"That Very Present" musical Mikhail produced at Nizhniy Novgorod Young Spectator Theatre tells us about the various adventures of candies at the factory. The play's costume designs were inspired by Oskar Schlemmer's "Triadic Ballet" referring to the avant-garde movement in the beginning of the 20th century, in some cases they also dictate the performers' movements.

Costume design and acting are the most obvious and memorable parts of any production, so I would like to focus on the video art elements Mikhail worked on. Introduction of video art content into theatrical events has become an everyday practice in the field since the early video art practices in order to create an additional virtual space in a physical setting. Mikhail has mastered this technique perfectly: the video art pieces projected in various locations on and off the stage have created a wholesome atmosphere of a candies factory and completed the play.

Mikhail states that he wanted to demonstrate the variety of candies in a traditional Russian seasonal gift: a box of candies given out to children at the end of various New Year festivities. "All of them transform into a firework of taste and delight for the little guests of the performance" says Mikhail.

Text by
Sasha Souther, PhD
12 January, 2022
Livingston, USA