Life as a script: real plays will be staged based on the stories of 12 Russians

The RUSSIA EXPO summarized the results of the competition within the framework of Konstantin Bogomolov's project Voices of the Country. These are documentary mono-performances that will tell the stories of ordinary people whose daily work changes our lives for the better.

Anyone could submit an application for participation in the contest. In total, more than 340 applications were submitted from 67 subjects of Russia and other countries. The youngest heroine of the application is 7 years old, and the oldest participant of the contest is 87 years old. As a result, 12 protagonists of future productions were chosen.

One of the productions will tell the story of teacher Nina Kislina from the village of Lokh. In 2012 she moved with her husband and two daughters from Saratov to the small village of Lokh. Thanks to the family's energy, an old watermill was restored there, a fine arts studio and the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of Cultural and Historical Heritage were established. The name of the village has long since become a tourist brand, and travelers from all over the world come to visit the residents.

Another performance centers on the story of Alexei Alexeev, a diesel locomotive driver from the town of Ostashkov in the Tver region. Alexei is a hereditary railroader and diesel locomotive driver. In 2016, he worked as a chief accountant, but decided to change his occupation and follow the professional path of his grandfather and uncle. To date, Alexei works as a diesel locomotive driver and runs a popular blog about railroads, trains and the beauty of his native land.

The story of a retired janitor from Nyagan, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Area, will also feature in the series of productions. Galina Yakovleva is 76 years old, she is a veteran of labor. Before retirement she worked as a labor safety engineer, after that she got a job as a janitor to avoid boredom. In addition, Galina Ivanovna is a volunteer of the movement Person of Theater at the Nyagansk theater of young spectators. In the theater she plays the role of a mourner in the play The Life of Spiridon Rastorguev.

"The need for a modern hero and the description of modern life has always been there, is there now and will remain in future. The theater always talks to the audience about the present, even when it turns to the classics. This project is an attempt to find the hero of our time through the form of documentary theater. There were a lot of applications, very different people sent their biographies or even whole essays. To choose only 12 stories from them is a delicate and intuitive work. But it is done in co-creation. I am the project manager, and each story is worked on independently by directors, playwrights, photographers. And each monologue of a hero is a separate performance. We will tell the stories of heroes whose lives are filled with love, joy, dreams, meaning and purpose", — said Konstantin Bogomolov, artistic director of the project.

The performances from the Voices of the Country cycle will be shown in March at the RUSSIA EXPO at VDNH. Admission to the shows is free of charge. Broadcasts of the performances will be organized in the social network VKontakte in the community Culture.RF. The project is supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.