"I said in childhood that I would be an actor": Andrei Shkoldychenko - about the search for his poet, the role of Mayakovsky and work in the cinema

- What does Mayakovsky mean to you, as a person, as a poet?

- My way to Mayakovsky lay, oddly enough, through Yesenin. About 6-7 years ago, after watching a series about the poet, I thought that Yesenin for Sergei Bezrukov is more than a poet, more than another role in the filmography. Then I re-read Yesenin and wondered: which of the poets is closer to me? And he began to purposefully look for "his own". I don't know why, just like that. I read, re-read, listened to myself. There were a lot of good things, but not to the point of clicking "here it is!". And then I got to Mayakovsky. At school, he somehow passed me by: it was difficult to learn such a syllable, it was even more difficult to understand. And then I read "To you!" - and immediately "in the bull's-eye"! I learned it, also for myself. This is how we first consciously met Mayakovsky the poet. By the way, I read "You!" at the casting in "Mayakovsky" and now I am reading it in the play.

Both as a person and as a poet, Mayakovsky is absolutely extraordinary, he is not like everyone else and not for everyone. Many imagine it as some kind of poster, static monument with a voice-mouthpiece. And the poems seem to correspond to the image: they are set out in the same broad strokes, sharply, backhandedly, where the words are upside down.

At the same time, there is so much human in this block! And I want to reveal this human to the viewer in the play, to show Mayakovsky alive, with his weaknesses and experiences.

• Andrey Shkoldychenko in the play "Mayakovsky. City Musical"
• RIA Novosti
• © Ekaterina Chesnokova

"A wiry hulk moans, writhes" - exactly about him, he is like a small child locked in a monument that stands on the square.

— When you were preparing for the role, what sources did you use in the first place?

- Various lectures, documentary filming, of course, listened to the recordings of the poet's voice available on the network, read memoirs about Mayakovsky, books about him, looked through photographs. He watched his physics in the silent feature film "The Young Lady and the Hooligan". The network's algorithms are working properly, so after requests for Mayakovsky, there is enough different material, it remains only to dive and dive.

Before starting work on our production, I assumed that the presentation of poems should be more documentary and sound as close as possible to the author's performance. But the director set another task: in the play, the lines are consonant with the mood of a particular scene, the events taking place in it and the internal state.

- "Mayakovsky" was staged for the first time on such a huge stage. What is the difference between a production for the GKD and a performance at the Theater of the Moon, except for the scale? Are there any new details?

- Yes, if we are accustomed to a small platform where you can practically coexist with the audience, then here the stage is large, and the hall is huge. It was necessary to play bigger and turn the lake into a whole ocean in terms of energy. In addition, the composition of the artists was expanded, additional scenery was made.

- Was almost the entire composition of the Theater of the Moon involved?

- Rather, almost all the compositions of the production. For example, pioneer girls - they are also performers Nora Polonskaya, Elsa Triolet ...

"Were you worried?"

- Yes! But the wait was more difficult. But, as soon as you exhale and take a step onto the stage, everything lets go.

And, of course, I felt responsible because of the scale of the event. When I was told about the Kremlin... "How? How are we going to do that?" Before my eyes was the cozy stage of the Theater of the Moon and the huge hall of the Kremlin Palace. I have already worked on this stage, so the picture did not add up from the ratio of scales.

• Andrey Shkoldychenko in the play "Mayakovsky. City Musical"
• RIA Novosti
• © Ekaterina Chesnokova

- Four times more?

- I think it's five or six times. But the artistic director of the Theater of the Moon Evgeny Vladimirovich Gerasimov, producer Dmitry Kalantarov, director Alexander Rykhlov, choreographer Zhanna Shmakova and the entire production team in the shortest possible time did everything possible and impossible to make the event worthy.

As far as I understand, the drama theater played a performance on the stage of the Kremlin Palace for the first time. I am grateful for this experience.

- The production lasts a little more than an hour and a half, and a significant layer of Mayakovsky's life fits into it: from the moment he moved to Moscow after the death of his father and until the death of the poet. Don't you think that because of such limited timekeeping, something can be missed in history?

- Within the framework of the play, in principle, it is impossible to cover the whole life, even if it went on for 2.5 hours. In the production, the director showed certain, the most striking episodes of the poet's life. And he did it in the spirit of Mayakovsky, in large strokes. This is not so much a biography of the poet as significant fragments of his life, from what and what he comes to. It begins with the question "Is there a God?" and ends with "Hey, you! Sky! Hats off! I'm coming!" ...

- Mayakovsky was played by Chernyshov, Kolokolnikov. Have you ever thought that the audience will compare the poet in your performance with the images of other artists?

- No, it wasn't. First of all, they played in movies, and this is a completely different art. Secondly, I have already experienced the fear of comparisons, first with "The Phantom of the Opera", then with "Juno and Avos". The Phantom of the Opera has a lot of fans around the world who follow the productions in different countries, know everything to the smallest detail, praise, criticize, compare different performers and can literally smash to the bones if something goes wrong. And "Juno and Avos" is, of course, Karachentsov. Legend... I am younger than Nikolai Petrovich and therefore I agreed with myself to work, study, study again, and work again without looking back.

— You have several roles on the screen in your portfolio. These were short films, TV series. Do you plan to continue to develop in cinema, or is it just a test of strength?

- At first, I didn't dream about cinema and didn't actually do anything to get there. But somehow, the casting directors found me themselves, invited me to episodes, to small roles. And slowly, the story of the movie began to twist first without my participation, and now with it. This year I keep the focus in this direction, I have a good agent, I am actively writing samples and there is already a result. Cinema is a longer story, but I'm patient and ready for it.

It's interesting, like the same profession, but a completely different form of existence. It's easier for me in the theater, because there are rehearsals, there is time to think, there is a more familiar presentation. But cinema is something exciting.

• Andrey Shkoldychenko
• © Anna Grach

— What projects are you currently working on?

- I have performances in various theaters in which I play constantly, including Mayakovsky, which can be seen on the stage of the Theater of the Moon on Malaya Ordynka. The other day, rehearsals of a new production begin, which, probably, cannot be talked about yet. In August, there will be filming in a very interesting historical project.
In addition to performances and filming, I will participate in several rock concerts.

I used to sing more classics, but once I had a chamber concert to the piano in an old manor, where I decided to try to sing one of the songs of the group "The King and the Jester". There was a fear that the theater audience would not understand my experiment, but it turned out that we were on the same wavelength. Viewers also love and listen to different music. I still hope to have time to prepare a small solo concert by the end of the year

- How did you understand that the artist is yours?

- I said as a child that I would be an actor, because I was sure that our cinema was experiencing an acute shortage of artists. In American films, Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Van Damme appeared, who moved from one film to another, but I didn't get there. And we, as it seemed to me then, had only Vitsin, Nikulin and Morgunov. So I'm going to save our movie. Well, he sang since childhood. The first public performances happened on the bus: he sang the bass part of the Spider from "Fly-Tsokotukha".

- Did you cut your hair specifically for the role? Wasn't it a pity?

- Not teeth, they will grow back. Although, at first, on the contrary, I grew my hair to comb my hair, like Mayakovsky's. But at rehearsals, curls flew apart due to a change of hats and disguises. At first, the director and producer joked, saying, "let's shave you bald." And so, they joked. We still planned to leave the "hedgehog" a few centimeters, but when the make-up artist began to cut, the machine broke down and only a trimmer without a nozzle was at hand. That's how I became bald.

— And how did you feel when you were cast in "The Phantom of the Opera"?

- What could a person who had just arrived from Karaganda to Moscow feel and suddenly found himself in a legendary production with an international team? Shock and joy. But when I was informed of the decision of the commission, outwardly I tried not to show emotions, although inside everything was seething with happiness. I passed the casting from the second time, when I went without hopes and expectations with thoughts "what will be, will be." But, apparently, he made the right conclusions after the first casting. I was approved on the condition that I could play the Ghost if I lost weight. I lost 20 kg.

— Were there any jobs in your career that you would like to forget about?

— No, I love my projects. If only imposter producers. But this is an invaluable life experience, for which I am also grateful.

- You participate in a concert where the songs of the group "King and Jester" will be performed. Have you watched the series?

- I waited until all the episodes came out and, of course, watched. At first it was difficult. You need to realize that this is not an embellished biography, but a series with fiction. But the last series is fire, they completed the story beautifully, to goosebumps. I know that there are different reviews, but I am grateful to the authors for the fact that they did it in principle.

— What are your plans for musical activity? Are there any ideas for a solo album?

— I don't write songs, so I didn't even think about a solo album.

- But after all, many artists do not work with the author's material, but sing other people's songs. At the same time, they remain original performers.

- I haven't set such a goal yet, but I've already thought about it. And I'm always open to interesting creative suggestions.