Vera Polyakova: "I am a human-creator"

Vera Polyakova

"I AM A HUMAN-CREATOR"

What is the main thing in her life Vera Polyakova, media actress, TV presenter, head of the theatrical project "TriTformaT", associate professor of the department of vocal, speech and plastic disciplines of the Academy of Arts of Belarus would like to tell the readers of the magazine?

About life, theatrical performances, new formats of theatrical performances, about her husband, children and friends, as well as why the year 2020 was very important in her destiny – about this and about being, in which it is impossible for her to live without straining – is our conversation with her.

Once one of her colleagues said about Vera Polyakova that she is a real boon to journalists: bright, lively, charismatic and very open. And so it is. This is what we have seen while communication with Vera. But what else would be added to this list is sincerity. A genuine natural quality that cannot be played, even as a brilliant actress: it either exists or it does not. So Vera is inherent in sincerity, which also makes her a warm, sunny, magnetic person.

– Vera! Psychologists say that we are all made up of subpersonalities. Which one would you like to talk about in more detail, which one is most dear to you in yourself and why?

– Oh, I don’t know... In fact, I like everything I do, what I manifest myself in. I love what I do so much that I cannot dissect it somehow. It always surprises me when people say, "God, how tired I am! I don’t want to go to work." I get tired too, but I always want to go and do something. Even on vacation, I do not lie idly on the beach and just sunbathe. Of course, I lie on the lounger, but at the same time I invent new projects, negotiate, get in touch with someone. There is not a single city in which I would simply come and have not agreed on a tour for my theatrical project "TriTformaT". For example, if I'm planning a vacation, I go and already think: I will definitely meet someone there and agree on a tour. For example, I would really like to show my performances in St. Petersburg. Because our director is from Tikhvin, and this is a town near St. Petersburg, where she graduated from the university, and then studied with Sergey Solovyov in Moscow. Therefore, I understand how cool it would be for her to show our performances in St. Petersburg.

Whether teaching, or my theatre, or the Theatre of Film Actors, or cinema, television, these are all important parts of my life. As well as my concert activity. And I endlessly lead some concerts, and I myself perform in them, I sing. This year we have continued for ourselves the "Boat evenings". In the past, when a

pandemic hit, we did not know where to apply ourselves. I had 5 online events – two performances, three concerts – and I thought: that's it, I can't do anything online anymore! Need something offline. And so we came up with these Musical Evenings on motor boat "Svisloch". We made arrangements with the people who organize the tours. And began to perform on the sly. It turned out that vacationers like it! First, in the fresh air – as if there is already no coronavirus. Secondly,the communication is close. And thirdly, everything is live: sound, singing, reactions, no decorations. You instantly react to the audience reactions. And you don't know who this time came to the ship. For the first time, the ship gathered a lot of people – and it can accommodate about 30 people. There were also many children. And our program is aimed at adults. What to do? So, Artem Davidovich – he is an actor, plays the guitar – and I looked at each other, and I said: let's perform for our children "Mukha-tsokotukha", a fairy tale. And sang it in full. Everyone liked it: children and adults. It was an absolute improvisation. Usually there is some kind of scenario plan that we adhere to. But in general, we stick to improvisation.

– How often do such performances take place?

– Every Friday.

– Like wandering artists?

– Yes, but we are floating! (smiles).

– Is it possible for everyone who wishes to boat with you?

– Sure! Come. From 7 to 9 pm we "are on a trip" every 30 minutes. From the pier in Park Pobedy, opposite the Hotel Victoria – this is on Pobediteley Avenue. The ship is registered there, one can see it there all the time. The weather is wonderful this year. We announced last year: it never rains on our ship. And we never got wet. It was chilly, though. And there is a breeze. We boated on June 18, then on July 3. On Independence Day, we made a military program: 50 frontline grams, bread, a piece of cured pork fat... We always come up with something. We serve a glass of champagne. Or juice, or just water. Deliver in beautiful glasses. There is a girl who comes and does it all. So you get exclusive live evenings. People write grateful reviews. "A charge of energy... We do not want to leave... It is not easy to leave..." We are very pleased with this.

– Vera, are you always such a living inventor? Since childhood?

– Yes, I have always been active and always wanted to be an artist. First, a singer. In early childhood, I was going to be a groom and go to live in the village, and at the same time teach there at a music school. Work with children. Then I already wanted to become an actress. And I entered the Academy of Arts. But still, the desire to teach children has not gone anywhere. Now I even have a whole theatre school "Scarlet Sails" – before we worked on the basis of Gymnasium No. 16, I taught there for 4 years, and we have already worked for a year on our own, without the gymnasium. The stage and premises were rented in Minsk Concert Hall. My actors from the theatrical project "TriTformaT" teach there. And one director from Moscow, Tatiana Sambuk, visits us. She also staged the last performances... We ended the year by playing with the Presidential Orchestra – in restricted numbers – on the stage of the Palace of the Republic. They played two fairy tales with us on Children's Day. There were grateful spectators in the hall: from large families, orphanages, from a boarding school in Cherven (for children with special needs). It was important for me that the children from the studio took part in this. There was a full hall. And the audience – there was barely room to move, 462 seats in the hall.

– It turns out that all your subpersonalities are on friendly terms with each other...

– Absolutely. And one flows into the other. I don’t do what I don’t like at all. And if I don’t like something, I don’t participate in it. There are times when I'm wrong. But this happens very rarely. And I quickly understand: no, not mine. Everything that I do all the time – all this first of all gives me pleasure. And then it already brings some financial benefits, and so on. And I laughingly tell: I participate in concerts, lead them, sing in them – in order to spend everything on you, my dear artists, in the theatrical project "TriTformaT". (smiles). I am constantly investing in this project. I dream that someday I will earn something on it. There was even a period when I felt free – I earned money, I could use the money – but the pandemic came. And I started all over again. But if before I had a misunderstanding – well, when will it end, why it is necessary to start over, then then I came to my senses. And I realized: the year 2020 was very important in my life. It tested me so hard! Emotionally, I understood a lot for myself. Including, confirmed what I knew before: that there is nothing more important to me than family. And there is nothing more important than those people that surround me – close people. And one should have not many friends – one, two three – and they are over. All the

Vera Polyakova, actress, TV presenter together with her husband, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Vladimir Makei, during the popular TV show "Markau. Nothing personal"

rest are just acquaintances. This is just communication with colleagues, fellows – but not a circle of friends.

– Did you want to gather everyone together at one table before that?

– In any case, it seemed to me that I have more friends. (Laughs). But last year has shown who is who. The closest ones stayed with me. Everything else is sham. I also learned to survive Internet attacks. In social networks. They did not kill me, they did not destroy me – they tempered me. I just got stronger. And in 2021, I came out with projects that no one did. I released "Three Sisters" during the pandemic, a performance that immediately raised my project to a very high level. This is the level of the "Golden Mask", St. Petersburg, Moscow and other theatre centers outside Belarus. I played on New Year's eve, when everyone "died", that is, no one did anything, 53 New Year tales. Another question: what have I earned on it? Nothing. But all my artists, 60 people, were involved. And I have two venues: in the Palace of the Republic – the Small Hall, as well as the Big Hall of Minsk Concert Hall. All my services, except for me, were working. And what? The main thing is that I saved the team, I lost only one actress: she had different outlook on life. We parted with her peacefully...

– Your position is close to us. It allows you not to dump everything in one pile, but to choose priorities, highlight accents. Apparently, this is an important part of everyone's life...

– Right. By the way, this is also a sign of his/her social maturity, worldly wisdom, and professionalism. As for my situation, I managed to save the team and do a lot of new projects. On March 8 we played Princess Mary. And this once again threw us to creative heights. A scene from the play "Princess Mary". No one has ever done Vera Polyakova as Princess Ligovskaya. a performance in the Great Hall of the Palace of the Republic and gathered a full hall there on March 8 for their performance. Full hall! The artists came out and did not believe it. We didn't expect that this could be. Yes, we were tired. It was very difficult for us. But the whole orchestra was sitting on the stage. We found an amazing operator on ONT – I didn't even know that such talents as Aleksandr Krivetsky were working nearby. An operator was needed for an SD-camera, so that the viewer sitting further than the third row in the Palace of the Republic would understand what is happening on the stage. That this performance is not a concert. Not songs, not dances. This is a performance, but with the use of the orchestra as an important musical component. So this operator and the director made such a symbiosis, a multi-layered video sequence! It's like a birthday cake with layers of different meanings and emotions. Here is live music – the whole orchestra. Here is a live acting in the forefront. We sit with our backs to the viewer – and the camera moves so that all our faces and feelings are visible in close-up. What are we going through when this scene is played. How do we relate to its heroes. Then the audience told me: they have never seen anything better in their life. This was the first premiere – and immediately in the Great Hall. We wanted to do it on a big scale, like this: w-wow!

– So you created, synthesized a new format of staging action... With the use of new technologies.

– Yes, absolutely. And then we moved on to the small stage to play, but we continued this camera work. Now we have 12 musicians working on the stage – not the whole orchestra consisting of about a hundred people. But all the same, we still have a live sound. We work in full force. This performance is very dear to me.

– How did Moscow audience appreciate your performances?

– Very well. Both "Three Sisters" and "Princess Mary". Good articles came out afterwards. A month passed after "Three Sisters", we released "Princess", and all the articles were complimentary, they wrote that the Belarusians had finally brought something worthy of attention. Theatres in Moscow did not yet gather spectators – only about 50 people came, and we sell out a concert hall for 215 seats in the business and cultural center of the Embassy of Belarus in Russia. For outselves, we decided that we are on the Belarusian land and there is no quarantine in Belarus. The halls are open. And we can play. And we played there with an orchestra. And what was cool about "Princess..." We made friends with representatives of Tronic Show – this is such a wonderful Russian platform. First, I went to see them – we shot 4 videos. Then I invited them to see "Three Sisters". They say after seeing: we want to film you. I came to them on May 9 with a concert for the military – online and offline. We made it right on the street. Olesya Pukhovaya read poetry. We sang war songs. The guitar was playing. The program turned out to be very good. We worked out the program in Minsk and transferred it to Moscow, adding some acts. Then we brought "Princess..." to Moscow on tour at the end of May. They filmed with 4 cameras, plus they took our SD-cam. They brought it all into online. So during the performance, two and a half thousand people saw it online. We played offline and at the same time there was a broadcast online. Moreover, the viewer could buy a place in the hall! But there were people on YouTube who just watched it all for free. More than 10 thousand people saw the performance during the day. And this, I think, is the

most important thing that we have done in Moscow. The reviews from critics and the press were not so significant for me, how important it was for this platform to make a hit, so that such a huge number of people watched us. Almost all the reviews are positive – and there were more than 70 of them. They wrote like this: "Thank you very much. I live in a remote village. Nobody ever comes to us on tour. I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to go to Moscow or to you to see the play. Considering what is happening now, you pleased me so much! I had the feeling that I was attending a performance". And the performance was really filmed competently and with a large number of cameras. The viewer was able to fully experience this atmosphere of the performance. Its volume and depth. As for me, for the sake of this only review it was already worth doing all this.

We played "Three Sisters" at Slavianski Bazaar. We performed on July 15. And the Tronic platform also came. They now follow us everywhere, and have already filmed our boat and the children's story. We have agreed with the Palace of the Republic to invite children from orphanages, large families, and children's hospice free of charge, and the Red Cross – these are all with whom we work with on a charitable basis. We invited everyone to the hall. And we played a fairy tale for children. And it was online and offline at the same time. When there is both a reaction from the viewer and a huge Internet audience, it is easy for us to play.

– Does the audience play along with you?

– Yes, and we accumulate all this energy and transmit it to the Internet space. People around the world will be able to feel it. Then it hangs on YouTube and one can watch it.

– How does your mother feel about your work?

– She makes me happy! I watched the play "Princess Mary" online from Moscow – and said: "Vera, how cool it is! What a good performance! May I, when the Covid-pandemic subsides, come and watch it live?" Here is the answer to the question: will people want to see the performance online and come to see it? If you like the performance, you will want to watch it live. Because this is a different energy flow.

– It can said that the audience hall in conjunction with the stage is a generator for the production of special, spiritual energy...

– Moreover, during the performance, and I felt it more than once, there is an interchange of energies between the artists and the audience. Could it be that the film that we liked, we would not want to re-watch live in a performance with our favorite artists? Personally, I will want to! I proceed from such considerations, bringing such innovations to my theatrical projects.

– Tell us a little about your mother, your ancestral roots and why do you have so much creative energy.

– I am a native of Minsk already in the fourth generation. Mom, Tatyana Dmitrievna Polyakova is a professor, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences. So, I am a professor's daughter. My mother was the youngest professor at one time. All her life she was engaged in pistol and rifle shooting, more precisely, she taught this art, was a famous trainer. Then she completely devoted herself to science. She has developed many different methods for the psychophysical training of highlevel sportsmen-shooters. Those who shoot pneumatic weapons are engaged in high-speed shooting. In general, my mother is incredibly smart. Well, the grandchildren took after their Granny. My eldest son Dmitry graduated from the medical university. And he defended his graduation thesis in sports nutrition with the mark 10. And my mother, of course, very actively helped him – both with the method and with the materials. She's also very active. But I derives my character from my father, and the integrity – frpom my mother. – Well, your mother did not bring up the shooters in vain, she taught you to hit the top ten... – So I always bring everything to the end. She told me from childhood: Vera, even if you can't, don't want to – you always have to bring everything to the end. Never drop anything halfway. Then you will feel yourself differently in life – if you complete everything, even the most unloved, the most uninteresting. And that's why I was took a post-graduate course at one time – it was only my mother's thrusts that worked. And the fact that I started teaching – my mother's energy spring works in me. I would most likely started teaching myself. But it was my mother's dream. Surprisingly, I liked the teaching later! It turned out that I can! Now I can teach anyone to fence. Anyone who comes to my classes...

– Do you mean stage fencing?

Yes, I teach stage combat and fencing – this is a sword, a sword-dagger, a sword and a two-handed sword, a shield, a dagger-cloak – all these directions I know and can teach them. – Your Mom's parents were here in Minsk during the years of occupation, if you have ancestral roots from here… – Yes, my grandmother Vera Nikolaenok, after whom I was named, served in SMERSH counterintelligence

Vera Polyakova and her colleague Aleksandr Serebrennikov on the TV program "Our Morning"

service. She was a real intelligence officer. Recently, Mir TV company filmed a small film about me for Victory Day, and in Moscow it was all assembled. There is a shooting near the house on Maksim Bogdanovich Street, which was built by my grandfather and grandmother after the war. By the way, they met during the war. Grandfather was also in SMERSH, then he was the commissar of Falcon partisan detachment – in one of the divisions of the brigade named after Father Minay. And he was among the first to liberate Minsk. The first three partisan detachments entered Minsk, and they wrote about it in the newspapers. I have both a clipping and a photograph in my family archive. And the very first there is my grandfather – Dmitry Rudin! By the way, my oldest son is named after him. The grandmother remained her last name. – Did she take part in your upbringing? – Yes, the most direct, but relatively short. And I didn't know my grandfather, he died early: at 51, suddenly. My grandmother died when I was 7 years old. I clearly remember that she always watched out for me. She helped my parents. And I went to first grade when she was alive. I have the warmest memories of my grandmother Vera. In one film about the war, I played lancecorporal Yulia. There are several shots where I am in military uniform. They did my hair of that era. And my grandmother has similar pictures. Mom said: "God, how you look like a grandmother!" Although I took after my father's breed. Very similar to all of his relatives. And his Dad. But in those military shots, in that famous war film of "Belarusfilm" "More about the war" we are very similar with grandmother Vera. It is often shown on June 22, on Victory Day.

– Now tell us a little about your dad, whom you also resemble very much…

– My Dad, Aleksandr Semenovich Polyakov, had a higher technical education, and in the perestroika times he began to do business. Now he is the chairman of the housing owners partnership – of those housing where he lives. He, like me, really likes to communicate with people. Before that, he had a well-known travel agency. And as a child, Dad dreamed of being an artist. And when I nevertheless entered the theatre academy, graduated from it, he was very pleased with me. Dad always tells me: you are the embodiment of my dream. That is, I became an artist for a reason. Dad, wherever I performed, from my student days, constantly came to my performances. Mom didn't always succeed.

– Are you the only child of your parents? – The only. But my parents already have two grandchildren! (laughs). I hope they will have three children each. – And so let's talk about your family further.

– My husband, Vladimir Vladimirovich Makei, is, as you know, a civil servant, he is an officer. Moreover, with a capital letter. As if from those distant, good Soviet times. He is a

The play "Three Sisters" was a success in Moscow Evenings on the "Svisloch" steamboat

reserve colonel. Military translator by education. Intelligence officer. His main foreign language is German, the second is English. How he works with people, how he builds relationships in the family – we all, of course, look up to this. Because he is a man of his word, a man of honor, a man of action. He never says anything in vain. Expresses briefly, succinctly. If something promises, then the promise will be fulfilled. Always! No matter what state he was in, no matter how he felt. He brings everything to the end, to its logical end – and this is what I really like about him. And, of course, the feelings that we have for each other are... Well, this is very serious. Each of us gave the word – both before God: we are married in church, and in law: until death do us part, we will be together. And we will not allow ourselves to betray each other. Yes, I am an artist, I play a lot love on the stage. But, believe me, I never wanted any other relationship. The further we live, the deeper I understand for myself: there is nothing better than my relationship with my husband. Every year we get to know each other more – and love more. The feeling that connects us does not decrease – it increases. It grows. And there is no desire to seek something else elsewhere. We value our relationship very much. And over the years that we are together – and there are already... eleven, as they say – we have passed so much! So many things! This is more related to his work. Many people tried to destroy our life together. Interfere with it. And even in 2020, how

many in different social networks were: she divorces him... They were saying that her friends said that... And so on. What friends? Before you write any nonsense, you should ask at least: how many friends do I have? – In a word: fakes... – Yes exactly. And therefore, I wish our people not to believe in such conjectures, to learn everything firsthand. And I also want to add: don't count on it. No matter how much someone tries to separate us, they will not succeed! We think the same way, we go through life hand in hand. Two in a harness. And everything that we say, do and feel is mutual. We, in our life, have no disagreements on any issues. Our thoughts, feelings, what my husband does in politics and what I try to express and convey with my creativity are

absolutely commensurate thoughts and feelings. We do not disagree on the main point either for political, ideological or other reasons.

– The wise men have such advice to people: may all your thoughts, words and deeds be in harmony! Judging by your words, you and your husband succeed in creating such harmony in your family.

– This is true. Moreover, it is worth keeping in mind the following reasoning – I heard it from a well-known person in Belarus. There are certain rules of the game. And if you get into this game, you must play by its rules. If not, then you better not play. Likewise, politics are certain rules of the game that you must follow. And if you love a

Artem Davydovich Vera is always grateful to her listeners

person, you live with him/her – you do not seem to participate in political life, but you play this game.

– Though indirectly, you are also in this team…

– Yes, you and your husband are on the same team. Therefore, you have no right to break the rules. And when someone, for example, says: yes, my husband, minister, or deputy minister, but I have different views on life... and I will act as I see fit. I consider this approach a betrayal. When you say so, you betray your husband's business. For me, it’s worth deciding: either you are his comrade-in-arms in life, his radio operator Kat (the heroine from the film "Seventeen Moments of Spring – Auth.), and you follow him to the end. Or you take your possessions and break up.

– Is the actress Vera Polyakova capable of playing the role of radio operator Kat?

Yes, I'm radio operator Kat! Initially. As I have said, my husband is a scout (smiles). During our wedding, one friend got up and said, addressing Vladimir Vladimirovich: "Of course, you are Stirlitz for us, but Vera is the radio operator Kat" (laughs). Somehow from those times it went like that. I can come to my husband and say: "Volodya, let's discuss this." I do not agree with something. Explain to me: why like this and not otherwise? But this cannot be in principle that I would say "ough" in some difficult, ambiguous situation Who am I after this? Well, in general, if to touch on some political issues cursorily, then I am

not so stupid as not to understand: there was everything in our life. But I cannot, as a sane person, cross everything out and say: wow, everything is bad with us. It was not all bad! Why lie? To yourself and others? Just because somewhere you were beckoned with something and promised: it will be better there, there and there? But you yourself do not know how it will be. And it will not be better "there" – to your regret. However, you yourself, who succumbed to such promises, will be convinced of this. And what will happen here? That is the question – not even that somewhere out there someone feels better. I believe that it is never good after a person has come and destroyed everything. It is never good after that! We all remember how the Union collapsed.

I am by nature a person who creates. I've been creating something all my life. I am a creator. And sometimes I do not allow myself to destroy what, perhaps, did not turn out quite smoothly. And if we talk about the transfer of power in the country, then for our common good it must be calm and balanced. No hysterics. I am an emotional person myself. And very explosive. But I give myself a sober and stern report: nothing good happened to me after I exploded. Usually after that I licked my wounds for a long time. Apologized to people. Collected all the piece. Life teaches us sometimes very cruelly. And it's important to be able to learn such lessons.

– Yes, and you pick yourself up piece by piece after such explosions. And there is a lot of pain, and complete weakness...

– I learned to restrain myself. I try to keep my temper in check. Otherwise, nothing good will happen.

– What else would you say about your character?

If you are talking about the horoscope, then I was born on the last day of Libra, October 22. No longer Libra, but not yet Scorpio. And the husband is Leo. Leo! (laughs) The king of beasts. But I want to tell you something well-known: the stars do not force us, how to behave, how to live, to act – the stars prompt and advise. And we, sometimes learning the hard way, choose our own, most suitable "life strategy and tactics". Here's a case in point. I recently got my younger son Artem prepared to the camp. We went shopping with him, we chose things. And he said to me: "Mom, how I liked buying things this time with you! You and I have never even quarreled." (laughs).

– Maybe you told him: it was you, son, who grew up, became more balanced...

– No, I didn't. He is now having a difficult period: 12 years old, the transitional age begins. And from time to time, of course, we clash with him. But I, too, draw conclusions, learn a lot, including watching him. Once I ironed the clothes, my son sat late at the computer, played. And suddenly he says to me: "Mom, how I love you! You are unusual. For Dima and me (this is our senior), you are a friend. All my friends are very afraid of their mothers. And I know that I can always talk to you. Even to argue, even to swear. But we will still

find a common language. Because you are more of a friend to us than a mother." (laughs). I don't know if this is good or bad... But I am very pleased to hear this from children.

– Great! Such a high degree of trust…

– …but we have a strict dad. And his word in the family is decisive. Sometimes, when I can’t manage something with the children, I say: "So! Let dad judge us. Go to him!" (laughs). Of course, I spend a lot more time with my children than my husband. But he is the last instance. If I understand that I cannot make a decision, I send them to him. And he already accepts them. And as for the words of the younger about his motherfriend, then, apparently, it is. Dima and I meet, it happens, with his friends. I even go to discos with them. And on holidays we intersect. And friends, I know, sometimes exclaim: "Damn, if only we had such a mother! Which is so funny (laughs) and looks good. And Dima, who is 22, has older friends – some of them are 30. Of course, next to them, we do not really see the difference in age. Moreover, I am a mischievous person, I like to dance, laugh, joke...

– Social masks, stereotypes sometimes crush us…

– Yes! A sea of maternal roles and responsibilities has been prepared for us. Clean up. Cook. Wash... "I'm a mother!" I must! I have to dig up the garden!..

– Do you have a house helper?

– Yes, I do. She comes once a week. Anna Aleksandrovna is an amazing woman, she is already like a member of the family. How old is my son – so long she is with us. Helps me with cleaning. Although I did not want this at the time. I told my husband that I can do everything myself. But when it came to some kind of global cleaning, I offered him a certain area of work. He cleaned up once, cleaned up twice. Then somehow, I come back from vacation – and I already have a woman in my house: "Hello, I'm Anna Aleksandrovna. Now I will work with you." That's how beautifully my husband solved the cleaning problem. And he freed himself both for his family and for himself. Although Vladimir Vladimirovich is not afraid of any work. Including the rural one – we have a house in a small village. I even have chickens there. In the summer we go there with the dog, and more often. It is far from Minsk, but we are adapting. In the morning on a day off, Vladimir will mow the garden space – with a trimmer, and will do something about the garden. He likes it. He will split firewood... If he wants to rest – he rests, if he wants to work – he works. Because this is his day off. He does on this day what he wants. And he has the right to do so.

– Reasonable approach. Are you both driving?

– Yes, but more often I do. If we go somewhere together, I am always driving. Firstly, without a steering wheel it makes me sick, and secondly – I love to drive. My vestibular system is not very good. But I learned to fly and sail. Cold Coca-Cola helps me sometimes. If, for example, this is a sea voyage on a yacht, then I am swim behind the yacht. If it stops and I am seasick – I will drink and jump in water. And everyone laughs: everyone has a sailing trip on a yacht – and Vera behind the yacht.

– However, as they say, let's down from a mall, straight to the theatre. Have you ever played roles that you didn't like at all? Forgot the text?

– Such happened, but extremely rarely. And one and a half phrases per performance. And this, as a rule, did not play a global role. I am a good partner, you can rely on me. Everyone in the theatre knows this. I will always pull myself and the one who is next to me. One actor in our theatre, having watched the play, once said about me: "Amazing artist! She put the artist on her shoulders and carries him through the whole performance. And the main thing is that she does not lose the rhythm." (laughs).

– What are you most afraid of on stage?

– To forget the text. And I also have dreams when someone does not let me on stage – this is the worst dream. That the performance is going on, I have to go out – and someone, something will not let me in. By the way, other artists also have similar dreams.

– How do you perceive the criticism?

– Good, if it is useful criticism. I do not like such criticism, when, well, everything is indiscriminately criticized. When they say: I didn't like it. Explain what you didn't like. Because there can be no "phew, I did not like it." What exactly? I don't participate it in any such performance – "phew, I did not like it." There are productions that are difficult to consider outstanding. There are ordinary ones. But there are also outstanding ones. But this does not mean that I do not work well in them. I always do my job with full dedication. I never go below a certain level.

– Some of the actors said about the theatre that everything there is built on the energy of light and love? What would you say?

Rare moments of relaxation during a tour over Batumi

– Neither my theatre, nor the theatrical project "TriTformaT", nor the Theatre of Film Actors have such a

performance, which does not carry any idea. Even putting on a simple children's fairy tale, we put a deep, bright thought into the production. We are talking about kindness. About friendship. About love. The last fairy tale "Not a Hedgehog", which we made with the Presidential Orchestra, carries a global idea. It doesn't matter whether you are prickly or fluffy. Whatever you are, there will always be someone who will love you the way you are. The most important thing is to be yourself. And there is no need to change. And in the play the Hedgehog tries to do it. The hare advises him to make long ears, someone advised him to make a fluffy fur, wings like a crow's... And the Squirrel – red paws... And in the end, we got some kind of monster. Wonder beast. Even his mother did not recognize the hedgehog.

–Yes, a desire to adapt to the tastes and expectations of others is inherent for people…

– And the fairy tale is about this. I play there Mother-hedgehog and voice this global idea, and this is an interactive fairy tale. We communicate with the viewer as the action progresses. Recently, we were at Zubrenok camp with this fairy tale, and then the heads from "Hopes of the 21st century" called us. They said: what a wonderful fairy tale! The kids and I continued the topic and talked with them for another hour. About these values that are so important. A funny, simple fairy tale. The children in the audience laughed so hard – and what a powerful moral and ethical message lies therein! How it is needed: to remain yourself. And today's mass culture, after all, has a completely different message.

– It is very important to give such a moral attitude from childhood…

– Until we do this, different TikToks will take its toll. By the way, I am there too. I have a normal face there. And I'm dressed like a woman. And my partner is dressed like a man. There the majority is sort of boys and sort of girls... By the way, I also have Instagram account. And Facebook account. Not for fame and money. I am an actress, and I can do something useful and necessary.

– What's new in the Theatre of Film Actors?

– They put on the play "Uncle Vanya", and I travel with fairy tales with my theatrical project "TriTformaT". On July 10, we played "Princess Mary" at the City Hall for all spectators. On July 17 – "Three Sisters" at the Slavianski Bazaar. And on July 20 we flew to Batumi, where we also played "Princess Mary" and opened our Honorary Consulate there. And on my birthday – October 22 – "Anna Karenina" will be released. We are working on it. I still have the opportunity to play this main role – I am still suitable by age. It will be an unusual performance. And from September we will start playing "Princess Mary" and "Three Sisters". Besides, we won the competition for holding the Main New Year's party of the country in the Small Hall and in the Big Hall of the Palace of the Republic. In the Small – "Blue Arrow" by Jani Rodari, in the Big we will play the tale of the Russian playwright Anna Bogacheva. I love her very much, and we have already put several fairy tales by this author. This time it will be "Magic Power" – a tale about the magic power of good. Simple and good. About kindness, about friendship and how important it is to love and be kind.

– Are you still working with the Presidential Orchestra?

– Sure! We really like co-creation with it. We made friends with the guys, they are all young and creative. Like we they are willing to do something new. There is no snobbery and academic stiffness in them. They are ready to do the most daring experiments with us.

– Almost like the musicians in the movie "Funny Guys"...

– That's it, almost exactly so! .. I wish you could have seen our fairy tale "Not a Hedgehog"! What Vitalik Kulbakov is doing there – everyone comes to look at him. He plays the Wolf. And this is the Wolf-Conductor. He has a stylized hat, a matching tailcoat... How he dances, how he does exercises with children! Whatever he does! It's just a delight! And all the Bunnies in the orchestra. The Orchestra of Bunnies. And they move, play – dance. Well, you've never seen anything like this! Moreover, performed by the musicians of the Presidential Orchestra. It's very, very cool.

– How did you get to "Our Morning" program?

– Once I came here to tell about my project "TriTformaT", about my creative activity. And when they finished filming, Tanya Rudakovskaya, the director of our program, says: "Would you like to try yourself as a presenter!" I want – but I just have to ask my husband. And the husband said: ok. Tatyana is now my co-presenter, the second couple. So I started to work. I got involved, and I really like the program. We have a good team. I believe: in our world, any creative action is teamwork. It's wonderful to work on your own. But if a charismatic, handsome person does not know how to work in a team, nothing will ever come out brilliant.

– Apparently, your theatrical project is pushing you to such generalizations…

– Yes, of course. And besides, now there are more than 25 of us in the project, with all services. We work on the basis of the Palace of the Republic in the Small Hall. We store the scenery there, and our main platform is there. – What is your relationship with cinema? – Now – not very good. We shot the last film "Domokles Sword" without any money at all. And it somehow got lost. A couple of films "Caspian 24" were released on NTV – it's a solid piece of work there, and Anastasia Zavorotnyuk is in the lead role. Now there are no special offers for cinema. This is due to many factors. But, missing cinema, I do not despair. In Moscow, we met a famous film producer – she invited me and the director to shoot a 15-minute short film. We showed a teaser (or a trailer, this is a commercial for the play), which was filmed for "Three Sisters" – she liked it. She offered to work in the same style. We shot it quickly enough. Everything turned out great. Such a kind of movie.

– What habits do you have for keeping oneself in good physical shape? Do you do yoga?

– No, not mine. I move a lot. Besides, I have worked out my own set of exercises – I do it. But after the Covid, I still didn't quite come to my senses. Sometimes my head is spinning. I am rapidly losing strength. I was ill in November, and it was very serious, and the recovery process seems to be continuing. Moreover, there are many antibodies in the blood. I try to walk more. I took the dog in the village – and walked: to the lake and back. And around the lake. And I wish everyone to move more!

Interviewed by Ivan and Valentina Zhdanovich

WHEN PHILOSOPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND LYRICAL MOODS

COME TOGETHER

An exhibition of works made of glass by Vladimir Murakhver, a Honoured Artist of Belarus, presented by the National Museum of Art, surprised visitors with its original content.

The exhibition coincides with the author's 90th birthday anniversary. It mainly demonstrates works from the funds of the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.

Vladimir Murakhver belongs to that pleiad of artists who – each in his own field – for many years determined the main ways of development of national culture. In 1959, after graduating from the Vera Mukhina Leningrad Higher School of Art and Industry, he was sent to the famous Belarusian glass factory "Neman". It has a long tradition of glassmaking, dating back to the 19th century, and is famous for its experienced master glassblowers, ready to bring even the most daring ideas to life. It was with the arrival of professional artists that artistic glass began to blossom in Belarus as an independent form of art with its own expressive means. This meant that authorship, individual aesthetic concept and experimentation were coming to the forefront.

In factory production, creative freedom is not unlimited. This is no place for "art for art's sake", totally detached from reality. The artist has to think not only about the implementation of his original ideas, but also about duplication and the mass production of products based on designs developed by him; in other words, not only about "the sublime," but also about "the earthly". However, for masters such as Vladimir Murakhver, these were not paralyzing fetters, but a challenge requiring special creative solutions, giving an additional impetus to creative search.

What is important is that Vladimir Murakhver managed to find a happy, harmonious balance between the utilitarian and decorative functions of glass – the ability to transform everyday objects into works of art. It was he who became one of the first innovative artists, who transformed Belarusian glassmaking, we can say, made a revolution in it. Vladimir Murakhver proceeded from the nature of the material itself, not distorting it, but striving to convey the different state of glass, its variability and plasticity, to demonstrate the beauty of colour and texture, the play of light, the movement of mass.

The basis for Vladimir Murakhver's first experiments was the traditional, ancient glassblowing, in which the artist uses a special tube to blow the molten glass mass to a temperature of over 1000 degrees, giving it shape in a short time before it cools down, as if taming the fiery "lava". The artist's works in tandem with the glassblower who realised his ideas have always contained an element of improvisation, and quite a few pictorial solutions came to the master directly in the process of work itself.

Works made using glassblowing carry a special emotional charge, because they are literally a frozen moment, a materialization of human breath. And Vladimir Murakhver expressed his admiration for the work of glassblowers, which is something like magic, in many works with stylized images of these artists, sometimes resembling musicians with whimsical wind instruments.

Throughout his life he has experimented a great deal with different techniques, because the creativity of the artist working with glass is a continuous search not only for new images, but also for innovative techniques and original ways of finishing the material. Of course, such experiments are not an end in themselves for Vladimir Murakhver, but conform to his main desire – the desire to

create an object that is not limited to its utilitarian purpose, but transforms into an art object.

For example, even the most traditional "tableware" forms are modified in many of the master's works. He 'guessed' human figures and faces in the outlines of drinking vessels. People, angels and monsters are the artist's favourite images.

Another source of inspiration for Vladimir Murakhver is nature: animals and birds, "plant" textures and, of course, natural colours – shades of green, blue, brown, red... But whatever images he embodies in glass – even if they are human or animal figures – it is not just a "realistic" image, but always a certain sign, a symbol. Philosophical reasoning, lyrical mood expressed in glass, grotesque – it seems that the artist can do anything.

There is no doubt that Vladimir Murakhver developed his own recognizable signature and created his own unique artistic world. At the same time, he was one of the originators of a special style of "Neman" glass and was one of the artists whose works created at "Neman" are known and appreciated far beyond Belarus, an object of national pride, like Murano glass in Italy or Bohemian crystal in the Czech Republic. He himself was born in the small city of Ananiv in Odessa Region. He received his basic art education at the Tashkent Republican Art School. And, as mentioned above, in 1959 he graduated from the Leningrad Vera Mukhina Higher School of Art and Design, where his teacher was the famous artist Boris Smirnov. That same year, Vladimir Murakhver started working at the Neman Glassworks in Berezovka, Lida District, Grodno Region. From 1963 to 1975, he was the chief artist of the enterprise, known throughout the Soviet Union. Many of his works were awarded medals and diplomas of the USSR and Belarus. In 1979, the artist was awarded the Gold Medal of the International Triennial of Glass and Porcelain in Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic. In 1990, he was awarded the Silver Medal of the USSR Academy of Arts for his decorative composition "Wanderers. Peace to Him Who Enters".

Undoubtedly, the range of Vladimir Murakhver's creativity covered a wide range of interests. He was one of the founders of a new style of "Neman" glass – Belarusian art glass of the second half of the 20th – early 21st centuries. The master had a great love for and boundless devotion to this material, impeccable mastery of his professional skills and great artistic culture. Today he is known as the author of numerous specimens for mass production and the creator of unique

exhibition pieces filled with a living sense and thought of the world, nature and mankind. In addition, each work of this artist is a unique study of glass and the discovery of its mysteries.

However, along with glass, Vladimir Murakhver was actively engaged in painting and drawing. Being a talented master, he managed to embody deep images, new ideas and significant subjects in these kinds of art as well. Not for nothing are Vladimir Murakhver's works of art in the collections of many museums in Belarus, as well as in private collections in foreign countries.

It should be noted that besides all that important and responsible for Vladimir Murakhver was public activity. In 1969, he initiated and directed the work of art studio for children in Berezovka, which regularly participated in Republican exhibitions of children's art. In other words, the artist has always been astonished by his inexhaustible vitality both in his creative work and in his ordinary life.

By Veniamin Mikheyev