“We are planning to stage a new play.” NCSPU Tatar Student Theater “Heritage” is preparing premier

According to Konstantin Stanislavsky, "a theater begins with the cloakroom," the
Tatar Student Theater of Naberezhnye Chelny State Pedagogical University starts
with an idea. And real enthusiasts, who are not indifferent to the Tatar language,
the Tatar culture and its history, began implementing this idea. Their first
performance in the Tatar language was not long in coming.
The director of the play is Ilzira Mubarakshina, Ph D in Philology, Associate
Professor of the Department of Russian and Tatar Philology at NCSPU. The actors
are NCSPU students – the actors of NCSPU "Heritage". The students’ initiative
was supported by the Commission for the Preservation and Development of the
Tatar Language under the leadership of the Chairman Marat Akhmetov, the
Assembly of the Peoples of Tatarstan, as well as the House of Friendship of the
Peoples of Tatarstan. The students of the Faculty of Philology won a special grant
from the Commission for the Preservation and Development of the Tatar Language
to create the production. This success highlights the importance of supporting
young talents and their commitment to preserving a cultural heritage. How does
the Tatar Theater live today? Ilzira Mubarakshina told about this in an interview.
- Who inspired you to establish the theater?
- The history of the project dates back to the Tatar Youth Forum, which was held at
the Youth Center “Nur,” in Naberezhnye Chelny. Students of group 131 of the
Tatar branch - Lilia Nizametdinova, Alina Zaripova, Aliya Shaimardanova won at
the first stage of the Forum and qualified for the second stage, which was held in
Kazan. They reached the Finals and won!
- How do you manage to motivate the students and where do you get your
inspiration; how do you find time for the rehearsals?
- The Tatar Student Theater "Heritage" started implementing ideas with lightning
speed. The actors are passionate about national theatrical art; they feel emotional
fluctuations to fulfill an important mission to popularize the Tatar language and
culture. The number of people willing to play is close to 20, and these ranks are
replenished with young artists. Most of the roles are played by girls; I wish men
got interested in theatrical art, so that our actresses do not have to play male
characters.
The actors communicate in messengers, correspond and set a rehearsal time.
- You directed the play. Did you manage to implement all your ideas?- My impressions of visiting theaters have been preserved since childhood, since
studying at the Faculty of Philology, staging and participating in performances
since my student years. So to speak, it was not my first experience. I think that a
director, like a teacher, is a person who should always strive for novelty. The jobs
of a director and a teacher seem similar. I gave leeway to the student artists: they
just had to think and look for themselves. Our usual routine looks as follows: first,
we read the play together, exchange thoughts, and try to find common grounds.
When the play was being performed on the stage, I felt as if I had seen my child's
first steps. After all, everything required investments: effort, time, energy, love. I
did my work as a director together with the students, even our hearts seemed to
beat in unison. And this is the reason for the success of the play, in my opinion.
As for the plans, I believe that to achieve the goal, you need a will. Our desire is to
preserve the spirit, national identity, language, and morality of the Tatars, to
develop and pass it on in the future, and not to interrupt the continuity.
- Your first production was a play based on Galiaskar Kamal's comedy
“FirstTheater". Why did you choose this particular work?
- National classical works are closer to me. In them, you feel the identity of our
judgment and our spirit. In addition, there is a claim that in order to achieve a
professional growth, it is important for an actor to perform classics. Therefore, our
students, having heard the call of hearts or, perhaps, the voice of centuries,
preferred the classical heritage, reflecting on its continuity. This means that the
mentors' goal has been achieved: the seedlings are bearing fruit and the fruit are
beautiful!
- Where did you manage to find everything you needed for the play in such a
short time?
- We collected national costumes, jewelry and household items of the Tatar people
in villages, asked our relatives to give them to us. The municipal and regional
museums provided us with the items that we could not find.
- Did the colleagues help at all?
- I would like to thank Radik Galiullin for his contribution to our theater. He is a
talented scholar and a professor who fosters love for the Tatar language. We also
thank Marina Sikacheva, the Vice-Rector for Educational Work, for her help in
implementing our idea.
- What are your plans for the future?- We will definitely continue working! There is a flame burning in the hearts of the
students, their desires are sacred, it would be wrong to deprive them of performing.
To date, the selection of the work for the production is underway. We promise:
“There will be a new performance in Autumn!".