Academic literature on the topic 'Latvian drama'

Latvian theatre director Anna (Asja) Lācis and her life partner, German theatre director and theoretician Bernhard Reich, began their professional careers in Latvia and Germany in the 1920s during the period of European modernism. During the second half of the 20th century, the paths of both their private and professional relationships lead them to the Soviet Union – a place whose ideological system and theatre they remained intertwined with for the rest of their lives. Both artists were then directly affected by Stalinist repressions. In 1948, Anna Lācis returned to Latvia and began working at Valmiera Drama Theatre. In 1951, Bernhard Reich also moved to Latvia, which remained his place of residence until his death. Both internationally recognized artists were buried at the Rainis Cemetery in Riga. This article provides insight into Bernhard Reich’s unpublished manuscript titled Valmieras teātris (Valmiera Theatre), which reveals the left-leaning western artist’s perspective of the history of Valmiera Theatre in the 1950s and the 1960s as well as the art of Socialist Realism that was both surprising and, at the time, unheard of in the history of Latvian theatre.

During the 90s of the 20th century revival of Latgalian literature took place in the Republic of Latvia. It was a gradual process; in 2001 in “History of Latvian Literature" created by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA) Ieva E. Kalniņa wrote about poetry of the 90s where she admitted that “it is already quite customary that poetry can be read in Latgalian written language”. Recent studies of Latvian literature in the 90s of the 20th century show that authors have different attitude towards Latgalian literature: Guntis Berelis has not included the revival of Latgalian literature in his list of the new phenomena of Latvian literature in his book “History of Latvian Literature”; among the ILFA researchers only Ieva E. Kalniņa mentions Oskars Seiksts, Anna Rancāne, Andris Vējāns, Osvalds Kravalis along with Vends and Livs among other phenomena of the 90s poetry; meanwhile in the review of prose and drama Latgalian literature is not mentioned at all. In 2007 Māris Salējs in his essay “Reflection on Latvian Literature 2000–2006” included Latgalian poets in the description of Latvian poetry, thus Valentīns Lukaševics and Juoņs Ryučāns together with Kārlis Vērdiņš and Marts Pujāts make up a characteristic trend. In the description of other genres Latgalian literature is not mentioned in this publication either. In this article the similarities and differences of Latvian and Latgalian literary revival process of the late 80s and the 90s of the 20th century are examined with special attention to the literary monthly magazine „Karogs” (Flag). The article deals with the development of literary process, cultural and historical methods are used to reach the aim of this paper – to find out what elements constitute the way to the establishment of Latgalian literature in Latvian cultural space and the importance of literary magazine „Karogs” in this process. There are several common trends of Latvian and Latgalian literary renewal in the 80s and 90s of the 20th century literary process: 1) return of repressed Latvian and Latgalian writers and their work to Latvian culture (such as Marta Skuja); 2) broad entry of exile literature into circulation for Latvian readership (Jānis Klīdzējs Marija Andžāne, etc.); 3) reprinted works, written during the 20s and 30s and unpublished in the Soviet time (Aleksandrs Adamāns); 4) in both traditions a number of exile periodicals begin to come out and some Latvian time periodicals are restored („Acta Latgalica”); 5) return of exile archives to Latvia („Latgaļu sāta”). Postmodern tendencies are observed not only in works of Aivars Ozoliņš, Jānis Vēvers or Gundega Repše, but also in creative work of O. Seiksts. Latgalian language and literature in Latvian cultural space has a special situation: there are important tasks to complete – to create a new alphabet, restore confidence in Latgalian literature in both traditions, the young and middle generation have to start writing in Latgalian tradition. Monthly magazine “Karogs” vividly reveals the new trends in Latgalian literature of the turn of the 80s and 90s, an important role is played by editor Andris Vējāns. It was „Karogs” which published one of the most influential texts of national awakening in Latgalian tradition – poem by O. Kravalis „Brōļ, pīmiņ!” (Brother, remember!). This publication is undeniably regarded as programmatic in Latvian and Latgalian literary traditions, declaring the return of Latgalian tradition and accepting the existence of both literatures. Among important publications in 1988 in the magazine about remembrance of Latgale cultural week, there was an article by Antons Stankēvičs „Atkusnī uzplaucis zieds” (A thaw flower) and Juris Pabērzs’ article „Skan joprojām” (It still sounds) where the role of the minister of culture Voldemārs Kalpiņš was emphasized. Poetry section published a poem of Antons Kūkojs „Atceroties Latgales kultūras nedēļu pirms 30 gadiem” (Remembering Latgale cultural week 30 years ago). The 1989 concept of magazine „Karogs” is obvious in publications of Latvian and Latgalian texts as a desire to respect the two literary traditions and present them to readers throughout Latvia. In 1990 and 2000 when the editor is Māra Zālīte, works of Roberts Mūks, A. Rancāne, J. Klīdzējs are published, some of them are in Latgalian, but mainly publications are in the Latvian literary language. There are two important articles in „Karogs”. Issue No.4, 1994 published Janīna Kursīte’s article „Latgaliešu literatūra – kas tu esi?” (Latgalian literature – who are you?), where the importance of dialects was emphasized and their ability to enrich the Latvian language, also this article pointed out the importance of periphery for the development of centre. Regarding recent Latgalian literature J. Kursīte’s assessment is blunt:”If one looks more carefully at what is published in the Latgalian literary language, one cannot overlook that artistically much of it is “rubbish”.” In 1997 was published Ilga Muižniece’s elegant review „Rūgtais pieradums – (ne dzīvot)” (Bitter habit – (not to live)) about O. Seiksts’ and V. Lukaševics’ novel „Valerjana dzeive i redzīni” (Valerjan’s life and opinions). The 90s mark two cultural traditions of Latgalian literature: 1) to some extent in the Latvian tradition Latgalian literature is viewed as an ethnographic tradition, which shows the possibilities of the Latvian language, diversity of traditions, complements Latvian literature with Latgalian vitality and charm, marks its catholic orientation, shows the natural beauty of Latgale; 2) Latgalian literature is considered an independent literature, writing in Latgalian is authors’ way of self-expression, it does not try to add anything to Latvian literary tradition, and it is based in Latgale and together with the Latvian literary tradition forms Latvian literature. Revival of Latgalian literature is one of the brightest features of culturally restored independent Latvia.

The article gives an insight into the theatre department pedagogue activity for the training of the emerging drama actors for practice at theatre at Arts higher education school. Monographs, scientific publication materials and archive documents have been analysed on pedagogues’ activities at the theatre faculty and the former and the existing pedagogues’ interview data about the student training for activity at theatre. The comparative analysis of the drama art study programmes from 1948 till 2015 has been accomplished. The fact has been emphasized that different directors through times base Latvian drama art on K. Stanislavsky’s notions of the drama mastery of actors due to the successive professional activity implementation at the theatre. The conclusion has been drawn that the emerging actors’ personalities are significant in the training of the emerging actors, their human development would be promoted by inclusion of pedagogy and psychology subjects in the studies by the emerging actors at the tertiary level.

The aim of the research “Historical Memory in the Works of the New Generation of Latvian Theater Artists: The Example of “The Flea Market of the Souls” is to focus on the current but at the same time little discussed topic in Latvian theater – the change of generations and the social processes connected to it, that are expressed on the level of world views, experiences, intergenerational relationships. Most directly, these changes are reflected in the phenomenon of historical memory. The concept of “postmemory” was defined by German professor Marianne Hirsch in 1992, suggesting that future generations are closely related to the personal and collective cultural traumas of previous generations, which are passing on the past experience through historical memory, thus affecting the present. Grotesque, self-irony, and focusing on socio-political, provocative questions and themes are the connecting point of the generation of young Latvian playwrights born in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including such personalities as Jānis Balodis, Rasa Bugavičute-Pēce, Matīss Gricmanis, Justīne Kļava, etc. However, unlike Matīss Gricmanis or Janis Balodis who represent the aesthetics of political theater, in Justīne Kļava’s works, sociopolitical processes become the background of a generally humanistic study of the relationships between generations. This theme is represented not only in “The Flea Market of the Souls”, but also in other plays, like “Jubilee ‘98” and “Club “Paradise””. The tendency to investigate the traces left by the Soviet heritage allows to define these works as autobiographical researches of the identity of the post-Soviet generation, analyzing life in today's Latvia in terms of historical memory. Using the semiotic, hermeneutic, phenomenological approach, the play “The Flea Market of the Souls” and its production in Dirty Deal Teatro (2017) are analyzed as one of the most vivid works reflecting the phenomenon of historical memory in recent Latvian original drama.

The breakout of Covid-19 pandemic and the related social distancing require- ments closed all theatres and forced everyone to move to digital platforms and look for alternative presence solutions in public events. It also made us reconsider the term liveness in the context of screen-mediated theatrical experience and brought to hybrid solutions that would have not been accepted previously. The article tackles the development of theatre processes during the first period of emergency state in Latvia (March – June, 2020) and aims to document the experience of theatre forum organized at the beginning of November 2020 literally on the threshold of the second-wave related lockdown in culture. It aims to address to immediate impacts of Covid-19 to theatre ecosystem in Latvia and illustrate the ongoing way to inevitable changes in culture industry.

The repertoire of the Riga Workers’ Theatre (1926–1934) reflected the trends of the time and leftist progressive ideas. City life as a nodal point of modern reality became inspiration and material for plays, poetry performances, dramatised feuilletons and interludes commenting on current events. The aesthetic programme of the theatre envisaged the creation of a peculiar sovereign artistic style, where the new dramaturgy played an important role. Topical and recently created works by contemporary authors were chosen for the repertoire with an emphasis on the search for novelty. In the first years, while the director was Roberts Dukurs, the dramaturge was Jānis Grots, then Arvīds Grigulis; after this function was taken over by the director Kārlis Dziļleja. The article aims to introduce the main principles of the Riga Workers’ Theatre repertoire policy, focusing on an overview of the contributions of Latvian authors. Rainis, Andrejs Upīts, and Pāvils Gruzna played a dominant role in the ideological decisions of the repertoire. A circle of progressive authors gathered around the theatre, creating a contemporary drama laboratory. Young authors Aleksandrs Čaks, Valdis Grēviņš, Fricis Rokpelnis, Jūlijs Vanags, and others experienced their first works on stage in this theatre. The research object is dramaturgical works and testimonies describing the productions – programme leaflets, reviews, reminiscences, etc. The article discusses innovative trends in drama and the expansion of the concept of dramaturgy to the dynamics of stage set, musical and choreographic action. As a result, the consistently executed repertory policy heralded a new type of drama programme by achieving a synthesis of contemporary content and new visual, musical and choreographic forms. The article concludes that creating innovative drama forms and genre experiments on the Riga Workers’ Theatre stage significantly contributed to the development of Latvian dramaturgy.

In this paper, the role of popular culture in fin-de-siècle Latvian literature has been explored by analysing the mid-nineteenth century Latvian translation of Christoph Schmid’s novel Genoveva (1846) by Ansis Leitāns, and unfinished drama Genoveva (1908) by Rūdolfs Blaumanis. While the first version of the Genoveva story was created according to the patterns of popular literature and played a significant role in the development of the Latvian reading public, the author of the second version attempted to turn the plot of popular fiction into a work of elite literature, elaborating the issue of female agency and adding psychological ambiguity to the plot. The mixture of popular melodramatic imagination and modernist themes, as observed in Blaumanis’s work, provides a deeper insight into fin-de-siècle literary techniques by turning attention to the conscious use of different literary styles and narrative levels and illuminating interactions between popular and elite culture. By comparing both works and interpreting their aesthetic innovations in terms of the relationship between idealism, realism and modernism, this paper traces the ways in which fin-de-siècle Latvian literature appropriated and reworked models of popular culture and developed new aesthetic insights by merging elements of low and high culture.

The aim of this article is to explore environmentally conscious theatre practices in the Latvian performing arts scene in the period 2019–2022. Firstly, the article provides an insight into the concepts of ecotheatre and ecoscenography according to theatre scholars Una Chaudhuri, Theresa J. May, Lisa Woynarski, Tanja Beer, and Sofia Pantouvaki and their theoretical perspectives. Secondly, the paper identifies the current internal position on sustainability issues within those Latvian theatres which take into account sustainable practices through ecotheatre production process. Thirdly, the article highlights those ecotheatre case studies which demonstrate a sustainability-based approach to performance production. With the rise of environmental issues, the role of performing arts in shaping the ecological consciousness of society is growing. Therefore it is crucial not only to look at the eco-narratives of theatre productions but also to analyse the process of making performances and the related sustainability aspects. Despite the fact that theatre has historically developed an anti-ecological character, there are increasing signs of a shift in thinking among theatre professionals worldwide, towards an awareness of the potential environmental impact of the production and performance. In Latvia too, the last decade – from 2012 to 2022 – has seen an increase in ecotheatre productions that not only use ecodramaturgical materials as their basis but also incorporate sustainability-based practices in the process of creating these productions. The research, rooted in descriptive and comparative methods, shows that small theatre companies are more open and ready to introduce sustainability principles into their theatre activities. The focus on identifying and mitigating ecological impacts in the Latvian theatre scene is currently an individual choice of the artist, lacking a systematic approach to the process of creating performances. With the growth of original drama works about the relations between human and nature, new forms of performance are also entering the theatre repertoires, which allow to address sustainability aspects in the process of performance creation. Considering ecotheatre as a form of environmental activism, it is also important to respect the principles of sustainability in the production of ecotheatre performances, which is why theatre professionals should aim for a systematic approach to sustainability in the production of a performance.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1991.
Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 277-291).

The material for the research of the dacha-related theme in the Russian and Latvian literature of Latvia consists of various publications in the Latvia’s periodicals of the 1920s–1930s — in the newspapers “Vechernee vremja” (Evening Time), “Segodnja” (Today), “Segodnja vecherom” (Today in the evening), in the magazines “Dlja vas” (For you), “Svari” (Libra), as well as of the materials of the archive of Riga’s Russian Drama Theatre. The researched texts, composed by Guslar/Soserzcatel (L. Korol-Purashevich), Leri (V. Klopotovskiy), Lentyay (P. Pilskiy), Kuri-Beri (A. Valdmanis) and others, are considered as a peculiar “dacha-related plot” with the following representatives: the chronotope characteristic of mythological plots — the cyclic time and the space of the cultural in-between (between nature and culture, urban and rural); specific eventfulness that rises to the mythological first events or to the events of history and literature; recurring plot-related situations and conflicts — the stories of success and failure. The following oppositions that form the cultural paradigm of the phenomenon of a dacha on the Riga coast have been specified: mythical — carnival, idyllic — ironic, female — male, adultrelated — child-related. The materials in the Latvian language, selected for the research, made it possible to challenge the concept of dacha as of uniquely Russian phenomenon.

The aim of the current research is to establish how alternative knowledge is represented in the latest Latvian cultural texts, how this representation compares with the texts written in previous cultural eras, and what structure of reality is characteristic of the texts. The research explores popular cultural texts in which distributors of ‘alternative knowledge’ operate (wizards, witches, servants of the devil, etc.), and the historical texts are compared with the latest yield of Latvian culture – director Uģis Olte’s film “Upurga” (2021) and Linda Nemiera’s novel “Rīgas Raganas” (2021). The research methodology is based on Richard Schechner’s understanding of social and aesthetic drama, as well as post-structural text analysis, analysing texts according to pairs of dichotomies. The research found that in the oldest texts, the alternative reality is not considered real, but represented metaphorically. The individual who is given the imagined supernatural status aspires to fit into the group. The ‘supernatural’ is most frequently associated with knowledge that an individual gradually imparts to a group. Recent texts affirm the belief in parallel realities as real, physically existing. Criticism of contemporary culture (‘reality’) is pronounced, the alternative reality gives it what it lacks (the opposition of nature vs civilization, the basis for social processes in the real world, etc.). The contrast between the individual and the group can be clearly observed, besides, the individual does not fit into the group after all, remaining isolated.

Violence in schools is a socially and culturally complex phenomenon that affects not only the victim and the abuser but everyone, including eyewitnesses, parents, and educators. Drama education provides a unique experience in reducing violence because it involves both the mind and the emotions The adolescent is the age stage that is influenced by many external and individual factors, such as those related to the change in the training system, age development, change of interests and change of class dynamics, etc. All of these factors can lead to an increase in the risk of stress background and violence situations. The study explores violence prevention through the lens of drama. The review reveals several approaches for drama education with connection to personal development and violence prevention, including, “Forum Theatre” and “Process drama”. The study provides recommendations to emphasize the role of drama education in reducing violence in schools.