Director Konstantin Bogomolov Responds to MHAT School Graduates' Criticism

Konstantin Bogomolov, appointed acting rector of the Moscow Art Theater (MHAT) School-Studio, has commented on the criticism sparked by this decision. An interview with the director was published by Izvestia.

Earlier, a number of artists opposed the appointment, sending an appeal to the Russian Minister of Culture requesting that other candidates be considered. Among the main arguments is the violation of succession traditions. The authors of the appeal stated that the school should be led by a person educated by MHAT teachers and «with all roots» connected to the institution.

Bogomolov called discussions about «insiders» and «outsiders» naive, and in some cases, simply stupid.

«The entire Russian theater school grew out of Stanislavsky. My teacher Andrei Alexandrovich Goncharov, with whom I studied at GITIS (the Russian Institute of Theater Arts), directly inherited the traditions of MHAT and educated us in the method of Russian psychological theater. Any director, any actor who works seriously today, one way or another, exists within this methodology—regardless of which school they graduated from. Therefore, it makes sense to think not about origin, but about effectiveness, about goals and tasks,» Bogomolov told Izvestia.

According to him, what should be discussed are not formal signs, but the real challenges that theater education and the MHAT School-Studio itself face today.

«Yes, it is one of the pillars, but it also needs development, renewal, and sometimes—painful decisions,» he noted.

The new head has already started work: he is holding meetings with the teaching staff and discussing next steps. Among the priorities, Bogomolov named the recruitment of an acting course and the development of regional forms of work.