Boris Konstantinov is the most famous Russian puppeteer, the chief director of the Moscow Obraztsov Puppet Theater. He does not consider puppet theater to be a frivolous and light art intended only for children - on the contrary, Konstantinov devoted his whole life to the development of the dramatic and even philosophical direction of puppet theater, forcing both a child and an adult to think about the problems of life.
Childhood and youth
Boris Anatolyevich Konstantinov was born on December 24, 1968 in the Irkutsk region, in the small village of Zhigalovo, lost in the taiga on the banks of the Lena River. Irkutsk Oblast is a broad concept: from Irkutsk to Zhigalovo to go 400 kilometers off-road. It was in such a distant place that the childhood of the future actor and director passed. Mother raised Boris and his brothers without a father, trying to give the children everything that was in her power. She had a bright artistic talent, and at night she often painted the sea, to visit the warm shore of which she dreamed of all her life. And she painted not only in the album, but even on the wall.
During his school years, Boris did not even think about a career as an artist or director, especially as a puppeteer: for life in a Siberian village it was too exotic and frivolous. Nevertheless, he began attending a theater group at the local House of Culture "Sovremennik", taking part in performances and gradually thinking about choosing a profession. After completing his secondary education, the young man went to Buryatia, to the city of Ulan-Ude, where he entered the faculty of directors of the drama theater of the East Siberian Academy of Culture and Art.
Professional development
Upon entering the academy, Konstantinov had to go on an adventure. The fact is that he graduated from school with poor grades, the average score turned out to be impassable, but on the entrance exam in acting, he impressed the academy teacher Tuyana Bayartoevna Badagaeva. She told the young man that if he still can act somehow, then she will take him on her course. And then Konstantinov went to the Dalnaya Zakora collective farm - even farther and more muffled than Zhigalovo, and received a targeted referral to the academy there on the condition that upon graduation he would return to this collective farm and create a people's theater there. Of course, Boris did not return anywhere, for which he still experiences remorse.
After graduating from the East Siberian Academy and serving in the army, Boris Konstantinov returned to Ulan-Ude, where during this period his former teacher Tuyana Badagayeva was invited to the post of chief director at the Ulger puppet theater. Konstantinov became an actor in this theater, then tried himself as a director. And gradually I was imbued with the ideas of the puppet theater, I realized how much symbolic, metaphorical, ancient, and, at the same time, unknown in it. There was a desire to thoroughly master the profession of a puppet director, and after working for three years at Ulger, the young man went to St. Petersburg to get an education in the specialty "Puppet theater director" at SPGATI - St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts (formerly LGITMIK, and now - RGISI). The course where Konstantinov studied was taught by Nikolai Petrovich Naumov, a teacher and director, to whom Boris treats with great respect, calls him a master. Naumov put into the consciousness of his student a creative credo, which he is guided by all his life: “Everything is possible in dolls. Is it necessary? " It was then that Konstantinov realized that puppet theater is not only a theater for children, it can be a serious and philosophical theater for an adult audience. In his work, he often encountered a superficial attitude towards the puppet theater, and towards the profession of a puppeteer actor as an easier, and sometimes even second-rate, and with all his creativity he tried to prove that this was not so.
The beginning of directorial activity
In 1998 Boris Konstantinov graduated from SPGATI. While still a student, he staged puppet shows, which were presented at various festivals of puppet theaters in Poland (Wroclaw), Beirut, as well as in St. Petersburg (the festival "Palaces of St. Petersburg for Children"). The aspiring director continued to study and absorb the professional experience and skills of already established foreign and domestic directors of puppet theater - Sergei Stolyarov, Rezo Gabriadze, Evgeny Demmeni and others. But the main idol for Konstantinov was and remains Sergey Obraztsov.
For some time, Boris Konstantinov worked as an actor at the Puppet Theater in Germany, studied this type of puppet. Then he returned to Russia and, together with his like-minded friends, created a small chamber theater-studio of puppets "Karlsson Haus", with a cozy home environment, comfortable for both children and adults. Gradually the fame of the director Boris Konstantinov grew, and he was invited to stage performances in puppet theaters all over the country - in Vologda, Sakhalin, Karelia, Arkhangelsk … Boris Anatolyevich even called himself a "traveling director" at that time.
His contribution to the development of puppet theater was recognized with the Golden Mask awards (the national theater award for the performances Carmen, Snowman, Leningradka, Turandot), Golden Sofit (the highest St. Petersburg theater award for performances "The Magic Feather", "Leningradka") and many other awards and prizes. Konstantinov also served on the Golden Mask jury. In 2016, director Andrei Konchalovsky invited Boris Konstantinov as a puppet scene consultant to stage the rock opera Crime and Punishment to music by E. Artemiev.
Theater and social activities
Boris Anatolyevich Konstantinov is engaged not only in directing, but also in various theatrical and social activities. So, in 2014, he became the Editor-in-Chief of the Theater of Miracles magazine, dedicated to dolls and people. Since 2016, Boris Anatolyevich Konstantinov has been the production director of several international summer theater schools of the Union of Theater Workers of Russia under the direction of Alexander Kalyagin. In the same year, Konstantinov was elected president of the youth commission under the executive committee of the international union of puppeteers UNIMA. For many years Boris Konstantinov has been one of the organizers of the Obraztsov-fest international puppet theater festival.
Obraztsov Puppet Theater
The most significant event in the biography of Konstantinov happened in 2013: Boris Anatolyevich was appointed chief director of the famous State Academic Central Puppet Theater named after Sergei Obraztsov in Moscow. He did not immediately agree to head the theater - he was not confident in his abilities. Continuing and developing the traditions laid down by the founder of the theater, Konstantinov introduced his own vision of this type of theatrical art. His theater is a place where both the child and the adult will not only relax and have fun, but also get food for thought, think about eternal problems and questions of life. In addition to fabulous children's performances, the theater's repertoire includes completely non-entertaining performances - for example, "Leningradka", dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War. Or “Silence. Dedication to Edith Piaf "- about the difficult fate of the famous French singer. In theater performances, the appearance of puppets and actors on the stage is equivalent - the director perceives the actor as a single whole with the puppet, and not just as a person controlling the puppet.
The main director is very careful not only with the selection of the repertoire, but also with the formation of the cast: the team of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater is a united friendly family, where everyone acts harmoniously and soulfully. Becoming the head of the theater, Konstantinov promised the actors that their joint work would be "bold, easy and fun," although they sometimes have to work day and night with full dedication. In 2019, Boris Konstantinov was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia.
Pedagogical activity
Konstantinov began teaching while still living in St. Petersburg - at the Russian Institute of Performing Arts. For some time he worked in France - in the city of Charleville-Mezieres, at the National School of Puppetry. From here, he learned the basic principles of training a puppeteer as a universal professional: an artist, director and puppet maker all rolled into one. It was this principle of training specialists that Konstantinov used in the future in his workshop, in which future directors and stage designers of the puppet theater study. Boris Anatolyevich created this workshop in 2017 at the faculty of scenography of the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS) together with his friend Viktor Petrovich Antonov, theatrical production designer, set designer, puppet master, multiple winner of the Golden Mask, with whom he worked back in St. Petersburg. Konstantinov-Antonov's workshop is very popular among university entrants.
Personal life
Almost nothing is known about the personal life of Boris Konstantinov. One gets the impression that his whole life is concentrated in the theater - he is there day and night, sometimes on tour or with students in the studio.
In an interview, Boris said that his first love happened when he played at the Ulger Theater in Ulan-Ude. In another interview, recalling his work on the play Carmen, he says that the theme of love was then relevant to him. Konstantinov wears a ring on his left hand. Whether he has a family (wife, children) is unknown.
