Big Children's Festival Brings Performances and Workshops to Southern Urals
From February 9 to 15, 2026, a special program of the Big Children«s Festival (BDF), titled the »ECHO BDF Southern Urals« regional project, will take place in Chelyabinsk and Ozersk under the direction of People»s Artist of the Russian Federation Sergei Bezrukov. Since 2021, «ECHO BDF» has introduced residents of Russian regions to the best productions, films, and books for children and teenagers. In addition to screenings, the program includes educational blocks for young audiences and seminars for cultural workers and school theater teachers. The project not only provides access to contemporary art but also aids the creative development of youth and gives professionals useful tools for their work.
Over four years, the program has been held 17 times in 14 regions—from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, from Karelia and Yugra to Dagestan, and from Sevastopol to Altai. In the near future, Tomsk and Amur Oblasts, as well as the Republic of Bashkortostan, will join the project.
Chelyabinsk Oblast already hosted the festival in 2023 in Ozersk on the stage of the «Nash Dom» (Our Home) Theater of Drama and Comedy. Then and now, the program in Ozersk is held with the support of the «Territory of Culture Rosatom» program, a key partner of the Big Children«s Festival.
This year the project is expanding its boundaries: events will take place in two cities at once—Chelyabinsk and Ozersk. Southern Urals residents can look forward to 20 screenings of 8 performances from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Nyagan, Izhevsk, and Surgut—all winners of the Big Children«s Festival from various years.
The program will open with the musical fairy tale «The Little Prince» by the Moscow Provincial Theater. People«s Artist of the Russian Federation Sergei Bezrukov will perform in the lead role on the stage of the Chelyabinsk State Academic Drama Theater named after Naum Orlov. The show will take place on February 9 at 19:00 with the participation of the Chelyabinsk Oblast State Symphony Orchestra (artistic director and chief conductor Alexei Rubin) under the direction of the chief conductor of the Moscow Provincial Theater»s orchestra, Sergei Pashchenko. Residents of Ozersk will also be able to see the performance on February 10 on the stage of the Ozersk Theater of Drama and Comedy «Nash Dom».
The theater program includes:
«Polonaise of Oginsky» — Chelyabinsk State Puppet Theater named after V. Volkhovsky, directed by Alexander Borok (12+);
«The Idiot», «Rap Theater» (Moscow), directed by Zakhar Nasakin and David Saakyan (16+);
«Romeo and Juliet», St. Petersburg«s »Puppet Format (KUKFO)« Theater, directed by Boris Konstantinov, 12+ (recommended for ages 13+);»Kalechina-Malechina« (a type of folk game)—Nyagan Youth Theater, directed by Soizhin Zhambalova, 16+ (recommended for ages 14+);
»Sugar Child« — Surgut Musical and Drama Theater, directed by Ivan Minevtsev (12+);
»Red-Haired Adventure of Sinbad« — State Puppet Theater of the Udmurt Republic (Izhevsk), directed by Damir Salimzyanov (6+);
»Childhood of Tchaikovsky« — State Puppet Theater of the Udmurt Republic (Izhevsk), directed by Ivan Pachin (12+).
The BDF Cinema and BDF Animation program features 8 free film screenings for the whole family: the films «About My Mom and Me», «My Wild Friend», «Hockey Dads», «Distant Relatives», and the cartoon «Three Bogatyrs and the Navel of the Earth». They can be viewed by prior registration.
The BDF Book direction includes creative meetings and literary workshops with writers Yulia Vesovaya, Victoria Lebedeva, Olga Zamyatina, and illustrator Katya Bas. They are all participants of the VIII Big Children«s Festival, and their books are already loved by children, teenagers, and even adults. Reading enthusiasts in Chelyabinsk and Ozersk can expect an exclusive: new masterclasses that were not even at the VIII BDF. All events are free, by prior registration.
Over 200 children in Chelyabinsk and Ozersk will take part in the BDF Workshops. Masterclasses in vocals, stage speech and movement, and acting will be conducted by renowned teachers with extensive experience working with both young and professional artists.
In Chelyabinsk:
Batraz Zaseev — «Movement for the Development of the Body Apparatus»;
Anna Gilunova — «Dance… in Theater and in Life»;
Olga Matveeva — «The Voice as a Means of Expression»;
Evgeny Astafurov — «Vocal in Drama Theater».
In Ozersk:
Yuri Smirnov — «Music Lives in Everyone»;
Alla Reshetnikova — «A Unique Profession. Body Plus Imagination»;
Grigory Firsov — «Acting Mastery. Through Play and Imagination to Liberation on Stage»;
Dmitry Platonov — «Can You »Speak« from the Stage Without Words? The ABCs of Staging».
For industry professionals—the BDF Education direction. 80 managers of cultural institutions will take part in lectures on marketing, legal, and economic aspects of cultural institutions« activities.
Speakers will include:
Irina Yudina — «Peculiarities of Interpersonal Interaction in a Team. Formation of Interpersonal Relations in a Team»;
Masha Lefler — «Cultural SMM: How to Create a Strategy That Works, Maintain an Authentic Voice, and Follow the Mission Amid Approvals and Deadlines»;
Yulia Yudina — «The Mission of a Cultural Organization»;
Evgenia Karpinina — «Strategic and Project Fundraising».
In the BDF School direction, 40 teachers of school theaters and children«s theater studios will learn how to stage a play at school. Methodological seminars and trainings will be conducted by the BDF School curator Anton Tkachenko, as well as his colleagues—directors and theater teachers Alina Kushim and Elena Dementieva.
A director«s laboratory within »ECHO BDF Southern Urals« will take place at two venues: at the Chelyabinsk State Puppet Theater named after V. Volkhovsky (sketch show on February 10) and at the Ozersk Theater of Drama and Comedy »Nash Dom« (results will be presented on February 11). Invited directors are working with the theme of the small homeland as a source of strength and cultural code. The goal of the laboratory is to create a space for an honest conversation with the audience about home, identity, choice, growing up, self-discovery, and intergenerational dialogue.
All educational events, creative meetings, and laboratory screenings are free. Online broadcasts of the sketches will be available on the festival«s website and in its VKontakte community.
In total, over 100 events are planned at 15 venues within the «ECHO BDF Southern Urals» special program. They are expected to be attended by about 5,500 viewers and participants.
The full schedule and description of the event are available on the Big Children«s Festival website.
The Big Children«s Festival is included in the national project »Family« and is held as part of the implementation of the federal party project »Culture of the Small Homeland« with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The special project «ECHO BDF Southern Urals» is being implemented with the support of the governor of Chelyabinsk Oblast. Organizers are the Sergei Bezrukov Foundation for Support and Development of Sociocultural Projects and the Moscow Provincial Theater; co-organizers are the ANO «Directorate of Festival and Cultural Events of Chelyabinsk Oblast», the Ministry of Culture of Chelyabinsk Oblast, and the «Territory of Culture Rosatom» program.
