2022, Izhevsk

 The inclusive group of “Bird” theater turned ten years old. During this time “Alice in Wonderland”, “Don Quixote from the Children’s Home”, “Ice Cream in a Waffle Cup”, “Pushkin and Co.” and other plays were staged. The group rehearses one play a year and draws full houses, the actors grow up, change themselves and change society, defining humanity, open-mindedness and mutual understanding as the main norms of coexistence. At first, the theater united on stage the children and parents of the “Assol” public organization*. After meeting “The Bird” and the director Svetlana Shanskaya, many things changed. Other actors have joined the group. Svetlana writes scripts and as a subtle psychologist adapts them to the peculiarities of the participants, she knows the character and abilities of the children, while making adult demands of the actors. Playing in the theater is difficult, rehearsals are held twice a week, the artists learn texts, discuss the script and the characters, immerse themselves in the image. The method works by pushing the boundaries of what is possible for each participant. At the first performances, the kids moved around the stage with the help of assistants; some couldn’t speak. The theater taught the special artists to move freely, improvise, interact with the audience and with each other. 

“The Bird” lives in three purposes — as a cultural phenomenon and a subject of theatrical art, as therapy and adaptation for children and teenagers with special needs, and as a school of kindness, the lessons of which one does not want to miss.