clearly manifested in the innovative ideas and searches of his followers, influence the formation of innovative technologies of the modern theatre school, which significantly expands the creative possibilities of acting and directing art, and becomes an integral component of the stage pedagogy in Ukraine.