The Perfect Production: Les Kurbas's Analysis of the Early Soviet Audience

Because the Communist Party of the USSR recognized the effectiveness of theater in influencing the masses and inculcating a socialist con­sciousness, it made strenuous efforts to control all aspects of theatrical activity. Theater directors were open to attack, dismissal, arrest, and ex­ecution. It was imperative for the literal survival of their companies that their productions be supported by a strong proletarian audience base and that they demonstrate their clear ideological positions. One way in which directors could negotiate the treacherous political terrain and prove that they were, in fact, presenting comprehensible productions well-received by workers was by seeking solid empirical evidence con­firming their claims. One of the few who did so was Les Kurbas (1887­1937), Artistic Director of the Berezil Artistic Association. His use of a broad spectrum of tools and approaches, including behaviorist analyses and questionnaires, remains to date still one of the most forward- thinking and all-encompassing methods of studying the audience