Description of the attraction
The Reni-Sharvin mansion, which houses the youth theater of Viktor Panov, is an architectural monument of regional significance, an object of cultural heritage of the 2nd half of the 19th century and is a building made in the Art Nouveau style, which almost disappeared from the Arkhangelsk streets. The mansion is a 1-storey wooden building, small at first glance, but quite spacious. It has organized the work of 3 venues where you can receive spectators, there is a cozy fireplace room where meetings of the creative intelligentsia and literary evenings are held, an auditorium for 100 seats and an attic for, for example, jazz gatherings. In May 2007, after reconstruction, the theater building was opened.
Viktor Panov's Youth Theater was founded in 1975 as the Arkhangelsk City Experimental Theater Studio on the basis of the House of Culture of Educators, in which schoolchildren, students and workers took part. Amateur actors were engaged in the evening and in their free time from study and work. For the first time, a lot of people of all ages and professions passed through the studio. As a result, the troupe consisted of 30 people, which gradually turned into a professional team. Teachers from theater schools and universities conducted classes with them, teaching students acting, stage movement and speech. The first performances of the studio were staging of the story by V. Tendryakov, "Girl Nadia" based on the play by A. Rodionova, "Not on the lists" based on the story of B. Vasiliev. In 1978, the theater and studio team was awarded the title of the People's Theater of the Young Spectator.
In 1986 in Leningrad the youth theater-studio gave the play "In Memory of Vysotsky". In 1988 in Arkhangelsk the theater organized the Days of Memory of V. Vysotsky. In the same year he took part in the Polish festival "Totus Mundus" ("Whole World") with the performances "Suicide" and "If you don't like it, don't listen."
In 1991, the theater was given the status of a professional, and it turned into the State Regional Youth Theater. At the same time, the theater was given a building on Troitsky Avenue (once Sharvin's mansion).
In 1992, the actors of the youth theater graduated in absentia from the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography. Among theatrical actors who have gone from an amateur to a professional team together with the theater are Viktor Begunov, Sergei Pavlov, Igor Patokin, Irina Shaitanova, Anastasia Malevinskaya and other artists.
The Youth Theater is one of the pioneers of the festival movement in the Arkhangelsk region. In 1989, in Arkhangelsk, the artistic director of the theater, Viktor Panov, organized the 1st festival of street theaters. It is from this time that the festival has traditionally been organized in June during the white nights, offering to the delight of local audiences performances from theaters of the world: England, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain, France, Poland and other countries. The festival was included in the list of events of 1988-1997, which were held under the auspices of UNESCO. In 2004, the theater created a new theatrical and musical festival "European Spring".
The Youth Theater organizes various social events and is actively involved in them. Each new performance for children (including performances for the New Year) begins with its free screening for children from boarding schools, orphanages and rehabilitation centers. During the organization of the international festival of street theaters, a social action "Clowns Without Borders" is organized every year. Festival artists stage performances for people who are unable to attend the festival's performances at the central city venues.
