Parsley Theater: history, performances. Puppet show. Scenario of a game and entertainment program for children of primary school age. "Fair Theater Parsley"

16.04.2019

Bryansk region, Palace of Culture village. White Shores, choirmaster.

Scenario of a game and entertainment program for children of primary school age. " Fair Theater Parsley" April 3, 2015
With the participation of the Zhuraveyka folk singing group

Target:
Study and propaganda of folk ( folklore creativity) creativity.
Tasks:
-Introduce the history and features of the fair puppet show;
-Introduce characters (dolls) and the features of their manufacture and management;
-Show options for playing songs and teach the basics of folk everyday “playing” songs and dances;
-Teach children to simply play game-dances, game-songs, round dance games, and not compete for prizes.

Game material:
“Cabinet” of dolls: Parsley, Bride, Doctor, Gypsy, Mukhtarka the Dog, Horse.
Screen;
Tambourine;
Bag.

Musical material:
Organ organ records;
“Like at the Gate” (folk song);
“The Moon Is Shining” (folk song);
“Chizhik fawn” (folk refrains).

Application:
Methodological material “History of the folk puppet theater Petrushka.”

Ved: Good day everyone. We are glad to see you here with us again. I hope you all remember how we usually behave. Sit quietly, listen carefully, and they will offer you tea not to refuse.

Across wide Rus' to our mother
The bells ring out.
In cities both big and small
People gather in booths.

How people gather at our gates.
All that with spoons and rattles.
How our neighbor had a fun conversation.
Geese on harp, ducks on pipes,
Tap dancers in rattles, seagulls in balalaikas.
They sing and play and amuse everyone!

What you won’t hear enough of here, what you won’t see enough of here!
Here are the toys, here are the Parsleys,
Tea from a samovar, kvass from a mug!

Hurry people, gather people,
Come on people, it's a holiday here!

“Like ours at the gate” (folk song performed by the folk association “Zhuraveyka”)

Ved: Guys, today we invite you to the Fair Booth. Yes, not just to stand there with my mouth open, but to find my friend. Well, look to the right, and now to the left. Well, how can you not see it? No? But let me tell you what it is, then you will find it right away. Listen.
He has a red cap, a bright shirt, a long and cunning nose, and a stick in his hand. Everyone loves him. In the old days, he performed both in the village and in the city in courtyards and squares. He moved from place to place, from city to city. He is cunning and cocky, and he also loves all kinds of pranks.
In a bright red jacket,
He is with a club in his hand.
Funny toy
And her name is... (Petrushka)
(Children answer – “Parsley”)

Ved: Parsley is a cheerful guy who loves to have the barrel organ play, and then he dances. A barrel organ is such a musical instrument. That's how beautiful she is. (Points to the organ) And its sound is very melodic. Hey, musician, play us something funny, and I’ll go and call my friend Petrushka. Let him show himself to the boys and dance. (calls, moving away behind the screen) Parsley. Peter Ivanovich. Petrusha where are you?
(the musician begins to turn the handle of the organ. An old hurdy-gurdy tune sounds)
"Parsley"
A play in five scenes.

Characters
Parsley

Gypsy

Horse

Musician

Praskovya Stepanovna – Parsley's Bride

Doctor

Dog Mukhtarka

Scene one
Musician: (calling) Parsley. Petrusha, come out. Show yourself to the people.
Parsley: (from behind the screen) Ass. Nope.
Musician. Petrusha, come out. You see, people are waiting. Come out.
Parsley. I'm afraid.
Musician. Do not be afraid. We'll clap for you. Come on, people, don’t spare your hands, clap louder so that the fluff flies.
Parsley. Ahhh here I am. We wish you good health, gentlemen. Be healthy, happy day and holiday that is today. (bows quickly and a lot) Well, stop clapping, otherwise my face is red from embarrassment.
Musician. And what happened?
Parsley. (Addresses the Musician.) Musician! You know, brother, I want to get married.
Musician. Not a bad thing, but on whom exactly?
Parsley. Oooh! On Praskovya Stepanovna, the merchant's daughter.
Musician. Do you take a lot of dowry?
Parsley. Forty-four thousand pancakes, a barrel of water, a wardrobe from half a dress and one boot.
Musician. The dowry is not bad, but the bride is good?
Parsley. E-ee, very good!
Musician. Come on, show me.

Parsley. I'll call you now. (Calls.) Paraskovia Stepanovna! My darling, my angel, my little flower, come here! (Paraskovia is walking. At this time, Petrushka meets and presses and kisses tightly to her heart and asks.)
Parsley. (Addresses the Musician.) Musician! So, is my bride good?
Musician. She's pretty good, but a little blind.
Parsley. Not true! What an eye, what an eyebrow, a mouth, a nose, and what beads.
Musician. So she has a mustache? Why do you need a mustachioed bride?
Parsley. Yes, not mustaches, but beads. (and kisses at this time) Hey, you’re deaf. And also a musician. Better play us a dance!

Parsley and the Bride dance and sing:
Penya Folklore group “Zhuraveyka” – “The month is shining”
Then Petrushka hugs her and takes her home.

Picture two.
Parsley. Hey musician!
Musician. What's happened?
Parsley. Thank God I got married.
Musician. This is good, the young wife needs to buy a horse.
Parsley. Who?
Musician. At the gypsy's.
Parsley. And what is his name?
Musician. Gavrilo.
Parsley. Go call him.
Musician (refuses). Not a great master, you’ll call him yourself.
Parsley. Where does he live?
Musician. On the corner, in the right tavern.
Parsley (calling Gypsy). Hey, Gavrylo, smeared snout, come here!
Gypsy (walks and sings). Ay, my trickle, my trickle
Ay, I took water for tea, Romals
Ai nane chavalele.
Parsley. I heard that you have a selling horse. Do you want it expensive? And is she good?
Gypsy. It's good, it's good. Not a sopata, not a hunchback, he runs - the earth trembles, but if he falls, he lies there for three days.
Parsley. As much as you want?
Gypsy. One hundred thousand
Parsley. It is expensive.
Gypsy. How much will Pan give?
Parsley. Thousand.
Gypsy. Not enough, sir, give it.
Parsley. Musician!
Musician. What?
Parsley. How much should I give him for the horse?
Musician. Yes, five thousand.
Parsley. Ten thousand, I'll give you.
Gypsy. Come on, sir, make a deposit.
Parsley. Bring your horse.
Gypsy. I won't give up the horse without a deposit. Farewell, sir.
Parsley. Wait, I'll bring the deposit now. I'll borrow from my sister.
Gypsy. And who is she?
Parsley. The girl is young. Skalochka Drakulovna Kolotushkina. Here she will kiss you...
Parsley takes out a good stick in return for the deposit and begins to give the deposit.
Parsley. Here's a ruble for you, here's two for you!
Gypsy. Ah ah ah! Where are the doors! Ah ah ah!
Parsley. A little expensive... Get a curly stick and a hump-shaped baton for your neck and back.
Gypsy. Add more, Petrushka, for the kids’ fat...
Parsley. So is this not enough for you?
Parsley (begins to beat Gypsy). Here's a thousand for you, here's two for you! (The gypsy runs away.) Wow! Such a deposit will not do any good!
Musician! Bring the horse here. Whoa, whoa! Stop, don't kick! Ooh, not a horse, but fire! Stop! You need to count her teeth, how old she is. (Looks into her mouth.) The horse is very young: there isn’t a single tooth in its mouth yet!
(Tries to get on the horse) Whoa, whoa, whoa! Turn around, little horse, like this. Musician! What a nimble horse! .
Parsley. Whoa-whoa-whoa, stop, Persian, don't kick! Here's a toy for you, here's the devil's boot for your money. (Falls from the horse.) Oh, little head, oh, my Praskovya Stepanovna is gone! Oh, oh, musician! Call the doctor!

Scene three
While riding, the horse throws and hits Petrushka and then runs away. At this time, Parsley screams.

Musician. And here comes the doctor.
Doctor. I am a physician doctor, a German pharmacist. They bring me to me on their feet, but I send them away on crutches. Why are you screaming and screaming here? Come on, get up.
Parsley. I can’t sit up on my feet. And he lost his head.
Doctor. We'll put in a new one. Get up.
Parsley. Oh oh oh, my death has come.
Doctor. Where was she before?
Parsley. In field.
Doctor. What was she doing there?
Parsley. I was digging potatoes. Oh, oh, oh, save me, oh it hurts, oh it stings.
Doctor. Where do you get your fill? Here.
Parsley. Higher!
Doctor. Here "- where exactly?
Parsley. Lower!
Doctor. Here "- where exactly?
Parsley. Higher!
Doctor. The devil will tell you: now higher, now lower, now higher, now lower! Get up and show me!
Parsley. Stand up and show?
Doctor. Yes, show me.
Parsley. But now I’ll show you and explain. (Parsley leaves and carries a stick and hits the Doctor, showing him.) First higher, then lower.
Doctor. Ah ah ah! (runs away
Parsley. A musician, a musician!
Musician. What's happened?
Parsley. So I showed him and explained it to him. And now I’ll sit down and sing a song.
At this time, Barbos runs in, Vanya stops and begins to tease him.

Parsley. Qiu-qiu! , Shavochka-kudlavochka, what a mess you are
Mukhtarka. Bow-wow! (Grabs Vanya.)
Parsley (teases again). Qiu-qiu-qiu!
Mukhtarka. Bow-wow! (Grabs him.)
Parsley. Mukhtarka grabs Petrushka by the shirt.) Stop, wait, Mukhtarka, you'll tear your shirt! Stop, Mukhtarka, it hurts! (The dog rushes at him and grabs him by the nose.) Ay, fathers, intercede! My little head will be lost, complete with cap and brush! Oh! Oh oh!

Ved: Well, guys, did you like my friend Petrushka?
(yes) Guys, did you look carefully?
Do you remember what animals Parsley met today?

You stroke it, it caresses you,
You tease and it bites.
Answer to the riddle: dog
(The student who plays the dog comes out)

I have a big mane
Ears and hooves.
I'll give him a playful ride,
Who won't be afraid?
My fur is smooth
Who am I?...
Answer to the riddle: horse
(the student who plays the horse comes out)

Ved: Come on, guys, let's play with the horse and the dog.
Tell me, how does a horse talk? No way. Right. The horse does not speak, but only neighs and snorts. Now let's imagine that each of you is an artist of such a fair theater and he needs to portray a horse. Let's laugh and now snort. Fine.

Jumping Firecracker GAME
Now to make our horse gallop, let’s pat ourselves on the knees with our palms. Yes, louder, louder, and now quieter, quieter. And now if I raise my hand up, it means the horse has galloped close and you need to click louder. When I give up, the horse has galloped away. You need to click more quietly. All clear. And as soon as I clap my hands, the horse stops. Whoever remains clucking after my clap is inattentive and loses.

Ved: Guys, every character in the theater has his own voice. For example, a cat purrs, a frog croaks. What a voice the dog has. Guys, tell me whether our dog is good or evil. And how an angry dog barks. Guys, how the good little dog barks. Well, that's enough, otherwise now all the dogs will come running. Let's greet our animals with applause.

Ved: Guys, look carefully at Petrushka. What animal does he look like? But the riddle will help you.

The gentleman walks around the yard, finding fault with everything,
Double beard, side cap.
Who screams the most?
Yes, he does the least.
What kind of bird is not afraid of people?
Doesn't fly high, but sings: "Ko-ko-ko-ko"
It’s not for nothing that His name is Parsley and His voice is as clear as that of a cockerel.
Ved: Guys, do you know that Petrushka has a surname. (no) So his full name is Petr Ivanovich Uksusov, and sometimes he is called Petrushka Samovarov, and when he plays pranks they call him Vanka Rototuy or Vanka Rutyutyu.

Ved: Guys, let’s remember what kind of people Petrushka met today. (Bride, Doctor, Gypsy). Let's call them here with applause. These artists love to dance and play different games. Let's play with them. I ask everyone to join the round dance.

Game-dance “Like Grandfather Makar”
Children stand in a circle and hold hands. The leader is in the center. The players walk in a circle and chant the words:
Like Uncle Makar
There were ten sons
They drank, they ate
They did this at once.
This way and that way and that way and that way!!!
That's it, that's it!
At last words everyone begins to repeat his gestures. The one who repeated the movements best becomes the leader.

Game-dance “A grandmother lived near a river”
The presenter invites the children to remember the words of the songs.
Once upon a time there lived an old woman near the river. Grandma wanted it
swim in the river. I bought soap. I bought a washcloth. Wow, and the song
ok, start over!
Then you are asked to remember the movements that
later replace the words in the song:
“grandmother” - depicted with hands,
like a grandmother tying a scarf under her chin,
"river" - waves,
“swim” - we depict a swimmer,
“bought” - clap your hands,
"soap" - right hand up,
"bast" - left hand up,)
“start over” - twirl with hands in front of chest
With each repetition of the song the tempo becomes faster.

Game-dance. "I have one aunt"
Aunt - let's go forward, arms to the sides
We repeat the movements after the leader. After the verse in the bridge, we mix 2 squares to two, the movements of the verse turning to the right and then to the left.
Pens
Legs
Shoulders
Sides
Jumping

ProDetki editors love to visit cultural places and discover new heroes and characters. For example, we became interested in the hero Petrushka in the puppet world.

The Parsley Theater is a unique performance whose history goes back to the 17th century. At first it was a popular entertainment for ordinary people, and then it gained popularity among high society.

Doll Parsley

Parsley is a printed doll dressed in pants and a red shirt, distinctive feature This character had a pointed cap and a huge red nose.

History of the Petrushka Theater

The Petrushka Theater is one of the oldest entertainments in Rus', which has survived to this day and has not lost its relevance. . Many perceive it as a folk creation, but in reality its prototypes Russian folk theater Parsley has in many countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Türkiye.

The first appearance of the Petrushka Theater in Rus' was recorded back in the 17th century, but it gained its main popularity only in the 19th century. Despite the fact that there were several types of puppet theater in Rus', Petrushka's performances were the most popular.

Character Parsley

It is not surprising that Petrushka is the main character of the puppet theater, which is named after him. Let's take a closer look at what it is. As you can see from the history of the creation of the theater, it came to Russian lands from other countries, therefore Russian Petrushka has collected many in his appearance distinctive features different nationalities . For example, his head and arms were incredibly large, and his eyes were almond-shaped, his skin color was dark, and his nose had a large hump. Thanks to all this, he was very similar to his Italian prototype - Pulcinella.

Parsley Although he put his main character at the head of the presentation, he did not limit himself to this. For example, Petrushka’s constant partner in the plot was a bear, with whom he acted out the main scenes .

Russian theater Petrushka and its plots

Based on stories theatrical performance There were always banal and philistine themes of that time: soldier's service, treatment, acquisition of a horse and its testing, as well as Petrushka's dating and wedding.

All scenes had their own order and were shown strictly one after another:

— The first scene was always based on Petrushka’s purchase of a horse. He bargained with a gypsy salesman who did not want to give in, then Petrushka got tired of it, for which he hit the merchant. This was the end of the first performance.

— The second scene was a demonstration of how Petrushka climbs onto a horse, but it does not want to obey him and throws off the main character, and then leaves after the gypsy.

— In the third scene, as at the beginning of the performance, Petrushka is not distinguished by a calm disposition, and, having visited the doctor, beats him because the doctor finds many ailments in the main character.

— Last scene there are also fights. When the policeman appears to find out why Petrushka killed the doctor, main character without thinking twice, he does the same with the quarterly. But justice is personified by the dog, which barks and growls at the main character, and then, not succumbing to any cajoling and begging of Petrushka, who grabbed him by the nose, drags him away from the impromptu stage.

This is where the show ends. Interestingly, the duration of the performance depends on how interesting scenes are played out, because it lasts as long as there are spectators on the street who have honored it with their attention.

Russian folk theater Petrushka is not limited to just four main scenes in its performance . When there are a lot of onlookers on the streets and the public is ready to watch as much as they want - watch puppet show, the story continues with other interesting plots. One of them is “Parsley’s Wedding”. The script for this performance was so rude and frivolous that parents did not allow their children to watch such a scene.

In all performances, Petrushka acted as a rogue, a swindler and a rude man. Nand his facewas depicteddeven not a sweet smile, as many may think, but a rude grin.

Street theater Petrushka

Traditional Petrushka - puppet theater one actor, the scene of which was always street fairs and shopping areas . The very first performances were shown without a screen, since the only actor-puppeteer simply put a special skirt on his belt with a hoop. By lifting this ring, the puppeteer disappeared from the view of the audience, giving them the opportunity to enjoy the performance. At the same time, he could calmly move and work with both hands to control two characters at once.

Already at the beginning of the 19th century, such a costume for an actor was replaced by a screen , a prototype of the one in use today. It was installed directly on the ground, hiding the puppeteer and all his props.

Only men were puppeteers, but in order to give their voices additional squeakiness, a specialized squeaker was used. It was inserted directly into the larynx. This gave the puppeteer the opportunity to speak louder.

Contemporary Petrushka Theater

Thanks to many artists who make every effort to preserve the traditions of puppet theater, we have the opportunity to enjoy interesting performances today. Nowadays, of course, these are not only nomadic fair performances, but also street puppeteers.

Most often, Petrushka’s performances can be seen in children’s puppet theaters, for example, “Firebird”, “Albatross”, “Fairytale” and many others.

People's Theater Petrushka on this moment is an opportunity to introduce children and adults to history, as well as to instill in the younger generation a love and interest in literature.

IN folk art was also known puppet theater: marionette theater(in it the dolls were controlled using threads), Petrushka Theater with glove puppets (the puppets were put on the puppeteer’s fingers) and nativity scene(in it, the dolls were fixedly fixed on rods and moved along slots in the boxes).

The Parsley Theater was especially beloved by the people. In the 19th century, the Petrushka Theater was the most popular and widespread type of puppet theater in Russia. It consisted of a light folding screen, a box with several dolls (the number of characters usually ranges from 7 to 20), a barrel organ and small props (sticks or batons, rattles, rolling pins, etc.). The Parsley Theater did not know the scenery. The puppeteer, accompanied by a musician, usually an organ grinder, walked from courtyard to courtyard and gave traditional performances of Petrushka. He could always be seen during folk festivals and fairs. The main character was Petrushka, after whom the theater was named. This hero was also called Pyotr Ivanovich Uksusov, Pyotr Petrovich Samovarov, etc. It arose under the influence of the Italian puppet theater Pulcinello, with which Italians often performed in St. Petersburg and other cities.

Separate satirical scenes were presented at the Petrushka Theater. A.M. Gorky noted that “the invincible puppet hero defeated everyone and everything: priests, police, the devil and death. He himself remained immortal.” 1

This is how D.A. described it. Rovinsky's performance at the Petrushka Theater, which he witnessed:

“This comedy is played in Moscow, near Novinsky. [...] Its content is very simple: first Petrushka appears, lies all sorts of nonsense in verses, burring and nasal in his nose - the conversation is conducted through a typewriter placed to the roof of his mouth, above the tongue, just like that the same way as the French and Italians do. The Gypsy appears, offers Petrushka a horse, and Petrushka examines it, and receives kicks from the horse, first in the nose, then in the belly; the whole comedy is filled with kicks; they constitute the most significant and most ridiculous part for him. spectators. There is a bargain, - the Gypsy speaks without a typewriter, in a bass voice. After a long haggling, Petrushka buys a horse; the Gypsy sits down on his purchase; he throws off Petrushka and runs away, leaving him dead on the stage. Parsley and lamentations for the untimely death of a good fellow The Doctor comes:

Where does it hurt?

Here!

And here?

It turns out that everything in Parsley hurts. But when the Doctor reaches a tender spot, Petrushka jumps up and hits him on the ear; The Doctor fights back, a fight begins, a stick appears from somewhere, with which Parsley finally calms the Doctor.

What kind of Doctor are you,” Parsley shouts to him, “if you ask where it hurts?” What did you study for? You should know where it hurts!

A few more minutes - Kvartalny, or, in puppet terms, “fatal officer” appears. Since there is a dead body on the stage, Petrushka is subjected to a strict interrogation (in treble):

Why did you kill the Doctor?

Answer (in the nose):

Because he doesn’t know his science well - he looks at what he’s wearing, doesn’t see it, and even asks him.

Word for word, it’s clear that Petrushka doesn’t like Fatalny’s interrogation. He seizes the old stick, and a fight ensues, which ends in the destruction and expulsion of Fatal, to the general delight of the spectators; This puppet protest against the police usually creates a real sensation among the public.

The play, it would seem, is over; but what to do with Parsley? And then a wooden poodle dog runs onto the stage, pasted over its tail and legs with scraps of whipped cotton wool, and begins to bark with all its might (the barking is made from husky at the bottom).

Little darling,” Petrushka caresses her, “let’s come live with me, I’ll feed you cat meat.”

But Shavochka, for no apparent reason, grabs Petrushka by the nose; Parsley to the side, she takes his hand, he takes it to the other, she grabs his nose again; Finally, Petrushka takes to a shameful flight. That's where the comedy ends. If there are a lot of spectators and Petrushkin’s matchmaker, i.e. the main comedian is given vodka, then after that a special interlude called Parsley's wedding. There is no plot in it, but there is a lot of action. Petrushka is brought his bride Varyusha; he examines her like a horse. Petrushka liked Varyushka very much, and he cannot bear to wait for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Varyushka!” Then it happens final scene, in which the fair sex cannot be present. This is already the real and “very last end” of the performance; then Petrushka goes to the outside stage of the booth to lie all sorts of nonsense and invite the audience to a new performance.

In the intervals between the actions of the play, dances of two Arapok are usually presented, sometimes a whole interlude about a Lady who was bitten by a snake (Eve?); here, finally, two Pagliacci are shown playing with balls and a stick. The latter comes out extremely cleverly and funny by experienced puppeteers: the doll has no body, but only a fake simple skirt, to which an empty cardboard head is sewn on top, and arms, also empty, on the sides. Puppeteer sticks a doll into the head forefinger, and in the hands - the first and third fingers; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at once. During puppet comedy there is always a barrel organ, replacing the old classic bagpipes, harp and whistle; At the same time, the organ grinder serves as a “prompter,” i.e. enters into conversations with Petrushka, asks him questions and urges him to continue his lies without stopping." 2

Introduction

No one in the world has established, or will ever establish, the exact year of birth of the theater. No one in the whole world has said, and no one will say, on which piece of the calendar its original date should be indicated.

The lifetime of the theater is measured by a measure unprecedented in historical terms - the lifetime of the human race itself.

The day of the emergence of the theater is hidden behind the mountain range of long-gone centuries and millennia, in the depths of the most ancient, most distant era of human history. That era when a person, who first took into his hands the tools of primitive labor, became a man.

Introducing himself to work brought him poetic insight; man began to discover within himself a poet, the aesthetic ability of poetic perception of the world.

In those distant centuries, the newly emerging poetry did not have powerful wings; it had not yet been touched by the powerful breath of free flight. Until a certain time, until a certain time, its purpose was reduced only to the subordinate accompaniment of rites and rituals that were established in the life of the primitive community. And when the time had come for her to mature, to become an independent poetic existence, poetry broke free, breaking the shackles of its former inseparability from everyday life. And then the time came for the fate of poetry to converge with the fate of the theater.

In the golden age of humanity's childhood, the first poets of the earth, the great Greek tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, like good geniuses of poetry, bent over the cradle of the theater. They called him to life, turned him to serving people, glorifying the spiritual power of man, his indomitable strength, the moral energy of heroism. Over the millennia that have passed since then, the name of one of the first heroes of the theater has not yet faded. He was Prometheus of Aeschylus - a rebellious fighter against God, condemned by Zeus to eternal torment for serving people, for getting fire for them, teaching them crafts and sciences. Chained to a rock forever, he proudly praised the freedom and dignity of man:

Know well that I would not trade

Your sorrows into servile service,

I'd rather be chained to a rock

What better way to be than to be a servant of Zeus.

Marx called the hero of Aeschylus' tragedy “Prometheus Bound” the most noble saint and martyr in the philosophical calendar... Together with Aeschylus, his younger contemporary, Sophocles, equally passionately glorified man: “There are many wondrous forces in nature, but there is no stronger man.” Behind them, their mighty predecessors, rose Euripides - the most tragic poet ancient world. And perhaps the most fearless. Renouncing the predetermination of mythological plots, he forged the real characters of people living with intense passions, feelings, thoughts, and experiences.

Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides laid, according to history, a great beginning of a great work. Eternal cause! Century after century - at all times, in all eras lived by countless human generations, theater has invariably, inextricably accompanied the movement of human history.

Whatever changes took place on earth - era followed era, one

socio-economic formation replaced another, states, countries, empires, monarchies arose and disappeared, Atlantis disappeared in the depths of the ocean, the angry Vesuvius flooded unfortunate Pompeii with hot lava, for many centuries the sands brought Troy, glorified by Homer, to the Hissarlik hill, but nothing ever interrupted the eternal existence of the theater.

The most ancient creation of man, to this day retains an unchanged attractive force, indestructible vitality, that miraculous

the elixir of youth, the secret of which was never discovered by the alchemists of the Middle Ages. In all previous eras, no matter how many of them there are, there has always been an eternal need for theater in man. That need that once arose at the ancient Dionysian festivals of the Rhea grape in honor of the mythical deity of earthly fertility

People have always needed theater!

Tens of thousands of spectators - almost the entire population of cities - traveled to theatrical performances in Ancient Greece. And to this day, majestic amphitheaters, dilapidated by time, built in times infinitely distant from us, serve as reminders of this.

How the fate of the theater has changed in the past! He experienced and survived everything until he found his permanent home - the theater building. His performances were given everywhere - in squares and fairs, on church porches, in the castle of a noble feudal lord, in a monastery monastery, in a gilded palace hall, in an inn, on the estate of a noble serf owner, in a church school, at a village festival.

Anything happened in his fate... He was cursed, hated, banned, subjected to persecution and mockery, punishment and persecution, excommunicated from the church, threatened with whips and gallows, all heavenly and earthly punishments.

No trials, no troubles and adversities have broken the eternal vitality of the theater.

The school of life is the oldest, most amazing and emotional, the most festive, inspiring, great school like no other - that’s what theater is.

“Theater is a school of life,” - this is what they said about him from century to century. They spoke everywhere in Russia, France, Italy, England, Germany, Spain...

Gogol called the theater the department of goodness.

Herzen recognized him as the highest authority for resolving vital issues.

Belinsky saw the whole world, the whole universe with all its diversity and splendor in the theater. He saw in him an autocratic ruler of feelings, capable of shaking all the strings of the soul, awakening a strong movement in minds and hearts, refreshing the soul with powerful impressions. He saw in the theater some kind of invincible, fantastic charm for society.

According to Voltaire, nothing tightens the bonds of friendship more closely than the theater.

The great German playwright Friedrich Schiller argued that “the theater has the most well-trodden road to the mind and heart of man.”

The immortal creator of Don Quixote, Cervantes, called the theater “a mirror of human life, an example of morals, a model of truth.”

A person turns to the theater as a reflection of his conscience, his soul. He recognizes himself, his time and his life in the theater. The theater opens up amazing opportunities for spiritual and moral self-knowledge.

And even though theater, by its aesthetic nature, is a conventional art, like other arts, what appears on stage before the viewer is not real reality itself, but only its artistic reflection. But there is so much truth in that reflection that it is perceived in all its unconditionality, as the most authentic, true life. The viewer recognizes ultimate reality the existence of stage characters. The great Goethe exclaimed: “What could be greater nature than the people of Shakespeare!”

Isn’t this where the miraculous spiritual, emotional energy of the theater is hidden?

the unique originality of its impact on our souls.

And in the theater, in a lively community of people gathered for a stage performance, everything is possible: laughter and tears, grief and joy, undisguised indignation and wild delight, sadness and happiness, irony and mistrust, contempt and sympathy, guarded silence and loud approval, in a word, all the riches of emotional manifestations and shocks of the human soul.

A good performance remains in the theatrical repertoire for a long time, but every time, with each new meeting with the audience, it arises anew, is born anew.

And no matter how much time passes between the stage and the auditorium, the wonderful fire of the relationship between soul and thought will flare up again. And the intensity of this emotional, spiritual exchange will certainly affect both the actor’s performance and the entire atmosphere of the auditorium.

Parsley Theater Parsley Theater Sergei Obrazal's Theater puppet theaters

PETRUSHKA, “the nickname of a farcical doll, a Russian jester, a jokester, a wit in a red caftan and a red cap; The whole clownish, puppet den is also called Petrushka” (V. Dahl).

When and in what country did the Parsley Theater appear? Whose hands created the world's first doll? No one knows and cannot know this, because all peoples of the world had dolls a thousand and ten thousand years ago.

Dolls were made from clay, wood, straw or rags. And the children played in them: put them to bed, treated them, hunted clay or wooden deer, elephants, hippopotamuses. And this is also a theater. Puppet. Because the actors in it are dolls.

Adults in ancient times made figurines to represent gods. Different peoples had many gods. The god of the sun, the god of water, the god of war, the god of hunting, even the god of cockcrow. These gods were made of wood, sculpted from clay or carved out of leather into flat figures and displayed on a stretched canvas under the light of an oil lamp. And still in many countries, especially in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, such ideas exist. It's part worship service, part puppet theater.

Gradually, fairy tales, fables, and various funny and sometimes sharply satirical scenes began to be played out with dolls more and more often. There are four main types of driving puppets: on fingers, on strings, on sticks and shadow figures.

The main character of the skits in Russia was Petrushka. Petrushka was a finger puppet. Such dolls are still played in many theaters around the world. An actor with a puppet on his fingers stands behind a screen, raising his hand. The doll is visible above the screen.

The first mention of puppet theater in Russia dates back to 1609. One of the first dolls was Petrushka. His full name is Pyotr Petrovich Uksusov. Petrushka was first seen in Russia by the German writer, traveler and diplomat Adam Olearius. This was almost 400 years ago!

The funny thing about this hero was that when he went on the “stage”, he immediately began to beat everyone with a stick, and at the end of the performance death came out and took Petrushka off the stage by his long nose. Petrushka had brothers all over the world. So, in Hungary there was the Knight Laszlo. He was distinguished by the fact that he beat everyone not with a stick, like Parsley, but with a frying pan.

But let's return to Russia. In 1730, the newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti” first published an article about the puppet theater, the author of which gave the best definition of a puppet theater capable of “showing the nature of things.”

Many descriptions of these street performances have been preserved. IN late XIX centuries, parsley makers were usually paired with organ grinders. From morning until late evening, puppeteers walked from place to place, repeating the story of Petrushka's adventures many times a day - it was not long, and the entire performance lasted 20-30 minutes. The actor carried a folding screen and a bundle or chest with dolls on his shoulder, and the musician carried a heavy, up to thirty kilograms, barrel organ.

The set and order of scenes varied slightly, but the basic core of the comedy remained unchanged. Petrushka greeted the audience, introduced himself and started a conversation with the musician. The organ grinder from time to time became Petrushka's partner: entering into a conversation with him, he either admonished him, then warned him of danger, or suggested what to do. These dialogues were also determined by a very important technical reason: Petrushka’s speech was not always intelligible enough because of the peep, and the organ grinder, conducting the dialogue, repeated Petrushka’s phrases, thus helping the audience understand the meaning of his words.

S. V. Obraztsov in his book “On the Steps of Memory” recalls how he saw Petrushka’s performance as a child: “The one that squeaked appeared above the screen. Petrushka. I see him for the first time in my life. Funny. Incomprehensible. Big hooked nose ", big surprised eyes, a stretched mouth. A red cap, a kind of deliberate hump on his back and wooden arms like shoulder blades. He appeared and sang in the same inhuman squeaky voice."

With the advent of the 20th century, “The Comedy about Petrushka” begins to quickly collapse. There were more than enough reasons for this. First of all, this was facilitated by the extremely strict control of the authorities, which reached the point of direct persecution and bans. The guardians of order and morality were irritated by the seditious content of some scenes, the rudeness and cynicism of expressions, and the immorality of the hero’s behavior. Petrushka's situation worsened even more when the First World War began. Famine and devastation engulfed Russia; the people had no time for entertainment, and Petrushka catastrophically quickly lost its viewers.

And in order to earn a living, puppeteers are increasingly beginning to perform their comedy in front of “well-bred” children’s audiences. They are invited to children's parties, New Year trees; in the summer they go to the dachas. Naturally, under such conditions, the text and action of many scenes inevitably changed. Petrushka was becoming almost a good boy.

Parsley could not stand such violence. Having lost the main traits of his character, having lost his main partners, having lost the urgency of situations, he withered away and soon became of no use to anyone. They tried to revive it in propaganda performances of the first post-revolutionary years, then in educational performances for children. But his “data” did not correspond to the spirit and character of these performances, and he had to be replaced with other heroes. Parsley's story ended here.

In pre-revolutionary Russia there was a home theater, which can be compared to a bridge connecting traditional folk performances with the new modern theater. The history of Russian home puppet shows apparently begins at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries. In the 19th century, animated dolls did not lose their universal popularity, but they were increasingly classified as children's entertainment. In educated circles, it was customary to invite a puppeteer to children's parties, and sometimes to give puppet shows on their own.

In the pre-revolutionary home puppet theater, three types of performances can be distinguished. They appeared, apparently, not at the same time, but they all survived until the October Revolution.

The first type is a children's puppet show, performed almost without the participation of adults. The attitude of adults is encouraging, but passive; their main role is that of spectators. This is a performance-game, a performance in which the child is given complete freedom. You can read about such performances from K. S. Stanislavsky.

The second type is a puppet show for children, performed by adults. The role of adults becomes more active. The initiative passes into their hands. The home puppet stage is used for education and training purposes; The performance takes on a pedagogical orientation. Children and adults change places: children increasingly become spectators, adults become performers and authors of plays.

The third type is a performance by adults for adults. In the home theater, aesthetic concepts are embodied and developed, the best examples of literature and drama are staged, and political and social topics begin to be addressed. The home theater attracts the attention of the artistic intelligentsia and becomes the center of theatrical experimentation. His work takes on a semi-professional, studio character.

European puppeteers are rushing to take advantage of the new hobby of the Russians and are opening “puppet theaters for children” in Russia. Puppet theater is firmly integrated into home education. Brochures with “children’s” versions of “Petrushka” are printed, “Guides on how to build a small theater and everything related to the action of the figures” are published, and dramatizations of fairy tales are published with explanations of how to stage them on a puppet stage. Russian manufacturers are establishing the production of domestic dolls for home theater use, tabletop cardboard theaters with sets of figures and scenery for various plays.

At the beginning of the 20th century, home puppet theater “matured” even more. His repertoire increasingly goes beyond the scope of children's educational tasks; more and more often he touches on topics that concern adults.

The ongoing “maturation” of the public and performers of the home puppet theater can be explained not only by the need to respond to political and social events, to express their attitude towards them, but also by a whole complex of other reasons.

Among them, one of the main places is occupied by the flaring interest in folklore, in particular in the folk puppet theater. The intelligentsia goes to watch a performance by a folk puppeteer in a booth. His art increasingly evokes surprise and admiration.

Literary and artistic research project:

folklore – folk theater Parsley

Moscow 2008

PREFACE
The National Miniature Theater of Petrushka is a unique phenomenon of Slavic folklore. The forms of existence of the miniature theater are diverse: some are very ancient, others are new and recent. The subject of this research is the need for an urgent, close study of Russian folklore - the Petrushka folk theater in miniature, taking into account the colossal damage caused to Russian folklore in general and the Petrushka miniature theater in particular during the era of the Bolshevik dictatorship. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the collection and study of ethnographic materials that the people’s memory has still managed to preserve. In addition, after the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the CIS countries, the priority of the international communist orientation sharply changed to national folk traditions. The process of spiritual revival of Russia has begun, and the Russian national culture throughout Russian Abroad. It is known that Russia is not all of Russia, that all over the world Russian communities jealously preserve the ancient traditions of common Russian culture and folklore, including the Parsley Theater. In this regard, it is necessary to expand the area of collecting the pearls of miniature theater - throughout the depth and breadth of the Russian Abroad.
Parsley Theater on turning point Russian history in the present period, at the turn of the millennium, is especially important in moral education younger generation, in a protracted crisis. Only moral guidelines crystallized by thousands of years of oral traditions folk art, are capable of becoming a reliable foundation of the National Russian culture, on which countless generations of Russian people were brought up.
The beginnings of miniature puppet theater are found in almost all genres of folk art, and this is manifested in the oral existence of works and in their performance. Among the people one could often find talented singers, storytellers, storytellers. They told and sang with great skill, accompanying their performance with expressive gestures and facial expressions, bright intonations, conveying the features of scenes and episodes on behalf of their heroes. Storytellers often seemed to transform into the images of their characters, acting out certain scenes. And this oral performance of folk works by them already contained elements of folk theater. The most significant development of elements of folk theater was achieved by folk calendar and family rituals; This is especially evident in the depiction of the cycles of the seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter).
A significant role in the Petrushka Theater was given to the musical style of Russian songs and instrumental tunes. Feelings and experiences in music are conveyed through the interaction of various means musical expressiveness: truly folk refrains, tongue twisters and recitatives - all this was played significant role when conveying one or another sensory-emotional experience: joy, sadness, suffering, contemplation, etc. The systematization of musical and ethnographic examples was one of the most important components of this study of the national miniature theater of Parsley. A variety of printed sources were used in musical folklore centers of Russia. Great importance was given to folklore and ethnographic expeditions to various regions, the southern, central, northern and western parts of the regions of Russia, where, due to special historical conditions, the original Slavic roots of the Russian population turned out to be most preserved.
Theatrical rituals in Rus' have long been an action accompanied by singing or prose text according to established tradition, using masks and special costumes. On the basis of rituals, mummers and games, the theater itself arose, which was distinguished by the fact that traditional texts were performed with considerable improvisation. The actors, adhering to the main action and verbal text, adapted them to the circumstances, to the time and place of performance, as well as to the needs of the audience. I would especially like to note about children's folklore, which is very conservative, and thanks to this, preserves significant layers of miniature theater from the distant past of Rus'.
Among the Slavs, folk theater had such forms as a puppet theater (especially the miniature theater of Petrushka), a booth, a paradise, play stages and the theater itself with actors. In puppet theater, plays were performed by puppets that were “led” by puppeteers. The puppets could be placed on the fingers of the “puppeteer” or they could be moved through slits made in the floor of an artificial stage made in the form of a high box.
Slavic puppet theaters are associated with religious rituals (nativity scene, shopka, betleika) or were purely entertaining in nature, not associated with rituals. The Russian Petrushka Theater denotes not only the hero of the play, but also the theater itself, which is called the Petrushka Theater, after the name of the hero. If the nativity scene arose under the influence of the church, absorbing the centuries-old folklore traditions of ancient pagan Rus', then the miniature theater of Petrushka is purely folk art, both in form and in content and ideological orientation. In the Nativity scene, the main task was to represent the birth of Christ or the play "Herod". However, the nativity scene often had something in common with the puppet theater at the fair. This combination of secular and spiritual in puppet performances was especially clearly demonstrated in the Polish theater "Koplyanik" or in Czech theater“Kashparek”, in which nobles, gypsies, Jews performed, and a Cossack or soldier entered into an argument and fight with them. Peasants appeared who, in their songs and dances, ridiculed the stupid gentlemen, and, at the same time, the lazy and drunken slaves. At the end, a traveling folk singer appeared, sang songs and asked those gathered to reward the participants in the performance as much as they could.
In the Petrushka puppet theater, the main theme was action in squares, courtyards and fairs. During the holidays, the performance of Petrushka was a favorite popular spectacle, often accompanied by a barrel organ, and Petrushka himself was their most beloved hero, brave and witty, who defeated everyone: the police, the priests, Satan himself, and even death. And among the people there was a firm belief that it was Petrushka, in his rough, naive image of the working people, who was able to overcome and conquer everything and everyone, and he himself would remain immortal. Parsley has a rough but bright image working people, with a hump on their back from backbreaking labor. Petrushka's clothes are simple, but bright: his shirt is usually red, and he wears a cap with a tassel on his head. The puppeteer puts the Parsley doll on one hand, and on the other hand puts dolls of other various characters in turn: the master, the priest, the gypsy, the policeman, Satan, the bride, death and other dolls. The puppeteer conducts the verbal text on behalf of Petrushka. The other characters in the performance are usually voiced by another performer of the play, who plays the organ. Parsley's voice is unusual, it is very sharp and loud, so that it can be heard by everyone, even by those who do not want to listen to him. For this purpose, the puppeteer uses a special squeaker, which he constantly keeps in his mouth.
In the miniature theater, scenes are played out with vivid comedy. “Petrushka often bought a damaged horse from a gypsy, on which he intended to ride to woo a rich bride. But the unlucky horse fell along the way, and Petrushka was hurt painfully and called a doctor-pharmacist, but the doctor turned out to be a fraudster, took money, but his medicine did not help. Here, at an untimely moment, an officer appeared who decided to take Petrushka as a soldier... In the end, Petrushka gets tired of this, and he beats the gypsy, the pharmacist and the officer with his stick...”
During the holidays, small wooden rooms with a light roof, called booths, were built at fun fairs. These were original theaters that had a primitive stage and auditorium. From the balcony of the booth (booth barkers, grandfathers of the paradise) with shouts and jokes, they invited the public into their unsurpassed booth. Often actors in performances improvised text that was also sharply satirical in nature: parodies of church service and rituals. For example, in the play “Pakhomushka”, the wedding takes place around a stump, with a deck through the stump. Often, the heroes of the play were rebellious peasants (in the play “The Boat”), in which the heroes were robbers sailing “Down the Mother Volga” and along the way they dealt with the hated landowners, burning their estates.
Dramatic scenes were often rich in folk jokes and fairy tales, and included a variety of folk songs and literary poems. The Petrushka People's Miniature Theater had great social significance as an expression of people's hopes. At the same time, it was and remains a wonderful folk spectacle, having a huge emotional impact on wide circle public.
Nowadays, the role of the Petrushka miniature theater is rapidly increasing, especially with the advent of the unlimited possibilities of the Internet. The science of folklore has come a long way in development and has now rushed towards unprecedented heights. Detailed descriptions and systematization of a significant variety of plots and types of heroes in works of folklore, especially fairy tales, have already been made. Particular interest in the miniature theater of Parsley has been shown recently. New works are being created for Petrushka’s performances, which reflect modern life multipolar world.
Despite the fact that in the course of the historical development of peoples the general cultural heritage, has been and is undergoing changes, but there is still a commonality of motives, types of heroes and individual expressive means in folklore Slavic peoples is clearly visible. This is explained by the fact that societies in their cultural developments go through similar steps. It is noteworthy that the development of puppet theaters, miniatures among various nations have a lot of common features. For example, the Japanese puppet theater has many common features with our Slavic traveling miniature puppet theaters.
Puppet theater is a living theater in miniature, sometimes even more powerful and outspoken, as we will see later. The world of antiquity was not only familiar with the miniature puppet theater, but also knew its value. Among the Greeks, puppets kept up with the live theater and played the comedies of Aristophanes. Later, during Roman rule, the puppet theater, like the live theater, fell into decay. In Rome, preference is given to silent puppets: mime performances and ballet appear on stage in the imperial era. Thus, in ancient world dolls from the original image of a deity, from an object of worship, moved into the category of entertainment, sometimes very immodest. We will see the same in Christian Europe.
Originally, the puppets, as their very name indicates: “les marions”, “les mariottes”, “les marionnettes”, were images of the Virgin Mary in the famous Christmas drama; people didn't dare speak out themselves actors in the mysteries, leaving the statues to act, at first motionless, later artificially set in motion. When the mystery received further development, the puppets were still left with the performance of the Christmas drama, which still exists in the nativity scene. Gradually, a satirical element entered the serious atmosphere of medieval mysteries, and soon, along with sacred stories and their heroes, clownish farces appeared on the puppet stage. Jugglers and buffoons put their funny, sometimes cynical, jokes into the mouths of wooden actors and spread puppet theater throughout Europe. An image of a puppet table, preserved in a 12th-century German manuscript, shows two crudely made puppets driven by strings stretched crosswise toward two people; they portrayed either fighting warriors or debaters and sprinkled with witticisms and puns.
Prince I.M. Dolgoruky spoke about the puppet theater as a common amusement of the people at the beginning of this century. This is how he describes in his diary the impressions of the puppet show he saw at the Nizhny Novgorod fair: “The mob is in a hurry to attend its spectacles: several puppet comedies, bears on a leash, camels, monkeys and buffoons are brought for it. Out of all this fun, I happened to go to one puppet comedy. There is nothing to describe: everyone has seen what it is; For me there is nothing funnier than both the one who presents and those who watch. The horn squeaks on the violin; The owner, releasing the dolls, conducts a conversation for them, filled with all sorts of nonsense. The dolls, meanwhile, click their foreheads, and the audience laughs and is very happy. It always seemed strange to me that at such games they introduce a monk and make him a laughing stock. There is no puppet comedy without a cassock.”
“The basis of the representation of the paradise was the “paradise action” about Adam and Eve, where the comic role is played by the devil and partly by the progenitors of the human race themselves. Gradually becoming more complicated with new comic scenes, like a nativity scene, the “paradise performance” itself disappeared, and only pictures of purely secular content remained from it.” The device of the rack is very simple: it is a small box with two magnifying glasses in front; its dimensions vary, as does the number of glasses. Inside it, a long strip glued together from one shaft to another is rewound from popular prints ok with images of different cities, great people and historical events. The paintings are placed in a special tower above the box and are lowered gradually on cords, replacing one view with another. Spectators look into the glass, and the raeshnik moves the pictures and tells a saying for each new number:
- Here is the city of Vienna, where the beautiful Elena lives;
- Here is Warsaw, where grandma is rough;
- And here, gentlemen, is the city of Berlin, a gentleman lives here, he has three hairs on his head, he sings in thirty-three voices!
- And here is the city of Paris, as soon as you enter, you’ll get away with it; This is where our Russian nobility comes to spend money: they go with a sack of gold and return on foot with a stick!
- And here, gentlemen, is the city of Rome, the Pope of Rome lives here, the raked paw!
In conclusion, a clown, or even two, dance, ringing bells for the amusement of the audience. As can be seen from the examples given, the text of paradise ideas is taken from popular prints: the same style, the same witticisms and naive antics. It is possible that these texts represent the remains of buffoon games and performances and are a product of the interaction of the puppet theater and popular prints, which preserved the remains of buffoon farces. “Now the paradise does not at all remind of its religious origin and is a widespread and favorite type of folk comedy, merging in the nature of the paintings presented with the famous “Petrushka”.
The well-known “Parsley”, which has come down to us after living for two centuries, almost unchanged; he took on the features of a Russian buffoon and in this form spread throughout Russia.

The structure of our modern traveling puppet theater is extremely simple. A dyed sheet is hung on two sticks, and from behind this sheet the puppeteer shows his dolls and performs his performances, in which the old guslar, whistler or bagpiper is replaced by a hoarse barrel organ, playing mainly Russian songs, to which the dolls dance. For the most part, dolls are now shown from behind screens, which, when arranged, form a tetrahedron, inside of which there is a box, where, according to the figurative description of Ornest Zechnovitzer, “The “shower” of the dolls itself is located. The dolls do not protrude from behind the screen on wires, as in a nativity scene, but are made completely differently: the dolls do not have a body, but only one head made of wood or cardboard, to which a dress is sewn; instead of arms there are empty sleeves with a tiny hand at the end, also made of wood. The puppeteer sticks his index finger into the empty head of the doll, and his thumb and middle fingers into the sleeves; He usually puts a doll on each hand and thus acts with two dolls at the same time. A crowd of spectators gathers near the screens. The hurdy-gurdy plays a song, and from behind the screens you can hear Petrushka squealing and his hoarse voice singing along with the hurdy-gurdy. He burrs and whistles loudly using a “squeaker” in the puppeteer’s mouth. Suddenly Petrushka jumps out from behind the screens and greets the audience: “Hello, gentlemen! I came here from Gostiny Dvor to hire myself as a cook - to fry hazel grouse, to rummage through pockets!..”

Petrushka starts a conversation with the organ grinder, who is his constant interlocutor, and asks him to play a dance song and dances alone, and sometimes with his wife, who bears the name either Malanya, or Marfushi, or Pelageya, or even Akulina Ivanovna. She invites him to get some coffee, but he drags her upstairs and, arms akimbo, does a Russian dance with her, and then sends her away. A gypsy appears and sells him a horse. Parsley examines her, tugs her ears and tail. The horse kicks him in the nose and belly. These “kickings” of the good horse Gypsy More often constitute a rather ridiculous part of the play for the audience.” Petrushka bargains with the gypsy for a long time and, in the end, buys a horse from him, and the gypsy leaves. Parsley sits on his purchase and boldly prances on it, singing: “Like along Piterskaya, along Tverskaya Yamskaya”... The horse begins to kick, hits Parsley in front and behind, finally throws him off and runs away. Parsley falls, loudly hitting the ground with its wooden face; he groans, grunts, laments pitifully about the untimely death of the good fellow and calls the doctor. A “doctor, a pharmacist from under the Stone Bridge” comes, recommends to the public that he was in Italy, and was further away, and begins to ask Petrushka: “Where, what and how does it hurt you?”
- What kind of doctor are you! - Petrushka is indignant, - you yourself should know: where, what and how it hurts!..
The doctor begins to feel Parsley, poking his finger and asking: “Does it hurt here?”... Parsley replies: “Higher!.. Lower!.. even a little lower!”... and, in the end, backhands the doctor. The doctor gives him back. But Petrushka has an advantage: he always has a stick in his hands, and he uses it to drive away the unlucky doctor.
The matchmaker brings Petrushka his bride Marfushka or Pigasya, sometimes she herself appears to him, and he begins to examine her, as he examined a horse at a gypsy’s auction. Parsley looks everywhere, adding strong sentences and causing incessant laughter from the audience. He liked Marfushka very much, and he is unable to wait any longer for the wedding, which is why he begins to beg her: “Sacrifice yourself, Marfushka!” But she “plays around” and “fiddles around,” but finally agrees...”
In his description of the performance of the Petrushka miniature theater, Rovinsky D.A. reports that in the interval between the actions of the play there are usually dances of two black amoors, and sometimes a whole interlude about a lady who was bitten by a snake (meaning Eve); A game of two jesters with balls and a stick is immediately shown. Unfortunately, the details of these and other adventures of Parsley have been lost and await their discovery by researchers, since it is clear that many pearls of folk art have been lost. There are known, for example, plays by the Petrushka Theater, for which even the name vaudeville is too honorable, and yet it has all the hallmarks of opera, ballet and drama. As in an opera, the folk organ serves as the orchestra, and the role of the opera singer for the general public is performed not without success by the opera tenor, the soloist - Petrushka; like in a ballet, it features the dances of Parsley and Marfushka (or Pegasya). The classic trinity is also presented in a miniature theater: unity of time (1 hour), unity of place (screen - the scenery has not changed for centuries) and unity of action (flea market).
Petrushka was formed from the fusion of elements of Russian folk buffoonery with the features of German Hanswurst. His prototype was the same Polichinelle - the Italian Pulcinella, which is the ancestor of all European buffoons. However, despite the obvious Italian origin Russian "Petrushka", even recently a very original opinion was expressed in literature about its Eastern origin. Chinese “Petrushki” is almost the same as our Russian Parsley. The local itinerant miniature theater artists stopped in front of the balconies of houses and demonstrated their puppet shows. Often the performers of this miniature puppet show are twice Chinese - an elderly man and a boy of about 15 years old, the former's assistant. They carry two boxes on their backs. At stops, they lower the boxes from their backs to the ground, place four-sided screens covered with chintz, and, a minute later, our old acquaintance the jester Petrushka appeared on the upper edge of these screens, only dressed as a Chinese. The adventures of the Chinese Petrushka are completely identical to our Russian brother Petrushka. The same tragicomic, infinitely varied stories take place with Petrushka’s military drill, with his answer before the police judge. Here the dressed up, red-cheeked Bride appears on the stage, and all the scenes between her and Petrushka, again, are all the same as ours; even Petrushka’s manners of speaking and emitting comic cries with the help of a special lip device “pishchka”, which the comedian puts in his mouth, remain completely identical with the manners of Petrushka.
The origins of the Petrushka miniature theater.

During excavations in Egypt, in the vicinity of Antinoia, a puppet theater was found in 1904, the oldest puppet theater previously known to us, dating back to the 16th century BC.

In his book “The History of Folk Puppet Theater” (Gosizdat, 1927), Orest Tsekhnovitser notes that puppet theater disappeared in Egypt for many centuries, and it appeared in India. The first mentions of mechanical wooden dolls in India date back to the 11th century BC. At this time, the dolls had already moved from the temple to the theater stage, where they were set in motion by the puppeteer’s threads (sutras). There were no texts for the puppet shows, there was only a short script with poetry. Improvisation was paramount. The lack of text explains the fact that we have almost no original puppet plays until the 19th century. AD, and these records were preserved only thanks to private lovers and connoisseurs of miniature puppet theater.
In the most ancient puppet productions of India there is a distant “ancestor” of the favorite of our people, Parsley, who bears the name Vidushaka. He is depicted as a hunchbacked dwarf Brahman, who arouses gaiety in everyone with his behavior, appearance of a comic figure, dress, speech and boundless love for the weaker sex. This is the image of Vidushak-Petrushka, as his contemporaries painted. All similarities between Vidushak and Petrushka are preserved; our merry fellow will not lose his belly, crooked nose, hump and love for women during almost three thousand years of his existence.
In India, Vidushaka was portrayed as stupid, but behind this stupidity lay cunning. He is a mocker and a rude man, he is pugnacious and always hits everyone with his stick. He is sometimes beaten and even goes to prison, but he never disappears. Vidushaka was portrayed as a Brahman, and in his person the people ridiculed their priests - their hypocrisy, arrogance, passion for women, wine and delicacies. At the same time, he does not speak Sanskrit (the language of the upper class), but the vernacular, the Prakrit dialect of ordinary people. However, in those days, only brahman priests were allowed to speak Sanskrit, and it was forbidden for commoners, even to the point of using death penalty, since it was believed that for ordinary people to speak the language of the Gods was sacrilege and blasphemy. Vidushaka is not separated from his stick, which in the future will be the constant companion of our Petrushka (Russian club) in all his trials.
Our puppet folk hero Parsley in almost all parts of the world follows the same paths and endures the same trials of fate, and this similarity in the history of the development of puppet theater is not accidental. And the current explanation about the origin of the Indo-European language and epic from the single ancestral home of the ancient Aryans is not enough to explain the comprehensive similarity of the hero of the miniature puppet theater. Apparently here decisive role played by the result of economic communication of individual peoples with each other. It should be borne in mind that the puppet theater in separate places was created thanks to the same prerequisites - natural connections, and therefore developed independently in its main features.
When studying oriental puppet theater, one should keep in mind the routes of trade relations connecting individual countries, but it is also necessary to take into account elements of the original development of individual states. Unfortunately, the currently existing fragmentary data does not allow us to establish with a sufficient degree of conviction the truth of the question that interests us, and we are content only with the fact that we have the opportunity to highlight only the main points that influenced the creation of puppet theater in individual countries, including in Rus' .
Puppet theater is still very popular in all Eastern countries. In India today, puppet theater is a favorite show for both adults and children. This theater has retained its ancient basic techniques. Just like many centuries before our era, the people are convened for a puppet theater performance by the same ancient national instruments. Ancient dolls depicting mythical characters and folk types in real life terms. Especially common in modern India and in almost all countries of the East, shadow puppet theater has been popular since ancient times and reached particular perfection in Turkey and China. But its origins are also lost in the depths of centuries.
Together with Hindu trading ships and settlers from the Ganges valley, the Sinhalese race of south India settled in Ceylon in 543 BC. With the penetration of Indian culture into Ceylon, the Sinhalese also transferred the Vidushaka puppet theater there. Subsequently, a trace of the transfer of Indian folk art to other national soils was noticeable, through settlers and sea trade routes (including the miniature theater of puppets and shadows). Puppets for miniature shadow theater were made from buffalo skin. The content of shadow theater performances consists of ancient Hindu sagas - tales of gods and heroes.
Through sea and land (through the northwestern borders) trade relations, India has long been in contact with Persia. The Persian puppet hero - Kankal Pahlavan - is also similar to Vidushaka. He is an ugly joker, endowed with a squeaky voice and possesses such amorousness and passion that for the sake of women, wielding his invariable club, he enters into battle with the devil himself.
The origins of Chinese puppet theater also come from religious ceremonies. Even in ancient times, dolls took an active part in religious performances. Many Chinese legends tell about the origin and history of puppet theater, which existed in China for centuries along with shadow theater. The Chronicles of Le Tzu date their appearance to the 10th century BC. Chinese skilled craftsmen made dolls from straw and wood, which were coated with varnish. According to legend, these dolls could even dance and sing. Miniature puppet theaters in ancient China for a considerable time they took part in the public life of the country and, along with performances at the imperial palaces, served to entertain the people.
Along with puppets and shadow theater, for centuries in China there was also “Petrushka” (the main character named Quo), whose character again reminds us of Vidushak. The Chinese doll Quo also makes fun of unpopular ministers and courtiers, and his baton also walks across their fat backs. The structure of the Chinese theater "Petrushki" is the same as in most European countries. Due to the long-standing close economic and cultural proximity between China and Japan, Chinese puppet theater has influenced Japanese puppet theater. Japanese puppet theaters have two main types: “Ningyo-tsukai”, in which puppets are introduced by people, and “Ito-tsukai” - a similarity to our puppets.
Particularly interesting is the Turkish puppet hero Karagöz (Kara - black, göz - Eye; Karagöz - Black-eyed). In the image of this doll one can see the influence of both East and West (Hellenistic principles). This reunion of the images of “Petrushka” gives it greater brightness and originality. The image of the Karagyoz doll could have been influenced by the image of the Hindu doll Vidushak. Both in Turkey and in almost all other countries of Asia and Europe, the distributors of elements of Hindu puppet theater were the gypsies. In all countries of Asia and Europe, puppeteers have long been gypsies, who brought their performances there after the exodus from India during the era of unrest and invasions in the 10th century. The creation of Turkish puppet theater was also influenced by Byzantine and Greek mime, the origins of which were also the ancient puppet theater of miniatures in Egypt and India. Hence the exceptional similarity between Karagöz and the Italian Pulcinello.
In the East, bordering Russia - in Turkestan, "Petrushka" is presented in its usual form and with all its inherent attributes. The Eastern puppet theater of Turkestan was of great importance in the political life of the country, because it was the only platform for expression public opinion. The puppet theater fought for political emancipation and was persecuted by the authorities. Subsequently, the same role was played by folk puppet theater in Europe.
These are basically the milestones and main moments in the history of the folk miniature puppet theater “Petrushki” throughout the world. Everywhere the puppet theater experienced almost the same stages of development: from the church to the street, square, into the very thick of the population. The puppet theater was the only genuine folk creation and was an exponent of the spirit of struggle of all times and peoples for their liberation from oppressors. And in our difficult times at the turning point of the millennium, the role of the Petrushki Theater is invariably increasing and our task is to help its revival in every possible way.
Recently in Russia there has been a rapid growth in productions of the children's puppet theater Petrushka, collected in the cities and towns of Russia, which is still preserved in people's memory. Along with this, new works by modern storytellers are being created for staging performances in the Petrushka miniature theater (Appendices 1-3), as well as for staging performances in the miniature theater of Paradise (Appendix 4), shadow theater (Appendices 5- 7), mirror theater (Appendices 8-9), miniature puppet theater (Appendices 11-14) - the division into “Appendices” is arbitrary.

The Petrushka doll is shown from behind a screen at three-quarters of its height. She seems to be walking on an imaginary floor located behind the screen, slightly below its upper edge. In order to show the doll's gait, the actor either moves behind the screen in small steps, or shakes the hand on which the doll is worn. Achieving a believable gait in dolls is not an easy task; you need to seriously work on it.

When the doll speaks, it moves; when it is silent, it is motionless. Otherwise, the viewer will not understand which of the dolls is talking. A silent, motionless doll does not mean a dead doll. The actor must find for her either a pose that would be expressive enough even when the doll is stationary, or movements and gestures that express an exact reaction to the words of the partner and occur during pauses in the latter’s words. Basic laws acting in the puppet theater are the same as in drama theater. The uniqueness of the puppet theater lies in the fact that here the actor conveys to the viewer all the ideological and emotional content of his role through the medium of an inanimate object - a doll, and therefore he must see his doll all the time, without easing his attention to it for a moment, and feel its physical tasks , control her entire line of behavior. In addition, the actor-puppeteer always needs to see where the doll’s gaze is directed, to ensure that it walks straight and not sideways, so that it does not fall too far behind the screen and does not climb higher than it should. The technique for controlling a parsley doll is simple. For cane and mechanical dolls it is much more complicated. But no matter what puppet the actor works with, he needs to regularly train with it, so that during rehearsals he can think about the correctness of his acting tasks, about the expressiveness of the doll’s behavior, and not about how to do it technically. Inactive, purely spoken scenes in a puppet theater sound especially bad. But if a cane doll, thanks to its characteristic broad gesture, can still maintain a fairly long dialogue and even pronounce a monologue, then the parsley doll certainly needs to conduct its role as a continuous chain of physical actions. Training with a parsley doll without specific physical tasks is pointless.
Currently, projects to introduce the miniature theater Parsley and shadow theater on the Internet are being successfully implemented. Russian miniature puppet theater Parsley, rayok, shadow theater and mirror theater are gaining new life not only in the vastness of Russia, but also abroad.