Description of the attraction
The State Karelian Puppet Theater is located in a modern theater complex designed by the architect E. G. Taev, next to the Karelian National Theater. Funds for its construction and equipping with the most modern technologies were allocated from the budgets of the Republic of Karelia and the Russian Federation. In December 2010, he celebrated his anniversary and, although he is already 75 years old, the creative team is very energetic, lives with new ideas and is actively introducing modern forms of theatrical art.
This is a professional theater, it was opened in 1935, it is one of the oldest puppet theaters in Russia. Its founders were students of the courses Obraztsova S. V., artists of the Theater of Working Youth. Several years after its founding, the puppet theater carried out its activities as part of other creative groups: TRAM - until 1935, Youth Theater - until 1937, Kargosteatra. Famous actors worked in the theater in different years: M. Korolev, S. Efremov, N. Borovkov, S. Belkin, I. Moskalev, V. Sovetov, Kh. Skaldina, T. Yufa.
Now in the repertoire of the puppet theater there are performances for both children and adults, there are more than 30 of them in total. A variety of puppetry techniques and techniques are used in the production of the performances - these are screen performances, which use cane puppets, and performances with a live plan, and of course finger and tablet dolls.
The touring activity of the puppet theater collective is also extensive. Spectators from Russia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Greece and many other cities of the near and far abroad are familiar with the Karelian Puppet Theater.
The repertoire of the theater's creative team mainly includes children's performances designed for preschool and school age (both junior and middle). There are several performances for young audiences and for the whole family. The performances “The Frog Princess”, “Masha and the Bear”, “The Cat's House”, “By the Pike's Command” have become traditional and loved by several generations of spectators.
The works of the theater have repeatedly received awards, one of them is "The Onega Mask", the highest theatrical prize of the Karelian Republic. Performances for adults received the National Prize of Russia "Golden Mask": "Gilded Foreheads" by B. Shergin (2007), "A Dog's Tale" by K. Chapek (2009). In the play "Gilded Foreheads", the actress Lyubov Biryukova was awarded the Golden Mask Prize.
One of the directions of the theater's creative activity is the development of international projects and participation in them. Together with the municipality of Oulu in Finland, the theater has developed a project and organized many amateur puppet theaters for children and adolescents, both in Finland and in Karelia.
Since June 2003, the Kuklantida festival has been held. This Republican festival takes place every two years, thanks to it skills of staging puppet shows are acquired and consolidated, creative exchange between theatrical groups takes place.
The theater participates in both International and Russian festivals. In October 2007 he held the VI Festival of Puppet Theaters in the Barents Region. Countries participating in this festival: Russia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland. This International Festival is held every two years. It reflects the traditions of the northern peoples, it is culturally united with a certain worldview, but it is also open to groups from other countries of the European Union.
