Method, techniques and stylistic features of S. Pasichnyk’s stage direction (based on the performances of 2010–2020)

Statement of the problem. The article examines the performances of the chief director of the Kharkiv Taras Shevchenko State Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater, Honored Artist of Ukraine Stepan Volodymyrovych Pasichnyk (born in 1965). Stepan Pasichnyk is an actor, a director with a philosophical mindset, a theater teacher, a poet, a playwright, who has an unparalleled multifaceted talent, a unique worldview, tireless creative energy, and his performances arouse the interest not only of theater critics and theater historians, but also of a large audience, including youth. At the same time, there is currently only one scientific article that examines the creative method of the artist on the earlier material of 1990–2000 (Kovalenko, 2012b), also the articles of same author in periodicals (Kovalenko, 2012a, Shchukina-Kovalenko, 2021). Another scientific article is devoted to the musical component of one of the director’s performances (Liubchenko, 2021); there are also reviews of selected S. Pasichnyk’s performances (Lohvynova, 2016; Chepalov, 2018; Shvets, 2013; Poliakova, 2016). Therefore, the question remains almost unsolved. Objectives and methods of the research. The purpose of this study is to reveal the peculiarities of S. Pasichnyk’s stage techniques, his method and style of work on the play, which are characteristic of his staging culture. The methods of systematization and generalization of scattered information are applied, in particular, from our own theater-critical experience of analyzing S. Pasichnyk’s plays, as well as biographical, historical-chronological, comparative and interpretive approaches with elements of the reconstructing the performances. Results and conclusion. S. Pasichnyk’s directing has undergone a significant evolution, from the “demonstration” type (1990–2000) to deeply realistic and, at the same time, theatrically imaginative performances, in which the director seeks to reveal and present the personality of the actor. As a director, S. Pasichnyk gravitates towards the genre of tragicomedy, however, due to the individualization of the techniques used, the form of his dramatic performances is always changing, and his philosophical views correspond to the existential directing in the art of dramatic theater. In a triumvirate with the painter Tetiana Medvid and the composer Hennadii Frolov, the director aims to recreate an ambivalent environment and a variable musical and intonation sphere on the stage, which help the viewer to perceive not only the plot, but also the parable behind it. The director uses music as a component of the dramatic plan of his performances, widely applying the leitmotiv principle. Musical accompaniment often appears in his performances as a “counterpoint” to the action, revealing the director’s subtext of the verbal text. Over the years, S. Pasichnik developed his own unique method of text analysis. The actor in his performance is not only a character, but also a personality. The director skillfully uses, in particular, such a technique as “activated character”. Over the last decade, S. Pasichnyk’s repertoire includes world and Ukrainian classics, as well as the best modern European dramas. At the same time, in his performances, he acts not only as their director, but as a thoughtful interpreter, subjecting to revision both the genre and the style of the author’s work. In the context of modern theatrical searches, Stepan Pasichnyk’s directing is a reflection of the essence of the period when (in the 1930s) the natural path of Ukrainian theater development was interrupted or artificially suspended. In his opinion, in order to move forward, it is necessary to restore an important link that was roughly torn from the chain of Ukrainian culture. The director brings back the modernist means of theatrical expressiveness developed on the basis of national ethical and aesthetic traditions, and conveys them from the stage in a unique creative manner. So, the activity of the Kharkiv artist undoubtedly deserves further fundamental research.