Volodymyr Kuznetsov

Leading actor of the Kiev Academic Drama Theater in Podol, master of the stage. He graduated from the Kiev National University Theater of Cinema and TV named after I.K. Karpenko-Kary.

In the theater since 1987.

Laureate of the “Kiev Pectoral” in 2008 for the role of Zamukhrshkin in the play “The Players” by N. Gogol.

Laureate of the Ambrose Buchma theatrical award in 2010 for the role of Plyushkin in the play “Dead Souls” by M. Bulgakov.

THEATER WORK:

“I – Kyiv” V. Korotich – The Guy
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by W. Shakespeare – Francis Duda 
“The Rascal” N. Matukovsky – Jerry Finn 
“Showcase” E. Chepovetskov – Tsellofanov 
“Sophocles. Shakespeare. Brecht.”(Richard Sh.) – Romeo, Othello, Macbeth, Hamlet

“Dawn and Death of Pablo Neruda” by I. Drach – Pablo Neruda 
“Farewell, Entertainer” G. Gorin – Nikolai Burkini 
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” E. Uspensky – Cactus 
“Dictatorship of Conscience” M. Shatrov – Editor-in-Chief 
“Lunin, or the Death of Jacques” by E. Radzinsky –Lunin 
“Holy Kabbalah” / Moliere / M. Bulgakov – Molière

“Mowgli” R. Kipling – Akela 
“Vertep” of V. Shevchuk – Vertepnik, Grandfather, Korchmar 
“Krepp’s Last Tape” S. Beckett –Krepp 
“Outcome” S. Beckett –The protagonist 
“Now There are Two of Us” G. Lorca – Chobot 
“Feast in a Time of Plague” by A. Pushkin –Don Guan 
“Opera Mafioso” by V. Stanilov – Don Coladzhero 
“Iago” on “Othello” by V. Shakespeare – Othello 
“Translations” by B. Frila – Big Hugh  

“The Secret of Being” (T. Ivashchenko) – Ivan Franko
“Uncle Vanya” by A. Chekhov – Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky, son of Maria Vasylivna
“Mother” by K. Chapek’s is Grandfather
“At the bottom” by M. Gorky – Luka, the traveler
“Dead Souls” by M. Bulgakov after M. Gogol – Plyushkin, landlord
“Letter to God” by A. Krym – Lemares
“Last Summer in Chulysk” by O. Vampilova – Pomigalov
“Dreams come to life” I. Vyripaev – Teddy

THEATRICAL PROJECTS:

Theater Entreprise T. Zapolskaya – Man 
The general project of the Theater Club O. Liptsin
Center for Theater Research. Les Kurbas and the House of Turbins
“Makhaon” by the works of I. Goethe and M. Bulgakov

FESTIVALS:

1989. United States. Kentucky. Woodland Dance Festival.
1989. Mexico. Mexico City. Festival “Cervantino”.
1989. Costa Rica. Festival “San Jose de la Pas”.
1990. Great Britain. “Vertep” V. Shevchuk.
1990. Finland. The days of Kiev in Tampere.
1991. Greece. Tours with the play “Madrid waters” Lope de Vega.
1991. USA. Tour.
1991. Great Britain. Tours with the play “Feast in a Time of Plague” by A. Pushkin.
1991. Germany. Freiburg.
1992. Poland. Elenya Gura. Theater Festival.
1992. Costa Rica. Festival of Arts.

1992. USA. Miami. Festival of Spanish Drama.
1993. Turkey. Ankara. The first international theater festival.
1993. Scotland. Edinburgh. International Theater Festival.
1995. Cardiff. Wales. Theater Festival.
1995. International festival. Chekhov’s anecdotes. 

– Theater on Podil is my life. I was involved in its creation. It is my reward, my dream and fate allowed me to be a co-creator of my own theater.

–  For me, the most valuable things in life are love and understanding; I need nothing more.

–  To my 25-year-old self, I would say, “Congratulations, everything turned out just as you wanted.”

– I remember all my roles at once, as it’s a continuous journey from one role to the next. You change along with them, so I cannot single out just one. • If you wake me up in the middle of the night, I would speak in my own words, not my characters’ words, because they are different people with different fates.

–  There is one line from my roles that I remember very well: “Seek happiness above, work, work tirelessly!” It’s about joy—misfortune is like a cloud that falls upon us, but joy, like the sun, remains.

– I don’t have favorite roles. Some are successful, where I felt I touched the essence, and others where I’m still on the way. Maybe Uncle Vanya or Letter to God—plays where I came closest to my goal. There’s still a long way to go, and only life itself may not be enough time.

– I’ve been involved in theater since I was a child, starting at 13, so I feel neutral toward cinema. My environment is theater. Even when I sometimes act in films, I don’t consider myself a film actor, as they perform very differently. My theatrical bow to them!

– A good actor is one who makes me forget that they are acting. When I see and understand what’s happening, when an atmosphere arises, and I find myself in the moment on stage, it’s all thanks to that actor. They are like magicians, opening a different dimension above the stage, not below or on it, but above it.

– I have a pre-show ritual—a warm-up. This started in theater university, where we had very physically challenging warm-ups. It’s a process where you find yourself, your awareness, disconnecting from the outside world. After the warm-up, you’re physically ready to work and psychologically free from worries.

– In my free time, I like to go places I haven’t been and ride my bike. On tour, I always enjoy venturing out into an unfamiliar city and then finding my way back. Sometimes, you can wander half a day before finding your way home. You learn so much about a city by wandering.

– I avoid imitation. I never watch the productions I plan to rehearse. I want to understand what lies within—to understand the author, the story, the fate, and to walk a compassionate path to my character. So I don’t take references into account. When I see examples, I become secondary. I want to follow my own path, even if it means making mistakes.

– What we say is what we celebrate, so I will never broadcast anything low. Not for any amount of money.