My Profession

by Sergei Obraztsov, Sergei Obraztsov

A profile of the authors life as a famous Soviet puppeteer and puppet theatre director. He describes childhood impressions, writes of earlier professions as artist and actor, and finally about his personal experiences with puppetry which helped him achieve mastery of his craft. Born in Moscow in 1901, he describes every step he took to his profession, how he worked on individual productions, and an account of all of his productions. In the 1920s Sergei Obraztsov founded the State Central Puppet Theatre in Moscow – the biggest in Russia, an educational center of professional and amateurs theatre groups. The center houses the museum of theatrical puppets, a library on the theme, manuscript and pedagogical departments, and one of the world’s largest collection of theatrical puppets (about 3000 from 50 countries). Now over 50 years old, The Sergei Obraztsov Central Puppet Show has entertained tens-of-thousands of fans in 50 different countries, with a witty program that parodies slipshod variety performances.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Sergey Vladimirovich Obraztsov (Cyrillic: Серге́й Владимирович Образцов) was a Soviet and Russian puppeteer who is credited by the Encyclopædia Britannica with "establishing puppetry as an art form in the Soviet Union." Rod theaters in many countries of the world owe their establishment to Obraztsov's influence. His collection of exotic puppets was the largest in Russia and one of the largest in the world.

Reviews

[Zek · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Everybody works according to his ability, some doing more, some doing less, but everyone ought to know whether he is doing good or harm. Artists are not released from that obligation, especially as there are no works of art which do neither harm nor good. If a book, a picture or a melody is accepted by a reader, a spectator or a listener, it means that the reader, spectator or listener has had his emotions stirred; and emotions must be either harmful or useful. They cannot be neutral.”
― Sergei Obraztsov