Panevėžio J. Miltinio dramos teatro veikla po Lietuvos nepriklausomybės atkūrimo

The aim of the article is to reveal the changes that have been taking place after the restoration of the Lithuanian independence. After the restoration of independence, the theatre faced a challenge to compete with the new and developing entertainment industry. Therefore, having decreased grants for national theatres and with emptied out spectator audiences, in fear of the coming reform of the theatre, there was a need to search for particular ways to survive. One of the most reliable ways of survival is standing out from the general context. Within the element of the stage, the exclusivity of theatres is determined by possessing a particular creative touch, otherwise called the face of theatre, which consists of the artists and playwrights working within the theatre collective, and the drama genre choices, directors invited, the general stylistics of plays, advertising material, the representativeness of the theatre building, and, most importantly, the aesthetic conception and tasks of the art manager. Thus, one of the main factors that determine the particular creative face of the theatre and its consistent development is the requirements and aesthetic attitude raised by the art manager (in some theatres, up until the restoration of independence and even now, art managers are still called senior artistic director)