On the Idea of Transforming the Stage Model: The Theatrical Potential of the Contemporary G. A. Tovstonogov Drama Theater

The established terminological pair "theatrical space" and "space of the theater" is widely used in art criticism, dramatically defining the difference in approaches to studying various phenomena, including modern theater. This article examines the problem of forming theatrical potential not so much from the perspective of organizing space as a whole, but through the application of a particular professional, theater studies "lens" – a view of the technological features of the stage itself. The author analyzes the experience of the last decade of the contemporary G. A. Tovstonogov Big Drama Theater under the leadership of A. Moguchy (2013–2023) in terms of the influence of the results of the renovation of the reconstructed building on the new potential for shaping the theater's image. The historical research method used in this article allows for a broader examination of the issue: from the technology of constructing a new stage platform to the idea of the technology for constituting a new theater. The methodological basis of the article consists of monographs by historians and theorists of theater, as well as interviews with practitioners in the contemporary theatrical process. The study includes an overview of the organizational and technological process of restructuring the BDT stage platform from 2011 to 2014. The author hypothesizes that changes related to the very architecture of the theater building and the rethinking of the technical possibilities of the stage in the academic theater directly corresponded to the literal sign of the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the G. A. Tovstonogov BDT. This research material is presented as unique and represents the first attempt at a scientific understanding of the significance of the specificity of the stage platform model on subsequent artistic and creative works that define the dynamics of theater development in historical perspective. The scientific novelty of the subject matter claims to assert the idea of the mutual influence of technological processes on the results of theatrical-dramatic action.