Director, Playwright, Puppeteer and Stage Designer Evgeny Ibragimov: Creative Residency at Boston College
Monday, November 11, 2024 -Ā Saturday, November 16, 2024 | Please Check the Schedule Section for the Times | Multiple LocationsāÆ |Ā Link toĀ Ā for workshop participants
Workshop space is limited, please register by 5:00 PM on November 6.
We are pleased to announce a creative residency at Boston College with the award-winning Circassian-Russian director, playwright, puppeteer, and stage designer Evgeny Ibragimov, November 11-16, co-sponsored by the Department of Eastern, Slavic and German Studies and the Theatre Department, with funding from the ILA. Ibragimovās productions have been recognized internationally for their innovative, immersive staging, in which puppets participate on par with live actors, objects and shadows. Originally from the Republic of Karachaevo-Cherkessia in Russiaās North Caucasus region, Ibragimov has been based in the Czech Republic since 2014 and is now unable to work in Russia due to his opposition to the Putin regime and Russiaās ongoing war against Ukraine.
Ibragimov, also known by the name Shaoukh Ibragim, is an ethnic Cherkes (Circassian/Adyge), one of the hundreds of indigenous non-Slavic minorities of the Russian Federation, and one of his other areas of expertise is traditional Circassian puppetry, an art form associated with the dzheguako ā Circassian master of ceremonies, storyteller, bard, folk satirist, magician, and soothsayer. On Friday, Nov. 15th, Ibragimov will present his Circassian puppet play, āAn Old Tale: The Legend of Happiness,ā based on folkloric sources, in which he recreates the atmosphere of the traditional Circassian dzhegu, or carnival. The puppets Ibragimov will be using in the performance are based on traditional Circassian puppets preserved in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology in St. Petersburg.
During his residency at Boston College, Ibragimov will also conduct a four-day workshop, āAnimating the Inanimateā (Nov. 11-14, 5-8PM) for students of performing arts and others with an interest in theater and puppetry. The workshop will focus on various aspects of stage movement, ensemble acting, and telling stories through the creation and manipulation of unique and everyday objects to tell stories. Workshop participants will actively engage in a collaborative effort, sharing their ideas and visions as they work together to create a unique, original performance (registration for the workshop is required; please see link for registration form under āSchedule and Registrationā). On Saturday, Nov. 16th (7-9PM), workshop participants will share the results of their explorations with the ņņņ½Ö±²„ community and the general public at the Bonn Studio Theater.
On Thursday, November 14thĀ at 12:00PM (location TBA), Ibragimov will also giveĀ Š°Ā presentation for members of the ņņņ½Ö±²„ community and the general public on the history and cultural traditions of the Circassians and other indigenous peoples of Russiaās North Caucasus region. It should be noted that a majority of ethnic Circassians now live outside their original homeland, in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Israel and other countries - a result of Russiaās ruthless campaign of ethnic cleansing following its conquest of the northwest Caucasus in the latter half of the 19thĢż³¦±š²Ō³Ł³Ü°ł²ā.Ģż
For further information, please contact Curt Woolhiser (woolhise@bc.edu).
Animating the Inanimate: A workshop with Evgeny Ibragimov
November 11-14, 5-8 PM | Bonn Studio Theatre, Boston College
Showcase performance:Ā Nov. 16, 7-9PM, Bonn Studio Theater
Join us for a free, four-day workshop (Nov. 11-14, 5-8PM) at Boston College with the award-winning director, playwright, puppeteer and stage designer Evgeny Ibragimov. Ibragimovās productions have been recognized internationally for their innovative, immersive staging, in which puppets participate on par with live actors, objects and shadows. For more on Ibragimovās work, please see his pageĀ
This workshop, designed for students of theater arts, visual arts, music and dance, and all others with an interest in theater and puppetry, will focus on various aspects of stage movement, ensemble acting, and telling stories through the creation and manipulation of unique and everyday objects. Participants will actively engage in a collaborative effort, sharing their ideas and visions as they work together to create a unique, original performance. On Saturday, November 16th, workshop participants will share the results of their creative explorations with the ņņņ½Ö±²„ community and the general public at the Bonn Studio Theater, 7-9 PM.Ā
Space in the workshop is limited; if you are interested in participating, please register by 5:00PM on Nov,. 6 (link to registration form:Ā ). Mr. Ibragimov would like to meet with participants online between November 6 and November 10 to get acquainted and discuss plans for the workshop and final performance; times for online meetings prior to the in-person workshop TBA.Ā
Circassian Puppet Play: āAn Old Tale: The Legend of Happinessā
Friday, November 15, 7-9 PM | Bonn Studio Theatre, Boston College
Evgeny Ibragimov on āAn Old Taleā:
A walnut baton, adorned with sprigs of hazelnut, is raised aloft, and the melodies instantly die away ... the circle of dancers scatters, the crowd of spectators, like a single organism, absorbs them and creates a new circle. In its center there is a man holding a baton.
"Forgive me if I make a mistake, Iām telling you what I heard ...", he begins quietly, in a slightly singsong voice.
"A folk tale!"
Folk tales are an indispensable part of the dzhegu, the Circassian festival or carnival. In Europe, carnivals were held once a year, plunging people into a riot of merrymaking and general jubilation. The wise Circassians performed dzhegu on all significant occasions: weddings, births deaths, battles. It was believed that this was a way to bring good luck. The Dzhegu was at the same time the best form of communication with God, a way to unite people, and a manifestation of the conviction that a person is not a toy in the hands of fate, but can win her favor.
The Circassian dzhegu is merriment, songs, dances, horse riding, impromptu performance, and the dzheguako manages this carnival whirlwind. He is a demiurge and director, master of ceremonies and conductor, storyteller, priest and magician. During the carnival, it is he who directs the energy of the assembled people. Mocking, talented and wise, but most importantly - free. One of the few, he can tell the truth to anyone, regardless of rank. Jeguakos have always been above society. They composed songs that made up the ornament of an entire peopleās hjistory, and they did it with talent and honesty. From these songs, many years later, their descendants will learn whether their great-great-grandfather was brave or cowardly, stingy or generous, and what deeds he performed.
And the dzheguako knew all the folk tales. Folk tales are a national treasure of any country. For thousands of years, the tales of the peoples of the Caucasus have passed on to new generations the wisdom that guides them on the right path in life, the path of patience, benevolence, and harmony. Dzheguako have always found time at the carnival to tell a tale that is needed here and now.
Schedule and Registration
Monday,Ā November 11, 2024Ā |Ā Vanderslice 117 |Ā Link to for workshop participantsSpace is limited, please register by 5:00 PM onĀ Wednesday, November 6 | |
|---|---|
| 5:00-8:00 PMĀ | Workshop āAnimating the Inanimateā |
Tuesday,Ā November 12, 2024Ā |Ā Vanderslice 117 |Ā Link toĀ Ā for workshop participantsSpace is limited, please registerĀ by 5:00 PM onĀ Wednesday, November 6 | |
| 5:00-8:00 PMĀ | Workshop āAnimating the Inanimateā |
Wednesday,Ā November 13, 2024Ā |Ā Vanderslice 117 |Ā Link toĀ Ā for workshop participantsSpace is limited, please registerĀ by 5:00 PM onĀ Wednesday, November 6 | |
| 5:00-8:00 PMĀ | Workshop āAnimating the Inanimateā |
Thursday,Ā November 14, 2024Ā |Ā McElroy Commons 237 & Vanderslice 117 |Ā Link toĀ for workshop participantsSpace is limited, please registerĀ by 5:00 PM onĀ Wednesday, November 6 | |
| 12:00-1:00 PMĀ | Presentation on Circassian history and culture |Ā Ā McElroy Commons 237 (Conference Room) |
| 5:00-8:00 PMĀ | Workshop āAnimating the Inanimateā |Ā Ā Vanderslice 117 |
Friday,Ā November 15, 2024Ā |Ā Vanderslice 117 | Open to Public | |
| 7:00-9:00 PM | Circassian Puppet Play, āAn Old Tale: The Legend of Happinessā | Bonn Studio Theater |
Saturday,Ā November 16, 2024Ā |Ā Bonn Studio Theater | PleaseĀ registerĀ to attend | |
| 7:00-9:00 PM | Showcase performance with workshop participants
|
For further information, please contact Curt Woolhiser.
Speakers
Evgeny Ibragimov (Shaoukh Ibragim)
Evgeny Ibragimov (Shaoukh Ibragim), is an award-winning director, playwright, puppeteer, and stage designer. In addition to puppet theaters throughout the Russian Federation, Ibragimov has staged productions in the Czech Republic and Estonia, and has collaborated with theaters in France, the US, Poland, Serbia, Egypt, and Turkey, among other countries. Ibragimov has won numerous awards for his work, including the Golden Mask Award (2015), the most prestigious award for theater arts in Russia.
Ibragimov has also worked with directors, actors and artists from other indigenous minority communities in Russia, including Khakassia in southern Siberia, where he served as director of the National Khakassian Puppet Theatre in Abakan, and where he organized the International āChir Chaajanā (Spirit of the Earth) Eco-Ethnic Puppet Festival, bringing together indigenous performers from various parts of Siberia.
An important focus of Ibragimovās work, beginning with his noteworthy debut, āJudas Iscariot. Traitorā, has been the relationship between creation and the Creator, when, at the moment of the creation of the world ā whether on a personal or cosmic scale ā the seed of final catastrophe is planted: betrayal, death, apocalypse. Ibragimovās most recent productions are immersive in nature, in which puppets participate on par with objects, human actors, shadows, and the audience must navigate disorienting dark spaces (āDon Quixote. Aftertaste,ā āThe Snow Maidenā).
Polina Dubovikova
Polina Dubovikova (actress and translator)Ā is a Boston-based actress,Ā singer and translator. She is an active member of Arlekin Players Theatre acting company (Needham, MA). Most recently Polina appeared in Arlekin Theatreās productionsĀ The Dybbuk (Dead Soul),Ā Just Tell No One (She),Ā ²¹²Ō»åĢżThe Gaaga (Putin).Ā Other productions includeĀ Insulted. Belarus(sia),Ā Witness,Ā A Dictionary of Emotions in Wartime,Ā The Tale of theĀ Fisherman and the Fish,Ā andĀ One Hour, Eighteen Minutes.Ā She is also a member of the Boston-based Slavic folklore ensemble Grunya.Ā
Campus Map and Parking
Campus Map and Parking:
Parking is available at the nearby Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue Garages.
Boston College is also accessible via public transportation (MBTA B Line - Boston College).
Boston College strongly encourages conference participants to receive the COVID-19 vaccination before attending events on campus.
